9.2. Sunny

They walk into his living room, where Cassie gasps in surprise. "Damn, Sunny!"

As he watches her, wide-eyed Cassie surveys the room. Standing to the side, there are two enormous suitcases that look like they are about to burst at the seams from all that is crammed inside. Another two similar size suitcases, still open in the middle of the floor, are buried under the small mountains of packages, and full shopping bags, and pieces of clothing. There are some plastic bags and boxes, lying around, and a small, carry-on size suitcase, open and half-empty.

"How are you going to get it all to the airport?" carefully not to step on anything, she walks to one of the standing suitcases, which beats her if not in height, but definitely in weight. "And on and off the plane?"

"I have a plan," he shrugs, "I've being doing this for years."

Looking around the room, Cassie laughs, "I like a man with the plan."

I love you, Sunny thinks, unable to take his eyes off of her. Once he saw her out of her usual casual wear. A couple of years ago they both had to attend some interdepartmental black-tie event, and there she was - a silver silk dress, high heels, hair and make-up done. Breathtaking, he thought then. And, of course, Cassie noticed him staring and proceeded to tease him for the rest of the night about the power of women in heels, and how his daughters, when they learn it, would truly walk all over him.

But now, in her usual plaid shirt over a simple vest, coupled with a pair of worn-out jeans and finished with converses, she still looks stunning to his eyes. He knows she doesn't need heels to have the power to walk all over him.

"Next time I am packing for the holidays," she continues in the meantime, "you are the first on my list to call." Her gaze roams around the room until it reaches him. And halts.

Realizing that he's been caught, helplessly Sunny smiles at her, "Would you like some tea? Wine?"

"Sunny, I just spent the afternoon eating and drinking." Watching her steps in a sea of soon-to-be luggage, she carefully makes her way back to him. "You should see how much food my family can cook and consume."

"Of course…" he utters lamely.

"But I thought…" she starts, glances at him, and then away, "Never mind. It looks like you are very busy, and I should get going and let you…"

"No, no, I'm not busy," Sunny doesn't let her finish. "You don't have to leave." Cassie is looking at him now, and with the courage, or foolishness, that comes out of desperation, he steps closer to her. "Please, stay." Please.

"Sunny." Her voice is soft, and his heart truly begins to race. He desperately wants her to stay. And also, he wants to, no, he needs to know what it is that has brought her here in the first place.

"Cassie," there is no wall or anything else for him to lean on, but the blue radiance of her eyes draws Sunny in, and he takes the plunge, "you haven't come only to wish me nice holidays, have you?"

"No."

She looks at him in such a way that, not quite believing his own audacity, he takes another small step towards her. "And you did not come for tea…"

They are so close now that he feels the puff of her soft "no" on his skin.

Somewhere on the back of his mind there is a though that he should probably go for a bit more clarification, but at the moment Sunny's body seems to acquire a mind of its own, and next thing he knows he is leaning in and brushing his lips against Cassie's. In response, she slips her arms around his shoulders and pulls him closer. The light touch of the lips sends shiver through his spine, and Cassie's reaction gets his heartrate to accelerate once again. Between the two of them, they quickly turn his cautious attempt into a real kiss, and Sunny is a lost man.

Oh, how he has missed this, kissing her, hearing her soft whimpers, feeling her warmth under his fingertips. All his memories that he's survived on for the past six days, are nothing in comparison to the real thing. In less than his one accelerated heartbeat, he is completely drunk on the taste of her mouth, and the thought of all the possibilities that tonight can bring threatens to overwhelm him. Cassie seems to be in a similar state, judging by the way her body practically bows into his, and her hands, sliding up and down his back at first, now clasp around his neck, like that is the only way she can keep herself upright.

One kiss flows into another, and then one more, with brief breaks in between that are just long enough for a raged breath or two, before the lips are back on lips, and the tongues are intertwined once again. When the need for air becomes too great, Sunny uses the respite to drag his lips along her jaw line, and then lower, down the colon of her neck, nipping and tasting her skin. Cassie, her eyes closed, her breathing fast and shallow, tilts her head back for easier access, and then, when he finds a sensitive spot to lick, somewhere on the juncture between her neck and the collar bone, she moans. Suddenly, with a very little brain power that is still under his control, Sunny realizes that if they don't move now, there is a very good chance they'll end up on the floor, in the piles of his would-be luggage.

And yet, with the fingers of his right hand tangled in Cassie's soft hair, his left hand on the small of her back, deep under her vest, and his lips on her skin, he can't imagine losing any of these points of contact even for a moment. And so, blindly, he takes a step backwards in the general direction of the couch. With a slight nudge he prompts Cassie to follow. When she does, Sunny takes another blind step, and his foot catches in a bag. The bag squeaks loudly.

The unexpectedness on the sound makes both of them freeze. Then Cassie slowly opens her eyes and looks at him. He swallows hard and detaches his lips from her neck. There is a moment of complete stillness, before Cassie snorts. "What do you have there? A rubber ducky?"

Sunny's brain takes a while to engage. He stares at Cassie, simultaneously trying to process her reaction and to actually formulate an answer to her questions.

"It's a giraffe." He finally says with a lopsided smile, and then adds needlessly. "I think."

Cassie bites her lip in a visible attempt to curb a laugh. And fails.

It starts with a short giggle, but as Sunny keep staring at her in confusion, Cassie goes into a full laughing mode, which lasts for a couple of minutes. "A giraffe," she sobs, between the bursts of laughter, "Not a ducky." Soon, breathless, she is practically crying into Sunny's shoulder. "A rubber giraffe… not a ducky…"

Sunny watches her, and his own smile gets bigger. He decides that he doesn't' care why she'd find an identity of a squeaky toy to be so funny. Whatever makes Cassie laugh is fine by him. And when she starts to come downs, he holds her, gently rubbing her back. His nose pressed into the top of her head, he inhales a lungful of the faint fruity smell of her shampoo, and a bit of a smoke from her sister's barbeque, and, underneath it all, her own unique scent. And suddenly he feels how the warm wave of tenderness washes over him. For the moment it pushes aside his desire and his yearning for her and leaves him with an overwhelming need to make her happy. Any way he possibly can. For as long as she would allow him.

When, finally, calm, Cassie raises her head from his shoulder to look at him, the sparkles of laughter still dancing in the warm blue of her eyes, Sunny almost chocks. Quickly he looks away, terrified that she will be able to see the true depth of his regard for her. Least of all he wants to alarm her with the love that can easily burst into flames and burn him to ashes.

"Sunny?" Cassie utters softly.

"Umm," his eyes roam around the room until they fall on the couch. Maybe, if she would let him, Sunny thinks, he can distract her. She seems to like the way he kisses her, and he would be more than happy to do it for as long as… Sunny stops that train of thought, because he feels like he is about to destroy his chances. Besides, she's never told him why she came. What if he's misread the situation? Bloody hell…

"Sunny?' Cassie repeats, cupping his cheek in her palm, so he is forced to look at her. He swallows and opens his mouth to say something, then closes it again, because he has no idea what to say.

Cassie watches him for a moment, then, after a quick glance at the couch, offers him an impish grin. Sunny knows she can read him like an open book, she always could, so he has to do something, but what? Kiss her? Reassure her?... Confess and pledge his eternal devotion to her?

Cassie interrupts his panicked thoughts. "Sunny, you do have a bed, don't you?"

He takes a moment to search her face and make sure that he's heard her right. Then, not trusting his voice, simply nods.

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A/N Thank you for reading and reviewing.