“Yes. It hurts a little, but it’s okay.”
“Tell me when you’re ready for me to move.”
She takes a few breaths, adjusting to the sensation. “Okay. You can move.”
I do. Slowly at first. Gentle thrusts that let her get used to the feeling.
“Does it still hurt?” I ask.
“Not as much. It’s starting to feel kind of good.”
I pick up the pace slightly, watching her face. Looking for pleasure, not pain.
I can’t hold back. She doesn’t need this to last. She needs it to be right. She needs it to feel good.
I put my weight on one arm and slide my hand down her stomach and then between us. The sight of her spread beneath me nearly wrecks what little control I have left.
I find her swollen clit. Her body jerks. “Oh!”
A rough, satisfied smile tugs at my mouth. “That’s it,” I say.
I rub her gently and feel her tighten around me immediately.
“Yes.” I keep my hand moving. “Just like that.”
I lean in, my mouth brushing her ear. “You’re taking me so well, Sofia. Like your body already knows me.”
My control starts to fray. I have wanted this longer than I have any right to admit.
“Sergei,” she moans. “It’s happening again.”
“Let go,” I tell her. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
She does. Her entire body locks, back arching, head falling back as she cries out. I feel her pulsing around me, and that’s it. I come with my face buried in her neck.
I give myself thirty seconds before I force myself to pull out.
I roll off her and quickly go into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. I pause at the mirror and stare at my reflection.
I know that face. I know every line of it. What I don't know is the man wearing it right now, the one who just stopped pretending this was only ever about a promise.
Because promises shouldn’t feel like this.
When I return to the bed, she’s burrowed under the covers. I pull her into my arms.
“You okay?” I ask, brushing her hair back from her face.
“Yes.” She looks up at me, tears clinging to her lashes. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being gentle. For making it okay.”
I chuckle. “Okay?”
“Not okay. Safe. I’d worked myself up to dreading it. I didn’t think it could be so pleasurable. I expected pain. Fear.”
The feeling in my chest is unfamiliar. Protective in a way that feels dangerously close to possession.