"Clarity and obscurity," he repeated in confirmation, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. He would abide by these limits, these boundaries. He appreciated her frankness and her direct manner.
He spent a few moments in that charged, electric space where their lips were both parted, almost touching but not quite; hungry but savoring the moment before finally indulging.
His breathing began to shift, and then his lips descended upon hers once more, both hands cradling her face as a low sound from the back of his throat slipped out. This time the kiss was filled with more heat, a building ardor that was still slow and searching. One hand drifted a bit lower from her jaw, letting his thumb stroke down the line of her throat, then back up again as his tongue tasted her lower lip, a request to deepen the kiss, to taste more of her mouth.
He knew little of her, her history, or what her time in Fairy had been like so far. Save for a couple guesses he could make as to how she'd gotten the irritation on her wrists. But he made no assumptions, and he'd given her his word that he would not press beyond her limits. And right now, he didn't know where any of those limits were, save for one; so he intended to go slowly, particularly in this first kiss.