2020-04-15 - Goodnight Kisses

Lucas drops by Atli's office, and yes he does so a walk through of the place to see if it is up to code/check for flood damage. When his brief inspection is over he checks in with Ms. Addington with his finding, and asks if she still feels...under the weather.

With a bit of color in her cheeks could possibly suggest that Atli was not feeling entirely herself and she states that is indeed the case if he doesn't mind the company. She let's the cleaning staff for the Addington house know she is leaving early for the day and follows him out the door. She does remind herself that she needs to update the actual official fire inspection records at some point because that was on the docket anyway, so all in all he was doing her several favors.

He leads her out to the car and drives her back to his place, as requested, it's small, but clean and comfortable. Upon entering she may notice several pillows and a blanket draped over the couch and a not-horrible smell coming from the kitchen, it seems something is being kept warm in the oven. "Are you feeling any better Sunny...or would you like to relax"

Atli carefully slips out of several inch heels as she enters his apartment, heels being the enemy of most flooring. Part of her felt perfectly at ease in the space, having rented an apartment during her restoration internship. She is left standing in bare feet. A pale pink cap sleeve scoop neck and knee length black ballerina skirt had been her attire for the work day. The ensemble looking less pretentious without the heels. "The food does smell really good! Then again your house your rules, I certainly don't have EMT training Mr. Lake."

He waves toward the couch, "Then get comfortable, elevate your legs if need be, and stay warm, " He smiles and heads to the kitchen, "I assume Thai is ok with you? " He pulls the warming food from the over and takes a look at it to determine if it needs any sprucing after being kept warm while he was picking her up. The smells of Mushroom-Shrimp Stir Fry compete with Moonflower Roasted Duck.

Get comfortable? Atli wasn't entirely sure she knew how to sit on a couch in any way other than straight backed and taking up only the appropriate amount of space. "I in fact love Thai, especially duck." She pushes blonde curls on one side past her shoulder and watches him move toward the kitchen. She wouldn't typically approve of going to a Man's home, but she did know him...The options for going out in Gray Harbor were primarily subpar...If she had left work, she certainly couldn't be seen out in the neighboring town.

He makes up a couple plates and pours a couple of glasses of sparkling grape juice, before returning to check on her in the living room. He whistles to himself as he pulls a couple of TV tray tables out of the closet and sets them up near the couch, "So tell me your symptoms?"

The rose coloring returns to her cheeks as she continues eyeing him covertly. One delicate pointer goes to touch gently beneath her chin in contemplation. Atli feigns careful consideration. "Well I have been entirely unable to stop thinking about you...the things you were saying made my heart skip several times...and I felt strongly enough to leave my job which has actually never happened..."

Lucas nods slowly, "Well if your having heart palpitations, dizziness, and light headedness it could be several things. The first one we should eliminate is low blood sugar" He smiles softly, and returns to the kitchen briefly, with in a few moments there are a couple plates, each with both duck and shrimp on them. They are followed by two glasses and the bottle.

Slowly Atli’s shoulders begin to stiffen less, easing around his presence. She takes the glass from him, giggling in a bubbly fashion to match its effervescence after setting the plate he brought out before her. “If I tell you something will you promise not to laugh?” Atli asks. She would not have touched her food until Lucas is seated as well. Her cheeks have flushed past their gentle shade of rose.

Lucas smiles, settling into a seat next to her, "I promise not to laugh" He grins and picks up his own glass sipping lightly.

Atli takes a sip of sparking beverage and then a deep breath. She looks at Lucas in a very serious way, juxtaposed to her giggles only moments earlier. “I have actually not done this in years. Like the whole...” A single manicured pointer gestures about the circumference of the plate without actually touching it.

"Eating thing? So your undead?" He smiles and quirks an eyebrow, "Or do you mean dating? You didn't have some rich exotic French boyfriend when you were over seas?"

This does get her laugh again, placing a hand to cover her lips, having just taken a bite of food. The result is a muffled hum. Swallowing carefully she removes her hand and takes another sip of her beverage. “Ummm...no. I was just really focused?” She laughs rather embarrassed.

"I am sure Jean-Pierre and Jacque-Luc's hearts were broken that you never even gave them a chance" He chuckles, "Half of France must be in mourning"

Lucas’s ability to have her react in the least proper way she could is uncanny. Atli all but snorts, mouth full. Swallowing she tries not to cough. “Stop being so darn funny! You’ll make me look bad!” She attempts to recover by sipping her juice, a tactic that works for her Uncle Patrick, so she may as well try it. “What about you? Surprised you had any room left on your calendar Mr.Lake.”

