DANE

The moment their lips touched—so softly—he was trembling, a bubble of something bright and fragile expanding in his chest bursting open when she whispered his name and opened her mouth against his. They both stopped breathing as their lips brushed once, then again, slowly, featherlight.

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He didn't close his eyes—he couldn't, terrified that she would disappear. He raised a shaking hand to her face and let his fingers trace her cheek, then slide to her neck, cupping her jaw.

Lila had locked eyes with him and when he touched her, her hands came up to his chest.

He hesitated and pulled away just far enough to whisper against her lips. "Are you… Lila, is this okay?"

Then she gasped, "Dane!" fisted his shirt, and yanked him in, her breath coming on a sob as she kissed him like he was oxygen.

Dane groaned and took her mouth, soon lost in the smell of her, the tangle of their tongues, the warmth of her clinging to him, as he silently pleaded with God not to let this be a dream.

With a whimper, Lila tugged at his shirt, arching into him, and he wrapped himself over her, pushing her back into the couch, one hand in her hair the other sliding under the sweatshirt she wore to grasp at her back.

She arched, a tiny noise breaking from her throat when she couldn't keep herself plastered to him, but he kissed her to soothe it and let his weight press her into the couch.

He had to catch himself, in his desperation he threatened to squeeze her too tightly and her ribs weren't healed yet. But she had none of his caution, clawing at him with both hands and pulling him in tight, her breath hissing between them in squeaking gasps.

He was immediately hard, panicked to have her in a way that threatened to unhinge him. That bubble in his chest had left him panting and near tears, and the only thing saving him from embarrassing himself was his desperation.

When he lay over her on the couch, their kiss deep and frantic, every nerve in his body screamed with relief and desire and he was already making plans, how he would get her undressed without having to stop touching, where he'd take her and—but he stopped, panting and her eyes flew open, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"What is it?" she whispered, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Is the Penthouse on lockdown?"

She nodded, never breaking eye contact.

"I don't want to do this on a couch, Lila," he muttered, pushing up. She made a heartbroken noise, but he wasn't letting her go. He swept her into his arms, one arm under her knees, the other behind her shoulders, and carried her straight for the door.

She gave a happy sob and arched into him, burying her face in his neck, tasting and kissing him in a way that had him ready to pin her against the wall and to hell with it. But this moment was… this was more. More than anything they'd ever had before. He had to do this right. And letting her slide her tongue up his throat and nip his jaw on the way wasn't going to be a hardship. Much.

He had her across the bridge and up the stairs into the Penthouse at a trot, but before he pushed the fireplace door open, she whispered at him to let her down. He put her on her feet, their faces nose-to-nose and she kissed him again. He almost got lost, but she pulled away, pushed the door open ahead of her, and pulled him through by the hand.

"This will be faster," she said, letting go of him to flash a smile over her shoulder, then pull her sweatshirt up by its hem and over her head, and throwing it onto the dining room table as they passed it. Then she took off a necklace she'd had on underneath, letting it pull her hair over her shoulder and she looked back at him.

Dane, in the middle of pulling off his shoes, made a choking noise, but rushed to catch her and had his shirt unbuttoned and off in seconds, tugging his belt undone even as she inched the sweatpants she'd been wearing over her hips and stepped out of them with one foot, kicking them onto the couch with the other.

His pants were somewhere on the floor behind them when he slid his hands around her waist from behind and kissed her neck. She sank back into his chest with a delicious groan, but didn't let herself keep walking, just reached back to put her hands in his hair as he slid his hands up to cup her breasts and sobbed his relief at the warmth and weight of them.

"I need you," he gasped in her ear, feeling the goosebumps raise on her neck and trail down to where he touched her. "I ached with missing you Lila, it was a piece of me was just… gone."

"I know," she sobbed. "I need you, too."

He couldn't wait any longer. He swung her up into his arms again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his throat as he hurried her into the bedroom.

The sight of the bed made every hair on his body stand up and he was panting as he slid her onto the bed, then crawled up after her, laid himself over her with a cry of relief.

Elia echoed his sighs, wrapping her legs around his hips and arching again. She pulled on his neck to bring him down and take his mouth her breath thundering across his check. She was as desperate for him as he was for her.

He got lost for a moment, the entire world tunneling to the tiny sphere inside which her lips were on him, she breathed his name, and their bodies sang to each other.

He had both hands in her hair and his lips on her neck. He rolled his hips against her and sobbed. She was crying. Dane thought maybe he was, too. But when he raised his head to check her, to make sure she was okay, she was beaming.