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“I love you,” he told her when they broke apart, not granting themselves the misfortune of having too much distance between them. “I love you so much, Anna. And I look forward to living out my days here, with you.”

Anna’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, pulling him closer, whispering against his lips.

“I love you, too, Julian. Thank you for agreeing to stay with me.”

“I would give my life for you if you’d ask.”

“I don’t need that,” Anna giggled, and Julian’s heart clenched tightly at how precious she was. “I just need you, here. Like this.”

She kissed him again, her fingers clutching at the tufts of hair at the base of his neck. Julian moaned and pressed forward, desiring to be even closer to her, needing more of her warmth and her mesmerizing touch.

He felt…utterly foolish for believing he could live without her, after everything. How would his days have looked without her smile? How would his skin have felt without her touch? How long would it have taken for him to spiral and lose his mind without her?

It was a wholly idiotic idea to assume he would have survived this distance between them when he couldn’t even bear to keep his hands off of her in that moment.

Slowly, Julian rose to his feet, bringing her up with him as they panted for breath, only to capture her lips once more, his hands caressing the curves of her body through her thin nightdress.

Anna clung to him tightly, as though she feared he might go back on his word and leave her, the thought making his heart tremble.

In a single motion, he lifted her into his arms, smiling at the squeal that left her lips.

“My love, I meant what I said about giving you a child. And I will be here to raise them with you, every step of the way. In fact, I believe it is in our best interest to work towards this goal.” He told her seriously as he turned around and began to walk in the direction of the door.

“W-Where are we going?” she asked, cling to him with a smile.

“To my chambers, my sweet. I will give you as many children as you desire, right now.” He promised.

Anna’s laugh, along with the weight of her arm around his neck, brought peace to his heart in a gentle trickle, and not for the first time, Julian thanked his stars that he had his wife with him.

He kissed her the moment the door slammed behind them, urgency filling his blood as he recalled how he had nearly given her up.

As his hands slid over the soft, sheer material of her night gown, he couldn’t help but feel utterly stupid over the decision he had nearly made.

‘I had nearly given up on this beautiful creature,’ he mused to himself, guiding her backwards toward the bed. ‘I had nearly ruined my life with my own hands.’

But he hadn’t. Thankfully, Julian had managed to realize what the most important thing to him was and now that he was fully aware, he would never let her go.

A single light push had sent Anna sprawled onto the bed, skin flushed, hair mused, lips swollen from their kiss. A meal that had his name written over it.

Without a second thought, he lowered himself to his knees before the bed, pulling her closer to the edge by her hips before he pushed up her night gown. The sight he was met with caused him to salivate and he wasted no time leaning forward to lap at her wetness, moaning at the proof of her arousal.

Anna’s hand came down onto his head and she tugged at his hair as his tongue pushed past her folds, and the sharp pain only increased his excitement. Julian increased his efforts, mouthing, licking and sucking at her like a man starved, unable to deny how sweet she was.

His wife continued to thrash around, helpless sounds falling from her lips as his tongue worked its way in and out of her, unable to control herself when she climaxed, trying to clench her legs shut around Julian’s head.

“S-Sorry –” she had tried to apologize as he crawled up to her, immediately opening up to receive his kiss.

She didn’t flinch or pull away at the taste of herself on his lips and tongue, letting him kiss her as deeply as he wanted and it only further nudged Julian towards the edge.

His member ached for her, his desire growing uncontrollable with every moment that passed and he was getting closer and closer to rutting against her like some sort of wild animal.

Anna seemed to sense his struggle and her hands dropped from where they had been teasing the groves of the hard muscles of his abdomen, sliding lower to the button of she breeches.

Julian did not notice what she was doing, lost in their kiss, and so when her hand stroked him, his body tensed and he groaned against her lips.

His wife’s eyes were blown wide, and she did it again, her ministrations a tad awkward but no less purposeful, watching as he shuddered and lost more of his control with each passing second.

“Anna,” he growled, his teeth grazing over her neck. “I want you. So much.”

Anna’s fingers tightened and he cursed under his breath, inhaling sharply as she whispered to him, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear.

“You can have me. I am yours, after all.”

That was all Julian needed to hear.

He pulled back, just enough to push Anna’s legs upward before he slowly inserted himself into her.

Anna gasped, her jaw dropping lower as he pressed into her wet heat, every inch of his manhood stealing a little more of the breath in her lungs.

When he was fully sheathed in her, she was panting, her hands clawing at the sheets as her eyes grew unfocused.

“Julian,” she cried. “Julian, please – I need you.”

“I’m here, darling,” he told her quietly, thrusting in an out slowly, pulling a moan out of the both of them. “I’m here. And I will never leave.”

Anna nodded and he took that as a sign to do what he needed to do, thrusting in and out of her again, this time moving even fast. Anna’s back arched off the bed suddenly and he knew he had struck a good spot, one of his hands making its way to her breast as the other remained at the back of her thigh, keeping her just right as he drilled into her.

She was making the loveliest noises, practically music to his ears as his pace grew faster and faster, sweat glistening on both their skin, mingling with their scents to make the atmosphere around them heavier.

Julian only knew their collective pleasure, driven to obtain it as though it was all that mattered.

He still couldn’t believe that Anna was all his, that the heavy flush from her cheeks to her chest would belong to him, that her sounds of want and need would only grace his ears and that she had chosen to spend the rest of her days with him.

“I love you,” he blurted out suddenly, breathless as he incessantly pressed in and out of her, their hips meeting with a sharp sound of flesh on flesh. “I love you Anna. And I always will.”

She looked as though she wanted to respond to him, but then he thrust in deeply, and she gasped, her body stiffening beneath his touch as she found her release. A few more thrusts did the trick for him and soon he was spilling into her, breathing deeply, his body deliciously weary.

Anna reached for him and he instinctively leaned into her touch, smiling when she caressed his cheeks with her thumbs, her eyes filled with joy as she stated softly,

“I love you, Julian. From now, until the end of our lives.”