The weekend after the fundraiser, Melissa invited David to Glenvara again—this time for a quieter evening. No formal dinner. No stiff introductions. Just the two of them, a bottle of wine, and a roaring fire.
The estate was quieter in winter. The roses had all been trimmed back. The garden statues loomed under grey skies. But inside, warmth reigned. Candles flickered. Logs crackled. And Melissa had never looked more at home.
She wore a burgundy cashmere dress, barefoot on the polished wooden floor, her hair down in soft curls. David watched her from the couch, glass in hand, utterly mesmerized.
"You're staring," she teased.
"You're unfair," he said, "and you know it."
She walked toward him slowly, stopping to pour another glass of wine. "I could say the same about you. That shirt is… criminal."
He smiled as she curled into his lap, wine forgotten.
They kissed—slow, heated, urgent.
This was different from the first time. Deeper. Hungrier. It wasn't about discovery anymore. It was about knowing. And wanting.
Her hands slipped under his shirt, fingers trailing across the warm planes of his stomach. He inhaled sharply as her fingers found his nipples, his grip on her tightening.
"You sure?" he murmured, lips brushing her ear.
She nodded, breathless. "I've never been more sure of anything."
His hands moved across her body in a deliberate quickness...searching, finding. Melissa felt like she was lifted up in the air without been touched, David knew her body like no one else has, he knew how to charm her body like a fluitist would charm a serpent, she was helpless under his touch.
They moved together in silence, the world fading behind velvet drapes and firelight. Every sigh, every kiss was a language only they spoke. Every touch, an archeological discovery.
When he laid her down on the fur rug, the flames danced across their bare skin. He moved above her like a wave, slow and deep, his eyes never leaving hers.
She was ready for him. Yes. So ready she could literally beg him to become one with her. how is this possible? She usually made love for several casual reasons, ...her wanting it like her life depended on it was not one of those reasons. She tightened her grip on him like she wanted him to fuse with her and share her body organs.
Finally, he slid into her.
She gasped his name, and he stilled her with a kiss.
"I've got you," he whispered. "Always."
Their bodies met again and again, and when they came undone, it was not with noise but reverence.
Afterward, they lay together, tangled in each other and the blanket she'd pulled from the couch.
David stroked her back, slow and thoughtful. "What happens after we graduate?" he asked quietly.
Melissa turned her face toward his chest. "We build."
He looked down at her. "You want that?"
"More than I want air."
He kissed the top of her head. "Then I'll build with you. Every day. Every stone...but...not without challenges I must warn you" he said...thoughtfully.
She rolled in his arms to face him "David, with you I have the strenght to face a thousand dragons. I will never give you up"
He tightened his hold on her like she was going to evaporate out of his touch "oh! I love you Mel. I love you like my life depends on it" He kissed her softly "it just might"
They lay there in peace, the fire dimming to embers.
Outside, the wind howled.
But inside, beneath silk and skin and the memory of flame, two souls slept in safety.