Jumping Him

She decided to try the words on for size. "Love you, too," she murmured, her smile spreading as the tension instantly washed out of his body.

"Do you mean that?" he whispered.

"Did you?"

He considered her question, the music filling the room unheard. He'd felt her attraction almost from the beginning, from their first walk in Savannah when he'd taken her hand. At first, he'd tried to ignore her siren like call, but when she'd offered herself to him in her hotel room, his resistance had evaporated like a snowball in hell. Since the first time he'd touched her as a lover, he'd grown ever closer to her, but now there was more to her allure than her body. He craved her presence. When their schedules interfered and they couldn't be together, he missed her... not the sex. Did he love her? What was love? He didn't know, but he knew if he were to lose her now, it would hurt... hurt far more than the loss of any previous lover. If love was the feeling that you weren't complete without the other, as if the best part of you was missing when the other person wasn't around, then yes... he loved her.

He was quiet for a long moment, so long she thought he was trying to think of a way to extract himself. She was preparing to let him off the hook when he spoke again.

"Yes," he murmured.

She smiled again and pulled herself higher onto his chest. He watched her eyes, clearly waiting for her response to his question, his features painted with both hope and fear. As he'd considered his answer, she'd pondered her own feelings. Two such small words, only seven letters, but the power of the words had filled her with a rush of warmth unlike any she'd experienced before. She'd never told a man other than her father that she loved him, but somehow, with Josh, the words felt right, as if they fit, as if there were the final piece of the puzzle to complete the picture of their lives. Over the past month they'd drawn closer together, their lives becoming more intertwined until they had become one. She needed him in her life even more than she needed him in her bed.

He'd become the rock she clung to when she was buffeted by life's storms, and the mighty oak that sheltered her. When her family became too much to bear, he was always there... solid, dependable... and yes, even loving. She'd seen the tenderness in his eyes when she was sick, at first afraid she was going to die... and then afraid she wasn't. He'd come to her unbidden, made her a thin soup, and then later gently mopped her forehead as she knelt on the floor and vomited it into the toilet. Later, he'd tucked her into bed and kept vigil over her until she'd gone to sleep. He hadn't been there when she woke the next morning, but he'd left a note telling her to call him if she needed anything, and she knew, knew with the same certainty that the sun would rise the next morning, that if she called, he'd come to her. Later, she'd found a selection of fizzy drinks and another serving of soup waiting for her in the refrigerator, and a small carton of plain crackers on the kitchen counter. He was truly a good man... a man she could love with all her heart.

"So did I," she murmured before taking his lips.

No kiss had ever been sweeter as he pulled her onto his chest, his kiss deepening and becoming more... what? Loving was the only word she could think of, and the power of the kiss nearly took her breath.

She slowly pulled back and watched his face until he broke into a smile. "Love you," he said, his voice strong, firm, and without even a hint of reluctance or hesitation. There was no longer any question he loved this woman, her giving him her heart removing any lingering doubts his words were right and proper, and he'd prove it to her every day.

She smiled. "Love you, too." Her smile spread. She decided she liked how the words fit, and they were surprisingly easy to say.

He tumbled, dumping her on the mattress as he came lightly to rest on her chest. Supporting most of his weight on his elbows and knees, his arms tucked under her to hold her close, he watched her face, his eyes soft and full of love, his only movement his thumbs as he caressed her face, Ed Sheeran's Perfect making the moment even more special.

She smiled softly, her gaze locked with his. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, both in body and soul, and she'd given him her heart. He was, without question, the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on the planet, and he'd cherish the gift she'd given him until he drew his last breath.

A faint smile danced over his lips, a smile her lips echoed, before she cupped the back of his head in her hand and threw his lips to hers.