Celeste stood up and moved toward him. Reaching him, she tiptoed and pressed a light kiss on his lips.
Dominic accepted it slowly. Shutting his eyes, as he deepened the kiss, and pulled her to himself.
One hand slipped around her waist, and the other cradled the back of her head with a careful tenderness, as though even this—her presence, her warmth—might shatter in his grasp.
"I've missed you," he murmured into the kiss.
He broke it slowly, lips trailing hers as if reluctant to leave. Then, he buried his face into her hair and took a breath that was not just air, but her.
"I was only gone for the night," Celeste laughed, her voice soft and light.
Dominic didn't respond. His grip around her tightened as though it had been longer, as though time with her moved differently. Fleeting when she was near, and unbearable when she wasn't.
She eased away a little, her hands now resting on his chest.
"Do you have work after breakfast?" she asked gently.
