...I Have Died Everyday Waiting For You - Part II - James

[Lily Potter]

April 8

♥ Right from the start
I knew that I'd found a home for my heart

Lily shouted and hooted joyously across the pitch, waving her flag high as the Gryffindor team appeared at the entrance to the locker room. A cheer rose up from the assembled people waiting and the redhead tried her hardest to be the loudest. It was hard with the amount of enthusiasm coming from her fellows. Sharing a look with Sylvia, the two girls jogged across to meet their boyfriends halfway, Lily leaning in for a delicate kiss - he still looked and smelled like the pitch. She took a moment to congratulate her roommates -”You were brilliant girls!”- before linking her arm with James as the group began making their exit, causing a ruckus as usual. Being Head Girl meant she was tasked with keeping order at all times but at the moment, the excited celebration of her housemates was music to her ears that she just couldn’t turn off. They made a scene the whole way to the castle and Lily was an equal part of it. “You were amazing.” she said quietly to her Head Boy as they entered the castle and the others ran ahead, happy for the moment alone.

James had been amazing. Better than amazing. He was a top-notch Quidditch player and Captain and Head Boy and an even better boyfriend and tonight he had proven why he deserved the credit for it all. He had been relentless for all five hours hours of the match, the entire team had really, but of course, she was most impressed with her boyfriend. It was a long, exhausting game but Lily had sat through it all with them, and been one of the most excited when the lions had finally snagged the win. It made her plan for the evening even better, after all, a celebrating James was infinitely better than a sulking one. Especially since they were that much closer to winning the Cup now!

When they entered the common room the noise was deafening and James was swept away by the sea of well-wishers. Lily smiled and clapped with the others, trailing along in his wake as he received the glory, hugging and shaking hands as well with anyone who approached her. Giving extra tight hugs to her dearest friends and accepting a drink from Mary, who, as usual, had prepared a great after-party. Too bad she wouldn’t be staying for all of it. After a quarter-hour of revelry, she snuck away to her dorm to grab her duffle bag. Back in the common room she paused long enough to give Guin instructions to send James along shortly after and then she was gone. Back in the relative silence of the castle and the movement of the staircases, her ears ringing from the sudden change of liveliness, she smiled a secret smiled and set off at a clipped pace to the prefect’s bath.

Once there, Lily made quick work of turning on all the taps and filling the considerable tub with the most delicious scents possible. All the while reminiscing on the first time she and James had been in this bathroom together. Then, he had been dating Dorcas and she had barely tolerated him most days. Now, they were together, in love, and getting ready to embark on a life together as adults. It seemed a lifetime ago instead of a little more than a year. This night she had decided, would be for them, in celebration of that fact, and her man. To show him how much she loved, appreciated, and admired him. And what better time that after he had wiped the pitch with their rival house? Granted she hadn’t know the outcome of the match before making her plan, all the same, everyone would be preoccupied and they should have the room to themselves. A rarity with their schedules and busy lives and castle full of nosy people. With that in mind Lily stripped down, wrapping herself in a soft robe and sitting in the provided gold-gilded chair. Now all there was to do was to wait.

[James Potter]

He'd been off the pitch for a bit now, but James still felt like he was flying.

They'd done it. They'd really done it. A clean season from his team, indisputable wins, and unless next month's game set some sort of high-scoring record, the Cup would remain in its rightful place - property of Gryffindor House. He couldn't have been prouder of their victory, but found himself in a bit of a state of shock he hadn't snapped fully out of - it was only last year that he was sitting in Dumbledore's office swearing up and down that he would do better, that he would make this day come for all of them, ensure that they had a victory to take pride in. And they'd made it. Even after he put them through an unnecessarily harsh first few weeks, they'd come together in a way he'd planned for, hoped for...

He'd sputtered for words in the locker room, settling for pulling everyone in for a group hug and a chant as the enormity of the moment tried to settle in. Everything was loud, earsplitting, and chaotic from the moment their Seeker caught the snitch that it took him longer than he was proud of to realize that Lily was nowhere to be found in the common room. She'd been right by his side as soon as they were through the locker rooms, and they'd all gotten to the Tower together, and then he and the team were pulled this way and that but he'd swear that she'd been with Mary just a minute ago...

Dorcas had quickly corrected that notion though, and pointed him on his current trajectory.

