The floor was quite comfortable, despite having their clothes scattered around it. He could have lain there, with her wrapped around him, for hours. As the heat from the fireplace dwindled, however, he decided he had to revive the dying fire.
He eased out from under her, kissing her temple to make up for abandoning pillow duty. The arm he reclaimed supported him as he levered himself to his feet. Her eyes opened to follow him, her skin cooling as she rolled onto her side. She watched him shift aside the fireplace screen and add another split log to the fire that still remained. As he bent and lifted, the glow of that fire outlined the hair on his arms and thighs, as well as the hair on him that she still found somewhat improbable. Job done, he replaced the screen carefully, dusted his hands against each other, and turned to step toward the room's nearest door.
"Where are you going?" she heard herself say, more sharply than she'd intended. She was surprised he wasn't coming right back to her.
"Just to the next room," he replied, using the low, confident tones one uses to reassure the drowsy.
"Well, don't go far," she said, stretching lazily. She felt his eyes on her, the warmth of the fire; a glow of her own from their evening's exertions. Her eyes drooped closed again, as she smiled at her own silliness. Of course he was coming back.
"I won't go far. After all, you have my pants." He gestured vaguely toward the corner where they'd been tossed earlier in the evening.
A sleepy giggle from her. "True."
"And if you need me for anything, all you'll have to do is whistle."
Her eyes opened, found his. "What if I can't whistle?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and pivoted on the ball of his foot to face her. His brow furrowed, his head cocked itself to the side. "You can't whistle?"
He'd happened to make his stand between the fireplace and her, and his body was shadowing her heat. She rolled to her knees and sat up, resting herself on her ankles, to get her bare skin back into the radiance of the reviving fire. "Do I have to whistle?"
His eyes traveled the curves the fire highlighted, from where her knees met the rug to where the reflections glinted in her eyes. Momentarily flustered by the sight of her, he stumbled for something appropriate to say.
"Well, I mean, whistling's easy, you just put your lips together and blow. There was a movie and everything."
She sat looking over him, on silent haunches. The grin she had been growing twisted somewhat, and she blew soundlessly between her lips.
His sigh was contradicted by the smile he didn't quite suppress. "Really."
Her eyes widened, almost innocently. She shrugged, repeating and exaggerating the movement of her mouth, the dramatic inhale and exhale, enjoying how he watched her as she did.
"Okay, look, I'll teach you, it's easy." A couple of quick strides brought him back - standing in front of her, wishing he'd stopped to find his pants. She sat straighter, her hands moving to rest atop her thighs, mock innocence shifting to genuine attentiveness. She felt her shoulders squaring themselves to him as their eyes met.
His index finger traced her lower lip, and then her upper. A thumb nudged one corner of her mouth, reshaping her pout where it rested. Two fingers beneath her chin tipped her head back slightly, and her eyes closed as she drew in a breath.
"Try again."
Her mouth pursed as she straightened her spine, her shoulders wavered as she blew. The sound was hollow, but almost melodic - clearly, she was taking her lesson well.