"I'm healing," he corrected, his lips brushing the sensitive skin beneath her ear. "It doesn't hurt the way you think it does."
She didn't fully believe him, but the ache in his voice was real, a different kind of pain, one she understood.
So instead of pulling away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tighter, pressing herself fully against him, letting her body speak where words couldn't.
"We can wait," she whispered, her lips brushing his cheek. "Just a little longer. Okay?"
She pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth.
He let out a slow, ragged breath, like a man fighting a losing battle with his own control. The sound turned into something shakier, closer to surrender.
"No," he murmured, the word raw with need. "I've waited long enough."
His hand slid up her back, fingers tangling in her hair, tilting her face toward his. And then he kissed her.
