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“That’s it, baby,” I whisper. “You’re doing so good. Just feel it. Let me take care of you.”

She moans—soft and high and helpless. Her entire body tenses again, legs shaking, chest rising fast.

“Eddie—oh, God—”

“I’ve got you,” I say again, brushing a kiss against her ribs, watching her fall apart.

She comes undone with a breathless cry, back arching, thighs clamping around my hand as her climax rolls through her—slower, deeper this time. Less fire, more flood. Her body quivers beneath my touch, her face flushed and wet with sweat, her chest heaving with the effort of feeling so much.

I slow my movements, easing her down gently, until she collapses back into the mattress, boneless and breathless and glowing.

She blinks up at me, dazed. “You… are ridiculous.”

I chuckle low, wiping her gently with the cloth again, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of her thigh. “You’re welcome.”

I stroke her delicate skin, marveling that this woman is mine and knowing in my heart there will never be another woman like her for me.

Once I’m done, I toss the cloth aside and slide back into bed, pulling her against me, her cheek resting on my chest, her legs tangled with mine.

I wrap both arms around her like I’m afraid she might slip through my fingers if I don’t hold tight enough.

But she doesn’t move. She just sighs softly and melts into me like she belongs here.

And she does.

God help me… I’m so in love with her.

She’s curled into me, her skin still damp and glowing, her breath warm against my chest. I run my fingers slowly up and down her spine, just to keep her tethered to the moment, to me. Her body feels boneless, spent in the most beautiful way, and I can still feel the aftershocks of her last release in the way she shudders every time my fingertips brush a sensitive spot.

She’s quiet now. Not because there’s nothing to say but because there’s nothing else that needs to be said.

I press a slow kiss on her forehead, then her temple, then the crown of her hair.

She lets out a tiny sigh and murmurs something incoherent into my skin. I smile, adjusting the covers around us, tucking her even closer.

Outside, the world hums quietly beneath the weight of the late hour, but in here? It’s just us. Her heartbeat against mine. My arms around her like I never want to let go.

Because I don’t.

Sleep comes slowly—like warmth spreading through my limbs—but just before it pulls me under, I whisper the words I still can’t say out loud:

Stay with me. Love me.

And maybe she does, maybe if I’m lucky she will.

24.Laney

The scentof coffee and cinnamon fills the air, curling around the quiet morning like a warm blanket. I’m perched cross-legged on one of the barstools at Eddie’s kitchen island, wearing his hoodie and a pair of leggings, lazily picking at a piece of buttery toast while he leans over the stove, flipping scrambled eggs like a domestic god who just so happens to have abs and a jawline that should be illegal.

We haven’t said much yet. Just exchanged soft, sleepy smiles and brushes of fingers as he passed the butter or refilled my mug. It’s peaceful. Familiar. Like we’ve lived in this little rhythm for years instead of weeks.

And maybe that’s what makes the ache in my chest so stubborn.

Only a few more days.

He leaves in three. Six months of shows, planes, cities I can’t pronounce, fans screaming his name. And me, back in real life. Alone in this big house without him. Without him in my bed. Without his stupid mug that says ‘#1 Sound Check Survivor’ or his warm laugh curling through the kitchen like sunlight.

I try not to let it show on my face.