CHAPTER EIGHT #4
Dana nodded slowly. The distinction gave shape to a future she had feared might be impossible.
Brynn looked at the presidential pin. "Are you asking to begin the dynamic tonight?
" Dana considered the question. Desire pulsed beneath her skin.
The confession of love had left her open and achingly aware of Brynn's body.
She wanted to kneel. She also wanted their first exchange after the conflict to begin for the right reason.
"Yes, but not because of what happened outside."
"What do you need?"
"I need to surrender because I want you."
Brynn's expression changed. Desire became visible.
"What else?"
"I need to know the discipline at the retreat did not make you afraid to touch me."
"It did not."
"I need more than kissing."
Brynn's thumb moved slowly along Dana's throat. "What are you asking for?" Dana's face warmed. She had commanded armies with less vulnerability than the answer required.
"Intimacy. I want you to undress me. I want to kneel while you do it. I want you to touch me because you desire me, not because you are comforting me or caring for me after discipline."
"Yes."
The word carried promise.
"Tonight?" Dana asked.
Brynn looked at the clock. It was nearly nine.
"You have an intelligence briefing at seven. You need sleep. You also have tomorrow evening clear."
Dana's mouth curved faintly. "Monica?"
"She believes you are reviewing agricultural policy."
"An unlikely cover."
"She selected it."
Brynn's hand moved from Dana's neck to the presidential pin. She touched it but did not remove it.
"Not tonight."
Disappointment moved openly across Dana's face. Brynn saw it. "Why?"
"Because we have just said we love each other for the first time."
"That seems like an argument in favor."
"It is an argument for not rushing past the meaning of it."
Dana exhaled. Brynn's expression softened. "I want our first sexual exchange to begin with preparation. Time. Privacy. A discussion of what you want, what you have experienced, what you do not want, and how we handle the hours afterward." Dana's body reacted to the certainty in her voice.
"You have thought about it."
"Extensively."
Heat spread through Dana. Brynn stepped closer until their bodies nearly touched.
"When I undress you, I do not intend to be interrupted by an intelligence briefing. When you kneel for me, it will not be because you are waiting to learn whether I will continue. You will know exactly what I intend to do."
The promise moved through Dana with devastating precision.
"Tomorrow," she whispered.
"Tomorrow."
Brynn kissed her again. This kiss remained controlled but carried none of the restraint of simple reassurance.
Brynn's hand tightened at Dana's waist. Dana felt the edge of the authority she would willingly invite the following night.
When Brynn withdrew, Dana attempted to follow.
Brynn stopped her with one finger beneath her chin.
"Not yet." Dana's eyes narrowed. "You are enjoying this. "
"Yes."
The admission drew a reluctant smile from Dana.
Brynn released her. "We are not entering the dynamic tonight.
I am not ordering you to sleep. I am asking whether you will rest." Dana looked toward the bedroom.
"Yes." Brynn's expression warmed. "May I stay?
" Dana's throat tightened. "Yes." They prepared for bed without ceremony.
Brynn changed in the bathroom while Dana removed her blouse, trousers, and presidential pin.
She placed the pin in the bedside drawer, not as a transition but because the day had ended.
When Brynn returned, she wore soft trousers and a dark sleep shirt.
Dana lay beneath the covers in a long cotton nightdress.
Brynn joined her. They faced each other in the dim light.
Dana traced the scar along Brynn's jaw.
"I am still angry that you watched the crowd form and could not reach me," Brynn said.
Dana nodded.
"I am still embarrassed that I ignored Lacey."
"Good."
Dana lifted an eyebrow.
"Not good that you ignored her," Brynn clarified. "Good that you understand why it matters."
"I do."
Brynn kissed her fingertips.
"The anger can exist beside love."
"I am not accustomed to that."
"Sylvia never became angry with you?"
"Constantly."
"Then you are familiar with the concept."
Dana almost laughed.
"The marriage taught me that anger frequently means someone is preparing to leave."
Brynn's expression softened. "Sometimes anger means someone intends to stay and requires change." Dana looked at her. "Are you staying?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation. Dana moved closer.
Brynn drew her against her chest, careful of the healing side.
They remained that way in the quiet bedroom.
The Service knew Brynn was in the residence.
It knew she had saved the president and had returned for limited duty.
It knew nothing about the rules, the kneeling, the discipline, the tenderness, or the promise waiting for the following night. Dana listened to Brynn's heartbeat.
"Tomorrow," she said.
Brynn's hand moved slowly through her hair. "Tomorrow, you will tell me exactly what you want."
"And then?"
Brynn's voice lowered. "Then I will decide how to give it to you." Desire tightened low in Dana's body. Brynn kissed her forehead. "Sleep." The word was not a command. Dana obeyed anyway.