Page 55 of Yours, Finally

A smile pulled at the corner of my lips. "I wouldn't have come."

"Why?" She leaned into my hand. "Now you know you're welcome."

"Which is why it's dangerous."

I wore only a white shirt and boxers to sleep; she'd come into my room with an old college shirt she'd cut the neck and sleeves off of, and thin gray joggers-type pajama pants. I had seen her in sleeping clothes countless times, but to have her skin close seemed too risky.

Yet I couldn't help myself, and ran my fingers down her neck, the line of her shoulder, and down the round of it to her arm.

"Why?" she asked again, this time with a low, breathless voice.

I scooted closer to her. Moving my big body forward had the bed creaking; she smiled and sat closer to me on the edge, too.

I took her chin between two fingers. "For one, I don't want to have to worry about the noises beds make."

A curl appeared on her lips. "Right. Any other reasons?"

I dropped a kiss to her mouth, and stayed close enough to give her a thousand more. Because I could, and I wanted to, and being close did actually pluck fibers out of my resolve.

"Vi, when I get to know the sounds you make… when I finally get to know if you have the smart mouth I think you have… I don't want to worry about waking anyone up."

My fingers were still on her chin, and we were close enough to feel her exhale on my lips.

I pressed my mouth to hers again. Awe that I got to kiss her glowed in my chest non-stop, and I would follow that power into a million kisses. Until I lost count.

"I just want to be close to you," she said. "Feel you next to me."

Warmth swelled inside from her words.

I gave her another kiss and dropped my forehead to hers. "This is where you learn I don't think I can say no to you."

"Mmh. I like hearing that."

"I bet you do."

I moved back on the bed again and opened the covers to make room for her. She settled with her head on my shoulder and anarm around my stomach; I curled mine around her back and anchored a hand on her soft, pillowy hips.

"Fuck, this feels good," I confessed in a low voice.

I turned my head to take a deep breath and inhale the scent of her hair, a faint mix of conditioner and perfume.

"It's what I imagined," she said in the same tone. "What I wanted."

"So long holding back. Now I finally have you in my arms, and I'm still holding back."

"How do you think they're going to react to the news when we finally tell them?"

I bit the inside of my lips. "I don't know. What if they…"

The usual image of them looking at me in disappointment and betrayal didn't fully form; it remained hazy and unreachable. A part of me had to know what was there, because it cowered and yelled not to risk it. It blocked it from my view, for reasons I didn't understand.

I took a deep breath and frowned. "I don't know, Vi. But maybe we can let that be for now. Focus on us, like you said."

"Yeah, let's do that. It's already a big thing we even moved this much closer." She squeezed my stomach. "Literally and figuratively."

"It's this new, delicate thing I'm trying to wrap my head around… and this familiar thing that is finally what it was supposed to be."

She angled her head to gaze at me. "How long have you wanted me?"