Page 62 of Mail-Order Lady

As much as he wanted to kiss her again, holding her like this felt like the greater honor.

But then she shifted once more, and this time she did pull back. Not far—just enough to look up at him. Her gaze searched his face, those beautiful hazel eyes, like she was trying to read a language she was only beginning to learn.

“Thank you.” Her voice came soft, calling him closer. Part of him wanted to lean down and taste those lips. To remember what it was like to lose himself fully in her.

But the other part didn’t want to change a thing about this moment.

She made the choice, sliding one hand from behind his back around to press against his chest. The contact seared heat through his shirt, heating every part of him.

Those eyes, they’d gone even wider than before. And when they dropped to his lips, he could hold back no longer.

He lowered his head and closed the distance between them.

Her lips met his with a softness even better than he remembered. Not tentative exactly—more like she was testing the shape of something new. Learning him.

He pulled her closer, one hand spreading over the small of her back, the other moving up to cup the side of her face. She made a small sound—part gasp, part sigh—that sent heat racing through every part of him.

She pressed in, her hand sliding from his chest to his shoulder, then higher. Her fingers brushed up the side of his neck and threaded into his hair the way she’d done in his room.

She kissed him like she’d been thinking about it for two days. Like she’d been waiting for this moment the same way he had.

The thought made his pulse kick hard enough he had to pull back a second just to breathe.

She didn’t let go, though, so he closed in again, pressing kiss after kiss until it became like a dance. A rhythm between them they’d both been created for.

He gentled the kiss, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead against hers. His pulse hammered through every part of him, and he needed a moment to think clearly. To remember how to be the careful, controlled man she needed.

He opened his eyes to find hers already on him. The warm hazel gone dark, the green almost swallowed by her widened pupils.

“I’ve wanted to do that again,” she murmured. “Since the moment you left for Walnut Springs.”

The words heated through him. She’d wanted this. Not just accepted it when he’d initiated. She’d wanted it.

He brushed his thumb along her jaw. “I’ve thought of little else.”

A smile curved her lips. The kind of smile that reached her eyes and made him want to close in for more.

She dropped her gaze to his collar as her fingers moved from his hair to rest at the back of his neck. “I should go check on Kate. Make sure she’s resting.”

She should. Kate needed her.

But everything in him resisted the idea of letting Clara go. Of stepping back and watching her walk away when he’d only just gotten to hold her again.

“In a moment.” He pulled her closer, tucking her head beneath his chin. Just a few more seconds. That was all he needed.

She relaxed against him with a soft exhale that sounded almost like relief. Like maybe she’d wanted to stay like this too.

He would have to let her go soon, but how could he make it clear that he wanted this—all of this—forever.

He stroked a thumb over her back. “Clara, I⁠—”

The front door banged open.

Clara jumped in his arms, pulling back enough to look toward the sound. He spun to face the intrusion, keeping one hand at her waist.

James stood in the doorway, breathing hard. His face had gone red from exertion or heat—maybe both—and his gaze swept the room before landing on Robert.

“You need to come. Get Mrs. Wang.” He didn’t wait for a response, just turned and sprinted back out.