Page 114 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"I know. I can’t help it!"
"That wasn't a complaint."
She bit his shoulder to stop herself from laughing, and his whole body shuddered.
"Careful," he whispered. "I'm trying to be patient here."
She drew back enough to see his face. "I'm done with patient."
Something changed in his expression then. He kissed her hard, and she held on as the last of his restraint slipped away.
The world narrowed until there was nothing outside this room. Nothing beyond the heat of him, the sound of their mingled breathing, and the feeling of being held without being trapped. When the pleasure finally broke over her, she pressed her face against his chest and clung to him, trembling as he followed her a moment later.
For a while, neither of them moved.
Reaves kept his weight carefully braced above her until she tightened her arms around him.
"You can lie down," she murmured. "You're not going to crush me."
He rolled onto his side instead, taking her with him and tucking her against his chest.
"Better?"
She nodded.
His fingers moved tenderly through her hair. "How was the advanced class?"
She laughed softly. "I might need some additional instruction."
"I'll clear my schedule. I should take you on as my sole student—book you in for nightly tuition."
She tipped her head back to look at him. The humor faded from his eyes as he traced the line of her cheek.
"You okay?"
"I am." The answer came easily this time. Nothing like the emptyfineshe'd used to keep him out. She meant it. "I really am."
He kissed her forehead.
She rested her hand over his heart and listened to it slow beneath her palm. "I was afraid this might feel like too much."
"Does it?"
"No." She looked around the room—the room where he'd grown up, the bed where he'd probably slept as a boy, in the house that was becoming home to her and Zia. "It feels like what you said—a life I can believe in."
His arm tightened around her. "Because it is."
"I should get back. I don't want Zia waking up and looking for me."
"No."
Neither of them made any move to get up.
After another minute, she smiled against his chest. "You're waiting for me to ask you to come with me, aren't you?"
He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Not sure I can again just yet."
"Reaves!" She slapped his arm.