He shakes his head, "You still don't get it...you can't look bad, not to me" He then smiles "I dated briefly in college, no one that ended up getting serious. Then it was EMT and Fire Fighter training, and well that really is a full schedule for the first year or so. " He takes a bite of the shrimp, "No one has really .. " He shrugs, "I don't know...."

Atli looks at Lucas appraisingly with her crystal blue pools, drinking in what he was saying in borderline disbelief. "I find that rather hard to believe, especially given how attractive I am sure those calendar shoot pictures are." She says this like she had not looked them up, while technology inept she could still google. "I understand the concept though. When you are so driven towards accomplishing something it's kind of hard to hit the breaks. I would still be in France finishing my restoration internship if I was not so entirely worried about how my mother was doing on her own."

Lucas nods and his face softens, "Yeah I am sorry about that...I heard... a little, " He sighs "Is it selfish of me to be glad your back, for whatever reason?"

Finishing a dainty bite, Atli dabs at her lips with a napkin and smiles towards him. "I mean not anymore than it is for me to be happy over the fact your previous relationship failed." She does not reach for more food, instead, she studies him carefully, swirling her glass of bubbling liquid.

Lucas leans in and says softly, "Atli?" That is the first time he has used her name since they ran into each other again. He looks like he is going to say something....ask something...do something... but instead he hesitates and just watches her for several heart beats.

Atli gently places the glass back on the tray he had brought out, nervous energy making the fingers on one hand instinctively toy with a curl absently. She is unable to maintain straight on eye contact given his change in tone, instead her bright sparkling gaze flits up to him from beneath thick lashes, and then away. "Hmmm?" She tries to keep her tone vague and innocent, a nearly impossible feat now that her heart had started racing again.

He takes a deep breath " I fell for you so hard in high school and " he swallows " when we broke up it wrecked me. " he looks away a second " when I saw you the other day it was like the last six years never happened and I was totally smitten again" he looks back " so I have two questions...." he gives a moment for her to reply.

The fingers twist harder in her blonde locks, almost becoming tangled with excitement or perhaps even anxiety. Atli was so used to being in charge of things and knowing what was coming...all she can do is wait. She didn’t trust her own voice to stay steady for more than a few words at a time. It felt silly that she had given something like this with him up, only to have placed them right back again...forward in time. “It doesn’t feel like six years.” Atli manages. Her sky colored iris’ watch him, begging him to continue in their own way.

He watches her fingers play with her hair fondly and then pauses a few more seconds before asking, "Question one, " he looks at her " is this just having fun or are we actually trying to give this a chance," he smiles " there is no wrong answer and I am ok with either I just need to know so /I/ know how all in to go" he lifts his hand and sighs "and give it a chance for real is no garuntee its going to work out , for that matter having fun doesnt stop us from changing our minds later." he shakes his head "i just want... Need to know where your head is at right now"

The nervousness softens and her fingers loosen to just coming a tangle out of her ends reflexively. To her the moment is so entirely perfect that she barely breathes. Her twinkling gaze stops flitting about and her eyes lock to his. “I have never considered you a waste of time Lucas. As a rule any moment I spend on something is purposeful. I won’t attempt to force anything, but I also very much know what I want.”

While not entirely direct with intentions, she also didn’t want to come across as frighteningly specific. Atli liked him and did still see him the way she always had. Part of her feared that there was change within both of them that may crumble that foundation, but she wanted to try.

He nods slowly searching her eyes a moment then tentatively reaches out a hand to caress her cheek before speaking again " question two...." he pauses again waiting a few tense moments.

Tense the moment was, almost electric. Atli had entirely abandoned breathing for whole seconds when he touches her. Without thinking she leans her cheek into his touch, unable to take her eyes from his, nor speak. He didn’t have to finish speaking for her to continue to melt for him. Someone most considered frigid, is warm to the touch.

"Would it be ok if I kissed you right now?" his voice is ahusky whisper as he asks his burning question.

Atli’s heart races when she actually hears the words. Cheeks color again, this time just with the desire to feel his lips pressed to hers. She nods slowly, sheepishly, blonde curls offering residual waves of agreement.

