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“I practice every day.” I fluffed her pillow for emphasis.
She actually giggled. “Lunch with you isn’t so bad.”
“No?” I tried to fight a grin, but it broke free.
“No.” She climbed onto the makeshift bed, stretching out with her hands behind her head.
In my hasty packing job, I’d forgotten her pajamas. The T-shirt she’d borrowed from me slid up her thighs. I tried to look away, but my eyes kept drifting back to her skin.
“Chilly?” I spread an extra blanket over her legs before she could respond.
It had been a long time for me. The woman I wanted was right in front of me. Sure, I fantasized about sex with her, but we’d waded through some shit, and she’d opened up to me. That was what I craved most from her.
My fingers burned to touch her skin, find out if it was as silky smooth as it looked. But I could wait until she was ready, until she chose to go further.
I mirrored her position.
“There she is.” She pointed with reverence to the sky. “Mama’s favorite constellation was the Southern Cross.”
I scanned the stars with no luck. “I can’t find it.”
She tilted her head towards mine to get a view from my perspective. “It’s the four bright ones. They’re higher in the sky here.” The last part she murmured more to herself.
I spotted the constellation and marveled at its beauty.
“She used to say the stars were the four of us. Papa, Carlos, her, and me.”
The need to hold her grew to the point I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“May I?” My voice was hoarse as I stretched my arm out above her head, careful not to touch.
Her chest rose and fell in a pronounced rhythm. She turned on her side to face me. “Do you need this?” she asked.
I tilted my head, wondering where she was going with the question. “More than anything, but not if it hurts you.”
She stared at me, a million thoughts flitting through her mind. Intensity radiated off her, and I felt the moment she came to some sort of decision.
“I’ve found it’s easier for me to touch you when I know you need me. You were upset earlier, and I didn’t like that,” she said softly.
A selfless, courageous woman. No one was like Muriella. No one.
She inched toward me, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.
“We don’t have to do this,” I said hoarsely, even though I wanted to desperately.
Her slender arm flung over my stomach. She clutched my shirt in her fist and burrowed against me, lighting a fire of determination in my soul.
I didn’t move a muscle and waited while she acclimated, nearly shouting when she finally settled and rested her temple against my chest. Her heart thumped against my side as I closed my arm around her.
“I can. I can. I can,” she whispered.
“Darlin’.” She gripped me harder and squeezed her eyes closed. “You belong right here. But whether and how long you choose to stay is up to you.”
I stroked her back, but she didn’t relax. I kept up the gentle rhythm and braced myself for when she would disentangle herself from my arms. She’d pushed a lot of boundaries today.
But my girl surprised me. The tension finally slackened, her breathing turned even, and her face smoothed in the peace of sleep.
I savored the moment. This was what I wanted more than anything. To have her right next to me every night for the rest of my life. Now all I had to do was figure out how to keep her there.
