Chapter 157

• Harper's POV
• I feel his hands slide beneath my thighs again. With a quiet, steady strength, he lifts me just enough to shift me back a step. Then he lowers himself between my legs without hesitation, without explanation. His lips press a kiss against the inside of my knee, then the curve of my thigh. His fingers stroke over my hips, grounding, soothing, and then his mouth finds me.
• The first pass of his tongue is featherlight, almost like he’s testing my tension, checking how close I am to spiraling out. Then he licks deeper, slower, building pressure gradually as he strokes his hands along the tops of my thighs. The tension that had gripped my core a moment ago starts to loosen. My body doesn’t feel tight anymore. It feels open. Safe.