Page 92 of Essence of Fear

Once she said it, that was it.

It’d be out there, then.

“Because I love you,” she said, the words slipping out into darkness and warm air. “I love you, and I’m happy. I’m good, and you helped. I’m scared of being like this because I don’t think I know how to do this anymore, and someone already took it from me once.”

“But I never will.”

“I—”

Pav rolled over in the bed fast, covering her naked body with his as those hands of his, that had never hurt her once, found her face in the darkness. He tipped her head back, and despite the lack of light, she could still see the way his eyes locked on hers. She found that truth staring back at her like she always did when she looked into his gaze.

His soul lived there.

Waiting for her.

“I will never take it from you—not happiness or love,” he promised. “I only know how to give you those things. Don’t you know that?”

“Forgive me for learning.”

He let out a laugh, then, deep and rumbling. It echoed to the deepest parts of her soul and heart. Things she thought had been gone forever but came back alive by this man. She wasn’t sure if he knew that he had done those things for her, but here they were.

And she was so grateful.

But terrified, too.

So was her life.

Pav leaned down and dropped the softest kiss to her lips. He lingered there, his words brushing against her mouth like a caress. “I only knew how to live in darkness, but with you, nothing is dark for me. Everything is bright and clear and right. Sometimes, it’s still dark, but it’s temporary. You’re always waiting to pull me back out.”

It seemed she did things for him, too.

Things she didn’t know.

“I’m not sure what love is,” he murmured, his mouth trailing over her chin as he spoke. “But this has to be it, doesn’t it? It has to be it, because you’re the only one who makes me feel it. I only want to keep it, not ruin it.”

“Then, you should.”

“I will.”

His kisses burned hotter, then. His touches, frantic. It was made easier by the fact they were already naked and under the sheets warmed by them. His cock, already hard against her thigh, made her pussy ache and he wasn’t even inside of her yet. His arms hooked around her thighs and widened her legs. She rolled her hips upward as her hand wrapped around his length, and she slid the blunt head of his cock along the seam of her sex.

He knew when he was there … one hard flex of his hips, and he was buried deep. The sound that crawled out of Viktoria’s throat felt raw. It hurt like it, too. One of his hands came down to cover her mouth, but all she felt was him.

His words in her ear helped, too. “Let’s not wake up the whole loft.”

Fuck.

She wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t.

Not when he was filling her full and fucking her deep. Every brutal snap of his hips against hers sent her flying a little higher. The slap of skin, and his harsh breaths pulsing against her throat were the only sounds in the room.

And yet, despite how hard he fucked her, the rest of it was oh, so soft. His hand gliding over her curves, and his kisses dotting her skin.

That was the best part of him, she decided.

The part she loved the most.

Even in his roughness, he was gentle.