More silence.
Sam finished his coffee. Maya watched his hand shake slightly as he placed his cup on the table between them.
“The candles were a nice touch.” Her voice cracked. “Very romantic.”
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, while he covered his face with unsteady hands and inhaled all the way down to his toes, holding his breath for just a beat, before finally dropping his hands and emerging. He let out a quiet chuckle.
“Maya.” Sam’s deep, smooth voice was soft and familiar. He leaned toward her and touched her hand. She stiffened. “It’s okay.” He hesitated for a fraction of a second before putting his fingers under her chin, lifting her face. This close to him, Maya was enveloped in the aroma of coffee mingled with his soap. She was able to appreciate the smoothness of his skin where he had recently shaved, as well as the welcome roughness from callouses where his fingers touched her chin. “Dave tells me there’s excellent hiking here. Get—” he cleared his throat “—dressed. We can check it out.”
Maya stared at him. There was amusement and understanding in everything about him. From the warmth of his eyes, to the crookedness of his smile; from the strength in his jaw, to the words he was saying. Everything about him shouted that he loved her. Even his hand under her chin was gentle and strong, but not demanding. He had been saying it, but she hadn’t really understood that until now. Now that she did, it was clear to her that she loved him, too. Why hadn’t she seen this before? Her whole body relaxed. She put her mug next to Sam’s as he stood. She looked up at him. “Where are you going?”
Sam laughed as he gave a deep sigh. “To take a shower.”
Maya wrinkled her brow and assessed him. Wet hair. The smell of soap. “You already had a shower.”
He inhaled deeply and rubbed his hand over his mouth and jaw as he mumbled, “Cold shower, Maya. Really cold.” He started toward the bathroom.
She grabbed his arm. “Are you sure you want to do that?” It was more than a whisper, more than a question. Just speaking the words made her heart pound.
He wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Maya, we don’t have to...”
He stopped when she rose to face him. She stood on the tips of her toes and tilted her face to him. She was close enough to feel his breath on her lips. She looked at him from under her eyelashes. “The thing is, I love you and...”
He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to look her in the eye. His grin went from lost to found, his excitement barely contained in his face. “What did you say?”
Maya pressed herself closer to him, still looking into his eyes. “I said that I love you.” She couldn’t suppress her own small smile as she took his hands from her face and held them in her own. She brought her lips close to his and softly continued, “If you want to celebrate that with a hike, I can get dressed.” His heart pounded against hers and his breath was getting shallow.
“What’s my other option?” Sam’s voice was soft and hoarse and his words touched her mouth.
She concentrated on his lips as she whispered back. “Nothiking...” She flicked her eyes in the direction of the bed. “You could check with the coin.”
“No need.” She barely heard his words because he let go of whatever restraint he had left and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her to him. His lips were on hers and he kissed her as if she were a craving, and he just couldn’t get enough of her. He tasted like orange and coffee and she pressed even closer to him, kissing him fiercely, as if she couldn’t get enough of him, either.
He paused for breath, and she felt soft, full lips on her eyes and chin, before he took her face in his hands again. She half opened her eyes as his lips lightly grazed hers. He looked at her and whispered, his voice heavy with desire, “I’m yours.”
She stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips along his jawline toward his mouth. She stopped just short of touching his lips with hers, grabbed a handful of his T-shirt and led him to the bed. “I’m yours.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SAM
Maryland, 1996
SAMWOKEHOURSLATER, the sun in the afternoon sky and Maya asleep next to him. She had rested her head on his bare chest, her long, dark tresses sprawled across them both. The scent of honeysuckle from her hair wafted around, enveloping him as he absently stroked her hair. Clearly, he’d been wasting his time with other girls. Maya was the one. That he felt this way about her in so little time was not the norm for him, but he knew in that moment that he would never love anyone like he loved Maya.
No, that wasn’t quite true: he had known after that first date.
“Hey.” Maya’s sleepy voice interrupted his thoughts.
Sam smiled and turned on his side to better see her. “Hi.”
She rested her head on his arm, brushing her soft, sweet-smelling hair away from him.
He traced a silken path from her shoulder to her elbow and back. “You were right.” Her skin was smooth in contrast to the rough calluses on his hands, and for a moment, Sam considered pulling his hand away. But she hadn’t complained yet. In fact, she snuggled her body closer.
She smiled. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Remember when you said that maybe I didn’t know anything else except what my mother wanted for me?” He traced a line from her shoulder to collarbone and toward her neck. He smiled in satisfaction as goose bumps appeared on her skin.
