I wake up to her warm breath against my skin, her smell is all over me. I raise my head, careful not to move any other part of my body that could wake her up, open my eyes and there she is.
Somehow between the moment I fell asleep and now, her head found a place on my bare chest, her hair proudly covering my stomach and one of her hand uncounsciously stroking my skin and playing with my chest hair.
It's still early in the morning and the moonlight embrace affectionately her naked body, giving her skin a brighter shade.

When we entered this room, hours before, we were so caught up in each other's eyes, skin and lips, that I didn't even think about where she was taking me, it was only when we fell on the soft sheet that I understood we had reached her bedroom. But now, in the peace and silence of the night, I take time to really observe the world surounding me.
I feel a strange feeling of pride at how well this room fits Kate's personality. It is feminine but not uncomfortable for a man to sleep in, a lot of personal belongings - some books and a hand lotion on her bedside table, bottles of perfume I never heard of, what looks like her so-secret sketchbook - share the room with her professional life, a desk in the corner of the room is covered by numerous files and personnal notes and a laptop has pride of place on a bureau.

I take a look at my still-sleeping companion and my mind comes back, in spite of me, to yesterday's events.

Kate had left the office for about ten minutes when I decided to call it a day as well. I quickly reached the parking lot and she was standing there, cursing at her car. She had apparently spent the last ten minutes unsuccessfully trying to start up her vehicle and had eventually found much more constructive to get out and insult the 'damn car'. I gently approached her and offered to give her a lift which she thankfully accepted.
Twenty minutes later, I found myself in her apartment, drinking the strong coffee she just made to thank me for the lift. She, then, offered me to stay to share the leftover of a chilli she had cooked the day before, telling me she hated eating alone and punctuating her line of argument with her big, brown eyes directly staring at me.

I suspect her to be aware of the effect she has on me when she is staring at me like that. I mean, I have been told, more than once, that my eyes can have a control, a power over most people but I'm playing with that power. On the other way, it's the honesty in Kate's eyes that makes her so dangerous, I've never, in my whole life, seen eyes so expressive. She can easily give love or hatred, compassion or pity, with just one look and, I may be a control freak but I have to admit that she can make me fall on my knees and agree to everything she wants when she's looking at me.

And that's why I stayed. We ate in a relative silence, strangely comfortable with each other and after dinner I went to the living room while she was tidying the kitchen. She found me five minutes later observing the numerous pictures of her family and started to tell me all about the jokes her brothers liked to play on her when she was a little girl. She explained to me the rivalry her mother had stimulated between her sister and her since their births, which had lead to the difficult relationship between the young women today. She took the picture of her beloved father in her hand, stroked with her thumb the cold glass protecting it, smiled fondly and whispered to me how much she missed him and how his death had been the hardest moment of her life.

She, then, made us sit on the couch and I opened up to her, talking about my childhood, my time as a marine and my marriages, not much but that seemed to be enough for her.

I became aware of how late it was when I saw her started to blink more times than necessary, I gave her a platonic peck on the cheek, thanked her for the evening and stood up. I had the doorknob in the hand when her voice stopped me.
I turned around and saw her slowly approaching me, she was standing only a few inches from me as I looked into her eyes and I saw, there, a glint I had never seen before. She lowered her head, nervously playing with the hem of her shirt then raises her eyes on me again, uncertainty written all over her face.

"You know... I'm not that tired." There had been no seduction in her voice, she had simply looked at me and honestly expressed what she wanted, hoping that I would get the message and that it was what I wanted too.

I showed her how much I wanted that too with the first kiss I gave her on the threshold, I showed her how much I wanted that too with the few other kisses we shared on the way to her bedroom while our clothes were progessively discarding and I showed her how much I wanted that too with every part of myself in her bed.

I am lost in my sweet memories when I hear her purring, I look at her again, she lightly rubs her cheek against the bare skin of my chest and slowly opens her eyes. The cloud in her look quickly vanishes and she smiles brightly at me.
No words are exchanged when she moves her face close to mine and barely touches my lips with hers, teasing me with her breath on my face. I put a hand on the back of her head , stroking her hair and silently begging for more, more contact, more taste of her. She happily complied, opening her mouth, taking my upper lip between hers and starting sucking on it.

I realize it is still not enough, that I need much more of Katie Todd, I open my mouth, put my hands on each side of her face and take control of the kiss. I rediscover the sweet taste of her mouth, our tongues inventing a new dance while I get ready to make love to this woman again and hope as hell that it won't be the last time.