Page 88 of Leave a Mark
“No…” He picked up one of her wavy locks and rubbed it between her fingers. “…it’s better than natural. It is natural beauty embellished with art. Just like the rest of you.”
Wren felt herself blush, so she reached up and tugged at the wayward curl that flopped over his left eye. “This is pretty natural,” she said, twirling it around her finger.
Lee blinked up at it and made a face. “Ah, yes, Harold.”
“H-Harold?” Wren broke into laughter. “You named your cowlick?”
Lee’s eyebrows drew together just a little. “No. That was Marcelle. She said he demanded so much attention that he deserved his own name." The skin over his perfect cheekbones turned pink as he spoke. “She said she always knew when I was coming because Harold entered the room a full minute before I did.”
Wren’s mouth fell open.
Lee held a smile, but it didn’t meet his eyes. In fact, his eyes told her something else entirely.
That bitch.
“That—” She swallowed the word just in time “—that’s really mean.” And she reached up and kissed him right on the sexiest of his sexy curls.
Lee smiled at her for real then, his eyes warm again. He gathered her in his arms and squeezed her to his chest.
It felt so good.
With his lips pressed to her ear, he whispered, “I am so glad you are here with me.”
Held tight in his arms, it was easier to find her courage. “Me, too.”
Lee settled back, but he kept his arms around her. “Will you stay?”
She hesitated only a second. “How long?”
“Until morning?”
“Until morning?” she echoed, half-stunned. “You want me to stay ‘til morning?”
Lee chuckled and dragged his hand through her hair again. “I want you to stay longer, but I have to go to work in the morning." He moved his palm to her cheek and ran his thumb over her lips. “We can order pizza and take Victor for a walk. And then we can maybe watch a movie or something. Sound okay?”
It should have sounded scary, but it didn’t. Wren nodded and spoke against his thumb. “Yeah. Sounds good.”
“Good.” Lee yawned then, and Wren found herself yawning, too. He picked up his head and checked the clock. “I could use a nap. Would you take a nap with me?”
Her body was already slack, and Lee’s embrace was warm and welcoming. She could probably fall asleep in a matter of seconds. “Sure.”
Lee yawned again. “Awesome… You should know I’m a big fan of naps.”
Wren closed her eyes. “Nothing wrong with that,” she muttered. She tipped her head forward against his chest and breathed in his sagebrush smell.
Does anything smell better than that?she wondered as sleep began to close in.
“Wren?” Lee whispered.
“Yeah?” she whispered back, feeling no need to move or open her eyes.
“Promise me you’ll still be here when I wake up.”
Her heart clenched, and her eyes opened, finding his. Wren brought her hand to his cheek and kissed him three times.
“I promise I will still be here when you wake up.”
And she was.
