1/2
Every word she says is so damn sweet to him, flowing like honey bourbon and filling him up with a warmth that leaves his heart banging like a happy drum in his chest. His eyes, ever expressive, show every bit of joy he's feeling-- focused on Lita as they are, that bright blue seems to glow with the fondness he's feeling for her, staring at her like she's goddamned gold in his eyes. It's a look that very few people know, intoxicating in its intensity and focus. She says she doesn't apologize for keeping him out, says she mighta done it every night since, and his smile comes through with earnest pleasure that he doesn't even try to conceal.
In the moment, it's hard for him to remember what a mess this is. He's been lying to her, lying not just about who he is but who he's been. And even if he wasn't lying to her, their worlds couldn't be further apart-- he will never be able to step foot in the shelter she calls home, never be able to spend a night in her bed. She has a job, a vital role to play, and she's committed to that purpose. He's committed to his own. But he's riding so high on the wave of her affection that he can't even recall what the complications are, he only knows the way she makes him feel. Impulsiveness and passion take him over and he asks her to be his lady, and before reason and logic can catch up with him she's taking his hands, drawing him in.
Rodeo's arms go around her waist at her urging, crossing behind her back to hold her close against him. With their bodies lined up, he can feel the quickened pace of her heart, but it only matches his own. With her face so close to his own, he has to tip his chin down to keep his eyes on her's, and up close that focus is even more intense-- she is the only thing he sees, the center of the universe at that very moment. He watches her with that focus, that rapt attention, as she tells him that she's his. Gladness sparks in his gaze and his lips twitch with a smile, tugging at the corners of his mouth as he stares at her. When she kisses him, the answer is there-- there is no hesitation, only the heat of the desire he feels for her. Not just for the physical, not just the touches and the kisses and the way her body feels pressed against his. It could never just be about that for him. The flings he has are fun distractions, but they don't touch his heart. The hold Lita has on him is something else entirely. It's her mind that has ensnared him-- her quick quips, her stubborn resolve, her sharp intellect and cool rationale. He finds himself hungry for her thoughts even more than her body, desirous of her opinions, wanting to confide in her even more than to fuck her and he's sure he ain't ever felt a thing like that before. It's a desire he can't deny, doesn't want to deny. He's not afraid of what he's feeling, even if he ought to be. Even if he's managed to make such a goddamn mess of this that he ought to be shaking in his boots when she says she's his and kisses him with that question on her lips. Instead he only answers emphatically, kissing her with the full force of the affirmation he's feeling.
He's thinking about what she'd said while he kisses her. I don't want anyone else. It's something he needed to hear, and something shifts within him. Up until this point, the fixation he's had on Lita has coexisted peacefully with his ramblin' ways, perhaps because a part of him had been so sure that the feeling couldn't possibly be mutual. His days often end with a bottle and a bitch, but he has very little attachment to the latter. The idea of committing to something has never frightened him-- he just don't commit unless he damn well means it. But once his mind is made up on a thing it can't be undone, so when Lita says she doesn't want anyone else, it's all he needs to hear. If he can have her, there's nothing else he wants either.
Maybe all of that reads in his kiss, because this time it feels different to him. Those other kisses had been hot and fun and full of passion, but this one's a promise. She wanted to give him an out, but he's all in. His heart is soaring and his head is rushing and when he finally pulls back so he can open his eyes and see her again, there can't be any question left. He's hers.