She crossed to him and stood between his knees and took his face in both hands and kissed him.

He kissed her back with everything — the rope and the candle and the waiting and the week of thinking about this — all of it arriving at once, his hands finding her waist immediately and pulling her against him and she let him because she had not said he couldn't touch and his hands on her skin were warm and certain and real.

She pulled back and looked at him.

"Floor," she said.

He looked at her.

"Adrian." Her voice even. "Floor."

He slid off the desk and went to...