His pace turned erratic, hips jerking as his groan deepened into something guttural.
“Hudson,” he rasped. “So fucking beautiful?—”
He buried himself to the hilt inside me, grinding as his whole body shuddered. Then he pulled out so sharply that I gasped from the sudden loss of him. He ripped the condom off, hand shaking.
“Turn around and open up. Don’t let it go to waste.”
On shaky legs, I went down on my knees before him and opened my mouth as he exploded with a strangled groan. Hot, thick spurts landed across my tongue, my lips, my chin. I held his gaze as I swallowed what I could, letting the rest drip down my jaw while his thighs trembled on either side of me.
His hand cradled the back of my head, not pushing—just there. Holding. Anchoring. His breaths came in harsh bursts, chest rising and falling like he’d run miles, not made love.
“Christ, Hud…” He thumbed a smear from my bottom lip. “You’re gonna ruin me.”
I let out a weak laugh, licking the taste of him from the corner of my mouth. “Little late for that, isn’t it?”
Matty dropped to his knees in front of me and pressedhis forehead against mine. Still catching his breath, still holding me like I was something he couldn’t bear to let go of.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “It is.”
We stayed there for however long, tangled in sweat and cum and everything we didn’t say. Then he kissed me, slow, soft. Like forgiveness. Like a promise.
Like home.
“I love you,” I whispered, brushing my lips over his.
The words felt small for everything they carried.
I’d loved him back then too—God, so much—but I hadn’t said it. Hadn’t known how. Hadn’t believed I deserved to. I’d let him walk away with those words echoing behind him, unanswered.
But not anymore.
This time, I’d say it as many times as he needed.
This time, I’d make sure he never had to wonder.
“Say it again,” Matty murmured against my mouth.
So I did.
“I love you.”
Again.
“I love you.”
And again.
Until he believed it.
18
MATTY
Ablood-curdling scream tore me out of sleep like a gunshot through glass.
“What the fuck—?” I was halfway up, already reaching for Hudson, heart jackhammering.
But Hudson was faster. He was throwing the sheets back before my brain caught up.