His hand on her cheek slowly slides up and the fingers tangle themselves in her curls, applying the smallest amount of pressure to tilt her head slightly.

His other hand wraps around her waist, cradling her the fingers probing the line between the black and pink fabric to find a gap, the barest tips of his fingers finding skin on skin contact with the flesh of the small of her back, the nail tips lightly resting on her spine, and guiding it into the slightest arch with pressure.

His lips find purchase on hers, gentle at first then hungry, almost demanding, the tip of his tongue teasing at her teeth, his mouth drinking from hers, his lungs drawing breath and life in from her.

Atli's skin prickle with goosebumps as he glides his hands along her skin, head angling obediently as she lets out a surprised gasp. Her posture, which had relaxed slightly in his presence, straightens at the unanticipated contact of his fingers on her back.

Growing gradually used to the sensation of him pressing bare skin there, she bows towards him, accepting the sensation of his lips to hers. The petal like texture of her lips work to find rhythm to his, initially more timid than his pacing. Atli seems to stop thinking entirely as hard at the tickle of him against her teeth, parting her lips and running her own tongue gently along the inner crest of his bottom lip in exploration.

Lucas takes a few more, long, lingering moments to enjoy the kiss, enjoy the taste of her, enjoy the warmth of her in his arms, before slowly, reluctantly breaking the kiss. As he pulls back, he pauses and darts in again, as if he just can't survive without one more taste of her, before breaking off completely, his eyes searching hers, his hands still holding her in place.

A look of concern passes across her gemstone eyes when he puts distance between their mouths. She draws a breath in through her nose, trying to balance her breathing to normal. "Ummmm, is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Atli is suddenly very aware of her mental processes much more, questioning everything that had just occurred. She is shaking ever so slightly, as though worried the entire thing were a mistake.

Lucas shakes his head slightly, "No I just...wanted to look at you for a moment, to make sure I wasn't dreaming" He takes another heart beat to take her in, and then closes his eyes and leans in again, pressing his lips to hers.

This seems to help her to still in the time between his words and their lips meeting again. This kiss vibrates as Atli hums into it with surprise, previously convinced of her kisses sub-par quality. She shuts her long lashes, moving one of her own manicured hands delicately to the side of his face, faintly disallowing him to break their lips.

His mouth moves against hers, his tongue temptingly luring hers out, his head leaning into her hand. His fingers on her back work their way slowly up, and then slide seductively back down, dragging the nails softly along her spine.

As he draws his nails downward she gives a pleasured hum, vibrating their kiss. Her back arches further, goosebumps spreading to the unobstructed skin at the small of her back.

She deepens the kiss decidedly , playfully tracing her tongue along his. Atli doesn’t quicken the reestablished rhythm, simply moving her mouth wider to taste more of him. She was letting him decide their momentum as though allowing her partner to take the lead dancing.

Tenderly, she moves her thumb along his face from jaw to cheek, both sweetly and possessive. Her other hand begins to move up the arm whose touch wandered along her back. She wraps her fingers around his bicep, grasp sliding under his sleeve.

Lucas lets the speed, the rhythm. the step of their dance slow slightly, only slightly, his tongue moving across her, sliding along hers, not in the burning fire of adamant passion, but in the staccato beat of their pounding hearts. His bicep under her fingers tighten as he slides his finger tips up the flesh of her back again, and then lazily plots the path down her spine with his nails once more. His other hand tightens, gripping her curls not painfully but possessively as he leans toward her touch on his cheek, like fresh flower petals lean toward the warmth of the sun.

If she is the sun, she certainly radiates warmth, cheeks flushing with zeal. She enjoys their steps together, the tempo met as though paired perfectly. Then, as every good dance is want to do, Atli takes a risk. Slipping her tongue away from his, she applies a nip with careful pressure. As quickly as she had withdrawn, she returns to him, incensed by the the strengthened entanglement of her blonde locks in his grasp. The pads of her fingers on his arm wander up to his shoulder curiously mapping the way he feels.

Lucas's fingers in her hair tighten when she nips, and he responds by gripping her bottom lip in his teeth lightly, pulling gently and then releasing it, before returning his tongue to the tempest that is her mouth.

He would experience another throaty quivering pur in combination with the upturn at the corners of her sweet lips as he returns in kind. Gentle fingers now trail his collar bone with the reverence of a piano player.