Sure, he wanted to continue to celebrate the moment with his House and team. But the celebrations would continue far into the night, likely for the remainder of the weekend...and his girlfriend was waiting for him in the prefects bath now. That was enough to get anyone to dip out of a party a little early, wasn't it? Especially after the week he'd had?

"Just so you know, this is the only way I'm bathing from here on out," James joked as he entered, finding the swimming-pool sized tub full and Lily...Lily in nothing but a robe. Further jokes died on his tongue at the sight, and with all the distractions in the room, his eyes couldn't move from hers as he approached her. "What's all this about?"

[Lily Potter]

“For every bath? Is that so?” Lily asked, rising from her chair and giving a flick of her wand towards the door. It snicked shut and the telltale /whoosh of magic indicated her ward -she had gotten quite good at those recently- it wouldn’t keep people out but it would alert them if they were about to be interrupted. Lily didn’t want any interruptions tonight. As James approached, his face telling her how pleased he was at her surprise, she smiled. The look on his face as his normally witty tongue tied itself up at the sight of her would be burned into her memory forever, like all the other moments he let her know how much he loved her and /wanted her. She loved and wanted him just as much and tonight was all about showing him that. The past weeks had taken their toll on them both but mostly James, who was living through a pain she never wanted to be so intimately familiar with. His mother was...dying, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

He needs this. We both do.

Walking towards her boyfriend Lily sighed, reaching out a hand to run down his arm and stepping in close. “This is all about you.” Taking his hand in hers, she placed a delicate kiss into his palm, tracing the spot where her lips had been with a finger. “It’s been so crazy lately.” She said, looking up to meet his eye and giving a rueful smile. “I know, understatement of the century. But it has been and I wanted to take the time to remind you of how amazing you are, and that I love you. Winning the game was just a bonus.” Lily took up his other hand and repeated her process of kissing and touching until she brought them together to hold between her own. His hands seemed so much bigger than her own, her fingers looked so slim and pale against his, and yet, looking at them, nothing had ever seemed so right.

“Do you mind?” she asked, giving him a cheeky smirk. “Giving up some of your celebration time to slum around with me I mean.” James deserved all the cheers and drinks and good times their house was known for, he had been spectacular in the game and was an amazing captain overall. But...Lily couldn’t feel bad about stealing him away to have to herself, she could stand to be selfish  in this aspect of her life. Releasing his hands she took a step back toward her discarded clothes. “If you want, we can head back now, I bet the party is still raging.”

[James Potter]

"Oh yeah - nothing I like more than adding an air of mystery to the ordinary, you know me." James's affirming nod was interrupted by a whoosh of magic, and he turned to watch the door close, turning back to Lily with eyebrows raised in amusement. "Holding me hostage? Evans," he teased, happy to meet the beautiful woman midway. His jesting affect faltered and fell as she spoke, as her fingers and lips were tender on the calloused skin of his palms, as she said so much in so few words, and James felt his throat growing tight. Her love for him was unmistakable, something he hadn't doubted since December, and she showed it...she showed it in ways he hadn't thought about before their relationship began but now delighted in noticing, despite the heaviness of the moment. She could pull his wandering focus in with a delicate caress, center him with the repeated processes and the pressure to his hands, keep him in the moment with the unwavering look in her eye. It astounded him how Lily had learned...him. That she wasn't trying to force him to change, to process differently, but only to help. Even when he had taken her so by surprise, bursting into the Prefects Lounge with news of his mother, she had...she had held him, had waited it out until his head was on straight again, had sworn to stay by his side through all things.

Being with Lily didn't mean that their reality had changed. His mother was sick, and she wasn't going to recover, and they were all going to have to accept it. His instinct was to fight - to argue against the verdict, to dismiss the healer's prognosis, to refuse to agree that his mother had pursued every option - and in this case, he was wrong. But doing nothing was unbearable, so he had thrown himself into Quidditch with an unsustainable fervor, and now that the match was won, the Cup all but theirs...James knew he would have to slow down. Face what was happening. It was a terrifying prospect, but with his best mates beside him, with Lily's hands holding his, with his father standing strong and his mother still here...

Keep each other strong, she had written. And they would.

"You are amazing," he breathed, meeting the singularly incredible witch's eyes. "I love you too."

