Chapter 24
The house was steeped in silence. A silence that seemed to weigh on us, heavy with everything we hadn’t said over the past few days.
After the political storm that had descended on us, after the meeting where we’d become targets of scrutiny and political maneuvering, Fernando and I were finally alone.
But the intimacy that once consumed us now felt clouded by a different kind of tension.
He stood at the window, whiskey in hand, his gaze lost somewhere on the horizon. I knew him well enough to recognize this wasn’t the silence of someone at peace. He was reflecting, weighing things, maybe even brooding over what had happened.
I wanted to say something to ease the tension, but nothing seemed right. So I simply walked over and touched his arm. Fernando turned slowly, his dark, intense eyes locking onto mine.
“What happens now, Glória?” His voice was hoarse, heavy with something I couldn’t quite read.
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of that question. I’d always had answers. I’d always known what to do, how to navigate any situation, how to turn a crisis into an opportunity. But standing there with him, I didn’t know.
“I don’t know.” It was all I could manage to say.
Fernando let out a low laugh, but there was no humor in it. Only exhaustion. He ran a hand through his hair, walked to the table, and set his glass down.
“For the first time in a long time, I have no control over anything,” he confessed. “I don’t know if my career will still be standing tomorrow. I don’t know if they’re going to tear us apart or if the public will accept this.”
“Do you regret it?” My voice came out quieter than I intended, betraying the insecurity I didn’t want to show.
He looked at me as if I’d said the most absurd thing in the world.
“Do you really think I’d regret loving you?”
The word struck me like a jolt. Love. He’d never said it outright. I had bared my heart at my most vulnerable, but he hadn’t.
“You love me?” My voice came out as a whisper.
Fernando stepped closer, stopping so near I could feel the warmth of his body. He raised his hand and traced his fingers slowly, gently along my cheek.
“Of course I love you, Glória.”
I closed my eyes as a wave of emotion crashed over me.
“But is that enough?” My voice broke.
Fernando cupped my face in both hands, making me meet his eyes.
“I don’t know, but I want to find out. Do you?”
I did. More than anything. But fear was a persistent shadow.
“We’re diving headfirst into something uncertain,” I whispered.
“And since when is politics ever certain?” He smiled, but his eyes were serious. “What we have is more real than any rehearsed speech, any backroom deal.”
A knot formed in my throat. I wanted to believe that. I wanted to believe we could face everything together.
“So we stay together? Face whatever comes?”
“Unless you want to run.”
I shook my head.
“I’ve never run from anything in my life.”
Fernando smiled, and before I could say anything else, his lips found mine. The kiss was different from all the others. No urgency, no desperation. Just the perfect fit of two hearts finally where they belonged.
The future was still uncertain. But for the first time, that didn’t frighten me as much.
Fernando kissed me as if the world outside didn’t exist, as if nothing beyond that moment mattered.
His lips were firm against mine, the kiss intense and charged, his tongue tangling with mine with an urgency that made me tremble.
His hands gripped my face, thumbs tracing my skin, but there was care in his touch, a tenderness that wrapped around me, made me feel desired, loved like never before.
When our lips parted, he pressed his forehead to mine, his breath warm against my skin, his eyes closed for a moment. The silence between us was heavy, full of everything that didn’t need to be said, but that I felt pulsing in my chest.
“I need you, Glória,” he murmured, his voice hoarse, almost breaking with emotion, his dark eyes finding mine as if I were the only thing keeping him whole.
“You have me,” I whispered back, my voice steady, filled with a certainty I didn’t even know I had until that moment.
Those words were all it took. In one swift movement, Fernando lifted me into his arms, carrying me effortlessly down the hallway to the bedroom.
My heart pounded wildly, not just from the desire burning inside me, but from the intensity of what we were about to share—something greater, something that went beyond the physical.
