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.”
Within a few minutes, she brought a stack of clothes. She placed his on the bed and moved to the chair with her pile.
“I've been wearing this same dress since I put it on two days ago.” She pulled the garment over her head and tossed it on the couch. Next came the petticoat and undergarments. “It will feel so good to get into fresh-” her eyes met his just as she pulled the first button of her fresh camisole together.
“What is it, Daniel?” He seemed to have paled from a minute before.
“You're undressing in front of me,” he said so quietly she barely heard the words.
Karlee relaxed. “Of course I am. I've done it several times before. Surely you're used to the sounds by now.” She pulled on her bloomers.
Daniel reached for his pants. “Let me guess,” he said as he dressed. “You've thrown your clothes in a pile on the couch.”
“You're getting good.” She rested her foot on the bed as she pulled on her stockings.
“And right about now all you have on is your undergarments.”
“Good guess.” She laughed as she finished buttoning her camisole.
“They're white, of course.”
“Of course,” she answered.
“With a pink ribbon laced along the top just above the bustline like a drawstring.”
“I wove that in myself.” Karlee's fingers stopped at the last button where the pink ribbon crossed.
She glanced up. His blue eyes were staring directly at her. “You can see!” she mouthed the words.
“I can see.” He smiled.
