With a whimper, she reaches for me, and I exhale a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding in.

I pull her close to me, and our lips touch for the first time in far too long. I let the moment overtake me. For the first time, instead of fighting them, I appreciate every single emotion running through my body at the sight of her. The feel of her. The taste of her.

A part of me was scared I’d never experience this again. That both she and the thrill she rouses would be lost to me forever, taking my soul with her into the darkness.

I cup her cheeks, deepening the kiss. I memorize her skin as I run my thumbs tenderly along her jaw. As my hands glide down her neck, over her shoulders, and down to her hips. I finger the hem of her T-shirt, but before I'm able to pull it off her, she stops me.

She shoves at my chest, her strong palms pushing me backward. But I hold onto her shoulders, not ready to give her the space she’s requesting.

“Royce?” A fresh wave of tears cause her eyes to shine.

“Yes, kitten?” I pant.

"Is this real?” Her eyes flit quickly between mine. “Tell me I'm not imagining this... I couldn't bear it.”

Burying the anger I’m harboring toward that motherfucker for putting her through the shit she’s endured, I vow to punch him right in the fucking dick the second I get back to the warehouse.

“Delilah, look at me.” Placing my hands on her cheeks again, I train my eyes directly on hers. "There has never been anything more real in my entire life than this moment right here, right now, with you."

With the slightest nod and a sigh of relief, she lunges herself off the bed and into my arms. Spinning around, I take a seat on the mattress, and Delilah straddles my legs. Fuck, I would have loved to have been naked first, but I'm not breaking this kiss for anyfuckingthing right now.

Delilah fists my hair, and my dick hardens at the bite of pain she causes. I palm her tits over her T-shirt, feeling her hardened nipples through the thin fabric. I’m antsy for a chance to feel my skin rubbing against hers. She whimpers as I tweak her nipple.

"I need to feel you, Royce." Delilah breaks the kiss, answering my prayers like the fucking angel she is.

Finding the hem of her shirt once more, I pull it over her head quicker than I've ever moved before. Immediately, she arches her back, jutting her tits toward me, and my mouth opens on instinct.

Latching onto one of her perfect, rosy nipples, I suck at it like it's the only thing giving me life right now.

Because it is.

Sheis.

Lightly, I pinch her other nipple in a rhythmic pattern, helping to rile her passion, excited to edge her closer toward orgasm. With my free hand, I find her clit through the thin pair of pajama shorts Maggie dressed her in. Rubbing her tender nerves, I work her into a frenzy until she’s bucking against my thumb, crying out in pleasure.

“Oh god, Royce. Thank you, thank you.” Her loud moans of ecstasy make me happier than ever that even though my mind was clouded with fury, I was smart enough to remove her from the main house.

Here she can be as loud as she fucking wants. As loud as I can make her scream.

Challenge accepted.

My thumb slows as she comes down from her orgasm, and I finally let go of her nipple. My eyes meet hers, and she looks exhausted. Poor girl. She's already worn out, but I'm just getting started.

Standing, I place her on her back on the bed before stripping out of my clothing. She stares at me dreamily as her legs open, her knees falling to the sides. My dick twitches as I make out the giant wet spot on her shorts as well as the front of my pants.

“My kitten is wet for me.”

My hunger rises, but my fear threatens to ruin this moment as it recalls a memory from the last time we were together. When we fucked and I freaked out afterward like a weak, little bitch. But as my eyes scan the masterpiece before me, I thank God she's offering herself to me again.

I won't repeat the mistakes of my past. There will be no apprehension circling me at the end of this reconciliation.

The second the rest of my clothing is on the ground, I tug her shorts and panties down her legs. Kneeling before her, I brush kisses along her inner thighs before feasting on her deliciously wet pussy.

I was wrong before. It wasn't her nipple I needed to taste. It was this. Her intoxicating arousal. It's like the fucking elixir of life.

And it's all mine.

She's all mine.