As if on cue, she began to recline, and he followed her. He was careful to keep his weight off to one side of her, and only slid his knee between hers as he supported himself on his hip and elbow.

When she lay flat, he kissed her forehead again, then her cheeks, then her nose. He kissed just behind her ears, both of them, lingering so that she could feel his breath on her neck. He kissed and lightly, lightly, nipped with his lips along her jaw line. Then he followed her neck down to where her pulse beat erratically at its base. He raised his head and looked into her eyes, showing his love through the light that shined from them. He placed his hand on her hip, gently massaging it in circles. She smiled dreamily and closed her eyes.

Leisurely, he trailed kisses down the center of her chest to her belly button, where her shirt- his shirt- had bunched up. He playfully nudged the shirt up to her rib cage and kissed that place where her ribs met in the middle. He put his teeth tenderly against her sensitive flesh there and play-bit her. She let out a half-laugh, half-sigh, and ran her fingers through his hair. He luxuriated in the feel of her hands on him- anywhere on him.

She arched her back for him as he slowly used his hands to trace her curves, sliding the shirt up along the way. He pulled it off her carefully, and set it aside. She watched as he looked down at her breasts and let out a quiet breath. He slid his hands down over her shoulders, to the sides of her chest where her breasts met her body. He didn’t cup them, or kiss them, just lightly, like a summer breeze, skimmed his thumbs across the tops of her nipples. She shivered as they puckered for him, and felt her breasts grow heavy and full.

He seemed mesmerized by the globes as he slowly lowered his mouth and kissed each nipple. Then he turned his head and laid it against her chest above her heart. The whole of her body melted in the warmth of his love. When he raised his head, she saw the love in his eyes. And something more. The spark of his desire for her. She felt her breath catch in anticipation.

This time when he lowered his head, she felt his tongue skim around one of her nipples and she shivered. Next he began to gently nip around the fullness of her breast with his lips. Deep within her, she felt her core begin to tighten. The torment continued until her breast felt hyper-sensitive, and then he turned his attentions to her other breast. She moaned softly as his ministrations continued.

Finally, finally, he moved away from her breasts. He pressed a swift and demanding kiss to her lips, then placed his hands on her hips and slid down toward her lower body. He kissed and drank from the skin of her belly, all the while massaging her hips and thighs. She writhed as he inched further down.

He lifted himself from her, and she cried out for him. He returned to her quickly, bereft of his clothing. She was ready to beg for him to end this sensual torment, to make them one. But she didn’t have to. He didn’t make her wait. She marveled at how attuned he was to her. But the thought drifted away and they moved together as waves on a beach, in an ancient, innate rhythm.

Moments, minutes, eons, passed as they rocked and ground and slid against each other. She could tell by his breath in her ear that he was getting close. He could tell by the little catches in her breaths that she was nearly there. And suddenly, it burst upon them both, like a glorious sun breaking the horizon to bathe them both in its warmth.

Spent, he rolled off of her, and pulled her over so that she was laying atop his chest. They lay unmoving, except for their rapid breathing and the thunderous beating of their hearts. Slowly, as the capacity for thought and speech returned to them both, she tipped her face up to look at him. He smiled down at her.

“I love you,” were the first words they spoke to each other that day.