Page 116 of She will Always be Mine

“Not when it has this effect on you.” He teases while smacking my wet pussy.

When he goes to unbutton his shirt, I stop him and replace his hands with mine. “Let me.”

His head tilts with his consent and I loosen the knot of his tie and pull it off, placing it carefully to my side. I focus on my task while trying not to burn under his intense gaze. Once I’ve opened all the buttons, I inch my fingers underneath and let it fall open.

We’re always so desperate and hungry to touch each other, that moments like these feel so rare. I didn’t realize how much I craved this slow dance of seduction and simply basking in our closeness. And I can sense him feeling the same.

His abs tighten when I run my nails down the valley between each muscle before I remove his shirt completely. I unbuckle his belt, unbutton the pants, and lower his zipper. Inching my fingers in the waist, I pull them down his strong legs while also sliding to my knees.

When I tilt my head to meet his gaze, his fingers slide into my hair and he holds it there. Running my hands up his thighs, I push my fingers in his boxers and pull until his cock springs free, hitting his lower abs.

Once he’s naked, ripped muscles everywhere, I stand up and press against every hard inch of him. He pulls my hair and demands roughly, “Had your fill?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Good,” he says. Bending down, he grabs the backs of my knees to take me into his arms. My legs circle his waist while I wrap my arms around his shoulders. Like two hungry souls, our lips crash and tongues engaged in some type of duel while he carries me into the bathroom.

Shoving open the curtain, he slides me down and switches on the shower, setting the temperature to hot. Water beats down on us and I watch him grab my body wash and pour some onto his hands.

“Turn around.”

My neck tilts when he pushes my wet hair to the side and rubs his hands over my shoulders, down to my back, and brings it to the front.

Slowly inching upward, he pays attention to my heaving breasts, teasing my nipples with his thumbs. I become dazed, lost in his soft caresses. I sigh blissfully as he leaves no part of me untouched. All the tension evaporates from my body when he washes me.

When I feel him press against me, I lean my head on his broad shoulders and his fingers grip my neck from the front. His lips and hot breath tease my ear as he says, “You know, Nyra, this could be us for the rest of our lives if you just let me in.”

I go still and my eyes close, imagining us together. Breathing in his scent, standing under his protective shade, I confess to the constant feeling I carry in my chest but never said out loud, “I want it too, Riaan, but I’m scared.”

“I know, baby,” he murmurs in understanding while caressing my pounding pulse. “But you’re more than your fears. I’ve seen you stare in the mirror when you think I’m not looking and the sadness in your eyes breaks my heart. I wish you could see what I do. You’re a strong, beautiful, and fearsome woman who not only protects the ones she loves, but also fights and sacrifices herself for them. You’re the only woman who dared to fall in love with me, who chose me despite being able to have any man in this world. The one who never hid her feelings for me even when I was too scared to admit them. So don’t you dare give up on us now.”

The fierceness in his words pulls at my heartstrings, renders me speechless, and raises goosebumps on my arms. Twisting against his hold, I turn to face him and his palms cup my cheeks.

“You say fate keeps pushing us apart but it’s always bringing us back together too. It’s because you’re meant to be mine.”

“How can you still love me after I hurt you so terribly?” I ask brokenly.

“Because it’s you.” His gaze turns fierce and his hold tighter. “Because love is not a single feeling. It’s complex and messy and emotional. Its happiness, sadness, longing, obsession, forgiveness, acceptance, pain, and, baby, you make me feel all of them.” Taking my palm, he presses it against his chest. “Right here.”

With tears stinging my eyes, I stretch up on my toes to kiss him, and his lips meeting mine halfway. He lets me plunder his mouth, and I pour my love and need for him into the kiss. It’s messy and desperate. I suck and taste him like I never want to stop, like he’s my reason to exist, and he is.

“I love you so much, Riaan, and I need you to trust me to give you all of me. The way you deserve,” I whisper. His forehead rest on mine. “Wait for me like you promised you would.”

Sometimes, the distance doesn’t lie in the miles but in the situations we are stuck in and that’s where he and I are. I see the same recognition and understanding in his dark pupils. Until yesterday, hopelessness sometimes flickered in them. But tonight, they burn with hope and it sparks mine too.

“Then you need to trust me too,” he demands. “We all have demons, Nyra, but that doesn’t mean you have to face them alone. Let me fight them with you. Let me watch you conquer them from by your side. Let me be your strength and not your weakness.”

“Through my darkest days, it was your voice that brought me to the light. You are my rock, Riaan.”

“And you’re mine,” he growls against my lips, and I nod because he’s still here despite everything.

Still loving me like I’m his.

Always keeping his promises.

I vow to do the same.

Chapter Forty

---