He thrusts gently, and we moan in unison. I’m so full of him. Our connection has never been stronger. Nothing’s ever felt more like home.

I close my eyes and shudder at the intensity of it all. But he doesn’t even let me get away with that.

He kisses along my neck before taking my lips in a deep, passionate kiss. “Come back to me, Maddie. Stay with me until the end.”

I open my eyes and meet his devastatingly blue irises. As he stares down at me and thrusts again, I feel a surge of vulnerability. Dempsey sees me in a way no one has ever seen me.

To him, I’m not just something to be conquered or claimed.

He sees me for who I am. And in this moment, I realize that’s my definition of love.

“Baby girl,” he pants, his voice shaky with emotion. “You’re everything. Right here. Inside you. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. It may be the happiest I’ll ever be.”

I moan, his words fanning the flames inside me as he pulls out slowly before gliding back in.

“Let me feel you, princess,” he encourages.

I clench around his dick, then whimper when he pulses inside me.

“Do you feel it?” he demands.

I know he’s not just talking about our physical connection.

He’s talking about the way his soul mirrors mine.

I feel it. I always have. It’s this high-frequency thrumming that’s dominated my world for the last two months. It’s the passion he stokes in me. It’s the way we breathe life into each other when we’re together.

“I feel it,” I pant, clenching around his cock again and making him moan. “I love it,” I add without overthinking my words.

“I love it, too,” he replies before burying his head in my neck and shuddering against me as he ruts in earnest.

I let myself get lost in the sensations of him, clenching every time he slides all the way in. We both know what we’re not saying. We both know why we can’t utter the words. It’s not because we don’t want to or because it’s not true.

But an “I love you” from this man in this moment would be enough to keep me from getting on that plane tomorrow. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that he loves me too much to ever hold me back.

49. Dempsey

Chapter 49

Dempsey

She’s gone.

I knew she was going to sneak out. Field gave me the heads-up yesterday when she insisted he come back to the house by six. She didn’t want me to have to navigate the first hours of “what now?” without her.