"Rhett," she whispers, her lips brushing his ear. "Wake up."
But he remains unstirring, his beautiful face held in peaceful dream, breath slow and even through parted lips.
Her fingers graze his soft, morning curls, her heart softening, melting into a puddle in the warmth of him.
Suddenly, she forgets to breathe as an aching sensation of longing,
tenderness, and happiness wash over her in a slow, overwhelming tide.
If she could, she would lie there beside him and keep staring at him forever—beyond seasons and flesh and time itself, and into forever in God's paradise.
Yes, he's close—so close her fingers wander tenderly along the handsome planes of his face—but that annoying, glazed curtain called dreaming has stolen him from her.
But she misses him—his twinkling eyes, his soft smiles, the teasing that tingles her insides, his loving kisses, and the quiet miracle of being wrapped in his warmth.
Oh… Father, is it even possible to feel so deeply—so agonizingly, so beautifully?
She has lost her mind, as surely as she has lost her heart to this man, the one her soul sings out to claim as her lover.
"Wake up, Rhett," she murmurs once more, "it's snowing..."
Still, no response.
She pouts, then with exaggerated mischief, peels the duvet off him.
A gasp escapes her as his hand suddenly hooks her waist, rolling her beneath him, pinning her to the mattress as he rains her face with kisses—fierce in their need, yet so impossibly gentle.
Giggles spill from her as she braces her palms against his chest, a half-hearted attempt to push him away.
His lips meet hers with a thawing sweetness, a smile forming as her hand slides to the nape of his neck, fingers stroking slow circles through his curls.
For long, weaving moments, until their quickened heartbeats mollify, they lie folded in each other's arms, his head tucked against her chest as she whispers, "It's the first fall of snow, Rhett."
He answers with a low, groggy hum, half-asleep.
She presses a kiss into his hair, cheeks burning as she murmurs softly, "I said, I want to dance in the snow with you."
He lifts his chin to meet her eyes, a flicker of surprise softening into a smile at his lips.