True North

Chapter 57

Stormy giggled as Brian flopped onto the bed beside her and let out a dramatic groan. More than two hours had passed in the bedroom, during which Stormy had learned that stamina was only one of many hidden talents that Brian possessed. Her skin was misted with sweat, with strands of her mussed auburn hair clinging to her face and neck, and she clumsily brushed them away as she listened to the sound of Brian's labored breathing. She rolled onto her side and he fit himself to the curve of her body, his skin slick and hot against her back. He draped an arm around her waist and pulled her in so close that she could feel the beating of his heart. Her breast fit perfectly into the cup of his hand, and a tremor ran through her body as he absently traced the delicate pink tip with his thumb. Stormy slid her hand over his and smiled dreamily as she watched the sheer curtains billow on the slight breeze from the open window.

"How do you like me now?" she drawled.

"Oh, I like you very much," Brian said, leaning over to nibble on her earlobe. "In fact, you may be my new best friend."

"Is that so?" Stormy asked, turning in his embrace so that her body was facing his. "Poor Ray will be heartbroken."

"Who's Ray?" Brian kidded, and they both laughed

Stormy circled her arm around his waist, careful to avoid the mottled bruising along his left side, which had already begun to fade to a bluish-green. She snuggled closer to him with a contented sigh, allowing her eyes to drift closed as his chin settled gently on the top of her head.

"How about you?" Brian asked out of the blue, his voice breaking through the haze of slumber that had just begun to settle over her.

"'How about me', what?" Stormy murmured.

"How do you like me?"

Stormy's eyes popped open, but she didn't move as her mind scrambled for the safest answer. Of course she liked him! Maybe she hadn't said so in so many words, but it was plainly obvious... wasn't it? She propped herself up on one elbow and brushed her lips over his.

"Well," she purred, punctuating her words with feather-light kisses along the length of his neck. "Considering the deliciously sinful act that I performed on you earlier, not to mention the ones that I allowed you to perform on me, I would think that it goes without saying..."

"It does," Brian agreed softly. "But say it anyhow."

Stormy hesitated briefly, and then changed tactics. She swung her leg over him and hoisted herself up to straddle his hips, swinging her hair down over one shoulder as she grabbed his wrists and pinned his arms to the mattress above his head.

"How about I show you instead?" she suggested flirtatiously, grinning down at him from above.

Brian twisted his hands free from her grasp and sat up in the bed, with her still straddled across his lap.

"How about you just tell me," he suggested, his tone humorless.

Stormy looked into his eyes and realized that this is what she had been afraid of all along—emotional attachment. Sex got all the press, but as far as Stormy was concerned, the real pinnacle of a relationship is that moment when you open yourself up to the other person and admit that they hold a special place in your heart, thereby entrusting them with the welfare of said heart. Stormy had allowed herself to do that only once before, and it hadn't ended so well. But as she looked into Brian's eyes, she realized that he had his own past to contend with, and that he needed to hear her say the words almost as much as she feared saying them. Maybe more. She took a deep breath and leveled her gaze with his.

"I do like you," she said softly.

The words were sorely inadequate to describe the things she was feeling inside—not to mention a ridiculous understatement, considering that she was sitting on his lap and they were both naked—but for Stormy it was a huge leap of faith to say them out loud, and he hadn't asked for anything more than that. She smiled timorously, grateful for his patience, and her hand trembled as she reached out to comb her fingers lightly through his hair.

"I like you," she repeated, this time with a bit more conviction. "I like you a lot."

Brian smiled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

He planted a soft kiss on her lips and eased her down onto the bed, his arms wrapped snugly around her. Stormy nestled her head against his shoulder and roped her arm around his waist, interweaving her legs with his as he gently stroked his fingers through her hair. Brian drifted off almost immediately, and as Stormy lay listening to his steady, measured breathing, a million thoughts raced through her mind. It was ironic, really: She had spent a lifetime searching for a place to belong, someplace where she could fit in, and had yet to find it—until now. Lying there with Brian, at that moment, the pieces of the puzzle finally came together, and it occurred to her that Home wasn't a place so much as a feeling. And she never wanted that feeling to end.

But what if it did? And what about Brian? He had said that he was willing to settle for 'maybe', but that would only last for so long. He wanted things—a marriage, a family, a lifestyle—that Stormy had long ago ruled out as options in her own life. To alleviate the vast emptiness that had accompanied that realization, she had successfully convinced herself that she didn't even want those things, so much so that she wasn't sure if that dream could ever be revived within her. And even if it could, was she capable of following through with it, or was she just setting Brian up for another loss? Maybe he should be asking himself that question.

Stormy tipped her head back and studied his features, relaxed in slumber. His eyebrows were broad and dark, a perfect match to the long, dark eyelashes that rested lightly against his cheeks. Time and the elements had etched faint lines around his eyes and left his skin with a slightly weathered mien, which added an understated ruggedness to his features that Stormy found very appealing. She leaned in to brush her lips over the spot on his neck that she already pegged as her favorite, and he sighed deeply, tightening his hold on her and murmuring something indiscernible before relaxing back into sleep. The ghost of a smile lingered on his lips, and Stormy smiled too as she snuggled back into his embrace. He seemed happy enough at the moment, and that was a good place to start. She decided right then to stop thinking, stop worrying, and just enjoy the ride: For once in her life, she was going to leave the past in the past and the future wide open, and just be happy in the present. And with that determination made, she drifted easily into sleep.