His eyes had long since drifted shut, and as the silence stretched out between the few words they exchanged, his mind conjured up fanciful images of what might have been had the world been different. In a different world, he could have turned over and pulled her into his arms, he could have looked openly into her eyes and let her see the depth of emotion in his, he could have leaned in for a soft kiss and spent the whole night making love to her in the candlelight. In another world, he could have allowed himself to love her freely instead of having to fight against it with each breath he took.

He snorted at her comment that he wasn't good at watching his mouth. "You'd be surprised." If there was one thing he was extremely conscious of, it was what he said and the effect it had on others. Yet somehow, she managed to make him over speak more than anyone else had in years.

Her voice took on a new timbre, one he hadn't heard before, and he concentrated on trying to interpret what the change meant. It wasn't easy to concentrate on much of anything though, not with the way her hands kneaded and caressed his skin, leaving fiery passion in their wake. A small shudder ran through him before he could stop it, and he huffed out what was supposed to be and amused laugh. "I think it might just be worth it," he mused, thinking that he'd suffer much worse than soreness to keep her in this moment forever.