Page 41 of My Playboy Neighbor

When her orgasm crashed through her, it was with an intensity that left her sobbing.She felt him follow immediately after, saw his own release triggered by the sight of her falling apart beneath him, completely his.

Afterward, she collapsed against his chest.His arms wrapped around her immediately, holding her close as they came down from the peak together.

"Thank you," he said softly, his arms tightening around her as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"For what?"

"For seeing something in me worth saving.For fighting for us even when I was too scared to fight for myself."He pressed a kiss to the top of her head."For trusting me with your heart even after I broke it."

She lifted her head to look at him, seeing the man she'd fallen for beneath all the armor and artifice."I love all of you.Your strength, your protectiveness, even your flaws—especially your flaws, because they make you real."

"Elena told me once that love was just a pretty word for possession.That men like me only knew how to take, never how to give."

"Elena was wrong about a lot of things," she said firmly."You don't possess me—you cherish me.There's a difference."

He was quiet for a long moment, his thumb tracing patterns on her bare shoulder."I spent so many years building walls, convincing myself they were protecting me.But all they did was keep me isolated, alone."

"And now?"

"Now I know the difference between being strong and being scared,” he said."Being strong means choosing to love you even when it terrifies me.Being scared was hiding behind those walls and calling it self-preservation."

Her heart swelled at the quiet revelation in his words."What happens now?"

He shifted, rolling them so she was beneath him, his weight settling over her like a protective shield.Even in the aftermath of their lovemaking, his need to shelter and claim her was instinctive.

"Now I prove to you every day that you made the right choice," he said, his voice carrying that edge of dominance that made her pulse quicken."I'm going to love you, protect you, worship you until you never doubt your place in my life again."

"And what place is that?"she asked softly.

His smile was slow, possessive, completely male."Right here.In my arms, in my bed, in my heart.Forever, if you'll have me."

"Forever sounds perfect," she whispered.

He kissed her then, deep and claiming, a promise sealed with passion.When they broke apart, gasping for air.

"I have one condition," he said, his forehead resting against hers.

"What's that?"

"I want to wake up with you in my arms every morning, want to be the last thing you see every night.I'm done pretending I can be without you."

She smiled, her heart full to bursting."I like the sound of that."

"Good," he said, settling beside her and pulling her against his chest with possessive satisfaction."Because I'm never letting you go again."

Maya had spent her career capturing truth through her lens, but lying here with him, she realized that some truths were meant to be lived, not just documented.Some love stories were worth fighting for, no matter how scared you were of getting hurt.And some alpha males, once they decided to love, would move heaven and earth to protect that love.

---