He laid me on the bed gently, hovering over me, his dark eyes traveling over every detail of my face as if he wanted to etch it into his soul. “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever known,” he said, his fingers tracing along my jaw with a reverence that made me swallow hard.
“Strong, intelligent, stubborn… Mine,” he finished, his deep voice rumbling as he leaned in to kiss me again—deep and slow, like he wanted to consume me.
My hands found the hem of his shirt, pulling it up urgently, needing to feel his warm skin against mine.
He helped me, tugging it off in one fluid motion, and then his mouth was on mine again, the kiss deepening, his teeth grazing my lip as I moaned softly against him.
I shed my dress just as fast, and when he pulled me to him, the heat of our bodies pressed together drew a trembling sigh from me.
He traced a path of kisses down my neck, his warm, soft lips leaving trails of fire, sucking lightly on the sensitive skin as I arched against him, my hands roaming his back, feeling his tense muscles flex beneath my fingers.
“I love you, Glória,” he murmured against my skin, his voice low and thick, and I smiled, my heart light for the first time, peace replacing the fear those words had once brought me.
He looked into my eyes, cupping my face for a moment, and then he thrust into me—strong and deliberate—his thick cock filling me completely, drawing a loud moan from me that he swallowed with another kiss, deep and passionate.
“You’re everything to me,” he growled, beginning to move, the rhythm firm and powerful, each thrust pulling me deeper into that flood of sensation.
I gripped his shoulders, my nails digging into his flesh as he fucked me hard but with love, his hips slamming into mine with a sound that filled the room, the bed creaking beneath us.
“Fernando,” I moaned, his name a hoarse whisper on my lips, and he responded by speeding up, his body pressed to mine, our sweat mingling as he kissed me again, his tongue dancing with mine in a rhythm that was pure surrender.
The pleasure rose fast, hot and overwhelming, and when he slid a hand between us, his fingers finding my clit and pressing firmly, I exploded.
The orgasm tore through me, making me arch against him, my muscles clenching around his cock as I came, trembling all over, his name caught in my throat in a muffled cry.
He came right after, his body tense against mine, his heat filling me as he groaned my name, his lips pressed to mine in a kiss that sealed everything we felt.
When it was over, he pulled me into his arms, holding me tight, as if he wanted to protect me from the world. Both of us panting, our bodies still flushed from the heat of the moment, he traced my skin with his fingers, his eyes fixed on mine.
“No matter what happens tomorrow,” he whispered, his voice soft now, full of promise, “I’ll never leave you alone.”
And there, nestled against his chest, I knew this was love—strong, intense, real.
Sunlight crept shyly through the gaps in the curtains when I opened my eyes. It took me a few seconds to get my bearings, to understand why my body felt so relaxed, so satisfied, so… at peace. And then I felt it.
His warmth.
Fernando was still sleeping beside me, his arm heavy over my waist, as if even unconsciously he wanted to keep me there. His face was serene, free from the weight of political worries, strategies, power struggles. Just a man sleeping beside the woman he loves.
My chest filled with a feeling so strong it almost hurt. We had never woken up like this before. There was always the weight of reality pushing us back to our separate lives. But this time, no one fled. No one dressed hurriedly to avoid a moment of vulnerability.
I caressed his face slowly, feeling the roughness of his growing beard. It was beautiful to see him like this, with his guard down.
Fernando stirred slowly, breathing deeply before opening his eyes. When he saw me, a lazy smile spread across his lips.
“So I didn’t dream it…” His voice, hoarse with sleep, made my heart race.
I smiled back, sliding my fingers through the dark strands of his hair. “No. We’re here.”
He pulled me closer, pressing me against his warm body. His scent, woody and masculine, was the most addictive thing in the world.
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well,” he murmured against my hair.
“Me neither,” I confessed.
We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s warmth, no words needed. Outside, the world still awaited us, with its judgments, challenges, and consequences. But there, in that bed, at the dawn of our first day truly together, nothing else mattered but the two of us.