Compromising had always, ironically, been one of our strengths. 

Ironic because two more prideful, stubborn souls had never walked the earth. 

I think, and had always assumed, that it only worked because we were so devoted to each other.   

We'd grown up as godless, savage creatures, believing in nothing so much as each other, and somehow it had always been enough.  When you can't imagine living without a person, of course you'll do what's necessary, concede when you have to, to keep the peace.     

"You'll stay with me," I forged ahead.  "We'll be together."   

She didn't answer for a long time, instead just looking at me, her eyes hard and unyielding.

I studied her back, taking in her dear face like I could never have enough. 

Because I never could. 

I was always obsessed with her.  It was one of the defining, consistent characteristics of my life.  Obsessed not just with her perfections, but also with her flaws.  Her stubborn pride even held a special place in my heart.  It had ruined me as a person in so many ways, but God did it get to me.  She took it to a level where, even when it was to your detriment, you almost had to admire it. 

But I had reached my limit.  She would be compromising today. 

We had lapsed into a staring contest, one I was determined to win. 

I would have this from her.

And so I did.  She broke first, her hard eyes wavering, lids trembling for a heart-turning moment before they watered and she looked away. 

"We've been at war for so long.  How do we just let that go?"  Her voice was tremulous from her loss.  It wasn't easy for her to concede defeat.  It never had been. 

"We've been at war alright, but you just didn't see that we weren't supposed to be fighting each other.  It was wrong, but it's over now.  I'm not asking for everything at once.  I understand the damage that's been done here more than anyone.  I'm just asking you to try.  Give me your time, every spare moment of it, and I'll give you some answers.

I had her.  I saw it.  In her clenched fists and quivering lips, I saw it.      

I moved a step closer. 

She braced but didn't move away. 

I took another step.  She closed her eyes as my fingers traced over her brow.  Feather light, I stroked her temples, sliding my hands back to cup her head.

I gripped her hair with both hands and touched our foreheads together.  "You'll stay with me," I repeated.  "We'll be together." 

I needed this to be very clear; a verbal confirmation.  There could be no miscommunications.  We'd had enough of those. 

"And you'll tell me the truth?" she said in a vulnerable voice that gutted me far quicker than a razor sharp one could have.   

"Yes.  Yes.  I'll answer your questions.  Your turn."

"I can't just let these things go.  I can't just forgive.  Not you, not me."

"I'm not asking you to," I explained.  My tone was calm and reasonable, my heart pounding like a stampede.  "I'm not that greedy or that delusional.  I asked you to be with me.  The rest can come later."

Her voice was barely audible in the quiet room, but piercing all the same.  "Yes.  I'll be with you."  She sounded uncertain and dismayed, but I'd take it.   

My eyes shut tight in acute relief, and I held her like that for a time, our foreheads touching, my fingers gently rubbing her scalp.

I felt I could have stayed that way indefinitely, I was so grateful for the connection.

But then she touched me, her hands reaching up, stroking lightly from my wrists down to my elbows and back again.   

And that was it.  Sweetness turned base.    

Blood rushed through my body, my stomach clenching as lust kicked in, too overwhelming to deny.  

It was an effort not to drag her down to the floor, or hell, push her to her knees. 

I straightened instead, pulling away from her, and she opened her eyes.  They flitted from my face down to my bare chest.  I dragged a hand through my hair and watched the way every movement of my body caught her attention. 

She licked her lips, and I twitched so hard that her gaze caught the movement darting farther down.  She sucked in a deep breath that made her breasts shift, which caught my gaze.  Her nipples were hard under her tight white cotton shirt.  Without even willing it, my hand moved to her, thumb tracing over one of the hard little nubs.   

She sent me one long, sultry look, and lowered to her knees. 

"Jesus," I said.  I steepled my hands at the crown of my head, eyes glued to her as she shrugged off her shirt, unclasped her bra, and slid it smoothly off. 

She rubbed her face against me like a cat, using her nose to play with me through the sweats.  It was adorable and one of the most arousing things I'd ever witnessed. 

My stomach clenched as she opened my sweatpants, dragging them down, freeing my heavy length to bob against her lush pink lips. 

Jesus.

She'd just sucked my tip into her mouth when I snapped out of my trance. 

I tried twice before I found my voice.  "Wait.  Stop." 

Me turning down head from Scarlett. 

That had to be a first.

But I needed something else just then, and the urge was so realized, so complete that I never even considered denying it.  When I spoke, my voice was hoarse with all the words I couldn't find for a need so powerful it left me shaken.  "I need to be inside of you."