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"You should see them, they completed changed the room. The undertones in the fabric match the floor now and the whole space feels warmer."

"I believe you." I answered, taking another sip of my wine.

"You do not know what I'm even talking about." She said.

"Yes, you are right. However, I believe that it really matters to you, and that is enough."

She looked at me with an expression that was soft yet surprised, like the men in her past had dismissed the things she cared about instead of making room for them.

The space between us closed in, and her knee touched mine, but neither of us moved. I set my glass down on the coffee table and turned toward her fully.

"Lillah."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to kiss you again, but this time, don't tell me it will never happen again."

"You know, you're pretty confident for a guy who showed up at my door smelling like dog shit and ripping my head only a month ago." She said, looking at me with her lips parted, and the flush on her cheeks had spread to her throat.

"Ah, I've improved." I winked.

She let out a laugh, and that was when I leaned forward and kissed her. It was different than our porch kiss. That had been a mixture of alcohol and adrenaline. This kiss was slow and deliberate. My hand came up to the side of her face, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw, and I pressed my lips to hers and felt her melt. The tension in her shoulders released, and her body softened against mine. Her hand came up to my chest, and this time she didn't push me away; she gripped my shirt and pulled me closer.

Our kiss deepened. Her mouth opened beneath mine. She tasted like wine. My other hand found her waist through the bathrobe, feeling the soft terry cloth under my fingers, and I pulled her closer until she pressed against me, her chest against mine, her breath coming faster.

She pulled back enough to look at me. Her eyes were dark, lips swollen and cheeks flushed, her breathing shallow.

"I should tell you something."

"What's that?"

"I…I don't do this. I don't invite men in and open wine and…"

"I didn't think you did." I said, brushing my thumb over her cheek.

"I…you needed to hear it from me." She said, her voice tight.

She almost sounded angry at first, but then I realized she was scared. Her hands shook as she placed one on my forearm.

"You don't know, Marshall. You know nothing about what I've…"

I held her face in both my hands, my thumbs against her cheeks, my fingers in her damp hair.

"You don't need to tell me right now, but I know someone hurt you. I don't know what happened, and you don't need to tell me if you don't want to, but I got the feeling that you moved here to get away from something. I know that whatever I make you feel, it's reminding you of things that happened." I held her gaze. "But I'm not him, Lillah. Whoever he was, whatever he did, I'm not him."

"How do you know I moved here to get away from…"

"Something you said the other day about clients, and your plates on your vehicle are from Texas."

"Okay." She whispered.

"It's okay." I said, leaning forward, kissing her again.

She kissed me back as if she had stopped weighing the risks and decided to be here, in the moment, with me.

The tie on her bathrobe came open, and I slid my hands inside along her waist, feeling the heat of her body underneath. My eyes trailed down her body. The red lace that had been teasing me was a bra, and she had on matching panties. The sight of her in it, the way the lace hugged her body, made my blood heat until my pulse beat in my throat.

I tugged the robe from her shoulders, and she shrugged out of it. I pressed my mouth to her collarbone, moving lower, kissing along the lace edge of the bra, feeling her ribs expand under my lips with each breath she took.