The Fifth Kingdom by Caridad Piñeiro

His action was filled with not only understanding, but with his own pain. She freed her hand and cradled the strong line of his jaw. Stroked her thumb across his beautiful lips.
    “Your parents were fools.”
    She closed the distance between them, replaced her thumb with her lips, lightly brushing her mouth against his. Savoring the complex textures of his mouth. The harder outer edge and the softness of his lips. The warm spill of his breath as he exhaled roughly before bringing his mouth flush against hers.
    They kissed over and over, moving ever closer until her body pressed against the powerful length of his. He laid his hand at her waist and she placed hers back over his heart. The beat of it strong and racing beneath her palm.
    And then, as desire was on the verge of overtaking them, something changed. Like an overinflated balloon popping, need burst apart and another emotion slipped in.
    They slowly tempered their kisses, but stayed close. Continued to hold one another while the need for solace overwhelmed all others.
    Her head was pillowed on his powerful arm until he shifted to his back and pulled her along, tucking her close. She rested her head against his massive chest and placed her hand along his midsection, careful not to apply too much pressure against his injured ribs.
    “Are they feeling any better?” she asked, looking downward and skimming her hand over the bandage she had wrapped around his midsection earlier.
    “Much,” he replied and covered her hand. Twining his fingers with hers, he brought their hands up to rest close to his heart once more.
    “G’nite, Guillermo,” she said and closed her eyes, her earlier grief about the journal abated by the comfort of his presence.
    “Good night, Deanna,” Bill replied, experiencing a sense of peace within his heart like none he ever had before. For all of her earlier prickliness and pushiness, there was a new tranquility about her. A break in her earlier hard exterior. In that veneer she had admitted building as a defense.
    Having erected a barrier around his own heart, he should have recognized hers for what it was. That he hadn’t should have warning bells ringing that he was allowing his emotions to interfere with the investigation. With his read of her.
    Maybe no longer, he thought. He tightened his hold on her waist and the soft sough of her breath hinted at the fact that she had fallen asleep. He imagined the roller-coaster ride of emotions she had experienced that day had taxed her.
    As it had him, he acknowledged.
    Pulling in a deep breath until his ribs protested, he inhaled the scent of her, memorized it. Let it weave its way through his brain as he finally allowed sleep to claim him.

Chapter Eleven
    Bill woke at her first subtle move away from him. They had spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms, alternating between lying side by side to being spooned together. He rolled to watch her as she rose from the bed, but was unable to gauge her emotional state as the room was relatively dark in the dim morning light.
    “I know it’s early,” she said, standing by the bed, her hands laced together and hanging before her. Her feet pressed tightly together, likely to battle the slight chill created by the air conditioning.
    Had he been her lover, he might have wondered why she was running from his bed well before the crack of dawn. But he wasn’t and with the investigation underway, that was best. Because of that, he didn’t press.
    “It’s okay. I need to get up, but you should probably try to get a little more rest.”
    A grateful sigh greeted his response along with a heartfelt, “Thanks. I think I will.”
    She flew out the door in a shadowy blur and he relaxed back into the pillows. Raised his hand to check the time on his watch. Five o’clock. Almost time to get up, he thought, but lingered a bit, not wanting to lose the sense of serenity the night had brought. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before the demands of the assignment