Zachary saw how flushed Sophia''s face was and immediately frowned. His first thought was that she might be sick.
He tapped a few keys on his keyboard and told his team to hold for a moment. He then got up and walked over to her. "What''s wrong? Your face is burning up."
As he spoke, he reached out and touched her forehead before he instantly stiffened. Her skin was burning hot. "Sophia, are you running a fever?"
He turned to grab a thermometer, but she quickly reached out and grabbed his shirt.
"I''m not." Her voice trembled slightly. "Zachary, I''m not running a fever, and I''m not sick either."
"Then, why are you so warm? And your face is bright red." His eyes filled with concern. He cupped her cheeks and found that they were even hotter than her forehead was.
"Sophia, if you''re feeling unwell, you have to tell me right away."
"I''m fine." She bit her lower lip, then stood up and took off her headphones, tossing them onto the table. She suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Zachary... do you... really like me?"
Her voice was soft, almost uncertain. It was like she was embarrassed to even say the words.
Zachary froze for a moment, then ced hisrge hand on her waist. With a slight tug, he pulled her onto his feet so she was standing on top of them.
"Yes, I like you." He looked into her eyes and answered slowly, seriously, and with absolute certainty. "I like you. There''s no question about it."
Her eyes turned a little red with emotion. She bit her lip again. "Then, have you ever thought about..."
She was fumbling now, the words barelying out, her gaze darting away from his face. She couldn''t even bring herself to finish the sentence.
His eyes softened as he watched her struggle. "Sophia, are you worried about something?"
"No!" she blurted, looking up at him, then quickly looking away again. "I''m not worried."
Without another word, he suddenly picked her up and sat her on the edge of his desk. Then, he reached over and shut theptop, cupped her face, and kissed her.
Sophia never got to finish the rest of her sentence, but Zachary knew exactly what she meant. He''d wanted this too, but he''d been waiting for her to be ready to open her heartpletely.
But if that patience had made her doubt his feelings for her, made her feel unsure, then he wasn''t going to wait anymore.
"Hold on to me." His voice was low and husky against her ear. "Sophia, are you sure about this? Once we start... there''s no going back."
Her face flushed even deeper, glowing red like it might explode at any given moment. Sitting there on the desk, Sophia''s legs dangled in the air, and she felt nervous.
She tightened her arms around him. "What do you mean by that?"<fn3b6d> Read full story at FindN()vel</fn3b6d>
She couldn''t even bring herself to look at him, and her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You know exactly what I mean." His lips curled up, and his eyes were filled with warmth. "Sophia... I''m sorry I made you overthink things. I''m sorry I made you feel insecure.
"I''ve wanted this. I''ve been waiting for the moment you feel ready. And now that you are, I''m not waiting anymore."
Sophia nodded slowly. "Yeah... I''m ready. I want to try.
"Zachary..." she called his name softly.
"Yeah?"
"If I feel ufortable... Can you stop?" Her voice trembled with shyness, but she wasn''t naive. She knew what to expect when a man and a woman were together. She just needed to know he
ould be
gentle.
s
"Sophia, trust me. I''ll never hurt you." His deep voice wrapped around her like a
velvet nket. Then, he kissed her gently again.
She wrapped her arms around his waist as he kissed her.
He was so careful with her-his hands moved slowly and tenderly, coaxing the tension in her frame away. Before long, he lifted her off the desk and carried her out of study, straight into the master bedroom. s
Even when she was lying on the bed, her head was still spinning. His
kisses were slow, tender, and
persistent, easing her body intopletefort. There was not a hint of difort in Sophia now. s
With him, she felt safe and rxed. She was cared for in a way she''d never experienced before.
Afterward, he carried her into the shower. The hot water streamed over her skin, hiding the traces of what had just happened.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Her cheeks flushed red again. "I''m okay." The words came out so quietly that they were barely audible.
"Sophia... thank you." He slid his hand into hers, gently massaging her fingers.
"I thought I''d be waiting a lot longer for this. So... how did I do? Was it good enough for you?"
She immediately snatched her hand back and covered her face. Was he serious right now? How could he just ask that like it was nothing?
He chuckled when he saw how flustered she was. "Alright. I''ll stop talking now. Just rx. Soak in the tub for a bit. I''ll give you a massage, so you won''t be soreter."
"Okay." Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito. She didn''t move and just let him take care of her.
After the bath was done, and he''d massaged her for a while, Zachary carried her out and carefully dried her off. "I''ll blow-dry your hair. Then we can sleep."
"Okay." Her brain was still a foggy mess. She didn''t know what to say or what to
do.
Heid her stomach-down on the bed, plugged in the hairdryer, then gently began drying her hair.
Neither of them said anything.
Eventually, he turned off the dryer. "All done. It''s time to sleep."
"Thanks," she whispered, then pulled the nket over her head.
He let out a softugh and gently tugged it back down. "Don''t cover your head.
You won''t be able to breathe like that."
"Oh," she mumbled. "Zachary, did I interrupt your work?"
"No." He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. "Honestly? I liked what
happened a lot more than work. Sophia, I love you."
As he said the words, she felt something cool slip onto her finger. She looked
down and saw a ring on her left ring finger.
"It''s a proposal ring," he said while holding her hand. "You''re not allowed to take it
off. Okay?"