Anne stiffened, taken aback by the fact that he had pulled her onto his lap. For a moment she was too stunned to move or speak as his head came to rest on her shoulder, his warm breath fanning her hair and grazing her skin in a ticklish way that made her toes automatically curl inside her home shoes.
That wasn't all, she felt him take in a deep breath, moving his nose to the crook of her neck, causing her to jolt like she wanted to shoot out of his lap. However, the large arm around her waist tightened, holding her in a gentle, quietly longing manner, like a man clinging to a spar in a stormy sea.
Her heart suddenly leapt, a brief flutter in her chest.
Something deeply profound seemed to lurk in the air around him. Merely a while ago, he had shown an amicable air, but right now he seemed to be sinking. Whatever it was pulling him in, he held her.
