CHAPTER 260: HE WAS CHOOSING HER

"Who said that?!" Anna snapped, jerking back as if burned—but the moment the realization struck her, her eyes widened. Heat flooded her cheeks so fast she almost felt dizzy.

Mortified, she tried to retreat, but Daniel didn’t let her get far. His arm slid around her waist in one swift, possessive motion, pulling her firmly against him.

"So you do want me to make love to you," he murmured, his voice low and sinfully sure of itself. Lust flickered in his eyes, dark and consuming, as he tugged her closer.

Anna blinked rapidly, lips parting and closing like a stranded fish—completely off-balance. She had fully expected him to continue what they started in the kitchen, to pick up the heat he’d deliberately ignited between them. But instead, he had stopped... and then said that.

How dare he claim I’m not ready after he did everything possible to make me lose my mind?

Her thoughts were a frantic whirl, her breath unsteady.

Her silence pricked Daniel’s patience, but he held still, watching her intently. He wasn’t imagining things—she had let him in. She had leaned into him, had whispered that soft, trembling yes in the kitchen. She wanted him. And when he stopped, the frustration in her voice had poured gasoline on every burning desire in him.

Daniel swallowed hard, his restraint fraying by the second. He wanted to be careful with her—God, he wanted to do this right. He wanted to consider her feelings, her past, her hesitations. He didn’t want to rush her into something she wasn’t ready for.

But after everything that had just happened—her moans, her hands in his hair, her body arching into his touch—was it really wrong to say that whatever they were... was finally moving forward?

He cupped her cheek gently, thumb brushing the edge of her flushed skin.

"Anna," he said softly, lowering his forehead to hers. "I’m not hallucinating. You want me just as much as I want you."

His voice dropped even lower, molten and intimate. "And I’m trying—really trying—to take things slow. But don’t blame me for reacting when you look at me the way you do."

Her breath hitched, and her fingers twitched against his chest.

He smirked slightly, eyes burning into hers. "Now, stop pretending you don’t know exactly what you do to me."

"So I’ll ask you one last time..." Daniel’s voice dropped to a breath, his nose brushing along her cheek as if he were fighting every instinct screaming at him to take her right then. His restraint trembled at the edges. "...am I allowed to?"

The desperation he tried to hide only made his words heavier, hotter, sinking straight into her chest.

Anna’s fingers curled tightly into his shirt as she shut her eyes, breathing sharply. She knew exactly what she wanted—him, his touch, the fire he lit in her without even trying. But fear... fear still clung to her like a shadow she couldn’t outrun.

And every time Daniel whispered something that melted her bones, every time he looked at her like she was the only woman who’d ever mattered, that fear faltered. Her resolve cracked.

"Daniel..." Her voice trembled. "I can’t risk getting pregnant."

There. She’d said it. No hiding, no softening the truth.

She felt him still.

When she opened her eyes, he was already staring at her—direct, focused, unreadable. For a moment, Anna panicked. Maybe she had ruined the moment. Maybe she sounded too blunt, too forward, too... inappropriate. And what sane married woman discussed pregnancy in the middle of an intimate moment?

But she wasn’t the same woman she used to be—the one who let life take its course and dealt with consequences later. That Anna had been left behind with all the broken pieces she’d once carried. The woman standing here now wasn’t ready to risk anything... especially not bringing a child into a world where everything was still fragile.

Daniel’s hold on her tightened—not possessive, but grounding.

"Okay." His voice was steady, without hesitation. "We can use protection."

Air rushed out of Anna’s lungs as she gaped at him, disbelief widening her eyes. She hadn’t expected it to be that simple for him. She hadn’t expected him to accept her fear without argument, without guilt, without making her feel unreasonable.

But he had.

Daniel leaned in, nudging her nose again, voice a warm rumble against her lips.

"Anna... I want you. Not a complication. Not a situation. Just you."

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

"And I’ll take you," he whispered, "on whatever terms make you feel safe."

Her knees nearly buckled. Because for the first time... she realized he wasn’t just aroused.

He was choosing her.

If it had been the Daniel of her past, Anna wouldn’t have even bothered to listen. She wouldn’t have spared him a glance, let alone allowed his words to stir her emotions. That Daniel had broken her, knowingly or not.

But the man standing before her now had no idea or clue of the storms she’d survived, the wounds she carried, or the loneliness she’d learned to swallow in his absence.

This Daniel was trying—truly trying not just to understand her but to love her in the exact way she had once wished he would. Patient. Honest. Present.

And when he chose her without hesitation, all the doubts that had been clawing at her heart quietly dissolved.

Whatever comes, I’m not going to doubt you, Daniel. I know you’re hiding something... but I’ll wait. I’ll try to understand you the way you’re trying to understand me.

Her chest swelled with a fierce, steady determination.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Anna pushed him firmly backward. Daniel barely had time to react before his back hit the mattress and she climbed up with controlled grace, straddling him—one leg on each side of his waist, claiming her place exactly where she wanted to be.

Daniel froze beneath her, breath catching, eyes widening with raw surprise and something far darker. His hands instinctively gripped her hips, as if grounding himself.

Anna leaned forward, her hair brushing against his cheek, her voice steady, bold, devastatingly sure.

"Make sure you don’t pass out," she whispered.

"Take me the way you want."

Daniel’s jaw clenched, desire punching through him so sharply she felt it beneath her palms.

Anna wasn’t just giving herself to him physically, she was choosing him. Opening the doors she had locked for years. Allowing him into her life, her heart, and her future.

She was finally ready... to be loved by him, to lose herself in him, to let him fall for her all over again, even if he didn’t yet realize he already was. And Daniel...he looked at her like she had just shattered every restraint he’d ever had.

The next moment, Daniel didn’t even realize how fast he moved—only that he had pulled her against him and crushed his mouth to hers with a hunger that had been caged far too long.

It felt like something wild inside him had finally broken free, every restraint snapping as he kissed her with raw, consuming need. His lips devoured her, his breath mingling with hers as though he couldn’t get close enough.

Anna moaned into his mouth, her hand splaying across his chest, fingers curling into his shirt as she kissed him back with equal fire. There was no hesitation now—no fear, no doubt. It was two people who had been holding back for far too long finally letting themselves burn.

She tugged impatiently at the buttons of his shirt, her hands trembling from the intensity of his kiss. Daniel’s breath hitched when she pushed the shirt off his shoulders, her palms sliding across the warm, taut lines of his chest as if memorizing him.

A low, guttural sound escaped him.

In response, his hands found the hem of her top, and with one swift motion he lifted it over her head and tossed it aside. The sight of her stole the breath straight from his lungs.

"Anna..." he whispered, awe and desire tangled in her name.

Before she could second-guess anything, Daniel reached behind her with warm, steady fingers, unhooking her bra with practiced gentleness. He slid the straps down her arms, letting the piece of clothing fall away before discarding it carelessly.

His hands returned immediately—almost desperately—cupping her breasts with a reverence that contrasted the hunger in his kiss. His thumbs brushed across her skin, sending shivers through her body.

Anna gasped softly, her head tilting back as his touch lit every nerve she had on fire.

Daniel’s gaze flicked up to her face—hungry, reverent, undone.

"I’ve wanted you like this," he breathed, tightening his hold lightly, "for longer than you know."

Anna’s heart squeezed, and without another thought, she leaned down and claimed his lips again, as fiercely as he had claimed hers moments ago.

In that heated, breathless kiss, it was clear neither of them planned to hold back anymore.

Not tonight. Not when they were finally choosing each other.