It took little more than that, her words more a feeling than something audible. His eyes never left her face, one hand fumbling at his side while the other curved as gently as he could manage at the base of her skull.

It was like the pull of the tide, unstoppable and all-consuming, a wordless cry stifled behind clinched teeth.

He gave himself only a moment or two to catch his breath before he was on her, urging her to her feet and fumbling at the fastenings of her waistband. He mouthed at her belly, just beneath her navel, ducking to suck a kiss at the point of her hipbone as he tugged her clothes down around her thighs.