Chapter 33

A/N: GUYS. Sorry this took so long... it was honestly, pretty difficult for me to write. These characters have become a weird part of me, so it took awhile for me to get my thoughts together. I hope that doesn't show, and I hope you like it.  If you're not into the steamy stuff, then skip this chapter!  Am I giving too much away? Hah!

      Emie heard music coming from the bungalow a few moments later.  She got up from the table and slowly made her way toward his room.  She ducked past the gauzy white curtains, fluttering gently in the night air and saw Tom bent over his iPod, which was connected to speakers.  He didn’t seem to hear her come in, and when she walked up directly behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, he gave a bit of a start at her touch.       “Hah, you startled me.” He laughed, wrapping his arms around hers.  Emie pressed her face into his back, breathing in the scent of him.  He smelled so familiar. It was a wonder how she knew his smell so well after only a few short weeks of knowing each other.       “Sorry. What are you doing?” Emie asked as he straightened, letting the music play softly through the dim room.       “Putting on some music so we can dance.” He said, turning in her arms so he was facing her.  Emie smiled up at him, keeping her arms wrapped around him.        “I’m glad you still want to dance with me.” She said it jokingly, but there was a bit of truth hidden in her statement.  He wrapped his hand around hers and gently started to move them both around the room.  Their movement was slow and relaxed.  It was different than it had been at the wedding, and more similar to the time he had slow danced with her on the plane.  At the wedding they had been a little more formal, and both overly aware of the audience around them.  Here…here it was just the two of them.  Tom held her closer, and they moved only for each other.  They danced through one song, which moved into a slightly more upbeat song.  Tom grinned, and spun her around.  Emie laughed and twirled under his arm, then let him pull her back into his chest.       “I could do this all night with you.” He spun her again.  Emie grinned and then paused for a second, kicking her heels off and to the side.  Without her shoes on, she sunk down a few inches and barely came to Tom’s shoulder.  He laughed and shook his head.  Emie shrugged, her feet thanking her.       “Then maybe we should.” She said softly.  Tom looked at her and then gave her a simple nod in agreement.  They kept moving around the room, not really needing to speak.  It was enough just to be there with each other.  Tom moved them gracefully around the room, circling them through the small kitchen and then past the sitting area.  They took their time, and Emie wasn’t sure how many songs came and went.       After some time, there was a pause in the music and then a new song came on.  Emie didn’t recognize it, but Tom leaned forward.       “This song reminds me of you.  So much.” He whispered.  She leaned back, looking at him.         “Does it? What is it?”       “It’s by David Gray. Listen to it.” He grinned.  Emie leaned into him, feeling the slow, piano driven melody of the music.       “Sing it to me.” She smiled. Tom looked amused for a minute, but then leaned down and started singing ever so softly along with the music.       “This year’s love had better last. Heaven knows it's high time/and I've been waiting on my own too long/But when you hold me like you do it feels so right/I start to forget how my heart gets torn/when that hurt gets thrown/Feeling like you can't go on.” His voice was barely above a whisper, and Emie was clinging to his every word.  Tom swayed with her, his hips and chest pressed close to her.   “…If you love me got to know for sure/ Cause it takes something more this time/Than sweet, sweet lies/Before I open up my arms and fall/Losing all control/Every dream inside my soul/When you kiss me/On that midnight street/Sweep me off my feet/Singing ain't this life so sweet/This year’s love had better last.”       Emie pressed her face into Tom’s shoulder, feeling her chest tighten.  She knew it was just lyrics.  It wasn’t his own words, but it was similar to when he would recite poetry or literature to her.  It hit her somewhere deep.  The words still meant something to her when they came from him.  It didn’t help much either when he looked at her like that when he said them.        Tom stopped moving, and leaned down, gently tilting her chin up with his hand.  She looked him in the eyes, and knew instantly that she was falling in love with him.  And she knew it had been happening for quite some time.  It hit her hard, and Emie felt as if the entire world disintegrated around them, leaving only her and Tom standing.  She wasn’t totally sure when it had started.  Perhaps somewhere between the time he’d taken care of her after she’d fallen on her run, and the time he’d spoken those centuries old words to her the bookstore.  Or maybe it was the way he’d been so patient and steadfast the last week.   Emie felt it in every bone in her body.  It was tearing her apart, and she didn’t care.         She’d never met anyone like Tom.  She knew she never would again.  All her rules, her barriers and walls…they’d been useless when it had come to him.  