“I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.”

“Sage shifted beneath me. I put one of my hands back into his thick hair and left it there, pretending I needed to hold him. It took all my willpower not to start playing with it.“I guess you don’t do this very often,” I told him, my voice cracking slightly.I couldn’t see his face but I could feel him smile. “No. Usually my head’s turned the other way around.”

“My soul needs him as much as my lungs need air. So much so that I feel like I’m suffocating just being away from him.”

“I couldn’t explain my need to myself, and that’s why it was such a beautiful need”

“I’ve stopped protecting my heart from you,” he said. “I’ve stopped fighting the way I feel, stopped fighting the natural draw I feel toward you. Now you need to do the same.”

“This was our rhythm, our worship: give and take, gift and receive, honor and entrust. Making love to this man wasn’t just an expression of my feelings for him or a carnal, physical need—it was an offering.”