Page 107 of Now and Then

Confusion pulls my brows together, and I tilt my head, feeling the sparks in the space between us. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”

He pushes his knee between my legs, forcing me to open my thighs. “Yes, baby. That’s what I want to hear.”

A massive smile erupts across my face, and I pull my bottom lip between my teeth. “You really like it when I call you that, don’t ya . . . baby?”

He drops his head back, tendons straining in his neck. “Yes.”

One word, uttered with such intensity I feel it in every part of my body.

I take him in my hands and lean in, letting instinct guide me. The low sound that rumbles from his chest nearly undoes me. My pulse quickens at the way my mouth stretches around him, the way his body responds, the way his breath hitches above me.

“Sutton . . .” His fingers slip into my hair, gently at first, then tightening slightly as a shaky exhale leaves him.

“Not yet,” he breathes. “I want to be inside you.”

His words push through the haze of desire clouding my brain. I release him, so badly wanting to finish what I started.

“You’re so beautiful like this.” He wipes his thumb across my mouth and tugs my bottom lip down. He reaches between my legs. “Did that turn you on?”

“Y-y-yes,” I stutter, already on edge. Again. “Hunter, I need you. Please.”

“You never have to beg, babe.”

He pushes against one hip, guiding me backward on the bed until I’m lying down, fully at his mercy. Hunter leans down, bracing on one arm while running his right hand down my body. He cups my thigh and wraps my leg around his waist. His lips brush mine in a slow, lingering kiss. Lightning sparks, light bouncing off the walls. His eyes meet mine as he pushes inside me. My heart stutters. My breath catches.

It’s only him.

Only me.

Only the closeness we’ve been waiting years for.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes as he holds me. I’ve never felt so safe or complete in all my life. My heart breaks open, and my tears fall freely. He grips my hip, pushing in further as his other hand wipes the tears from my cheeks. My body stretches, adjusting to him. Everything in me pauses and shifts all at once.

“Sutton.” My name is a prayer on his lips.

“Hunter,” I whisper back, voice trembling, letting every ounce of longing and love pour into that single word.

We stay like that for a long moment, pressed together, breathing each other in, the world outside falling away entirely.

And then he moves. Slow at first, like he’s still giving me time to adjust, like he’s making sure I’m right there with him. Pleasure zips down my spine as he thrusts into me.

My breath catches all over again when he presses deeper, letting me feel every inch of him. My fingers tighten against his shoulders as the sensation builds.

“Oh god.” My voice breaks, and something in him shifts.

His grip tightens on my thighs, his forehead presses to mine as his movements grow more certain, more intentional. Each thrust pulls a soft moan or sharp breath from me. A need I can’t quite contain grows with every passing second.

“Fuck, baby girl,” he groans against the side of my neck. “You feel incredible.”

“So do you,” I pant. I tilt into him, chasing our pleasure, my body learning his in real time.

“That’s it,” he murmurs, voice rough.

The rhythm between us builds, steady and consuming, until there’s no space left for anything else. No thoughts. No fears. No past. Just this. Just him. Just us.

“I love you, Sutton,” he whispers, his voice trembling. He leans closer, eyes locked on mine like he’s trying to memorize every detail. “I love you now just as I loved you then. Through everything, even when I didn’t know how to say it. You are everything to me. My heart, my forever.”

I lean up, barely able to speak, and press my lips to his. “I love you so much, baby. Always have. Always will.”