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I press my forehead against hers, allowing the moment to settle inside me. Her sweet almond scent. The silky contrast of her skin against my callused palm. The haunting melody that plays inside my head whenever she is near, providing me with a soothing rush that makes me feel more at home than any place I’ve lived.
My heart swells with an undeniable truth, answering Kenya’s melody with the beginning strains of my own. I succumb to my need taste her, to be as close to her as possible, to pretend for the moment that we are like this five, ten, even twenty years from now. The vision plants itself firmly in my mind. The fear I should have is nowhere to be found. In its place is a firm determination that I will not only win Kenya over for the short time I’m here, but even longer.
She pushes against my chest and I release her. “I need a breather,” she pants while clutching my shoulders. “But I don’t want you to leave yet.”
Disappointment flickers to life before I swallow it down. Instead of indulging in the sense of loss, I squeeze Kenya’s hips once more and rearrange her on my lap. With her head resting beneath my chin and her body heat warming my chest, I hug her to me.
I chuckle as a realization lands on me.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking that kissing you is amazing, but holding you like this is nice, too.” I press my lips against the top of her head.
She snuggles deeper into my embrace and sighs. “I could get addicted to this feeling.”
I stare down at her curly crown as warmth unfurls inside me. The truth is I’ve surpassed addiction. “Talk to me,” I murmur.
“About what?”
“Anything. Everything. Tell me everything there is to know about you.”
Kenya chuckles. “I’m so boring. I must have told you everything last night.”
“I’ll never believe that anything about you is boring.”
She scoffs.
“Don’t believe me?” I turn her to face me so that she can see how serious I am. “Right now we are sitting in silence yet my blood is rushing and my pulse is beating so loud I wonder how you can’t hear it.”
Kenya presses her ear to the pulse at my throat. “I wonder…”
“Yes?”
“If this is loud, what would happen if I do this?” She licks the area and sucks my skin into her mouth.
“Fuck, Kenya. You keep this up and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to stop either of us from going too far.”
She groans, releasing me with one last lingering lick. “You win.” She resettles herself in my lap. “But instead of talking, can’t we do something else? Something more romantic?” Her last question is whisper soft as if she is embarrassed to ask for romance.
I squeeze her to me. “Romance requires only two things; you and me. And what we’ve got here right now is just extra. Tell me what’s more romantic than being surrounded by flickering candlelight and listening to each other’s voices as the world disappears as if we’re the only two people in existence?”
Endless silence meets my question. I sigh, resigned to waiting until another opportunity to peel back the multiple layers that make up the woman I’m fast believing I can’t be without.
Kenya leaps off my lap. “We’re going to test that theory.” She takes a candle and disappears inside the kitchen. When she returns, she holds two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. “Might as well drink it while it’s still cold.” She fills both glasses. “A shot for every question.”
I nod, already liking where this is going. “If the person responding doesn’t satisfy the inquirer’s question, then they’ll take two shots.”
Kenya frowns over my added rule but nods her agreement. “Let’s see you turn a drunk 21 questions into something romantic.”
I catch her eyes in an intense stare. “I’ve already told you, all we need is each other.”
Her lips part and I lean forward. “How many instruments do you play?” she asks me before I can take what I want. Then she raises her glass.
I take the cup from her hand and drain it.
“That was my—”
I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into my embrace while feeding her the vodka and getting the kiss she tried to deny me. Slow and thorough I map the recesses of her mouth knowing that one kiss will never be enough.