His hands released, the moment passing but not forgotten, she stepped away with a cheeky little smile and James matched her step-for-step, a slow grin growing on his face as his curiosity about her scheme returned. There was no doubt in his mind that the party in their common room would be a legendary one, one that future generations of students heard tall tales about, their names lost and reworked in school myth - but in no world was he leaving. "You've lost it if you think I'm going anywhere," he joked, half of his words muffled by his jersey as he pulled it over his head. He whipped the sweaty thing to the side with a laugh, hands giving his hair a proper tousle before he got going on his shoes. James balanced on a leg as he undid the knots - tight, not a good move to lose a shoe over the pitch - and looked up at her with a grin, nodding towards the flowery little thing she wore. "Got one of those robes for me?"

[Lily Potter]

Jesting, though fun and comfortably their norm, died down as soon as she laid hands on her boyfriend. She could have commented that if she were holding him, hostage, she doubted he would complain of her torture but she refrained. Instead, she set them in the mood she had intended for the night by explained to James her reasons for pulling him away. She wanted to kiss his mouth as she had his hands but she withheld, wanting the anticipation that had been building in her gut for the whole of the game to continue. It made it all the more enjoyable. They had plenty of kisses under their belt anyway and /hopefully they had plenty more to come. Tonight was about more than the physical, she wanted to show him how she was there for him in more than that sense.

She smiled as he returned her sentiment, feeling the pleasure bloom in her chest as it always did when they exchanged I love you’s. Her smile turned into a chuckle as James responded to her challenge, and then an outright laugh as he yanked his sweater off, his hair fanning out about his head in an unlawfully cute manner. How had she ever thought his messy hair was annoying, now all she wanted to do was run her fingers through it. And over his chest, and down…”I think you’re the one about to lose it.” she commented, keeping her mind on track. Wouldn’t do well to come undone before she could undo James.

“One of these?” she asked coyly, looking down at him as he struggled to remove his trainers. Of course, James would present her with the perfect opportunity to keep him on his toes, he was always falling into her love traps like that. “Oh you won’t be needing one of these.” Then with a quiet slip of silk on silk she untied her robe and let it dance to the ground. All the while she watched her boyfriend, reveling in the way his face looked when he looked up at her, naked as the day she was born. Gooseflesh rose up all over her skin at the coolness of the air, but she could barely process that because James was promptly falling over! “James.”  Lily started, surprised by the action and wanting to help him up but she felt awkward doing so in her state. Lily took up her wand, doing what she could, magicking off his shoes with two decisive flicks. “Honestly James, are you a wizard or not?”

[James Potter]

How they made it to today without taking advantage of time together in the prefects bath was beyond him, and James couldn't have been more on board with the idea. (True, they had had one other moment here, but the energy was quite different last year than what they held in this moment. They were owning their attraction these days, rather than living in obstinate denial, but James was happy to laugh about that not-so-long-gone time.) They'd had a whole lot of togetherness since their first date - snogging in the One-Eyed Witch's Pass then, only slightly abusing their powers as Head Students to find quiet places of the castle these days - and over the recent holiday had connected in a way he never had before.

Speaking of...

What remained of the mystery of Lily bringing him here all but shattered as she dropped her robe, and his skill of balance became a thing of the past.

And he could blame the slick marble, or the after effects of the five hour long match, or being so lovesick that the sight of her literally made him go weak in the knees - but the last was the most on the money, and as he fell, James knew he wouldn't be living this one down. He caught himself as he landed, thankful that he retained use of a few of his reflexes yet, and laughed at the look on his girlfriend's face. She looked even more flustered than he felt, and his laughter echoed through the cavernous bathroom as she frantically grabbed her wand, caught between helping and berating and managing to accomplish both in mere moments. 

"I am a wizard," James declared, sitting himself up as his shoes sprung from his feet, "and you're you. Starkers. And you are just - beyond, Lily, I can hardly stand it." The painted siren evidently didn't appreciate being outshone, but her increased efforts to gain their attention were in vain. All the hair-flipping and splashing and tittering in the world wouldn't pull his attention from the beauty who chose to love him back. He rose and finished getting undressed, wondering if he'd ever properly be able to put how stunning she was into words, but settled for getting the rest of his clothes off without further incident. Stepping away from his things and, excitement building, James nodded towards the pool as he slowly neared her. "Got about five seconds before I toss you in," he warned, counting aloud, and made his move on three.

