"You know, I find myself surprised not at all by that?" Liliana said with a chuckle, turning her face slightly to brush her mouth against his thumb, let it linger briefly on the soft pad of her lips, another wholly unnecessary (but completely necessary) reminder of just how lush and inviting they were.

"It's true, I cannot imagine you settling for anything less than perfection," she admitted with a laugh. "Besides, I bet you liked how they added to your 'stern and uncompromising' aura. I would have had such a delightful time tweaking your nose - both literally and figuratively - while you glared at me with your arms crossed. Or pushing them back up while telling me I wasn't cute, which I would have immediately had to disagree with on the ground of how demonstrably false that allegation was."