- LOUISA -

We make love again that night, and we drift in and out of sleep between our explorations of each other's bodies. It's the best sleep I've had in recent memory. When I finally wake up, the sky has lightened a little - just enough to signal that dawn might not be too far away. It hasn't stopped raining, but it's still a light, peaceful drizzle.

Ward stirs beside me, as if somehow in his sleep he's sensed me waking beside him. We're still on the chaise ...