[Lily Potter]

Lily shivered, fighting the urge to cover herself under his approving gaze. Standing there, bare before him was her plan all along and she wouldn’t spoil it by being self-conscious now. So she pulled on her confidence, tossing her long red locks over her shoulder and giving a little shimmy. She had him falling over himself, quite literally, at the sight of her, but he, he did things to her he could never imagine. She hummed appreciatively at his words, he thought she was beyond, and that knowledge buoyed her. When he joined her in her nakedness she shivered again, a jolt going up her spine. Her eyes roved freely, taking him in, because she would never get enough of this. Of him. She was so distracted, she almost missed his warned and only had a second to brace herself before he was on her, throwing them both into the water.

Gasping as she broke the surface, her arms flailing for purchase until she came across her boyfriend's broad shoulders and she clutched onto him. She could admonish him for ruining her sexy moment but instead, she giggled, expecting nothing less from him than playful intimacy. “You’re impossible James Potter.” She informed him, wrapping herself around his body as they bobbed in the water, wave after wave caressing her skin. Running her fingers through his hair to try taming it down was useless but she did it anyway, smiling down at him. Her lips found his, capturing them in a promising kiss before detangling herself. She didn’t go far, one hand still wrapped around his neck as she plucked a large sponge from her pile of essentials. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” she said by way of explanation, settling herself on her knees on the wall seat and rising up so the water came only to her waist. Lily beckoned him forward with a smile and crook of her finger, dipping the sponge in the water and squeezing it over his chest before beginning to work the dirt and sweat from his skin.

[James Potter]

It had taken some time to break his old patterns of thought, but these days, he hardly ever second-guessed himself when it came to how he was around Lily. The worries he'd had about being, in short, too much - while they hadn't been unfounded, they were worries it turned out he didn't need to have. Lily really did love him, accept him, his best and his worst and his most...

So it was without a second thought that James swept her legs out from under her and leapt into the bath.

He came up laughing - scented water spurting out of his nose and laughing - to find Lily thrashing about, and within moments she had wrapped herself around him, holding on tight as giggles overcame her. He linked his arms together underneath her bum to steady her - "Impossibly charming, you mean?" - and was all too aware of her. Skin against skin under the heat of the water, her hair soaked and embracing her as she embraced him, the constellations of freckles across her face and shoulders and the droplets of water clinging to her lashes and the dimples in her cheeks that came out in full force when she laughed like this. Lily raked her fingers through his hair, and James knew he was a mess, especially compared to the proper siren in his arms. But she kissed him all the same, short and sweet and leaving him needing more. When she moved, he followed, and James smiled broadly at her sentiment.

"Thought you liked my just off the pitch look," he quipped, perhaps slightly distracted by the sight as he stood before her, hands roaming slowly up her legs as he wondered just how seriously she was going to take this cleaning up business. It didn't take much doing, though, for him to settle in. The pressure of the sponge and her hands on him, working away the tensions of the day and more, the warmth of the bath...not drowsy, but relaxing, James turned to show the back that held the worst of the knots, and leaned into her. "We've been here before...Fall before last, remember? You had bubbles up to your chin and I really tried to keep my eyes up. Times have changed." James tilted his head back to grin at her, undeniably cheeky, although he really had done his best to be a gentleman that day. As much as he could, sharing a bath with the girl he daydreamed about but couldn't dare ask out again. "Did I ever tell you what I realized that day?"

[Lily Potter]

Lily laughed so easily with James, she didn’t have to think about it, he just always knew the right thing to say to amuse her. He was impossibly charming, impossibly stubborn, impossibly annoying, impossibly hers. Her to kiss, hers to touch and clean, hers to be tossed unceremoniously into the bath by. She didn’t mind, not any of it, and when he looped his strong arms under her bottom, supporting her weightless form in the water, Lily almost lost track of her plan for the night. Again. She knew it would be difficult to stay the course once things got started but she also knew that if they were both patient, the payoff would be well worth the wait. It was all about the buildup, and they were starting with cleaning up, working the muck of the match from her boyfriend's exquisite body.

“The look is fine, more than fine, dashing even.” She assured him as she began her work, James doing his part and turning to offer as much of his back to her as possible. She could feel the places that needed her attention most, and she gave it to them, cleaning then massaging one spot after another, pausing to kiss each one when she was done. When her work on his back was complete she placed another lingering kiss on the nape of his neck, inhaling deeply the new scent lingering on his skin. “It’s the smell that is offensive my dear. But, I’m taking care of that.” Lily punctuated her words by turning him to face her and picking up an arm out of the water to begin her work there.

