The kiss deepened, soft and gentle kisses, exploring each other's taste to something far more demanding.
Reia pressed herself against him, her thighs gripping his hips as she straddled him, desperate to close every inch of space between them.
She wanted to be consumed; she wanted the sensation to be loud enough to drown out the constant, nagging exhaustion in her bones.
But Soren didn't move with the frantic urgency she expected.
His hands, warm and calloused, slid beneath the hem of her tunic, dragging slowly up the sensitive skin of her ribs.
He was teasing her, making her feel every light caress than carried it's own weight and lit a small fire in her abdomen each time.
The touch sent electricity racing through her, making her gasp against his lips.
"Slow down, Reia," he murmured against her mouth, his breath hot. "There's no rush."
"I don't want to slow down," she whispered hoarsely, though her body betrayed her by melting into his touch.
"I want to forget."
"Then let me help you forget."
With careful fingers, he worked the nots of her tunic. Each one undone felt like another layer of her responsibility falling away.
When the fabric finally parted, exposing the swell of her breasts to the cool air of the room, she instinctively tried to cover herself.
Soren immediately caught her wrists, not roughly, but with a gentle firmness that anchored her.
He kissed the hollow of her throat, then traced the curve of her collarbone, his eyes never leaving hers.
He wasn't looking at her like prey, he was looking at her like something precious.
It frustrated her, this kindness and the way he looked at her gently, because it made the stakes feel higher than they should be.
She reached for him next, her fingers fumbling with the fastenings of his trousers.
She wanted him bare, where she wasn't the only one in a state of undress.
When his clothes finally fell away, revealing the lean muscle of his chest and shoulders, Reia felt a pang of something dangerously close to awe.
He was beautiful in a way that felt almost unfair, his skin a flushed pale and his body unmarked with any scars against her expectations.
As she peeled away her own remaining garments, she felt exposed.
The pale moonlight filtering through the window seemed to highlight every insecurity she carried.
But when Soren pulled her back down onto the pillows, his skin hot against hers, the vulnerability transformed into something else.
His hands wandered with deliberate intent, exploring every curve of her hips, the dip of her waist, the fullness of her breasts.
He paid attention to every hitch in her breath, every involuntary shiver.
When his mouth found one particularly sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, she arched beneath him, a broken sound escaping her throat.
"Soren..." she breathed, her fingers digging into the muscles of his back.
"I've got you," he whispered, his voice a low rumble that she felt in her own chest. "Just feel this. Nothing else matters."
For the first time in years, Reia stopped trying to manage the moment. She stopped trying to plan how she would feel tomorrow.
She simply let herself feel the slide of his tongue, the pressure of his palms, and the terrifyingly sweet realization that he was trying to see her in a way that felt personal.
The tension between them had escalated and her hands roamed without consent.
When Soren moved between her thighs, his weight pressing her down into the mattress, she met him halfway, her legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer.
Soren took his cock that was already rock hard and gently rubbed it over her wet pussy, coating his length in her leaking fluids.
"Mm...put it in," she groaned into his neck, sucking and kissing on his skin. He nodded and his hips pushed forward slowly.
The first penetration was slow, deliberate, and devastatingly full.
Reia gasped, her head falling back as her body stretched to accommodate him.
It wasn't the quick, jarring intrusion she was used to the kind that made her count the seconds until it was over.
Soren waited, letting her adjust to him. he kissed, lick and sucked on her lips and her nipples, making her gaze hazy.
His arms braced on either side of her head, his muscles corded and tense as he held himself, waiting until she gave him a small nod before moving his hips slowly then picking up pace.
"Don't stop," she choked out, her hips rising instinctively to meet his thrusts. "Just... don't stop."
He obeyed.
The rhythm he found was perfect steady, deep, and maddeningly thorough.
Each stroke felt like it was reaching deeper than the last, dismantling her defences piece by piece.
"Fuck...why does...mm this is so good..." Reia couldn't stop her sounds, having to resort to kissing him to shut herself up, something Soren welcomed.
The sound of skin slapping on skin echoed with broken moans and kisses, drowning out the sounds of creaking floors.
Reia found herself lost in the sensation, her hands roaming over the hard planes of his back, her nails leaving faint crescents in his skin as the pleasure built.
She got closer and closer to an orgasm, the pleasure making her mouth loll open. "I'm close...I'm so close"
As the climax approached, she felt the familiar panic of wanting it to last, of fearing the inevitable hollow emptiness that followed.
But then she remembered her promise to herself this was supposed to be simple.
"Soren," she panted, her voice breaking as her climax began to roll through her in waves. "Don't... don't finish inside me. Please."
She could already feel hi scock pulsing with her spasms, he was getting close from how his hips bucked with each thrust.
It wasn't a request born of disgust, but of self preservation, she couldn't and wouldn't afford to feel anything more than this physical release.
Soren's jaw clenched, his own breath coming in harsh, ragged bursts.
"I understand," he grunted, his movements becoming more urgent as he fought his own control.
He pushed deeper, one final, powerful thrust before pulling away at the last possible second to finish beside her.
"Hnnnmmm..."
Reia let out a long soundless scream as her legs trembled, her pussy leaking out constantly as she came.
She felt his cum spilling on her but all she could see was white.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Reia lay panting, her skin slick with sweat and cum, feeling the aftershocks of pleasure slowly fading.
A wave of immediate regret washed over her. She felt exposed and suddenly raw. That was too good, she thought bitterly. Now I'm going to regret this tomorrow because I'll be craving him.
She turned her head to the side, staring at the wall, waiting for the familiar ritual to end, him rolling away, the cold space between them opening up, and the quiet exit of a man who had gotten what he wanted.
But the cold space never came.
Instead, she felt the bed shift.
A hand warm, gentle, and impossibly steady stroked through her damp hair. Her eyes flickered open, expecting to see him already disengaged, but her breath caught in her throat.
Soren was still there, still hard, propped up on one elbow, watching her with an expression that wasn't satisfaction, but something approaching concern.
And then she realized he wasn't done.
Even after the intensity of that first round, even after his restraint, he was still hard beneath her.
The realization sent a shock through her system. Her mind flashed involuntarily to her past experiences the two men who had treated her body like a conquest to be finished quickly.
They had been done within minutes, leaving her feeling hollow and used, their satisfaction their only concern.
Soren was different. not only was he present, making her feel pleasure she didn't think was real, even when his body still humming with desire, his eyes remained fixed on her, waiting.
He wasn't rushing to the next thing; he was waiting to see if she was okay.
"You still with me?" he asked quietly, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.
Reia stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs for an entirely new reason.
"I'm still here," she whispered, her voice steadier than she felt. "Don't be gentle this time..."