Luke did not hesitate. Giving the tie a resolute tug, the robe fell slightly, tantalizingly open.
The room was dark, with only the softest moonlight filtering across them through the windows. In spite of his best intentions, his eyes raked hungrily over her body; she noticed and didn't run screaming from the room. And for the first time since the terrible events of the previous morning, he felt some hope. Turning on his side, propped up on his elbow to face her, he took a deep breath to gather some self-control, then asked while idly toying with one end of the robe's belt, "Are you sure?"
And for the first time since the terrible events of the previous morning, she turned to him and smiled, albeit tentatively, at him.
Still, he wanted to be sure. His index finger slowly traced up along the edge of the robe's opening, from her belly to her throat, offering her time, just in case.
"I don't do this for just anybody, mister!" she quipped, and impatiently, she herself fully parted the robe so that she lay completely open and exposed to him.
His voice caught in his throat. There was so much he wanted to say, but that was not his way. With the light still softly shining across her, Luke saw that her eyes were now shining with clarity, not tears, and he realized what she was doing: showing him that she trusted him. In spite of what he'd done. That she still loved him, was still Lorelai, was still his.
Slowly, he approached her, fully intending to lavish her with kisses from head to toe. He placed a soft kiss over her belly button, and then began to kiss his way up to her breasts. Reaching them, he ran his tongue around one nipple, then blew on it, drawing back to watch as it became tighter. "God, Lorelai," he murmured, still awed that he had this ability to make her react to him, as he turned his attention to the other breast. He spent several minutes there, before moving upward to her throat, then her mouth.
When he reached her mouth, her arms, still in the robe's sleeves, snaked out around his neck and drew him closer to her. With equal fervor, she kissed him back, gently.
Pausing to take a breath, Luke softly stroked her hair, then helped her out of the robe's sleeves. Lorelai slowly lay back down, but not before insistently tugging at his t-shirt, which Luke promptly removed. He then paused to fan her hair out like a cloud around her.
No one would call Lorelai Gilmore an angel. Yet at that moment, to Luke Danes, that's what she was.
Luke's hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it reached out and again fingered one of her delicate nipples. Tracing the outline of one breast, he remembered how beautiful he thought she was the first time that she allowed him to touch her like this. And now, he was lucky enough to be allowed to do this again, to still do this. He traced the outline of her other breast. His mind wandered to the dress, and their future wedding night. He hoped she wasn't planning a long reception because there was no way that he'd be able to keep his hands off her. For the second time that night, Luke closed his eyes, imagining that moment, ripping that dress off her, just this side of careful. His hand moved lower, across her soft belly, and downward; he was about to stroke the vee between her legs when he heard her soft voice.
This voice was one she never used in public, one she reserved only for their most personal moments. And because it was so quiet, so different from her normal exuberant voice, he paid attention.
"Did you mean it?" she asked. "The night we got engaged..."
He hated it when she brought up minutiae from the past. It was a special hell that women seemed to inflict upon men. But tonight, he would be patient. Tonight, he could be patient. It was all about helping her, helping them, start to heal.
"I meant everything," he said, with a smile, then turned serious. "Mean what?" he countered.
"The kids," she replied, "the kids you want that I said would be nice."
"Yes," he answered without hesitation.
"Even with April?" she probed, her voice now hesitant and less confident.
"When I asked about the kids, I meant it," Luke replied. "Kids with you. Or kid. One kid. Or...well we've done the furniture thing," he ruefully continued.
"I'm not getting any younger, Luke, and with this postponement..."
Damn. He'd screwed up again.
"Can we have a discussion later?" Lorelai asked. "Soon?"
"You bet," Luke responded as Lorelai took his hand and placed it against the soft skin of her belly.
"Please, Luke..."
How could Luke refuse her any request? He rolled on top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows, and kissed and nibbled at the sensitive spot just under her ear. He then returned his attention to her mouth, and smiled into her mouth when he felt her tongue dart up between his teeth, returning his actions in kind as she explored his mouth as if she had never done so before. At first, they kissed each other ever so lightly, as though each was afraid that the other might break. But just like Luke, Lorelai could not ignore the feelings suffusing her body, nor could she ignore the thick, hard evidence of his need for her, probing between her thighs.
And there was only one thing she could think of at that moment: feeling him inside her.
"Luke...I need..." she gasped, as his fingers swirled and pushed and swirled and caused a sweet throbbing within her.
"Need you...Luke."
And then it was time for her to reach over to the nightstand. His hand moved from the side of her hip to stop her as she reached for the foil packet.
"Told you it would be a short discussion," he said, as he pushed the tip of himself into her.
Luke made love to her so gently, so tenderly, watching her reaction, making it all about her. As Lorelai's passion grew, he inhaled her breath, tasted her skin, and savored her. Not for the first time, he felt like he could spend forever exploring her, yet not ever fully know her. "Beautiful," he told her. "So, so beautiful," as he thrust deeply into her.
-----
Settling into bed, with the woman he loved in his arms, sleep on its way, Luke suddenly sat up and reached over to the nightstand.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, already half-asleep.
"Setting the alarm clocks," he replied. "The usual time for you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Sookie and I have an appointment at the flower mart…"
He winced.
"Need to postpone the order…"
There was something else on the nightstand.
"Thank you," he murmured.
"'S no problem," she answered.
"For this." He pressed the index card that belonged on the mantle into her hand. "All of us."
They would make it work.