Lucas breaks his lips from hers momentarily, but does not pull them away, they hover millimeters from her own, his breath as he speaks brushing hers, "Do you feel better now?" the movement of the whisper actually makes his lips briefly connect with hers again and he waits, easily in reach of her mouth for an answer.

"It's quite possible I have never felt better..." She murmurs distractedly. It was as though Atli had barely considered his whispers, the idea that she would not feel lighter than air kissing him a strange foreign thing. Azure gaze looks to him, demure in contrast to the touch she moves from his cheek downward. Her index tracing the ghost of absent patterns on his neck.

Lucas kisses her lips, and then her chin, and then slides his teeth scraping lightly down her throat with little nibbles, working his way down to the scoop of her neck line, before beginning to trace his path back up, along the nape of her neck, and drifting toward her ear lobe, with his little nibble/bite/kisses.

Atli's chest heaves when his mouth moves along her, cadences echoing in short delighted bursts. Platinum ringlets tilt opposite him to allow him ease to her alabaster skin. Her attention driven by sensation, the trailing index meanders with more nail than delicacy. The same is true for the hand that had been ignoring his shirt, a slight dig to his back just beyond his shoulder. It's less that it hurts, and more that there is very little control to the action.

Lucas whispers huskily in her ear, "Are you staying for breakfast...." His tongue slides along the ear as he asks, his teeth pull on the lobe for a moment, and then he is back to her neck, his hand pulling on her hair to bare her alabaster throat to him.

Atli's shoulder rolls back reflexively, breath only exhaled in small sighs. Yup she was forgetting how to breathe around him again. Nails sweep from Lucas' neck to the run along his scalp, serving to allow her to continue touching him and demonstrate how very much she wanted him to stay this close to her. It was clear that when he handled her this way she was unwilling, or unable to fight him, long neck exposed easily.

The hand on her spine curls the rest of the way around her, his finger tips resting on the flesh of her hip, his arm curling strongly and pulling her tightly to him. He hand on her hair continuing to entangle in those glorious curls. He mouth grips her throat in his teeth, almost wolf like, as he moans low, then releases and brings his eyes back to hers. "I need you to concentrate on me...I need you to think clearly...for just one moment, my dear sweet one'

Atli's entire body seems to be screaming for more of him, overwhelmed by the tugs and bites. Concentrate...? The word sounded so far away and muddled, as though he were communicating to her under water. She does her best, blinking at him with glazed eyes. The word echos in her head again, trying to remember it's meaning. He had asked her something a moment ago, she was sure of it, but his voice had only triggered the part of her who pondered how sexy he was. For a split second she starts to almost glimmer and then catches herself. "Hmmmm?" She manages, flustered.

He waits for her eyes to at least meet his, his hands have stopped moving, but they stay in position, wrapped around her, he flicks her nose once, with the tip of his tongue to keep her concentration on him and says, "I don't want you to regret anything tomorrow done in the … heat of the moment... so I need to know right now, I need you to actively tell me, if you want to stay the night...."

Atli blinks and shakes her head, wrinkling her nose at the sudden moisture. Blinking again she seems to actually register words for the time being in an intelligent fashion. "You're not going to make me stay on the couch are you? You own a bed right?" Her tone is teasing and then obvious anxiety creeps in to her expression. The hand beneath his shirt slackens. "Just ummm, don't be...disappointed..." She bites the inside of her own lip in a far less enjoyable manner than when her had. "I'm not like incredibly experienced in things that involve staying the night..." Her gaze draws to the floor before she realizes how this sounds and she snaps back to him. "I do trust you though. I just didn't want to make a big deal." She leaves out the portion that lingers in her own brain 'in case that made you changed your mind'.

"A bunk bed is ok...right?" He smiles wryly and the amusement in his eyes reveals that he is definitely not serious with that suggestion. He leans down and kisses her again, before speaking "Having you in my arms is a big deal, to me at least...."

Atli presses into his kiss, giggling with the metallic sound of a high ringing bell. Her mouth goes agape in surprise at the smoothness of his response, enjoying how it sounded on her ears. The corners of her mouth go skyward again in delight. "I know it's different...I just had to be able to trust whoever...Oh, God, I'm embarrassing myself." She giggles again and leans in to peck his cheek.

Lucas smiles and shakes his head, his arm withdraws from around her waist, the second hand releasing her hair finally, then both slide to her hips, and slowly lift the top up and over her head.

