He smiled slightly against her lips. That was classic Romana, troublemaking though she'd never admit it. His lower lip stung for only a second, but it was far from a bad sensation. Oh, so very, very far from a bad sensation.

With the same sort of competitive spirit, he took advantage of his thumb's closeness to her earlobe and stroked it very gently. He had no idea if that was a heavy nerve center for Romana, but he didn't imagine the sensation would be unpleasant.

What good was all the kissing doing? Expressing what he was pretty certain he'd felt for her since around their first time meeting? Then what?