Becoming by Raine Thomas

wondered what he was thinking
about all of this. In the past, this was when her placements—and
thus, her relationships with the people she had attached
to—disrupted. So far, Gabriel had stuck. Would that change now?
    “I’m good,” he finally answered. “Though I
could stand to go the rest of my life without going through that
again. Geez, Am…for a minute there, I didn’t think you were coming
back.”
    Now she looked at him carefully. His tone had
been light, but his eyes told a different story. She knew then that
he would never abandon her, regardless of the circumstances. He was
upset not because of how freakish this all was, but because she had
nearly died.
    She brought her hand up and rested it gently
along the side of his face. Such a gesture was entirely unlike her.
She usually kept a distance between herself and others, but
circumstances being what they were, it seemed like the right thing
to do. For once, she relied on instinct rather than her brain to
guide her. Then she simply said, “Thank you for saving my
life.”
    He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. She read
a depth of feeling in his gaze…feelings she realized now she had
ignored for a long time.
    Funny, she never suspected her first kiss
would occur under such weird circumstances, and though it seemed
intensely fated now, she had never suspected it would be with
Gabriel.
    Without another thought, she leaned forward
while using her hand to guide him toward her lips. She sensed his
hesitation, knew she had caught him off-guard and his brain was
trying to catch up, but she didn’t let it deter her. As though they
had practiced it a hundred times, her mouth found his.
    His response astounded her. There wasn’t so
much a spark as a lightning strike when they connected. If she had
thought the feeling of his hands on her back earlier that day had
been amazing, the touch of his lips against hers now had rockets
firing in her synapses. He kissed her with such intensity she
wondered how she could stand it.
    In that moment, she knew all that he
held in his heart for her and wondered how he had kept it from her
all this time. Even more, she understood her own heart in glorious,
almost painful clarity.
    They parted, clinging to each other and
catching their breath. She gasped, “I always thought that romantic
stuff in the movies was a load of crap.”
    Issuing a choked laugh, he replied, “I know
you did.”
    “You should have said—done—I don’t know. Something sooner,” she chastised, gripping the back of his
neck tightly. She touched her forehead to his.
    “You weren’t ready,” he said. Then he
grinned. “Guess you are now.”
    She understood. It was always meant to be her
choice. Realizing just how well he knew her, she kissed him again.
He moved his lips against hers, gently at first, then with more
purpose. She followed his lead, not really knowing what to do. When
he ran the tip of his tongue against her lower lip, she almost
pulled back in surprise. Then she sensed his intent and parted her
lips. His tongue touched hers. She thought her head might spin
right off. Was that her moaning?
    It seemed the physical contact did more than
stir passion between them. It created a kind of healing connection.
By the time they broke apart a second time, both of them were back
to their normal color and strength.
    “Impossible,” they said at the same time.
    Looking at each other, they broke into
laughter. As if this should seem impossible after what they
had just gone through.
    “This has been a hell of day,” he said. “And
I have to admit at the risk of losing my man card that if we don’t
stand up soon, I’ll probably lose all feeling in my legs.”
    Elbowing him, she snickered and then got to
her feet. She reached down to give him a hand up. When he rose, he
didn’t let go of her hand, but pulled her close and anchored her
against him with one hand at the base of her spine.
    “You know you can’t pretend like this didn’t
happen,