Ethan's POV
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Meera was asleep upstairs.
Curled in my bed.
Hair spread across my pillow.
Lips slightly parted.
Mine.
Finally mine.
I should have been sleeping.
Should have been holding her.
Should have been cherishing every moment.
But I couldn't.
Too much energy.
Too much wanting.
Too much love burning in my chest like a fire I couldn't put out.
So I came to the gym.
Basement level.
Mirrors on every wall.
Equipment gleaming in the low light.
My sanctuary when the world got too loud.
When thoughts got too heavy.
When I needed to burn instead of feel.
---
I stripped off my shirt.
Didn't need it.
Didn't want it.
Just me and the weights and the silence.
I started with deadlifts.
Heavy.
Brutal.
The kind of lifting that made muscles scream and thoughts quiet.
Bar after bar.
Rep after rep.
Set after set.
Letting the burn consume me.
Letting the physical drown out the emotional.
It worked.
For a while.
My mind emptied.
My body took over.
Nothing existed except the weight and the movement and the pain.
Then I felt her.
Before I saw her.
Before she made a sound.
I felt her.
---
She stood in the doorway.
Half hidden by shadows.
Watching me.
Those dark eyes on my body.
Moving over my skin like physical touch.
Like fire.
Like everything.
I kept lifting.
Didn't stop.
Didn't acknowledge.
Let her look.
Let her want.
Let her see exactly what she did to me.
The bar rose.
Fell.
Rose again.
My muscles flexed and strained.
Sweat dripped down my chest.
My back.
My face.
Breath heaved in controlled bursts.
And she watched.
Gawking.
Unable to look away.
Unable to hide what she felt.
---
I moved to the bench press.
Lay back on the padded surface.
Grabbed the bar.
Heavy weight today.
Two hundred and fifty pounds.
Hard reps.
Dangerous without a spotter.
I didn't care.
I needed this.
The bar came down to my chest.
Pushed up.
Down.
Up.
Each rep a battle.
Each rep a victory.
She moved closer.
Still watching.
Still silent.
I met her eyes in the mirror across the room.
Held them.
Didn't break.
Let her see the darkness there.
The want.
The need.
The love.
The absolute possession I felt for her.
She didn't look away.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't run.
My little star was learning to burn.
And God, she was beautiful when she burned.
---
I finished the set.
Reracked the bar.
Sat up.
Grabbed a towel from the bench.
Wiped my face.
My chest.
My arms.
She was still there.
Still watching.
Still wanting.
Eyes following every movement of the towel.
Every exposed inch of skin.
"Couldn't sleep?"
My voice was rough.
From exertion.
From her.
She shook her head.
Hair moving softly around her shoulders.
"Neither could I."
"You could have stayed in bed. Rested."
"Didn't want to rest. Wanted to see you."
Those words.
Simple.
Honest.
They undid something in me.
Something I didn't know was still tied together.
---
I stood.
Drank water from my bottle.
Let her watch.
Let her see the way my throat moved.
The way my body worked.
The way I existed for her.
She moved closer.
Into the room now.
Fully inside my space.
"The lights are low down here."
"I like it that way."
"Me too. Feels private. Like nowhere else exists."
"Nowhere does. Just us."
She smiled.
Small.
Shy.
Burning.
---
I moved to the floor.
Push-ups.
My favourite.
Simple.
Effective.
Brutal.
I dropped into position.
Hands beneath shoulders.
Body straight.
Core tight.
Started moving.
One.
Two.
Three.
She moved closer.
Watching from above.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Then she sat on my back.
Light.
Warm.
Perfect.
Her weight settled between my shoulder blades.
Her thighs on either side of my ribs.
Her hands resting lightly on my skin.
I kept going.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Push-up after push-up.
Her weight barely registered.
Just her presence.
Just her touch.
Just her.
---
"Ethan."
Her voice.
Soft.
Curious.
"Mm?"
"You're not going to say anything?"
"Doing something. Counting."
"Count out loud."
I almost smiled.
"Seventy-three. Seventy-four. Seventy-five."
She laughed.
Soft.
Frustrated.
Amused.
"You're impossible."
"Eighty-one. Eighty-two. Eighty-three."
"You could stop. Talk to me."
"Could. Won't."
"Why not?"
"Because this is what I need right now. Moving. Burning. Being strong for you."
She was quiet.
Thinking.
Then.
"You're always strong for me."
"Have to be."
"No. You don't. You can be weak with me. You can rest. You can let go."
I stopped.
Mid push-up.
Stayed there.
Her weight on my back.
Her words in my heart.
"I don't know how."
"Learn. With me. Like I'm learning with you."
---
I pushed up.
Completed the set.
One hundred exactly.
Then I rolled.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Bringing her with me.
She ended up straddling my stomach.
Looking down at me.
Hair falling around her face.
Eyes dark with something I couldn't name.
"That was impressive."
"That was torture."
She smiled.
Slow.
Devilish.
"Good."
I sat up.
She slid down.
Now straddling my lap.
Face to face.
Breath to breath.
Heart to heart.
"You're playing a dangerous game, little star."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Good."
