“Yes,” she answered, her voice a whisper taken on the breeze that nuzzled and eased around their bodies.
His irises widened and she heard his breath hitch just that little bit. Enough for her to know he’d been anticipating a no from her. Enough to know what it meant to him that she’d said yes.
“Thank you,” he said, pulling her toward him and meeting her lips with his own.
His kiss was tender at first, a soft play of his lips against hers—sucking, teasing kisses that enticed and tempted. Her nipples tightened beneath the cotton of his shirt, pressing against the fabric with an ache that spread all the way down to her core. A soft moan fled her mouth as he traced her jawline with his mouth, sucking softly at the sensitive skin of her throat.
Tamsyn hitched herself against him, her legs falling on either side of his, her rapidly dampening center pressing against the ridge that told of his body’s own silent entreaty. Finn’s hands were at her waist, pushing up the fabric of his shirt, tracing her ribs and slowly, oh so tormentingly slowly, moving higher to cup the fullness of her breasts.
His thumbs grazed against the tight nubs that peaked at their tips and she shuddered, pressing harder against him. He squeezed and rolled the taut beads between thumb and fingertip and in response she arched her back, flexed her hips against him, against his straining erection. Finn’s mouth traced a blazing trail of wet heat to the fullness of her breasts until he took first one, then the other nipple in his mouth, rolling them with his tongue, suckling and grazing them with his teeth.
Her hands gripped his shoulders, her nails embedding in his skin as with each pull of his mouth he sent a spear of sensation to her aching core. She needed him—inside her, outside her, everywhere…all the time. Acknowledging that fact was a pleasure-pain that drilled into the back of her mind. This was no fling for her, not anymore. Somehow they’d crossed the invisible boundary of simply being lovers. Somewhere on this journey, she’d fallen irrevocably in love.
A sharp pang resonated through her as the truth hit home. Was she forever destined to fall in love with men who’d put others’ needs before her own?
Now wasn’t the time to reach for the answer to that question. Now was a time to take, to share, to give in return. And she did. They shed their clothes until they lay on the blanket, bare in the glorious sunshine, dappled by the shadows of the tree on the outer perimeter of the ruins. How symbolic, she thought, that their coming together like this, right now, should be within the confines of a home, a life, ruined by fire. Hadn’t it been so with her own family? Hadn’t they then risen from the ashes, stronger and better than before?
She could only hope that what she shared with Finn would be the same. That it could withstand the elements that battered against it. That they could rise together in the aftermath. A unit rather than two individuals. And so she gave herself over to the rhythm of their lovemaking, and when he slid his length inside her, she cried out in welcome, closing around him, holding him there as if she wished she need never let go of him again.
Afterward they lay together, legs entangled, his body half across hers. Their heartbeats hammering crazily in their chests as perspiration dried on their skin. Ripples of pleasure still ran through her body, each one gentling in its turn as her breathing slowly returned to normal. A deep lassitude spread through her body. If only they could stay here, like this, forever. No worries about the outside world, about the people within it or the decisions they made.
The sun slid behind a cloud, sending a change through the air. Nature’s reminder that nothing remained in a state of suspension forever. She thought about Finn’s earlier words, about coming to terms with the fact that she might not see Ellen, ever. Could she settle for that? Could she let go of the need to ask the questions that only her mother could answer and still be happy, still move forward with her life?