Luke sat up in the bed, startled... shaking. 

It had been so long since he'd dreamed about it, years even. He reached out to the night stand, grabbing the water bottle he habitually kept and taking a long swig. It was warm... he was sweating. He took a deep breath, noting as he put the bottle back down that his hand was trembling. He needed to calm down. 

Then it hit him and his eyes slowly moved to the woman laying beside him. He stared, unaware that a smile was slowly creeping up on his face. She was here, snoring softly as she lay still, the gentle rise in her breast telling of someone in a deep, harmonious sleep. 

God, she was beautiful. He knew it, he knew that she was perfect and last night he'd gotten to know every last inch of her, proving himself right.  He settled down again in the sheets, turning to his side and leaning on his arm to watch her more comfortably. Her hair was loose and tangled around her face, blocking his view of her eyes, which was fine because now he'd noticed that she slept with one slightly open. If he didn't think she was so cute, he might think it was creepy. Her lips were only gently parted, a soft, soft snore occasionally coming from them. 

She moved slightly, jutting her chin up away from her long neck. He followed the lines of her chin down her throat, to her shoulders and then lower to the two perfectly plump and beautiful breasts that were gloriously staring right back at them. One the right one, half an inch off the tip, was a dark and perfectly round freckle that stood out against her pretty skin.  He'd been thrilled the night before when he'd discovered it and he'd promised he'd pay special attention to it another time. 

The more and more he'd gotten to know all the secret corners of her body, the more and more that he became obsessed. He couldn't decide which part of her perfect curves he wanted to devote more time too. Now, as she once again moved sleepily, he found himself reaching out for her, his hand settling over one of her breasts and her eyes gently fluttering behind the mass of hair.  

He leaned in then, gently kissing her lips as he pushed the hair out of her face. 

Echo gasped when she realized where she was but she didn't have time to react, only to respond. She could only respond to the way Luke was kissing her now, conscious of his weight over her and curving her legs around him to demand more. She didn't realize it could be so easy to give into passion, didn't realize she could be so overwhelmed by desire. 

The night before she couldn't help but tremble, but now... now she just let it consume her. 

"You're very quiet." Luke said as they walked back into his house. Echo hadn't said a thing the entire drive. 

"I was just thinking." Echo said, walking into the main sitting room.

"About?" He asked, tucking his hands into his pockets as he watched her. She looked nervous. No, she looked concerned. 

"Everything." She said suddenly, placing a hand over her chest as if she was trying to get her heart to slow down. 

"I really didn't mean for you to worry. Echo, I'm sorry I just wanted you to have a good time." He said, wondering if maybe the night had just been too much for her. Echo turned to him. 

"Oh no. Luke, I had a lovely time." She said, still seeming confused.

"So then, why do you look upset?" He asked, walking over to her and grabbing her hand. 

"I'm not." She said, with a sigh. "I was just thinking about how different that was. Such a small, warm, intimate party. My family always has these big events, even when it's just family... there's always so many people. It's overwhelming."

He chuckled. 

"Well, my family's not as big as yours." He said, making her nod. 

"It was so easy for me to forget that I'm a mess tonight. It was so easy... to feel at ease." She said, looking down at her hand in his. "Thank you for taking me."

Luke smiled, taking his free hand and putting it on her cheek. How could he explain that what he really wanted at this moment was to unsettle her... to make her shiver. He took a breath and leaned in, gently kissing her, feeling as she seemed to respond...

"Come on, it's getting late." He said, pulling away, trying to maintain some sense of self control. Echo was still for a second, completely bemused. She watched him step away from her, moving towards the foyer. "I'll have one of the guys drive behind you tonight."

"You don't want me to stay?" She asked. Luke shook his head, putting on one of his playful smiles. 

"There's a lot of things I want, Echo." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"Show me." She said before she could stop herself, shocking both of them into silence. Luke stared at her for a second, trying to figure out if he'd imagined her words. "I mean, I don't have to go yet."

He watched her turn bright red at the words and before she could say anything else, he closed the gap between them and snatched her back into his arms. 

"It's getting late." Luke said, waking Echo yet again as he began to spread kisses across her shoulders. 

"Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep." She muttered but there was a smile on her lips. 

"As much as I'd like to spend the rest of the day in bed with you, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble." He said, grabbing her by the waist before pulling her onto him. Echo let out a gasp followed by a fit of giggling. 