Not because he was someone who had forced his way in, using any means necessary.  It was because he was someone who had waited patiently.  Someone who had stood outside those towering walls, night after night, sometimes speaking, sometimes completely silent and he had waited.  He’d wanted her to open the door, instead of demanding or threatening to force his way in.  When he realized she wasn’t going to do that anytime soon, he’d simply decided to wait for her to throw down the rope.  And here she was, completely defenseless in his arms.       “Em.” Tom’s eyes were a haunting blue.  Emie reached up, gently running her hands down over his arms and then stopping at his hands.  She intertwined her fingers with his, feeling her heart start to race.         They stood still, in the middle of the bedroom now, their bodies tucked against each other.  Emie felt as if she fit perfectly with him, her smaller legs tangled against his longer ones. Tom ran a thumb over her cheekbones, and then leaned down, kissing her softly.  She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck.  Tom pushed his hands through her hair.  He gently took fistfuls of her hair, moving her to him.  Emie kissed him back desperately, feeling her need for him from the top of her hair to the soles of her feet.       “What are your plans for the next week?” Tom asked, pulling back abruptly.  Emie nearly fell forward, still entirely entranced in their kiss.  She steadied herself against his chest, and they both laughed.       “I don’t have any, to be honest.” She said, her hands against his chest.  Tom leaned forward and brushed his lips, whisper soft, against her cheek and jaw.  Emie swayed toward him.       “You could spend it with me.” He murmured into her neck.       “I could.” She smiled.       “Will you spend it with me?” He asked more directly.  Emie felt his lips against her neck.  She felt his tongue, teasing against her skin.  She felt his hands on the small of her back, and she wished very much that she wasn’t wearing so many silly clothes anymore.  Emie tilted her head to the side, sighing softly as she did.         “Yes. I will.” She turned her head, finding his mouth.  “Let’s start with tonight.” She felt Tom waver slightly.  He pulled back, looking at her.  His mouth was set, and she saw the muscles in his jaw flex slightly.  She guessed he was pleased at her response, but the look in his eyes was brimming with something far more dangerous than just agreement.  Tom hovered over her, bending slightly to kiss her bare shoulders.  He kissed his way across her clavicle, and then moved slowly around her so that he was standing behind her.       Emie’s breath caught in her throat as Tom gently ran his fingertips up one arm, across the back of her shoulders and down her other arm.  He touched her as if he were studying her, trying to memorize every curve and line of her body.  She could feel him, as if they were magnets, pulling toward each other.       She heard him move, and then felt his hands at the nape of her neck. His fingers brushed her skin as he fingered the exposed zipper at the top of her dress.  She waited, hardly breathing as he slowly pulled down.  His movements were patient and precise.  She felt the zipper move all the way down her spine to the middle of her lower back.  Emie bit her lip, not moving as she felt her dress get loose around her chest.  His fingers skimmed her shoulder blades, opening up the material slightly.       Emie blinked, waiting.  She felt the heat of his body against her newly exposed skin.  She heard Tom move forward, and then felt the warm press of his lips against the base of her neck.  Instinctually, she sighed, rolling her head forward and giving him better access.  They were both quiet as Tom kissed her neck and then moved achingly slow down her spine.  She felt him trail his finger tips whisper soft down her spine, and then wrap gently around her waist for a moment.   He stepped closer and then reached for her, gently pushing the straps of her dress off her shoulders.   Emie looked down as her dress fell in a heap at her feet.  She didn’t move.  She felt glued to the spot.  Every part of her body was on high alert.  She felt overly sensitive, as if she could feel and hear and see everything much more intensely than she ever had before.       Tom moved closer, and looking down she could see his feet as he stood behind her, his black shoes moving up next to her bare feet.  She stood still, in only her panties and bra and waited.  She felt his hands skim her shoulders, push her hair to the side and then slide down her back.  He touched her just barely, making her skin come alive.  He ran his fingers down the backs of her arms, across her shoulders, down her back and to her hips.  He moved up and she felt him lift the clasp at her bra, unhooking it easily.  She wavered, swaying slightly as he let her bra fall to the floor, joining the long forgotten dress.  Emie felt the cool night air against her breasts, causing her nipples to tighten.  That and the knowledge that Tom was standing so close behind her, watching her every move.       He stepped up and she felt his chest against her back.  She felt the smooth, cool material of his jacket, the press of the wall of his chest.  Tom leaned forward, kissing the side of her neck.  