Hesitantly, she stretched out beside him. “I thought you didn't want me so near.”
“This seems a practical place with the house full. Had you rather sleep somewhere else?”
“No,” she answered quickly. Too quickly, she thought. “Here is fine.”
Daniel had to ask. The question had eaten away at him for two days and her behavior might never tell him the truth. “When I touched you a few nights ago, did you mind?”
“No.” She felt the room suddenly warm. She didn't pretend not to know what he was talking about. “I didn't mind.”
“But.” Words stumbled from his lips. “I didn't want you to feel like you had to allow-”
“If I hadn't wanted to let you, I wouldn't have, marriage or not.” She rolled on her side to face him.
“Good.” Daniel closed his eyes, worry lines disappearing from his face. “I don't want you to ever do anything you don't feel right about. This marriage should be an agreement we both make, not one setting rules for the other.”
“That sounds a fair bargain. I can ask for nothing more.” Karlee rested her head on his heart and snuggled into place. “Being here beside you feels right somehow.” She yawned. “It's felt right since the beginning.”
“Sleeping next to you does take the edge off the loneliness,” he admitted. “Once your feet get warm, it's comfortable. I see no reason we can't continue.” He could think of two reasons pressing against his side at this very moment, but if she didn't mind, he should forget about how they felt in his hand.
“I find you comfortable as well.” She tried to keep her voice steady.
They could have been poor actors rehearsing lines for all the meaning she heard in their words, but she didn't know where to start to make him care about her.
He cupped his hand over her hair and kissed her fore-head. Then, tugged at her braid, loosening the tie and pulling her hair free. “Go to sleep, my wife. I'll wake you in a few hours.”
Her exhausted body melted into the warmth at his side. She wanted to talk to him more, but all the hours without sleep piled atop her, weighing her eyes closed.
By the time he finished unthreading her braid, she was fast asleep. Slowly, he combed his hand through her thick hair, amazed at how good the strands felt to his touch.
She was his, he thought. Whether he wanted her or not, whether he ever slept with her, even if he didn't love her, she was his.
He bent and paused, almost tasting her lips now parted in sleep. Finally, he could resist no longer. It wasn't a kiss, but a taste, light and thorough across her mouth. He told himself he was just getting used to her. They were no longer strangers. It was time he stopped acting as if she'd go away when he blinked. Like it or not, she was here to stay.
Karlee turned toward him as she slept, cuddling into the safety of his arms like a child. She spread her hand over his chest.
Daniel watched her for a long while. His eyes were clearing and what he saw in the shadowy light astounded him. Her hair was the color of autumn, browns and golds and reds mixed together to make a color unlike he'd ever seen.
His hand migrated down her back, then up across her shoulder, placing her arm behind her as he reached her hand. He threaded his hand through hers thinking of how strange it felt to hold another's hand.
Slowly, very slowly, his hand crossed the front of her dress. He could imagine the softness of her breasts beneath the layers of fabric. He'd been surprised when she'd said she hadn't minded him touching her.
“Karlee?” he whispered. How could he ask to touch her again. He'd sound like a fool. “Karlee?”
“Yes,” she answered thick in sleep.
The slow rise and fall of her chest filled his hand with the shape of her breast.
Daniel froze. All he had to do was move his fingers away. But his hand now weighed a ton. He tightened his grip slightly. She moaned in her sleep but didn't pull away.
He told himself he was on fire because he hadn't touched a woman in so long. But it was more. It was Karlee.
Carefully, he unfastened the buttons at her collar, hoping to make her more comfortable. When she didn't move in sleep, he allowed his fingers to drift along the outline of her breasts once more, gently testing their fullness and shape. Then he slid his hand along her back as though she were a sculpture he had to touch to appreciate.
Brushing her lips, he wanted more of the taste of her. His hand twisted into her hair as he lightly teased her mouth with feather kisses.
She stretched in sleep, lifting up to him as though in welcome.
Moving his hand over her, his kiss deepened. He wanted more of her, far more of her. Without thought that he might wake her, he parted her lips with his tongue and drank in the flavor of her.
Her body rocked slightly, shifting beneath his touch. For a moment, he thought she struggled. But by the time he could register the thought, she'd settled once more.
He couldn't get enough of the taste of her. With a sudden hunger his hand caressed the fullness along her hip.
She moved her leg over him, cuddling against him even closer. Now she was so near he could feel her breathing. He took the weight of her rounded breasts against his chest, knowing that she'd welcome his touch when he stroked her.
She seemed to sleep so calmly while he felt himself burning. The need to feel her skin beneath his hand, to hold her against him, to blanket over her, was driving him mad.
His hand slid beneath the layers of her skirt. With only a thin cotton undergarment to cover the warmth of her flesh, he moved his fingers along her thigh.
She made a little sound and would have pulled away, but he gripped her leg tightly with one hand while the other stroked her face. When she relaxed, he kissed her tenderly.
His fingers spread over the thinly covered flesh of her backside as his mouth moved from her lips to her throat. He found the place where her blood pulsed and tasted her skin.
She moaned in need now, and he laughed as he returned to her mouth more hungry for the taste of her then ever before.
Slowly, he withdrew his hand from her skirts and spread his fingers boldly over her breast, kneading her flesh through the layers of material. She arched toward his touch as her mouth opened, responding to his hunger.
He smiled against her lips, enjoying the way she conformed so willingly to his touch. He hadn't expected it. But then, he hadn't expected Karlee at all.
Through the thickness of his mind, he heard the sounds of talking coming from the kitchen. Much as he wanted more, now was not the time or place to explore further.
His touch softened to a gentle caress, the kiss lightened. Gently, he rocked Karlee back to sleep in his arms, allowing her to grow accustomed to his hands moving over her. When her breathing had returned to its slow easy pace, he tasted her lips one last time.
“You're mine,” he whispered. But he could no longer add “whether I want you or not.”
Karlee tried to push away the voice of someone waking her. She wanted to stay asleep and continue the wonderful dream.
“Karlee,” Daniel whispered near her ear as he stroked her hair away from her face. “It's noon.”
She yawned and stretched, feeling his body beside her. “I don't want to wake up,” she answered. “I was having the most delicious dream.”
“Dreams are dreams, but the reality is we have a house full of company.” His voice softened slightly. “You can dream again tonight.”
Karlee sat up in bed and stretched. “You're right, of course. Do you need help?”
“Besides being starving,” he grumbled, “I'd like to get dressed.”
“But…”
“If you'll find my clothes, I'll be out of this bed.”
She stood and straightened her garments. “Of course. I'm a wrinkled mess too. I'll be right back.”