Local Hero

here like this.” She pressed a hand to her stomach, surprised that it was tied in knots. “I think I was hoping you’d just sort of sweep me away so I wouldn’t have to make a decision.”
    He turned to her. “That’s a cop-out, Hester.”
    “I know.” She couldn’t look at him then, wasn’t certain she dared. “I’ve never been with anyone but Rad’s father. The truth is, I’ve never wanted to be.”
    “And now?” He only wanted a word, one word.
    She pressed her lips together. “It’s been so long, Mitch. I’m frightened.”
    “Would it help if I told you I am too?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Hester.” He crossed to her to lay his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me.” When she did, her eyes were wide and achingly clear. “I want you to be sure, because I don’t want regrets in the morning. Tell me what you want.”
    It seemed her life was a series of decisions. There was no one to tell her which was right or which was wrong. As always, she reminded herself that once the decision was made, she alone would deal with the consequences and accept the responsibility.
    “Stay with me tonight,” she whispered. “I want you.”

Chapter 8
    He cupped her face in his hands and felt her tremble. He touched his lips to hers and heard her sigh. It was a moment he knew he would always remember. Her acceptance, her desire, her vulnerability.
    The apartment was silent. He would have given her music. The scent of the roses she’d put in a vase was pale next to the fragrance of the garden he imagined for her. The lamp burned brightly. He wouldn’t have chosen the secrets of the dark, but rather the mystery of candlelight.
    How could he explain to her that there was nothing ordinary, nothing casual in what they were about to give each other? How could he make her understand that he had been waiting all his life for a moment like this? He wasn’t certain he could choose the right words or that the words he did choose would reach her.
    So he would show her.
    With his lips still lingering on hers, he swept her up into his arms. Though he heard her quick intake of breath, she wrapped her arms around him.
    “Mitch—”
    “I’m not much of a white knight.” He looked at her, half smiling, half questioning. “But for tonight we can pretend.”
    He looked heroic and strong and incredibly, impossibly sweet. Whatever doubts had remained slipped quietly away. “I don’t need a white knight.”
    “Tonight I need to give you one.” He kissed her once more before he carried her into the bedroom.
    There was a part of him that needed, ached with that need, so much so that he wanted to lay her down on the bed and cover her with his body. There were times that love ran swiftly, even violently. He understood that and knew that she would too. But he set her down on the floor beside the bed and touched only her hand.
    He drew away just a little. “The light.”
    “But—”
    “I want to see you, Hester.”
    It was foolish to be shy. It was wrong, she knew, to want to have this moment pass in the dark, anonymously. She reached for the bedside lamp and turned the switch.
    The light bathed them, capturing them both standing hand in hand and eye to eye. The quick panic returned, pounding in her head and her heart. Then he touched her and quieted it. He drew off her earrings and set them on the bedside table so that the metal clicked quietly against the wood. She felt a rush of heat, as though with that one simple, intimate move he had already undressed her.
    He reached for her belt, then paused when her hands fluttered nervously to his. “I won’t hurt you.”
    “No.” She believed him and let her hands drop away. He unhooked her belt to let it slide to the floor. When he lowered his lips to hers again, she slipped her arms around his waist and let the power guide her.
    This was what she wanted. She couldn’t lie to herself or make excuses. For tonight, she wanted to think only as a woman, to be thought of only as a woman. To be desired, enjoyed, wondered over. When their lips parted, their eyes met. And she smiled.
    “I’ve been waiting for that.” He touched a finger to her lips, overcome with a pleasure that was so purely emotional even he couldn’t describe it.
    “For what?”
    “For you to smile at me when I kiss you.” He brought his hand to her face. “Let’s try it again.”
    This time the kiss went deeper, edging closer to those uncharted territories. She lifted her hands to his