"You can try," he said, kissing her back and returning her hug. It really was good to see her, and he hoped this might help get her out of his mind a bit. . . though he doubted it.
He shrugged when she felt the marks on his hand. "Don't worry about it," he told her, moving around so that he was in front of her, his hands on her waist. He couldn't help but think of how he got the marks on his body, most of which had already healed. It was fun, playing around with Natasha, but he still couldn't understand why he wasn't able to follow through and actually fuck her. "Like you said, I'm a big strong man, I can handle myself. And it would be an honor to protect you for the evening."
One arm wrapped around her body, he pulled her close to him, and pushed his other hand up into her hair. "You're very pretty in the fire light, you know."