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There are moments when Paul’s aardness drops away and he suddenly says the exact right thing Those ether, ceasing to be two separate people, turning into one
That night was one of thoseto that conference in Tokyo in a couple of weeks You’re not traveling with theainst it"
"Well, then, maybe"--my cheeks flushed with heat--"maybe you could stay over"
We could be alone in the house Nowhere near family members who knoay the hell too ether with absolutely nothing between us, all night long
He looked atin a way I reht in the dacha with Lieutenant Markov Slowly, he nodded "Okay"
I laughed softly, self-conscious "It feels like we haven’t done this before"
"We haven’t Well Not here"
My Paul was only a sliver of consciousness within Lieutenant Markov that night in the Russiaverse, because he was separated from his Firebird and unable to receive any reht--so he re sex as vividly as I do I said, "Does it still count as our first time? Since it’s just our first tiainst s on either side of his hips Paul’s hands caught me at my waist When I leaned over hihtly beneath ining us just like this--without our clothes in the way
S to lose our virginity to each othertwice"
He thought about that for a e"
"Deeply weird," I agreed, just before we kissed Paul’s hands slipped beneath the hem of my shirt, slow and sure and hot
Wesex, but that didn’t mean we hadn’t had fun He kno I kiss I kno he touches me We’ve learned each other inside and out
And now I have to lie here in bed in the ht, alone and terrified for Paul’s soul--until I’m 100 percent sure my parents are asleep
By 2:00 am, I feel pretty sure Mom and Dad have drifted off, no et up, tiptoe into the living roo forFirebirds lying in front of hi each one tonor for ht against its coppery surface Softly he adds, "Part of Paul’s soul is in this thing Gotta ht?"
I nod As worried as I ain, I can’t help noticing how exhausted Theo looks No doubt he told ht after theain, less for him now "Theo--what Conley said about the dreams--you really haven’t had any?"
He remains bowed over his work "I haven’t remembered any drea I don’t remember them often" His dexterous hands hesitate, and I can sense hi me part of the deal, by the way"
"What do youConley you wanted a cure forfor you"