Atli withdraws her hands from his skin reluctantly, moving them upward with ballerina like grace. Beneath the scoop neck top is a white lace bralette that t's in the back to support modest breasts. Her skin is supple and smell of a rose fragrance. She is smiling at him with an edge of apprehension. Simply continuing to kiss him would have her mind be more at ease. The blonde curls cascade gently past her shoulders through the neck of the removed top.

His lips seek hers out again, and he runs his fingers up and down her sides, slowly exploring her back, wrapping his arms around her. His tongue seeks hers, drawing it out again, and he nibbles softly at her lips.

She shivers, though not in an unpleasant way at the trailing of his rougher fingers. Atli pushes towards him, chest convex, closer, just as he had urged before. She is more ready for his nibbling this time, able to simultaneously tow fingers along his collar, pulling at it carefully. He would not require patience for her tongue to return to him, being eager for more.

Lucas's lips have returned to their original rhythm of hunger and need, letting his desire as he drinks the breath of life from her lips. His nails are short, but there are enough of them to slide across her back and let her feel every scraping moment of it as he seems to be on a mission of exploration, seeking to discover every inch of her flesh with his fingertips.

Atli is negligibly more forceful in the movements of her mouth to his. She still allows him the lead, but occasionally quickens the speed, not allowing a rhythm so perfect that it would dull the enthusiasm of the moment. Scratching Atli's skin is akin to dragging his fingers along satin. The faster pacing of her mouth punctuates with the circling of her tongue within his mouth in a traverse of her own when he hits more reactive portions of skin. She moves her hands up his neck to the back of his head, the one to the top where his hair is longer. Atli begins to toy with his tresses and knot her fingers there.

Lucas leads the dance of their tongues, the tango moving to the beat of an unheard musician, as she reacts to his touch he returns to those spots that illicit the most response over and over again, memorizing them like a treasure map, before continuing his roaming explorations, he leans into her hand on his hair letting out a low moan.

Along her ribs and spine causes Atli to quiver and hum. She seems to enjoy the reaction from him with her well-manicured grasp woven into his hair, moving to tighten the fingers when the follicles slacken from closed distance. The hand at the base of his skull pulls away, dropping lower. Finding the bottom of his shirt at his waist, she maneuvers beneath it dexterously. Her tongue rings the space between his bottom teeth and lower lip, journeying along his skin with her lower touch.

Lucas pulls his hands from her flesh for a second, long enough to shrug out of the suspenders, without breaking the kiss, giving her a bit more freedom on the moving of his shirt, and moving beneath it. His hands return to her afterwards, tracing her shoulder blades, her rib cage, her spine, caressing along her back. His lips never break stride, never release her from the kiss throughout.

Atli would in fact be the one to pause her lips and break away now. She contemplates removing his shirt from him herself, but he was significantly taller than she, instead she frowns and tugs at the edge of its material feebly. Though slightly comical, Atli does expect him to remove it having plans for the parts of him she new looked entirely delicious from the calendar image she had totally not googled after he mentioned it.

Lucas smiles as he pulls back looking down at her his hands move to hers, and touch them lightly, before taking the shirt in his own fingers and pulling it up over his head and tossing it over the back of the couch, He then gently pushes her back against the pillows on the couch, moving his knees to either side of her.

Atli's frown reverses, a gleaming smile blooming as she watches the discarding of the cotton. Her gaze moves from his waist upward, slowly, relishing the sight of every inch. Wholly preoccupied with the sight of him, she could have been pushed back by the breeze, though more of his skin to hers was an acceptable alternative. Her fingers paint up to his now bare chest, tracing along his muscles in transfixed fascination. She bites the inside of her lip and draws in a sharp breath.

Lucas watches her, smiling, giving her time to explore. His muscles are well defined, one might almost think he works out for a living. "Have I told you tonight how beautiful you are?"

Why did he even wear shirts? Atli almost voices before the very obvious response of ‘oh right fire’ comes to mind. She is tempted to lean forward again, just to know the feeling of her lips against his chest. Lucas had directed her where he wanted her though...She settles for sliding her hands down his arms, intertwining hers with his. Atli pulls them back against the pillow behind her, his arms now almost pinning hers. “I can’t remember, say it again.”

Lucas tightens his grip on her, and leans forward, to kiss her on the forehead, giving her free access to his chest am mere breath away from her face. "You look like chocolate tastes, you look like the smell of fresh flowers in bloom, you look like the feelings of a warm hearth fire on a cold winters night, you look like the sound of silver bells tinkling in the wind." He buries his face in her golden curls and inhales, savoring the smell of her.