Emie leaned into him, powerless to do otherwise.  She closed her eyes for a split second as Tom kissed her neck and shoulders, but then opened them as she felt his hands come up her sides and then reach around and cup her breasts.  If she were a woman who swooned, this was the time now to do it.  Emie raised her arms up to wrap around his neck and give him better access.         She tried to steady herself, tried to clear her hazy mind, but only could feel her knees start to go weak.  She moved her hands around his larger ones, turning her head to the side and finding his mouth.  Tom groaned into their kiss and Emie reached up, touching his face.  His hands kept moving, touching her.  His long fingers briefly splayed over her flat stomach, and then moved back to her breasts, circling around her nipples.  Emie whimpered, pushing her hands into his hair and pulling him hard down to her.       He turned her around then, taking her in with his eyes.  He kissed her, but only briefly before pulling away.  Emie shivered slightly as she felt him take her gently by the hips.  He slipped his hands to the sides of her lace panties and bent down slightly as he slid them down her thighs.  A short moment later, her panties joined the pile of clothes in a heap at her feet.       Emie stood completely naked in front of Tom.  It reminded her of the first night they had spent together.  She held her arms at the side, forcing herself not to run and hide.  She reached for him, but he took a few steps back from her, his eyes locked on hers.       “It’s not fair.” She said, her voice coming out a hoarse whisper.  Tom raised one eyebrow.       “What isn’t fair?” He asked, his voice just loud enough to hear.       “You’re…completely dressed.” She managed.  He nodded.       “I think it’s totally fair.” He countered, taking half a step toward her.  She couldn’t believe she stood naked in front of him, and he was still totally clothed.  He even still had his shoes on.         “Take something off.” She said, shifting her weight from one hip to the other.  Tom hadn’t broken eye contact with her but he did then.  His eyes slowly moved down the length of her body and then wandered ever so slowly back up.  Emie felt herself blush pink, but something else inside of her was also pleased.  Something else that had started as a tiny, weak voice, was now nearly screaming.  She loved the way he looked at her.  It made her feel powerful and sexy and like a seductress.       “You’re so beautiful.” He breathed.  Emie couldn’t stand it any longer.  She rushed toward him, practically smashing herself against his expensive suit.  She grabbed him wherever she could get a hold of him.  His shoulders, the front of his lapels, his hands and arms, and then back up to his neck and hair.  Tom kissed her, his mouth claiming hers hungrily.  He backed her up quickly, until the backs of her heels and calves bumped into the bed.       “This really is an amazing suit, and you look ridiculously sexy in it, but I want you out of it.” She groaned, grabbing handfuls of his jacket in her hands and yanking him toward her.  Tom laughed, letting her jerk him forward.        “I’m glad you like it.” He said, looking down at her, his eyes filled with mirth.  Emie smiled, leaning forward and kissing him on the mouth, on his jaw and then down the side of his neck.  She noticed a few tiny freckles and she suddenly could not hold back from playing a wicked game of connect the dots with her tongue.  Tom growled, his hands wrapping around her waist.  Emie grabbed him by the waistband of his pants, slipping her fingers under the material and again yanking him rather unceremoniously, toward her.  She could feel the hard length of him straining against the fine material of his suit.         “Easy, darling.” He laughed, taking her face in his hands and kissing her.       “Get naked.” She demanded, which made him laugh more.       “Or else what?” He asked.  Emie looked at him daringly, and slipped her hand a bit farther under his waist band.  She hesitated when Tom froze, waiting.  She only waited a half second more before moving again.  Tom groaned, low in his throat, his head falling back as she took the hard, hot length of him in her hand. Emie grinned.       “Or else we are going to ruin a perfectly good suit.” She said, stepping up onto tip toe and whispering in his ear.  Tom chuckled, but just barely. He did it through a clenched jaw, as she still had her hand in his pants, and her chest pressed against his.  He opened his beautiful gray blue eyes, and then in one quick, easy movement, he leaned down and scooped her up into his arms.  Emie yelped, giggling as he cradled her in his arms.       He walked around the bed and then set her down gently.  Emie watched him stand back up and take a step away from the bed, his legs in a wide stance.  Even though he looked amazing and handsome in his perfectly tailored suit, Emie was completely distracted by two things.  One was the quite obvious bulge in the front of his pants, which made his desire for her breathtakingly obvious and straight forward.  The second was the look in his eyes he was giving her as she laid back on the pillows, totally naked and more turned on than she could ever remember being.  It seemed as if he was going to pounce on her and devour her any second.         