LUCIEN’S POV

I froze.

Her words hung between us, soft and confused, cutting straight through the haze of pleasure still buzzing in my veins.

‘This is my first time having sex…but I thought… that was supposed to be left inside me.’

My eyes snapped to hers. Those gray eyes…wide, searching.. looked back at me like she genuinely didn’t understand.

Fuck.

For one heartbeat, I couldn’t speak. My chest tightened, guilt and protectiveness crashing over me all at once. She was right. I should’ve been inside her when I came. Filling her. Marking her in the deepest way possible. But I hadn’t—because I couldn’t risk it. Not yet.

I did the...