This was precisely how he'd gotten under her skin in the first place, by knowing her even when she didn't reveal herself, by being observant enough to understand that courting her required every bit as much patience after the having as it had him before it. The answer she gave came first in kisses, warm and intimate against his throat and shoulder, then in the look in her eyes when she lifted her head, soft and shining, and then in the tender trace of her fingertips over his jaw and face.

Speaking took a long while, but when she did, it was to say simple, "Thank you for that, Jack."