I listen, hardly daring to breathe. His hands skim my shoulders and down my sides, wrapping around me to my belly, where he clasps them and leans into me. His skin is hot at my back, the strong arms I've admired for months holding me securely.
"I won't hurt you in any way, Katya," he adds. "I'm here because I want to be with you. Nothing will change that. If this is too fast, I'm happy to wait until you're ready."
"No," I murmur. I rest my hands over top his.
"I know what kind of person you are, and I like who you are. Enough to fly halfway around the world to see if there's even the smallest chance you feel the same."
"I do, Sawyer," I whisper. Even hearing his words, it almost seems too incredible to be possible. That Sawyer Mathis, the man I've given hell since we met, is actually interested in me …
He turns me to face him. "You're beautiful. Passionate, sweet, giving. You make me feel like it's okay to let someone in finally." He searches my gaze as he speaks. "When I got your letter, I thought there was no chance of ever seeing you again, and that crushed me."
"I'm so sorry, Sawyer." I touch his face and then wrap my arms around his neck, leaning into him. My heart is pounding hard, my body screaming for him to touch every part of me.
"We both had to heal, I think, before we were ready for this," he says. "I swear, Katya, I want to be with you. Nothing you can do or say, no shoe you throw at me, will ever change my mind."
I smile at the mention of the shoe. He's serious and sincere, which is almost as mind blowing as the idea he's holding me right now. I pull his head down to me and kiss him.
A different kind of warmth is blooming inside me, stoked to life by the idea he feels what I do about us.
Desire soon overtakes conscious thought, and I sigh when his hands reach my breasts, pausing to tease my nipples, before they continue down my body. He releases me briefly to remove his pants and picks me up, carrying me to my bed. I listen to his heartbeat, my blood racing.
Setting me down, he lies beside me on his side, his hand exploring my body while his mouth finds mine. His controlled, slow approach is killing me, driving me mad with need, and I shift onto my side, wrapping a thigh over his and trying to pull him on top of me.