Page 12 of Smoke and Glitter

For a moment she only looks at me. Then the tension in her shoulders eases, softening her mouth with it.

"Okay."

I put my hand into her hair and kiss her.

Her hands catch in the front of my shirt as I walk her backward through the kitchen, and the counter stops her before I do. She makes a sound against my mouth when her hips hit it.

"Hi," she says.

I smile against her mouth. "Hi."

Her fingers tighten in my shirt. "So this is happening."

I keep one hand against her lower back and wait until she's looking at me. "Do you want me to run this?"

She stills beneath my hand. "What does that mean?"

"It means you don't have to decide what happens next. If you want something different, you tell me. If you want me to stop, you say it and I stop." I keep my eyes on hers. "You don't have to make it sound good."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I'm not taking anything you don't hand me."

She watches me, quiet now.

"I'm very in charge of things, Sam."

"I've noticed."

"All the time."

I lean in close enough that my mouth brushes the shell of her ear. "That's why you looked tired of carrying it."

Her breath catches with a laugh in it.

"Okay."

I move back enough to see her. "Tell me."

"Yes." She holds my eyes. "Run it."

I reach for the hem of her shirt and pull it slowly over her stomach and ribs. She lifts her arms for me, and when the shirt clears her head I drop it beside us.

Her hands go behind her to brace against the counter while she watches me. Her eyes keep moving, from my face to my hands and back again, trying to stay ahead of me.

I touch two fingers beneath her chin.

"Stop planning."

Her brows draw together. "I'm not."

I look at her.

She exhales.

"Fine."

"Nothing in this room is your problem."