"Hey..." She said softly, her hair cascading around them like a veil. Her eyes widened as he gave her bottom a soft whack.

"You know, I seem to remember you telling my aunt we'd been dating for two months." He said with a grin. Echo frowned. 

"She asked me how long we were dating... I didn't want to be rude." Echo said, pushing herself up but his grip was firm. 

"Don't tell me you're still going to insist on that?" He asked, "Because let me tell you right now, Echo. I won't let that slide anymore... so say it."

"Say what?" She asked but he rolled her over suddenly, settling himself over her and kissing her. 

"Say it." He said, noticing how her eyes had glazed over. Echo felt heat rising up in her again... She reached up, trying to get a kiss but he pulled away. Luke brought a hand over her belly, gently tracing the way down to her long legs... "Say it."

Echo's breath was caught at her throat and she shivered. 

"Okay." She finally managed to say breathlessly. 

"Okay what?" He replied, his voice now low and husky. 

"I'm your girl" 

---

"It's kind of chilly out here, don't you think?"

Echo turned up to catch Ben as he joined her on the south terrace. She'd been here for a couple of hours now, enjoying the warmth from the sun in contrast to the crisp breeze. It was something she'd always enjoyed, a cool breeze when the sun was up high. Combine that with a cup of coffee and a good book and it was an almost perfect afternoon. 

Almost perfect only because at this point, she knew there was one thing missing that could make it better. Too bad he couldn't be here to keep her company. 

"I think it's perfect." Echo said, patting the chair next to her so that he would sit. "Besides, the real cold will be coming soon and then I'll have to stay inside."

"George and Karen are going to get great weather for the wedding." Ben said, watching his sister as he sat. 

"I hope so. I heard the got the garden at the Canopy hotel." Echo said.

"I can't wait to see you all dressed up in your bridesmaids dresses." Ben teased, making Echo laugh. 

"Oh, I'm not looking forward to that." She admitted. There was some silence as Ben seemed to be searching for words. "Come on, spit it out."

"What?" Ben asked. 

"Whatever it is that you're thinking. I'm assuming you didn't come out here just to shoot the breeze." She said. 

"No, I didn't." He said. "I wanted to apologize for that day after lunch."

Echo raised her brow. 

"What day?" She asked. 

"The day after I saw you... in that restaurant." Ben said, scratching the back of his head. 

"Right. Ben, don't worry about that. I had almost forgotten." She said.

"Well, I didn't. I've honestly felt pretty guilty over it. I didn't mean to say all those things, I was just worried." He said and Echo nodded. 

"I know that. Ben, you're my big brother- it's your job to worry, your job to overreact. I understand that." Echo said with a big smile. 

"You're the best little sister." He said sweetly and she laughed. 

"As long as I don't tell Romy, Vera, Lena or Maru, right?" Echo asked.

"Exactly." He said with a chuckle. 

"You know... you were right." She said, making him turn to her with a raised brow. 

"About?" he asked, confused.

"It was a date." She said, watching as the smile completely faded from his face. 

"Are you going to tell me about him?" He asked and Echo shrugged. 

"I just did." She said. 

"You know what I mean." Ben replied and Echo seemed to think about it. 

"No, not yet. Gotta see how it goes." She said, "but please, don't say anything to anyone else. I promise, when I'm ready, I'll tell everyone myself."

Ben was quiet. He had hundreds of questions to ask but in the end, he held back, knowing if he pressured her, he would only push her away. 

"Okay." He said with a nod. 

"Thank you." She said, looking down at her wrist watch. 

"I knew... I knew it was a date." He muttered to himself. Echo looked at him questioningly and he smiled. "I can't help it if I'm right, I usually am."

"Well, right now, I'm starving." She said, standing up and stretching. "Why don't we grab lunch?"

"You know, that sounds like a great idea." He replied. "Cook make anything?"

"Yeah but I was thinking maybe we go into the city." She said, making him turn to her. That was certainly new. Since when did Echo suggest going into the city... especially on the weekend? Sundays were busy days, everywhere would be crowded. 

"Sure, got anywhere in mind?" He asked. 

"There's a good Indian place on Day Street." She said. 

"Okay, let's do it." He said with a nod. 

"Great. I'll go see if your other favorite sisters wanna come." She said, tapping him lightly with her book and walking back into the house. 

Ben stared after her for a moment. He wondered if Echo had noticed just how much she was changing.