Chapter 83 Chapter 83

Chapter 83 Chapter 83
"I'm always afraid of hurting you." But his touch grew more confident, more demanding. "It's all I've done for months."

"Then stop hurting me and start loving me." I pulled back to meet his eyes. "Show me. Show me what I meant to you. What I mean to you now."

He stood suddenly, lifting me with him. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively as he carried me toward the bedroom. "What are you doing?" I asked, though I knew exactly what he was doing.

"Taking you to bed properly." He kicked the bedroom door open. "Because the couch is too small and you deserve better than a rushed coupling on furniture."

"Trying to be romantic?"

"Trying to cherish you." He laid me down on the bed gently, his body following. "Emma, I've thought about this. Dreamed about getting another chance. And if you're giving me that chance-" He kissed me slowly. "I'm going to make it count."

His hands moved to the button of my jeans. "Still okay?"

"More than okay." I helped him, working the denim down my hips. "Jeremy, stop asking for permission for every move. I'll tell you if something's not okay. Right now-"I got his own jeans unzipped. "Right now everything is very okay."

"Just making sure." But there was heat in his voice now, desire overtaking nervousness. "Because Emma, once we do this- once we cross this line-I'm not going to want to go back. Not going to want to return to careful distance and therapeutic boundaries."

"Good." I pulled him down for another kiss. "Because I don't want that either. I want this. Want us. Want to remember what it feels like to be close to you."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay." He shed the rest of his clothes, then carefully removed mine. When we were both naked, he paused, just looking at me." You're so beautiful. I forgot-no, I didn't forget. I just wasn't letting myself remember how beautiful you are."

"Stop stalling," I said, pulling him down. "And kiss me."

He did. And then he did a lot more than kiss me.

His hands moving over my body, relearning curves and dips and sensitive spots he'd once known by heart. His mouth following, placing kisses everywhere until I was gasping, arching into his touch.

"Jeremy, please-"

"Not yet." His voice was rough with desire and control. "Want to make this last. Want to make you feel-"

"I feel it." My hands fisted in his hair. "I feel everything. Now please, I need-"

He finally gave me what I needed. Entered me slowly, carefully, his eyes locked on mine. Checking. Always checking that I was okay, that this was what I wanted.

"Look at me," I commanded when his eyes started to drift closed. "Stay with me. Be present."

His eyes opened, focusing on my face with an intensity that made my breath catch. "I'm here. I'm with you. Only you."

We moved together, finding a rhythm that felt both familiar and new. Like coming home and discovering something you'd never noticed before all at once.

"Emma," he gasped as I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him deeper. "God, Emma, I love you. I love you so much." "Show me," I whispered back. "Show me how much."

He did. With every movement, every kiss, every whispered word against my skin. Showed me what I'd meant to him. What I meant to him now.

And when we finally fell apart together, his name on my lips and mine on his, I felt something shift. Not fixing everything. Not erasing the past.

But building something new. Something real. Something worth fighting for.

Afterward, we lay tangled together, breathing hard, his hand stroking lazy patterns on my back.

"That was-" he started.

"Don't analyze it," I interrupted. "Don't ask if I regret it or what it means for our future. Just let it be what it was."

"Which was?"

"Perfect." I lifted my head to look at him. "It was perfect, Jeremy. You were perfect. We were perfect."

His eyes were bright with emotion. "Can we do that again?"

I laughed. "Give me a few minutes to recover first."

"Take all the time you need." He pulled the blanket over us. "I'm not going anywhere. And Emma? Thank you. For trusting me with this. For giving me another chance."

"Stop thanking me." But I snuggled closer. "Just hold me. That's enough."

He did. His arms strong and steady around me, his heartbeat solid beneath my ear.

Outside, mercenaries might still be hunting us. Back home, the pack was dealing with a traitor's execution and attack aftermath. Nothing was solved. Nothing was fixed.

But right now, in this moment, wrapped in Jeremy's arms and feeling thoroughly loved-I was happy.

Really, genuinely happy.

And that was more than enough.

For now.