No, she thought at him, one eye dropping shut in a wink. She wanted to drive him mad. She'd wanted to for so, so long. She wanted to not just yield so utterly to him, the way she always seemed to do -- or, or if she was going to, she wanted him to work for it. She was crawling out of her skin with lust and utter want but she wanted -- she wanted everything.

But more than anything, she wanted this to be worth all the pain. She wanted their coming together to be as fierce, undeniable and shattering as each time they had come apart at the seams. She wanted his desertion of her and her desertion of his absolved in skin and desire and the deep and abiding love that flourished under everything like night-blooming jasmine, growing even in the darkness and imbuing everything it touched with an unforgettable perfume.