Page 281 of Faking the Goal

I love you.

I have wanted to say them for longer than I have been willing to admit. I want to tell her that she lives inside every part of me now. That there is no future I can picture without finding her somewhere in it. That I would choose her in every version of my life, even the ones where she never chooses me back.

But this moment is not about what I need from her.

Those words would ask something of her, even if I did not intend them to. An answer. A reaction. A piece of her heart when she is still struggling to feel at home inside her own body.

So I swallow them.

I press my mouth to hers instead and hope she can feel them there.

I love you in every careful kiss.

I love you in the way I hold her without possessing her.

I love you in every pause, every whispered question, every moment I wait for her to pull me closer instead of assuming I have the right.

She clings to me, and slowly, the trembling begins to ease. The fear does not vanish. I know one night cannot undo what was done to her, and I refuse to pretend my touch possesses that kind of power.

But when she looks at me, she is here.

Not lost in a memory. Not trapped beneath his hands.

Here, with me.

"That's it," I murmur against her skin. "Stay with me."

Her fingers thread through my hair.

"I'm here."

The words break something open inside my chest.

I kiss her tears, her eyelids, her trembling mouth. I whisper that she is safe. That she is strong. That she is hers. I repeat it until the words settle into the space between us like a promise.

"You are not what he did to you."

Her breath catches.

"You are not what you survived."

I press my forehead to hers once more.

"You are Taylor. And he could spend the rest of his miserable life trying, but he will never take that away."

Her legs tighten around my waist, pulling me deeper, and I lost all fucking control. My hips piston into her, my cock slamming against her walls as I chase my own release. Her moans are loud, unrestrain, and when she comes again, I follow her, my cock pulsing inside her as I spill everything I have.

I collapse on top of her, panting, my heart pounding against her chest. We stay like this for a long fucking time, our bodies still connected, until I finally roll onto my side, pulling her with me. My arms wrap around her, holding her close, and I kiss her forehead, my lips lingering there like a promise.

"You're fucking perfect," I whisper again, and she nestles into me, her breathing slowly evening out.

I kiss her before the three words inside me can escape.

I kiss her slowly, deeply, with every piece of my heart laid bare between us, and I hope she understands what I am not ready to ask her to carry.

I hope she feels it in the way I never let her go.

CHAPTER 36