They made love while the smoke broke into mists above their heads. And when they were spent, they clung still, unwilling to break the unity so newly discovered. 'You've hurt yourself,' Parks murmured, touching a bruise on her shoulder.
'I don't feel hurt.' She buried her lips at his throat and knew she would never forget the smell of smoke and ash and loving. 'I hit you.'
'Yeah, I noticed.'
Hearing the grin in his voice, she closed her eyes. 'You were only thinking of me. I'm sorry.'
'Now you're thinking of us.' He pressed his lips to her temple. 'I'm glad.'
'We won,' she whispered.
Parks lifted his head to look down at her. Taking his thumb, he rubbed a streak of soot from her skin. It was the color of her eyes, he thought, seeing it on his own flesh. 'We won, Brooke.'
'Everything.'
His lips curved before he brought them down to hers. 'Everything.'
She cradled his head on her shoulder, gently stroking his hair. Tiny pieces of ash continued to float above her like memories. 'I said once I didn't want anything to change… I was afraid to let it change. I was wrong.' Closing her eyes, she let herself absorb his closeness. 'It's not quite the same now.'
'Better,' he murmured. 'It makes a difference.
It'll always make a difference.'
She sighed, knowing the contentment she had always searched for was irrevocably bound up in one man, one love. 'But we'll still play the game, won't we?'
This time when he lifted his head, he grinned. Brooke's lips curved in response. 'By our own rules.'
