She stilled and snuggled against his side while he caught his breath and attempted to regain control. He had to think clearly, damn it.

If he and Sophie only had one night together, he needed to make it special. So that she’d know, somehow, what she meant to him. So that years from now, she wouldn’t have any regrets about what they’d done. And maybe, when she thought about him, she’d smile.

“Do you remember the night we met?” he murmured against her hair.

“When you accused me of breaking and entering the tailor’s shop?” she teased.

“I think I knew the moment that you walked through that door that you’d turn my world upside down.”

She arched a knowing brow at him. “Your world was already upside-down.”

“That’s true.” He grinned as he laid her back on the mattress, then braced himself above her, his arms on either side of her shoulders. “But you shook it up even more. Since I met you, my head’s been spinning … in the best possible way.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm, brushing his lips with the pad of her thumb. “You have a similar effect on me, Reese. I’m going to miss you more than you know.”

A lump lodged in his throat. “I’m here now, and so are you. If you ever miss me, I want you to think of this.” With deliberate tenderness, he lowered his head and took her mouth, pouring everything he felt for her—emotions he couldn’t even name—into his kiss.

When they were both a little breathless, he paused and looked deep into her eyes. “Or, if you like, you could think of this.” He moved lower and kissed a trail down her neck and over her breasts, teasing the hardened tips with his tongue.

“No danger of me forgetting,” she rasped, arching her back toward him. “I never knew I could feel this way—so dizzy and alive and free. It’s like swimming naked in the lake … but better.”

Chuckling, he slid even lower. Her skin tasted like nectar, pure and sweet. He kissed and licked his way down her belly, over her hip, and around her thigh, stopping short when she drew in a sharp breath.

“Reese?” She looked down at him, her heavy-lidded eyes clouded with confusion.

“I want to taste you,” he said, rubbing his cheek against the impossibly soft skin of her inner thigh. “In the worst way. But only if you want me to.”

“Oh.” Sophie felt her cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and desire—but mostly desire. “I trust you,” she said firmly. “And if anything makes me uncomfortable, I’ll let you know.”

“Good.” Reese’s voice vibrated through her like a purr. “Because I think you’re going to like this.”