With his articulations Atli is once more powerless to help herself against the actions she was taking. Her lips are lightly warmed wax to his pectorals, hot and smooth as her kisses continue to drip down him anywhere she can reach. She has twisted her ringlets away from him to voraciously fulfill the desire of her mouth. In a random fashion along him her mouth opens and the tip of her tongue patterns heated figure eights in patches before re-arriving with soft presses of closed lips. In the back of her mind she was curios how he stayed so incredibly romantic when even thoughts were difficult to form for her. Perhaps, thoughts were slow because of the effect of his words on her...and the physicality of him...

Lucas moans, low and softly at the touch of her lips, her hair pulled from his grasp he buries his head in the arm of the couch and allows her what freedom she chooses to do as she wills.

Atli wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted outside of the vague idea of ‘him’ and ‘this’, but her body seemed to move seamlessly enough on its own when she stopped pondering. One hand removes itself from his, shifting to trail along the edge of his pants. She traces strokes her fingers downward in dips and then crests back up above his waistline, teasing. Silken lips move slower and licks become bites that increase in pressure at a tantalizingly deliberate stride, cataloguing the amount Lucas prefers.

Now it is his flesh that begins breaking out in goose bumps, he twitches slightly under her touch in some areas, most such are accompanied by a gasp,, or even a long low moan. His hands brace against the couch, raising himself up just a little, not enough to bring him out of her reach, but enough to allow her full access.

Lips move at an even more undemanding tempo, farther south. She takes a moment to study him, unsure, not wanting to be less than ideal for the man before her. Atli concentrates on him, glittering in the light of his apartment, the glow creating a halo effect that could be just the angle hitting her pale blonde tresses. A broad smile widens eagerly, her actions taking on a confidant quality they had not entirely embodied before. She pulls the waistband of his trousers lower a few inches near the dent of his hip planting a small sucking kiss and then tracing her tongue there playfully. Pulling her left hand away from his she runs her nails down his ribs.

Lucas gazes down at her, of course she glows, she always glows, its that inner light he sees in her, it's what lets him know that no matter what people think of her on the outside he knows just how beautiful she is inside, he enjoys just watching her for a few more minutes before her movements cause him to close his eyes and moan out again.

Atli reverses her motions using her left hand to lower obstruction for her mouth and her right grazes his side. She looks up at him, mouth still near his hip. Her breath tickles the exposed skin when she speaks. “You made me say what I want, you’re going to have to return the favor to get anything more.” Her tone is coy, and she moves her lips to his hip again, lightly. Atli then withdraws her touch entirely, looking at him with some a challenging gaze.

Lucas smiles and nods slowly, he reaches down, to play with her hair as he looks at her. "I want you, I want you in my arms, in my heart, in my bed, in my life. I want you every hours of every day, every minute, every moment. I want to fall asleep to the beating of your heart, and wake to the rise and fall of your breath. I want you. Now and for as long as your willing to let me have you. I want you in what ever way you want that to be. Is that a good enough answer?"

Though not entirely what she had in mind, Atli in no way disdains the answer. She gives him another tinkling laugh and smiles in a winning fashion. Her index finger motions for him to come towards her, wishing to kiss him once more with her lips to his. Perhaps, with his chest to hers, only the white lace of her bralette layers between them. The thought of simply laying down with her head to his chest and staying there did occur to her, and would satisfy her entirely as much as continued removal of clothing.

Lucas takes her lips in his, accepting them, his hands moving to embrace her again he presses his chest to hers, feeling as much flesh upon flesh as possible, he seems happy just having her here, in his embrace.

His happiness was hers in this moment. Atli kisses him back more sweetly that expectant. Supple chest to his more muscular she savors the feeling. Her hands move to hold him to her rather than continuing to wander. She was not one to push things beyond a threshold due to her own inexperience. Tide quelled with the simplicity of their intimacy.

Lucas just holds her like that, stroking her hair and letting the time stretch.

She would in fact fall asleep against his chest later that evening. Safe and comfortable in his arms.

Lucas makes a point, after she is asleep to rise carefully, cleaning up dinner, and then lift the little bundle of sunshine into his arms and carry her back to his bed, he did after all promise not to make her sleep on the couch. He lies down next to her, watching her sleep for a few more minutes, before draping one arm over her and nodding off himself.