James was not about to make promises that he couldn’t keep. In a way, he felt like Lane was asking him to make that promise –<i>I promise not to hurt you. I promise not to be a selfish prick. I promise that it’s all going to be OK. </i>He’d been around that block too many times to know that it just wasn’t<b>true</b>. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that the girl’s hang ups were entirely up to a few bad relationships that had left her unable to trust<i>him. </i>He had a whole bunch of baggage that he had just dumped on her lap that any twenty three year old young woman, old soul, power entity, what have you – and not even his last lady love had been able to tolerate it for very long.<br/><br/>But something ached in the cavity of his chest where his heart still thumped along after all these years. That kind of desperate feeling that kept his hands anchored on her body to hold her to him. As much as the alchemist could use her and push her away like he was capable of doing, he didn’t want her to go away. He wanted her right here, nestled on top of him like this, even after the shit storm had rolled over and there was nothing left but his fuck ups and her to contend with. There was something about this<i>girl </i>that dragged at him to the point that he couldn’t stand it – and dragged her back down on his chest with one hand wandering back up her spine until he gripped the back of her neck.<br/><br/>He felt guilt for his own selfishness, but in this, he was going to hang on until she couldn’t take anymore. Tonight, he would feed off her frustration that he was going to bite his tongue about happily ever afters until the morning.<br/><br/>“<i>Fuck it</i>is the right word choice, isn’t it?” He whispered, his grin sardonic before her lips descended on his. Fingertips dug into the soft plushness of her ass as his hips ground into hers. His mouth parted underneath her own as she both succumbed and fought against the reality that he had spun tonight.<br/><br/>There was no desperate tangle of tongues like their first night together. No, he took his time with the way his lips parted her with his head tilted back and the firmness of her mouth slanting against hers to ease the tender petals apart to allow his tongue access to the temptations of her mouth. His hands skimmed underneath her shirt when they left the globes of her ass, fingertips trailing the soft skin like he expected to feel the wings underneath still. Though his wrists caught her shirt as his hands edged their way higher, dragging the shirt up until her had wound his hands to her shoulder.<br/><br/>“Up,” he murmured lightly, urging her to lift her arms so that he could slide her top up and over her head. He had to part their kiss to do so, his eyes watching her face even as his fingers nimbly roved back down the soft curves of her back to undo the catches of her bra. Both his hands stroked along her skin as he pulled that from her, too, gently and without force – though his motions were deliberate once he had left her entire upper torso bare for his inspection. “I think something is up for the challenge,” he assented softly.<br/><br/>This time the roll of his hips followed the same deliberation of his hands on her body. The fact that she wore a skirt made it easier for his thighs to nudge hers apart enough that she could feel the bulge of his erection through his pants right up against the panties she wore underneath. His fingers had drifted back down, tracing her skin, over her front until they passed over her nipples in the lightest of grazes. He watched her as he did this, the barest hint of a grin on his face, before he pinched them lightly between his fingertips.<br/><br/>“I want to take my time with you, Lane Barnes, instead of rushing straight into things,” he finally said, his voice low, as he curled himself up. His palms moved down to cup the undersides of her breasts, pushing them up. His mouth caught the right one, engulfing the tip in a suckle while his tongue darted forward to tease the nipple at the tip, flicking it teasingly while his thumb followed the motion on her left. Of course, the breathed words could have meant a few different things.