Emie could only stay still for a moment before she was sitting up onto her knees, facing him where he stood.       “Take off your jacket, please.” She asked, kneeling on the bed in front of him.  Tom watched her for a moment, not saying anything, his expression giving away nothing.  It was as if he was deciding whether to play nice or not.  He took his sweet time, but after a beat he reached up and shrugged out of his jacket.  He laid it carefully on an armchair nearby and then returned to stand in front of where Emie was kneeling.  She was watching his every movement.       “Shirt and tie.” She said.  Tom was quicker this time, losing the tie in record time.  He threw that behind him and then he began to work on the buttons on his shirt.  Emie watched for a second, but then she reached forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking it open.  A button or two popped off, falling to the floor.  Tom laughed, surprised at her sudden outburst.  Emie grinned, staring at his exposed chest.  She immediately was touching him, her mouth pressed against his chest as she pushed his shirt to the side.  Her tongue made pathways down his chest to his abs.  She held onto the waist band of his pants, tugging at them gently.  Tom groaned, thrusting his hands through her hair.  With her kneeling on the raised bed, it made them slightly closer in height.       He let her touch him for a few quick seconds, but then took a step back so he was just out of her reach.  Emie whimpered as he stepped away, removing his shirt completely and tossing it onto the chair with his jacket.  She took in the sight of his chest, his broad shoulders and nicely formed arms. She loved the strength in his shoulders and his graceful but masculine arms.  She loved the way his chest widened and then tapered down into his slim hips.  She loved the way his pants sat, just ever so perfectly on his fit waist.       “Pants.” She said simply, biting her lip.  She wondered if she was drooling at all.  She didn’t really care.  Tom stood shirtless before her, his lean, muscular torso a sight for sore eyes.        “Am I just a piece of meat to you, Miss Harris?” He grinned.  She laughed and sat back on her heels.  She tilted her head, batting her eyelashes and crossing her arms slightly under her breasts.  Tom’s eyes went for her chest as she purposefully made her breasts lift and press together.  Emie held back a giggle.  Who was drooling now?       “Take off your pants, please?” She said sweetly.  He laughed and then took a step forward, until he was directly in front of her.  His knees bumped the edge of the bed.  Emie sat up, coming inches from him. He didn’t say anything, but just looked down at her, his eyelids low.  Emie reached for him, hesitantly at first, but then hungrily.  She went to work on his pants, undoing the metal clasp at the top and then slowly, teasingly pulling the zipper down.       Tom didn’t react.  He didn’t make a noise.  He just stood completely still, the only thing moving was the nearly imperceptible movement of his eyes as he watched her.  Emie pushed his pants down his lean hips, and then reached for his boxers.  His hands caught hers, and he pulled them up to his chest.       He leaned down, his mouth finding hers in a passionate, soul crushing kiss.  Emie melted against him at the feel of his bare chest against hers.  She pulled him toward her, falling back onto the bed and bringing him with her.  Tom landed on top of her, keeping most of his weight on his arms to keep from crushing her.  She pulled him down, rather roughly.  She wanted to feel his weight. She wanted him to crush her.  She felt it in her blood, in her muscles, in her bones.  It was as if she’d been searching and searching her whole life for this one feeling.  And now that she had found it, she was insatiable.         Emie felt him moving to kick off his shoes, and then his pants.  She wrapped her legs around him, pressing the center of herself against the hard length of him.  She could feel him through his boxers, hard and urgent.  Emie let her mind go completely blank.  Tom was the only thing she could think about.  Having him.  Being closer to him. Nothing felt close enough.        Tom leaned forward, kissing her neck and then hovering over her.  He knelt close, covering her breasts with his hands.  He held her to him, taking her nipple in his mouth.  Emie moaned, closing her eyes and feeling herself get lost in the sensation.  His tongue, moving in tight circles around her nipple, made her breathless and almost as if she were in pain.  She ran her hands through his hair, holding him close to her and then fighting the urge to push him away. The sensation was almost too much.  Tom’s hands pressed against her ribs, then down her stomach.  Emie whimpered, moving her hips up and toward him.       She pressed her hands against his chest and then nearly came off the bed when he touched her between her legs.  Emie pressed her fingers into his chest and biceps, turning her head to the side.  She pressed her lips against his arm, which was by the side of her head.  As he touched her, she groaned, then bit his arm gently.  She ran her hands down his chest, then pushed roughly at his boxers.       Tom groaned, losing his focus on her for a minute.  He moved to her side, taking the weight off his arms and reached down, pulling off his boxer.  