We laid down together on one of the sleeping mats, and he covered us up. We laid side by side, facing each other, grasping hands, kissing quietly in the dark. My hand was rested on his face, stroking my fingers through the hair on his face that was too long to be called stubble but still too short to be called a beard. His hand was rested on the curve above my hip, where it had been before, and the longer we kissed, the more the pain diminished. In time, I knew, our bodies would forget what Tyre had inflicted upon them, and all that would be felt by both of us when we touched was that usual, beautiful, perfect warmth.
“Are you okay?” He asked me softly, every few minutes, and in his mind, which I peeked into even though he did not want me to, he was remembering how after that man all those years ago tried to rape me in the woods, I had been unable to kiss or touch him, or let him kiss or touch me.
“I’m fine.” I whispered, and when his lips very gently caressed mine, that warmth began at the base of my spine and gently flowed upwards, soothing my sore muscles and calming my rapidly beating heart. The reason for his gentleness and for my acceptance of it was not solely practical; we were not merely trying to keep from waking up the others. The main reason was because I was exhausted, and he was exhausted, and I had just survived another evil man, and James knew that I was viewing him as the antithesis of that man, and he wanted me to feel safe and loved after what I had just survived. There in his strong arms, I felt more than safe, and more than loved. I felt utterly content, so much so that as we kissed, my eyes began to droop closed, and my body relaxed completely, and just before I drifted away completely, I felt him pull the blankets up further, up to my shoulder, and as he turned onto his back, he pulled me with him so I could cuddle against his chest. Once I had settled in there, his lips pressed to my forehead, and I fell asleep to the sound of his heart beating, knowing then, more than I ever had, how it beat for me and only me.