Chapter 34
POV: Dane?
Two days later…
It was hard not to fixate on anything else but her, even when scientific research awaited.
Gabrielle insisted on coming with me—to watch me in my lab.
And not once did I feel her gaze waver. It was stuck to me like glue.
“You haven’t blinked once,” I teased, a smile finding its way to my lips as I looked up at her.
My gaze traced over her, slowly, inspecting her face first then dropping lower to his lips then to her figure.
It’s a miracle I’ve even been able to concentrate this far—especially with her wearing what she had.
My t-shirt fits on her more like a short dress than really a t-shirt at all and every once in a while she’d tip-toe on her heels to inspect something that was high on a shelf and I’d get a peek at the curve of her ass.
Steps sounded from behind me and I smirked, knowing she was near.
She placed her hands on my shoulders then laced her arms around my neckline and leaned in to whisper into my ear, “I think that if I did I would miss something. Your mind always turns…”
I turned towards her, my lips inches away from hers, so close that the heat between us wavered. “Because it’s always thinking about you.”
She blushed, unlacing her hands from my neck and taking a small step backwards.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. But the silence felt comfortable.
She stared down at her hands, looking for answers in the veins on the back of her palm then said, “Is that because you actually care about me or because I’m just your latest victim?”
Confusion washed over my face, as I got to my feet and started towards her, each step heavy from the weight of her words.
She didn’t pull away this time. She stayed—close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath between us—waiting, as if the space itself belonged to me. Slowly, I lifted my hand to her face. My thumb brushed along the curve of her cheek.
At the touch, her lashes trembled and her eyes slipped shut, a quiet sigh leaving her lips as she leaned into me.
She softened beneath my hand, trusting, yielding—not out of weakness but because she wanted to be exactly where she was.
“You don’t believe that, Belle, not really. I know that, and you know that,” I said softly, continuing my thumb along her cheek, trailing further down her face, along the edge of her jawline. “But I understand why you worry.”
She blinked her eyes open suddenly, searching my gaze for truth. “I—I just…”
I chuckled, not because something was funny but because I knew what she was going to say before she even said it. “You’re confused. You’re worried. You’re…scared. But so am I. Do you think I’m not?”
“No,” she said simply. “This is what you wanted. This is what you planned.”
“True,” I said, as my thumb trailed down her neckline, feeling for her pulse. “This is what I planned. This is what I wanted. And you’re what I needed. You’re the only thing I’ll ever need, Belle. And I think you feel the same.”
Her eyes went wide, endless pools of blue, wide and gaping.
She didn’t say anything but God, I wished that she would have.
But I didn’t let the silence unsettle me. I was used to the silence. I was used to the way that it made me feel. But it felt less empty with her by my side.
“But this isn’t what I planned,” I told her quietly.
Her eyes flashed with confusion, a sudden flicker of uncertainty breaking through the calm.
“I didn’t plan to feel so….so fucking enamored with you. I didn’t plan to think of you as soon as I woke up in the morning, or be calmed by your touch, or be selfish enough to think of…” I pulled away from her gaze for a moment.
“To what?” she asked quickly.
My jaw ticked. “To think of taking away your choice.”
Her mouth fell open, but she didn’t look away.
“I’ve thought about keeping you here—even against your will for the last few weeks, Belle.” My hand found its way to her wrist now, gripping it.
I expected her to try to run—to argue with me—even to hit me.
Instead she tip-toed up and pressed her lips into mine, surprising me.
And in a fit of passion—I began to lose all rational thought as my tongue slipped inside of her mouth and the two of us came undone.
I lifted her shirt above her head, exposing her bra and underwear, and she helped me with my sweatpants, tugging them down, then lifting my shirt above my head, leaving me in only my boxers.
Within a moment, I had pressed her against my work station, pushing aside empty vials, and paperwork, then turning her around, bending her waist, and tugging down her underwear, pushing her aside and plowing into her.
The first thrust made me lose all self control. The second thrust hit me with a sharp clarity—I couldn’t deny it anymore, that my desire was all consuming and I wasn’t willing to hold back. Not anymore. The third thrust, caused a moan to spill from her mouth that nearly made me cum.
I stilled myself inside of her and pressed a deep kiss into the crook of her neck and shoulder and whispered into her skin, “I don’t think I can live without you, Belle.”
She moaned again, this time whispering something to herself, “I hate that I need you.” It came out in almost a cry.
I groaned, feeling my release almost near and thrusting again. “And I love that I need you, baby.”
She whimpered, this time softer. “I—I..” her words failed as another moan echoed from her mouth.
“Tell me, baby,” I whispered, pushing inside of her again, and reaching my thumb around to work her clit as I drove inside of her again. “Tell me.”
The words left her mouth in a rush. “I love you, Dane.”
I quickened my pace inside of her, thrusting, bringing my release forward with each movement while I worked her clit at the same time, bringing her toward her deliverance.
“I love you, my sweet, Belle.” I pushed into her one last time, spilling my cum inside of her, as she spilled her release around me.
“And I’ll never stop.” I stroked her hair as I slumped my chest lazily against her back.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Belle. I swear it. “You and I are made of the same fire, and that fire—it will burn between us, forever, baby.”
I knew I couldn’t deny her the freedom to choose.
But a part of me was terrified that she might pick the other path—walking away, leaving me behind, erasing us and everything we’d shared.
She would forget.
But I would never.