Emie was on him in a second, pushing him onto his back and throwing a leg over his hips to straddle him.  She leaned forward, kissing him.  She could feel him hard against her, his body begging her to give in to the palpable friction between them.  She knew she was ready. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been more ready for anything.  Tom sensed this, and as she sat up slightly, he reached up, brushing her messy hair from her face and tucking it behind her ears.  With his eyes on her face, Emie turned her face into his palm, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of his hands on her.       “Emie.” He said softly.  She opened her eyes.  His were such a brilliant blue.  Emie kissed Tom's palm, then moved her lips to his fingers.  She ran her tongue up the length of one of his fingers, and then nipped his fingertip.  Tom groaned as she took his long graceful finger in his mouth, sucking gently and sending both their minds spiraling in the same direction.  Emie gave him a tiny smile and then she was leaning down, kissing him.  Tom wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him, rolling her onto her back as he did.       He paused when he came up onto his forearms over her, both of them breathing shallow and fast.  Emie reached up, touching the sides of his face, running her fingers along with length of his cheekbones and over the smile lines by her eyes.  He watched her, his eyes searching hers.  They stayed like that for a moment, concentrating on each other, memorizing each other’s faces as if they hadn't already.         “Will this change everything?” Emie licked her lips, waiting for his reply.  Tom frowned slightly, then ran his fingers gently over her forehead, down her nose and across her kiss swollen lips.         “Not for me, it won’t.  I’ve been all yours since the moment we met, Em.” He whispered.  She felt swallowed, still studying his face.  She loved the way his light hair curled ever so slightly.  She couldn’t stop looking at his face- the sharpness of his cheekbones, and the soft kindness of his eyes.  She ran her fingers over his lips, and Tom nipped gently at her fingers.       “Tom.” She breathed out.  He kissed her, his body coming down full onto hers.  Emie opened her legs, wrapping them around his hips.         Tom leaned down, his lips at her ear.  “One half of me is yours, the other half yours—mine own, I would say. But if mine, then yours, and so…all yours.” He moved his arms around her, cradling her, and then Emie felt him move achingly slow into her.  She nearly came apart in that instant, never feeling something quite so amazing.  Tom, all Tom.  She closed her eyes for a second, not being able to control her feelings.  He kept moving, slowly until he filled her to the hilt.  Emie arched underneath him, her fingertips digging into his arms.       “Oh god, Em.” He groaned, his forehead against her shoulder for a moment.  She turned her head, sucking gently on his earlobe, then nibbling gently.  Tom let out a harsh groan and then he was moving faster, but still with extreme care.       “Please, please, don’t stop.” She begged, feeling her feet dig into the mattress, giving her traction to move against him.  Tom lifted himself slightly onto his arms, giving him more freedom to move.  Emie wanted him close still, but when he started moving his hips in a delicious rhythm, she couldn’t find the strength or the will to talk.  She pressed her head back, biting her lip.  She wasn’t sure how much time passed.  It could have been two seconds or two hundred years.  All she knew was that she had never, ever, felt so entirely fulfilled and complete.         “Breathe, love.” He chuckled, leaning down and biting her shoulder gently.  Emie opened her eyes, his intensely handsome and passionate face filling her sight. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath.   She breathed in, deep, but then let out a shuddering cry as Tom moved just right, making her whole body tense.  He groaned as well, quickening his pace slightly.       “I can’t…I can’t…” Emie murmured, knowing she wasn’t making any sense.  She felt as if her brain and her body were two separate entities.  Her body felt nothing but this intense, mind numbing pleasure.  She wanted to tell him how he was making her feel, but communication from her brain to her mouth was something that just wasn’t happening at the moment.       “Emie...” Tom reached down, grabbing her leg under her knee and pulling it up by her hip.  The angle of her leg let him move deeper, and Emie grabbed onto him for dear life.       “Oh god, Tom.” She cried, moving with him.  She felt her whole body light on fire. She felt fragile and as if she were about to break into a million pieces, but she also felt strong and powerful.         “Come for me, love.  Take it, Em.” Tom brushed his lips against her ear, then down her throat.  He leaned down farther, using his free hand to cup her breast and bring it to his mouth.  Emie cried out, arching under him.  She ran her hands through his hair, then down the strong, muscular plane of his back.  She felt the sweat on his skin, and the hard bunch of his muscles under her hands.  The sensation of him hard and powerful inside of her and the feel of his body on top of her made her nearly fall over the edge.       