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“Vander, please,” I finally begged.
He took one look at my face and turned us back toward the car, walking fast and driving faster. Neither of us spoke a word, but he kept my hand tucked tightly in his.
Once in the room, he took my purse off my arm and dropped it along with his wallet and keys on the dresser. I slipped out of my coat, and he hung it up beside his. He turned on the bedside lamp, pulled the covers down, and flicked off the harsh overhead lights.
I stood, shifting from one foot to the other, assailed by nerves. Did I even remember how to do this?
Turning back to me, he took in my face, and stopped abruptly. He stood with his legs slightly braced, hands loose at his sides. He smiled.
“Are you scared, Ruby-mine?”
My eyes widened with the pleasure of a shared memory. It was exactly what he’d asked me the first time we made love. I smiled back and gave him the same answer I’d given before.
“Terrified.”
It was as true now as it was then.
More so.
Back then, I only had an inkling of what he would mean to me.
Now I knew for sure.
He smiled at the memory and took the two steps necessary to reach me. Holding my face gently between his palms, he dipped his knees, bent his head, and pressed his mouth to mine. For the longest moment, he didn’t move.
I closed my eyes.
His lips felt the same.
Thank God.
He moved to cradle the back of my head in one trembling hand, wrapped his other arm around my waist, and pulled me tight against his chest. Standing to his full height, he brought me to my toes, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
With a deep sigh he tilted my head and licked the seam of my lips. I opened to him, and he gently sealed his mouth over mine, gently invading.
The mood had shifted from desperation to tenderness. He held me not like I was fragile, but like the bubble of time we found ourselves in was, its walls thin, ethereal, and liable to burst.
His tongue stroked slowly along mine, and a low, mournful sound came from my womb. He broke the kiss, dipped his knees, wrapped both his arms around me tightly, and stood up straight. He tucked his face in my neck as a deep shudder wracked his long body.
I stroked his dark curls in an effort to soothe his grief.
“Take me to bed, Vander,” I murmured, my lips to his ear, my fingers tunnelling into his hair.
He didn’t move, just drew in another deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m holding you.”
I laughed softly and hugged him around his wide shoulders. “It’s a dream.”
He lifted his head and met my eyes. “I wish it weren’t. I don’t ever want to wake up from this.”
The pain in his eyes mirrored that in my heart. I pushed it away.
I closed my eyes and turned my face away. “Don’t talk about leaving. Not yet. Please.”
He nodded and ran his mouth along the side of my neck, then touched his nose to mine. Holding my eyes, he walked us slowly to the edge of the bed, and gently, reverently, set me down on my feet in front of him before placing his glasses on the bedside table.
Taking hold of my face in his hands once again, he tipped my chin up and stared into my eyes. His hands trembled, his eyes caught fire, and he dropped his mouth swiftly to mine, his kiss harder now. Demanding. He kissed me until we shared one breath.
I heard the breath catch in his throat. I tasted salt as his tears mixed with mine and ran down my face to my mouth. He didn’t bother wiping the wet from his face. There would be honesty between us, finally, though there were no words.