---
She shifted.
Experimentally.
Rubbing against me.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
I groaned.
Hands going to her hips.
Holding her still.
"Meera."
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?"
"What I want. What I've wanted since I saw you in that shower. What I've wanted since you touched me in my sleep. What I've wanted since you crossed oceans for me."
"You're not ready."
"I am ready."
"You don't know what you're asking for."
"Then show me."
---
I should have been stronger.
Should have been responsible.
Should have protected her from herself.
But the look in her eyes.
The feel of her on my lap.
The heat of her through the thin fabric of her shorts.
I couldn't.
Didn't want to.
I kissed her.
Hard.
Deep.
Finally.
Her mouth opened under mine.
Sweet.
Warm.
Perfect.
Her hands came up.
Into my hair.
Pulling me closer.
Needing me deeper.
I stood.
Lifting her with me.
She wrapped her legs around my waist.
Arms around my neck.
Mouth still on mine.
I walked her to the wall.
Pinned her there.
My body against hers.
Her back against the cold mirror.
---
I pulled back.
Barely.
Breathing hard.
Looking at her.
At the girl who had changed everything.
At the woman she was becoming.
Her lips were swollen.
Her eyes were glazed.
Her chest was heaving.
Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
"Ethan."
"Meera."
"I need you."
"I need you too."
"Then stop thinking. Stop protecting. Stop waiting. Take me."
"I can't. Not here. Not like this."
"Where then?"
"Bed. Tonight. Slow. Perfect."
She shook her head.
"No. Now. Here. I don't want slow. I don't want perfect. I want you. All of you. The monster and the man. The gentle and the rough. I want everything."
---
Her words broke something in me.
Something I had been holding together for months.
Something I didn't know was still intact.
I kissed her again.
Harder.
Deeper.
More desperate.
My hands moved.
Under her shirt.
Over her stomach.
Up to her ribs.
Her skin was fire.
Burning.
Needing.
She arched into me.
Moaned against my mouth.
Pulled at my hair.
"You feel that?" I whispered against her lips. "You feel what you do to me?"
"Yes."
"That's just the beginning. That's just clothes. That's just kissing. Imagine what it will be like when there's nothing between us."
"I want that. Now."
"Soon. But not yet."
"Why?"
"Because when I take you, when I finally have you completely, I want it to be perfect. I want you to remember every second. I want it to be in a bed, with candles, with time, with everything you deserve."
---
She looked at me.
Long.
Searching.
Then slowly.
She unwrapped her legs.
Slid down my body.
Stood on her own feet.
Looked up at me.
"Tonight?"
"Tonight."
"Promise?"
"I promise. I'll love you the way you deserve. Slow and sweet and forever."
She smiled.
Real smile.
Trusting smile.
Then she stepped back.
Took off her shirt.
Let it fall to the floor.
Standing there in just her shorts and her bra.
Simple.
Cotton.
White.
Perfect.
"I want you to look at me."
"I am looking."
"No. Really look. Like you look at yourself in these mirrors. Like I'm worth seeing."
"You're worth everything."
---
She reached behind her.
Unhooked her bra.
Let it fall.
I stopped breathing.
She stood there.
Bare.
Beautiful.
Mine.
Her skin glowed in the low light.
Her curves were perfect.
Her eyes never left mine.
"Now you."
I didn't move.
Couldn't.
"Ethan. Now you."
My hands went to my shorts.
Pushed them down.
Stood before her.
Just as bare.
Just as vulnerable.
Just as hers.
She looked at me.
All of me.
The way I had looked at her.
Her eyes moved down.
Then up.
Then back to my face.
"You're beautiful too."
I laughed.
Quiet.
Shocked.
"No one's ever called me that."
"Then no one was looking properly."
---
We stood there.
Naked.
Vulnerable.
Together.
Nothing between us.
Nothing hiding.
Nothing pretending.
"You see?" she whispered. "This is what I want. Not just your body. Not just pleasure. This. Us. Real."
"I see."
"Do you still want to wait?"
I thought about it.
About what was right.
About what was responsible.
About what she deserved.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because waiting means choosing. Rushing means reacting. I want you to choose me with your whole heart, not just your body. And I think—I think you're almost there. But not quite."
She nodded.
Slow.
Understanding.
"You're right."
"I know."
"I hate that you're right."
"I know that too."
---
She picked up her bra.
Her shirt.
Started dressing.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Giving me time to watch.
To memorize.
To want.
I did the same.
Pulling on my shorts.
Watching her.
Loving her.
She finished.
Walked to me.
Stood on her toes.
Kissed me softly.
"Tonight then."
"Tonight."
She turned.
Walked to the door.
Paused.
Looked back.
"I love you, Ethan."
"I love you too, little star. Forever."
She left.
I stood there.
Heart racing.
Body aching.
Soul full.
Tonight.
Finally.
She would be mine.
Completely.
Willingly.
Forever.
And I would spend the rest of my life making sure she never regretted it.
I would be gentle.
I would be patient.
I would be everything she needed.
Because she was everything I needed.
My little star.
My heart.
My home.
And tonight, finally, she would know just how much I loved her.