Black Diaries

79. Late Night Guests

It was a long kiss, long and lingering and luscious. The warmth of the quilt was nothing compared to the hard heat of his arms around me and the blazing furnace of his lips that burned itself a straight path to my battered, black little heart. And this time, it was he who was kissing me, not the other way around. Oh yes, there was no question about it, not even the shadow of a shadow of a doubt. The way his mouth was devouring mine didn't leave it open to debate who was in charge of this kiss. The way his black eyes were burning didn't leave a shred of uncertainty about who wanted whom.

And me?

Well, I was thinking that

Aahh...

Oh...

Mmm...

Oh...

Aaaaaaaah...

Mmmm...

Aaah...

Oh...

Oooh...

Ooooohhh...

Yes. That was pretty much what I was thinking. Shuffle those three syllables and pronounce them in rising tones of passionate delight, and you have a pretty clear picture of my state of mind. It was a long time before he even seemed to consider letting me go. And when he finally did, it was only to free his lips for what he needed to say.

"Cassy!" He pressed another passionate kiss on my lips. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this."

"W-what do you mean?" I breathed, staring up into his impossibly handsome face.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen the way I look at you. Only you." His dark eyes flared. "God! I wanted you from the moment I first laid eyes on you!"

"Err... I hate to remind you, but in that moment I was a pale, red-nosed, sniffling mess under a ten inch pile of blankets."

"Do you honestly think that mattered to me?" His thumb gently caressed my cheek. "Do you honestly think I couldn't see the beauty underneath the pallor?"

"You must have amazing x-ray vision."

I smiled, but he stayed perfectly serious.

"To be so close to you, and to only be supposed to touch you distantly, unemotionally—it was maddening! I wanted you so bad it burned! And then, when you were well again... People might have still said I was your doctor, and I had heard of all those paparazzi that used to camp in front of your door. If they got wind that you were having a clandestine affair with the chief Surgeon of Heatherwood Hospital—the newspapers eat this stuff up! I didn't want to put you through that."

Again, he stroked his thumb down my cheek, and I felt warmth blossom inside me.

"So that's why you let me dangle like a common carp on a fishing hook?" I demanded.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly compare you to a carp. An agile little trout, maybe."

I slapped his chest. "Don't change the subject! Do you know what it was like for me? Weeks of 'Hello, my Lady. How are you my Lady? Goodbye, Milady.', and always with that infuriatingly charming smile of yours that made me want to grab you by the collar and shake you, shouting 'Why don't you kiss me already?'!"

"So I have a charming smile, do I?"

I slapped his chest again. He laughed, but then grew abruptly serious again. Taking my face in both of his hands, he looked deep, deep into my eyes.