Chapter 5 – A Solitary Bridge Crossed

The drive to his estate was a blurred fever dream of city lights and the heavy, electric silence that followed an admission of desire. The air inside the car was thick and hungry, vibrating with the weight of everything we had just done—and everything we were about to do.

Uriel kept one hand on the wheel, but his other found mine. He entwined our fingers, his grip firm as if he wanted to keep us tethered to the earth. Without taking his eyes off the road, he brought my hand to his lips. He kissed my knuckles one by one, his breath warm against my skin, before resting our joined hands on his thigh. The simple, possessive intimacy of the gesture made my heart swell until it ached.

In that quiet, shared space, I felt more cherished than ever before. I could hardly believe the campus’s most elusive bachelor—the one everyone admired from afar—was here, beside me, mine alone.

The long, winding driveway was shrouded by dense greenery, shielding the house from view and lending an air of guarded secrecy to the entire grounds. As the truck stilled, an estate rose before me that seemed carved from the man himself: majestic, untouchable, and breathtakingly aloof.

Uriel didn’t wait for the engine to cool. In one fluid movement, he was out and around the side of the truck. He wrenched my door open, but he didn't let me step down. Instead, he reached in and lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing at all, cradling me against the solid warmth of his chest. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the intoxicating scent of expensive cologne, cool night air, and deep, masculine heat.

"I've got you, Mehanda," he whispered, the vibration of his voice thrumming through my entire body. "I've finally got you."

The moment we crossed the threshold of his foyer, the heavy oak door clicked shut, sealing us away from the world. He didn't even make it to the bedroom. He pressed me against the cool marble of the wall, his mouth finding mine with a renewed, desperate hunger.

"Mehanda," he groaned against my lips, the name sounding like a prayer. "I've walked these halls alone for so long, picturing you here. Thinking I was half-mad for wanting someone who I thought I'd have to wait for, for eternity. But at last, you’re here—where you belong."

His words felt like a soft rain on a parched heart, washing away the doubt that had lived there for so long. For years, I had convinced myself that my love for him was a solitary bridge leading nowhere, a one-way stream I followed in quiet, aching hope. But as he spoke, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Every confession fell from his lips like a rhythmic promise, revealing that while I had been watching him, he had been keeping time with the very same heartbeat. It wasn't just a coincidence; it was a shared longing. It felt almost too radiant to be real, a dream I was terrified to wake from. But as his gaze met mine, the truth finally anchored itself in my soul: the man I loved was truly, irrevocably mine.

"I'm yours if you want me, Uriel. I always thought this would remain a dream—touching you, having you," I whispered, my hands sliding under the silk of his shirt to find the sculpted heat of his back.

He let out a sharp, jagged breath and carried me up the sweeping staircase. When he lay me down on the vast, charcoal-colored sheets of his bed, the moonlight spilled across the floor, illuminating the sheer intensity in his eyes. He stood over me for a second, his fingers trembling as he unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the powerful, lean muscle of his chest.

"I want to see all of you," he rasped, his voice dropping an octave. "I want to know every inch of the woman who's been haunting my nights."

I watched, mesmerized, as he shed the rest of his clothes. He was perfect, a masterpiece of strength and grace. When he finally joined me on the bed, pulling me into the center of his world, the heat was overwhelming. His touch was different now—slower, more deliberate—as if he were savoring a victory he had waited a lifetime to claim. He kissed my eyelids, my jawline, and then the hollow of my throat, his hands tracing the curve of my hips with a reverence that brought tears to my eyes. This wasn't just a conquest; it was a surrender.

"Love, this is my first time. I waited for you... I didn’t want to stain myself with casual sex," he murmured, pulling back just enough to look me in the eye. “I want to be yours and yours alone. After today, I’ll never let you go. I’ll keep you to myself.”

I was shocked. With all those women swarming around him, flirting and seducing, I had always assumed he enjoyed what was so generously gifted to him. But reality showed a different man.

"Same with me, Uriel," I confessed, my voice small. “You are my first and last. Goodness, I could never imagine this would ever be real.”

Uriel leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. "It's real. I'm yours, Mehanda. In every way a man can belong to a woman, I am yours."

What followed surpassed even the most vivid architecture of my dreams. As we lay there, the sight of his raw, masculine power stole my breath, stirring a flicker of trepidation that mirrored my awe. But Uriel, sensing the shift in my pulse, leaned down and chased my fears away with a kiss that tasted of devotion.

“It’s going to be all right,” he whispered against my lips, his voice a low, soothing vibration. “Maybe this first time will be a bit clumsy for us, but I promise it will only get better. I wasn't prepared for this today, I never thought we would reach this height so soon, not with your eighteenth birthday still months away. Please, my love, just stay with me.”

I trusted him with a soul-deep certainty. Driven by an ancient instinct, I let my hands wander, exploring the landscape of his body, the marble-hard planes of his abs and the corded strength of his arms. My lips went their own way, drifting across his skin as I surrendered to the explosive fire he was igniting in me. When the tension became a physical weight I could no longer carry, I arched my hips toward him, an unspoken plea for completion. He took hold of me, his touch firm yet reverent, and I felt the heat of him poised at my entrance.

I could hear his heart hammering like a war drum against his ribs as he slowly, agonizingly, began to slide into me. When he met the resistance of my innocence, he held his breath, his eyes locking onto mine with a depth of emotion that was almost overwhelming. Then, with one fluid, powerful motion, he thrust home. A sharp cry escaped me—a shock of pain that felt far more intense than any story I had ever heard.

“Please, love, just relax,” Uriel’s voice reached me through the haze, tender and grounding. “It will get better, I promise.”

I focused on him, obediently trying to soften beneath his weight. As he began to move, withdrawing only to sink back into me, I gripped his shoulders, my nails leaving crescent marks in his skin. Suddenly, a low, animalistic growl vibrated through his chest. He buried his face in the curve of my neck, and for a fleeting second, I felt a sharp, electric sting against my skin—a mark of his passion.

As his rhythm established itself, the friction transformed into a searing heat that made my head spin. The pain retreated, replaced by a blossoming pleasure so intense I forgot everything but the man above me. Within moments, I was no longer a passive observer; I was an eager participant in something heavenly, something breathtaking.

“Uriel… Uriel,” I stammered, my voice breaking as I lifted my hips to meet every deep, soul-stirring stroke. It felt as though an invisible cord was being woven around us, binding us together until we were no longer two separate beings, but one.

When the first wave of release finally shattered through me, I lost all control.

“Ahh, baby… I love you… take all of me,” he groaned, his voice thick with a desperate kind of worship. “This is… incredible.”

He carried me through two more heights of ecstasy, his devotion never wavering even as his own restraint began to fracture. His pace quickened, his breathing turning into ragged gasps. He shifted, pulling me closer and rising over me, his eyes momentarily flashing with a strange, primal light before he cast his head back and let out a guttural, throaty groan.

He buried himself within me to the very base, as if anchoring his soul to mine forever. In that final, shattering moment of surrender, I let myself go completely, basking in the overwhelming sweetness of his love.

Nothing in the world felt better than giving every part of myself to the man who held my heart.