Page 109 of When We Are Falling

I pull back slightly, just enough to catch my breath, my lips tingling and my heart racing. Ethan’s eyes are dark, filled withsomething raw, something I haven’t seen in a long time. We’re both breathing hard, and for a moment, neither of us speaks. He leans up and brushes a strand of hair from my face. “Is this for real?”

“It’s for real. I’m ready. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”

“I love you so fucking much.”

Finally, I say it: “I love you, too.”

He leans in again, his lips brushing mine, softer this time, but no less intense. His hand moves to the back of my neck, holding me close, and I know—there’s no going back from this. We’re both all in.

I rise to my knees and straddle him, the hard length of his arousal pressing between my legs, and tug at his shirt. A smirk lifts one corner of his lips, and he sits up, me still in his lap, and undoes his top button, pulling the shirt over his head.

I’m already shedding my cardigan and tank top, and the cold air nips at me as I drop it beside us on the blanket. A gust of wind blows fine sea spray over us, and Ethan wraps his arms around me before capturing my mouth once more.

One of his hands unclasps my bra, and he breaks the kiss to stare at me, naked from the waist up. The roughened pad of his thumb skims a nipple before gently pinching and rolling it, setting fire to my core.

Pushing up out of his lap, standing, I unzip my jeans and push them down, stepping out of them a moment later.

“Hurry up,” I say to him, sliding out of my panties, and he’s on his feet in an instant, loosening his belt and letting his jeans and then boxers drop, his cock springing free.

“Lay back down,” I say, palming my hips.

“I like this side of you.”

He settles back down on the blanket, staring at me like he’s trying to memorize every part of me. I drop to my knees besidehim and straddle him again, sliding the wet, slick heat of me up and down his length.

He groans, hands going to my hips. “I need you. Right fucking now.”

“I’m yours,” I reply, staring into the deep gray of his eyes. “Take me.”

His hands grip strong and needy on my hips as he guides me down onto him, the planes of his muscular body catching the silver light of the moon overhead.

I let out a low moan as he fills me up completely, my body stretching to accommodate him. He starts to move inside me, his thrusts slow and deliberate at first, but quickly building in intensity. I can feel every inch of him and move with him, grinding my hips against his as I ride him. He’s hittingthatspot, and I’m getting closer and closer.

He moves one hand from my hips and starts circling my clit, pressing with just the right amount of pressure. It’s a feeling unlike any other, like every cell in my body is on fire and the heat and intensity of our connection amplifies everything. I arch my back and he thrusts deeper inside me, bottoming out, while sliding his thumb back and forth, then he’s deep inside me again, and again, until I’m pushed right over the edge.

My body tenses and releases in waves of pleasure, muscles contracting around him as I let out a guttural moan. The intensity of it all is dizzying, overwhelming, leaving me feeling like I’m floating and sinking all at the same time.

He holds me steady as I come, thrusting several more times before following with a groan, emptying himself inside me, eyes closed, his hips finally stilling beneath me. I fold in half, resting my head on the slick skin of his chest, spent and satiated, our bodies still joined together.

As we lay there, catching our breath, there’s a sense of wholeness I never thought possible, and I can tell he feels it too.His arms wrap around me, his warmth steady and comforting, and I’m open, completely, in a way I’ve never been before. There’s no fear, no hesitation. Just this moment, with him beneath me, and the certainty that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

Rolling off him, I slide in beside him, pressing my body against him, head over his heart. As I lie there, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, I think about everything we’ve been through—the hurt, the misunderstandings, the distance between us.

It wasn’t easy, and at times it felt like we’d never find our way back. But now, in the quiet of this moment, I realize we needed that journey, that space to grow, to break and rebuild. We’re both different now—stronger, more willing to be open and supportive in every way that matters.

The journey wasn’t perfect, but it brought us here, to this place where we can finally love one another the way we’re supposed to. And I’m ready, ready to be his, fully and without limitation.

Chapter 52

Blake

Ethanand I stand side-by-side outside the courthouse waiting for David, who’s speaking to the prosecutor inside about the possible outcome of Sylvia’s competency trial, which just adjourned for deliberations by the judge.

The heavy wooden doors loom behind us, and it’s bitterly cold. They’re even predicting snow—we could be in for a white Christmas tomorrow.

My stomach churns and I keep tapping my fingers against my leg, glancing over at Ethan. He catches my eye and gives me a reassuring look, one that makes me feel grounded, despite my nerves.

“He did great sitting through that,” Ethan says quietly, reaching out to take the tapping hand, stilling it on his own. “Everything he went through as a kid was harrowing, and I’ve got no idea how he even sat in the same room as her.”

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