Chapter 4



"We'll see." Crawling on her knees, Kairi moved over his thighs with

her back to him. "Let me get these boots off you."

Sora braced himself with his hands behind him and lifted one foot.

"I like having your sweet behind right there, Kairi. I like it a

lot."

She grinned at him over her shoulder and managed to get his first

boot pulled off. "I had no idea you were such a hound dog. When did

you...you know. Have your first sexual thought about me?"

"Ever since you got breasts."

Kairi laughed out loud, and almost landed on her face when the other

boot slid free. "That was what?" she asked, "when I was about 13?"

Sora's hand slid up the outside of her thigh, making her gasp and go

still. "Yeah," he growled. "About that."

Moving before his fingers could make her forget her intent, Kairi

turned around to face him. She shoved him flat, then leaned over him

until their noses almost touched. "You can't tell me, Sora,

that you've been thinking about me since I was a snot-nosed kid."

His big hand cupped her cheek. "I have. And you were never

snot-nosed. Ornery, yes, and pig-headed, but never — "

Kairi plopped down on his abdomen, making him grunt. "Bull."

"It's true." He caught her hips and held her still. "All my

adolescent fantasies were over you, sweets. You kept me awake more

nights than you'll ever know. But after awhile I managed to convince

myself that we were best at being friends. And that's true. You're

the finest person I know, and I'd die rather than give you up. I

recently figured out, though, that I want more than just

friendship."

His thumbs rubbed her waist, gently, convincingly. There was no

apology in his tone when he admitted, "I want everything."

"Oh, Sora." He said the most wonderful things. It had always been

that way. Whenever she was feeling low, she could count on Sora to

cheer her up. He either distracted her, or teased her, or talked

with her until she could put things into perspective.

When she'd wanted to fix up her family home, he'd helped teach her

how to do plumbing, and he and his father had taught her some

carpentry. She'd worked the farm with him on occasion, and even

helped his mother remodel the family room. She'd always cherished

her time with him and his parents.

Sora had learned the handyman tools out of the necessity for keeping

an old farmhouse in showcase form, but he had no real interest in

the work, not the way Kairi did. He much preferred running the diner

and made no apologies to anyone for it. After her father had died,

he'd held her hand through the funeral, then baked her the absolute

best peach cobbler she'd ever tasted. That night, when her mother

insisted on being alone, shutting out her only daughter, Sora had

held Kairi while she cried. No one else had ever seen her cry.

Choked now with emotion, Kairi leaned down and kissed him lightly.

"What would I do without you?"

Sora tucked her hair behind her ears and with absolute conviction,

said, "whatever needed to be done."

His faith in her was staggering. When he tried to bring her back for

another kiss, Kairi leaned away. "You say you want everything." Her

fingers trailed over his cheek, down his throat to his chest. "Well

so do I. And right now, I want to touch you." She scooted back to

sit near his knees and looked him over from his abdomen to the top

of his head.