‘Kiss me, Greg,’ she breathed.
He let out a muffled sob as if she had just pulled him back from a ledge. He crashed his lips into hers and his hands found her damp hair as he devoured her mouth with all of his pent-up passion and longing. She kissed him back with the same ferocity. The kiss felt like it lasted forever. Mallory clung onto Greg as if her life depended on it. They broke apart, both gasping for air.
Holding his face between her hands and locking her gaze on his, she simply whispered, ‘Greg… Idosee you.’
Hearing the words, he kissed her again just as deeply.
*
They sat together on the sofa in their damp clothes; just holding each other. Every so often she gazed up at him to see him smiling down at her. Each time, he just kissed her hair and squeezed her closer. He had made no sexual pass at her. It was as if what he felt went beyond such carnal desires at this moment; as if he just wanted to bewithher; to feel her near him; to know that all was not lost and she wasn’t going to run away back to Yorkshire. And it was what she needed too. She felt safe in his arms. They would probably need to talk about what would happen next. But right now, it felt good to just silently be close to him.
Sometime later Mallory woke to a darkened room; Ruby was curled up in front of the unlit fire and the temperature had dropped. She looked up at Greg who was still staring down at her, smiling.
She stretched and yawned. ‘Sorry, I must have dozed off.’
‘You’ve been asleep for about an hour,’ Greg whispered. ‘You’re so beautiful when you’re asleep.’ He stroked her hair and she inhaled the scent of him.
‘So… what happens now?’ Mallory asked nervously.
‘Well, that’s up to you. We take things at your pace. If and when you feel you want to move forward, we do, until then it’s whatever you want it to be.’ He kissed the tip of her nose.
This had all been so sudden. Part of her wanted to drag him, cavewoman-like, upstairs to her bedroom and part of her knew that time was needed to get used to this new development.
She bit her lip. ‘I… I’m scared of making huge mistakes… I’m scared of being judged… I’m scared of judging myself and being disappointed that I didn’t give myself time.’
‘Then time is what you’ll have.’ He shifted so that they were facing one another. ‘Mallory, earlier today was… I felt so happy just being with you.’ He stroked her cheek. ‘Kissing you was… wow… not what I expected. I’m so terrified you’ll regret it and that’s why I didn’t try to…’
‘I know and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that.’Gosh, he is gorgeous. She sat upright as if just realising for the first time how attractive he was.
He looked worried at her change in body language. ‘What? What’s wrong?’
‘N-nothing… I was just thinking… never mind.’ she felt heat rising in her cheeks and so she looked at her hands knotted in her lap.
Greg tilted her chin up so that their eyes met. ‘If you need to say something, please just say it. Don’t leave me wondering, I’m terrified here.’
‘It’s silly really… I was just seeing you through fresh eyes, I guess.’ She bit her tongue almost not daring to continue. ‘You’re an incredibly good-looking man, you know?’ She smiled nervously.
Greg grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. He slumped back against the sofa. Mallory could have sworn she noticed a slight blush to his cheeks.
He glanced up at the ceiling for a moment and then turned to face her again. ‘I was scared to death of what you were going to say.’ He took her hands in his. ‘People around here won’t judge you… they won’t judge us. They absolutely adore you, Mallory, there’s no way they want you to be anything but happy.’ He stroked his thumbs over the backs of her hands. ‘I know that this is all a bit sudden. But it’s not as if it was premeditated or anything, eh? We didn’t ask for this to happen. But I’m happy to take things at your pace. We don’t do anything or tell anyone anything until you’re ready. It’s just us for now, okay?’
She liked that.Just us.
She removed her hands from his and slid closer to him, climbing into his lap and resting her forehead on his. She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and she kissed him lightly on the mouth. He kissed her back gently; once, twice, three times; the fourth time the kiss became more urgent and then it exploded between them with passion and urgency.
They slid their tongues together, tasting each other, possessing each other. She moved to wrap her legs around him. His hands were at her waist, then up her back to her shoulders. He pressed her to him tightly as heat washed over her and through her. She grasped at his shirt with desperate hands and his hands moved slowly down to her bottom, pulling her closer. She could feel the effect she was having on him but suddenly he pushed her away, letting go of her, breathing fast and deep.
A little confused and rejected, Mallory’s voice came out strangled, ‘What… what’s wrong, Greg?’
‘I… I have to stop now; before we go too far. You’re not ready… We need to be careful not to rush things. I don’t want to lose you… I can’t loseyoutoo.’ He lifted her onto the sofa and stood. He walked over and placed both hands on the fireplace and dropped his head down. He took several deep breaths as if trying to regain his composure. She understood why he had pulled away though wished he hadn’t.
Mallory touched her lips which felt swollen from the intensity of their kisses. She wasn’t sure how to react now. She had been on the verge of giving herself to him. She craved the intimate contact, but he was right. If they moved forward at such a pace it could all be destroyed. Neither of them wanted that.
She stood, walked over to him and slid her arms around his waist. It felt good just to hold him.
He turned around and wrapped her in his arms and they gazed into each other’s eyes for a few moments.
‘Just promise me one thing,’ he whispered.