Tom brought his mouth down on hers.  They were both a bit frantic.  Emie felt her orgasm nearing, and it was all she could do not to devour him.  Tom could feel her urgency, and kissed her with such a frantic need that their mouths collided together. The kiss was rough and chaotic.  Just as Emie was sure she was going to stop breathing all together, Tom slowed them both down, his mouth taking over hers and kissing her good and hard.  He steadied her, and in that instant, Emie felt as if the world had stopped and shattered around her.       She cried out, her orgasm rushing over her like a tidal wave.  Her muscles grasped him, clinging desperately as pleasure washed over her.   She clung to Tom, shaking underneath him.  He kept moving, slow and measured over her, letting her hold on to him and ride it out.  Emie pressed her mouth to his arm, which was wrapped tight around her, and then buried her face into his neck.        “Tom, god.  You’re amazing.” She managed, her voice higher than normal and raspy. He kissed her, gentler this time.  She still clung to him, her body still hungry for his touch.       “You’re exquisite.” He left a trail of kisses down her neck and across her collarbones.  Emie felt her whole body buzzing.  She wrapped her arms around him, and then her legs.  She ran her hands down his spine, and then grabbed his ass as she pulled him deeper into her.  Tom groaned, his eyes closing in pleasure.       Emie moved her hips, lifting her head slightly and running her mouth and tongue down his neck.  She sucked gently at the spot where his neck met his shoulder.  Tom shuddered above her, his head lowered close to hers.         “Emie, love, you feel incredible.” He drove his hips into hers, and Emie responded to him.  He moved with a determination, and Emie knew he was close.  She ran her hands up his sides, and then intertwined her fingers with his.  He grabbed both her hands, pushing them gently up and above her head into the pillows.  His hands and arms pressed into hers, and Tom groaned as he moved in and out of her.  Emie strained against him, bolts of pleasure rushing through her.  She felt herself starting to lose control again, and it blew her mind.         “Tom.” She drew out his name, breathless and using it more as an exclamation and a statement.   He mumbled something in reply, but she wasn’t sure what.  She felt her body starting to tense, and she pulled her hands from his, wanting to touch him again.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and felt her second orgasm start to roll its way up her body, starting at her toes.  When she started to shake again, and her muscle tensed around him, this sent Tom over the edge.  He groaned, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her impossibly close.  Emie buried her face in his neck, and cried out, unable to hold it in.  Tom let out a harsh groan, and then drove hard into her.  He shook, ever so slightly, and nearly crushed her in his arms.  Emie reveled in the feeling.  She never wanted it to end.         They were still for a few moments, both their breathing shallow and fast. Emie was sure her heart was going to break through her ribs.  She felt Tom’s heart beating hard against her.  She relaxed her legs around him, and cradled his head in her arms.  He had collapsed against her, his taut body one with hers.  She felt like putty.  After some time, she was able to get her tingling hands moving again, and she began stroking his back, up and down his spine and across his shoulder blades.         Tom kissed her, lifted himself slowly off of her.  Emie felt cool air rush between them, and she made a small, unhappy noise.  Tom moved to her side, and then pulled her to him quickly.  Emie rolled with him, and found herself nestled against his side.  She put her head on his chest, tucked perfectly against his body.  He kissed her forehead, and then the tip of her nose, and then her mouth. Emie breathed him in, feeling completely content and sated.       “Tell me this is real.  Tell me I’m not dreaming.” He whispered, his voice low and a bit hoarse.  Emie looked at him, his eyes locking in on hers.  She smiled.       “Dear god, I’m not even sure at this point.  Am I even still on Earth?” She laughed softly and Tom chuckled, then nuzzled her neck.       “Wherever you are, I’m right there with you.” He said softly.  Emie smiled, and felt her chest tighten.  Her stomach did a quick flip, and she wrapped her arm around his middle, kissing his chest.  She felt the slight sting of tears at the back of her eyes but she pushed them away.  She wasn’t sad.  She was the farthest thing from it.  She couldn’t ever remember feeling so happy.  She felt her chest swell as if there were a balloon being inflated inside of her.  She fought hard to keep the darker thoughts from her mind, but she was instantly wondering how she could ever give this up.  How could she give him up?  The thought made her heart ache.         Emie rolled more toward Tom, intertwining her legs with his.  He kissed her, and wrapped his arms around her.  She didn’t have to think about any of that now.  Right now, all she wanted to do was fall asleep next to this man.  And all she wanted to do was wake up next to him the next morning. Beyond that, she wasn’t going to worry about it.