When James spoke again Lily felt a reminiscent smile take over her face and she glanced up to meet his eye before going back to the crook of his elbow. “Mmm, I remember. You smelled just as bad then.” she teased, thinking back to that strange, fateful encounter that seemed so very long ago. “Yes, times have definitely changed.” She agreed easily. James was looking at her now, and she was looking back, unabashed. Back then they were both so embarrassed, they had never dared get this close to one another then. In fact, they remained on complete opposite sides of the bath that night. Nothing at all like the intimacy they were sharing now, not even close to what they would be sharing soon enough.

The redhead was busy thinking about that and placing kisses on his fingers when they were clean when James piqued her interest. She knew that she had realized something that day with him -that she liked him, that she wanted to get to know him better, that maybe she had been out of line thinking so harshly of him at times- but she had never even thought to wonder if he had discovered something. “I don’t think you have told me.” she asked, tugging him closer. “Tell me about this realization, I am intrigued.”

[James Potter]

Chuckling to himself at getting called dashing, James was content to let Lily do what she was intent on doing. When she'd dropped her robe, he hadn't thought that this was his girlfriend's plan - surely there were more fun things for them to get up to together, naked as the days they'd been born, than cleaning him up - but he wasn't complaining. Her tender attention and care, a few quiet moments together, warm and safe...they were comforts he hadn't realized how much he needed.

In pausing them here, Lily was giving him time to start feeling what this day meant, and to start transitioning out of the obsessive mode he'd been functioning in. A greater reality was coming for them, and swiftly. The ultimate importance of Quidditch in his life would fade, to be replaced with...making plans with his father about how to spend time with Mum, as much as possible. Figuring out the Order with Lily and their most trusted friends. Pursuing this life with the woman who loved him back, regardless of whatever came their way. It felt like he'd been racing against time itself in the week since his mother's letter, and he needed to catch his breath. He needed to stop. To have someone take care of him.

He'd known Lily was kind. That her love for her friends was true, that she was forgiving - to an extent - and that any offers of care were genuine. But the grace and patience she'd had for him in these days, James didn't know how to fully receive it. To do so would feel like he accepted its need, and it was needed because his mother...

Lily was giving him time, space, care. Showing that she was here for him with every scrub, massage, and kiss so freely given. Even as she spoke of his stench and turned him towards her again, it was done with love. Even if he wasn't quite ready to face all of the changes coming for them, or dwell on them too deeply - when he was, James knew she'd be there with him. And that was more than enough to know tonight, more than he knew how to express his gratitude for, more than what he could've imagined in his wildest dreams just a year ago. And he was drawn into reminiscing a little bit on times gone by, to look behind instead of ahead, to laugh at his old self instead of worry over the one to come.

Lily was thoughtful, smile soft and sweet as she crept back in memory with him. Her affection was a thankful distraction from his less wanted thoughts, and as she finished the kisses to his hands and pulled him to her...as he'd thought again and again in these last months, just when he didn't know how he could love her more - he was struck, and did. "Come back in here with me," he teased, voice low as he pressed kisses of his own to her navel, needing little more than to have his love in his arms again. "We'd brewed Amortentia not too long before. And I smelled...broom polish, the forest at night," James went on, grinning knowingly up at her, "and something floral I couldn't quite place. Not until you told me what it was, that day in the bath. Hibiscus. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was lucky to string together a coherent sentence after that. Still am." His brows raised in play as questions tempted him. "I wonder if Sluggy's got a vial around, we could see how offensive the smell is to you these days."

[Lily Potter]

Lily’s head tilted back and her mind struggled to remain on track as James teased her with kisses to her stomach. She reciprocated by running a hand through his ever-mused hair, glorying in the thick damp locks. She could have gotten lost in them, like so many times before, but James was remember their last encounter in this bath and Amortentia and she was smiling, remembering with him.

“No need, I recall it exactly. It was the smell of running water over river rocks, parchment, hibiscus.” here she smiled, poking him in the chest, the one fragrance their potions shared. It was strange to think of him coming to this realization on that day but also comforting to know that she wasn’t the only one clueless for a bit. “But all of that was overpowered by the smell of sweet sun sweat and that earthly smell you have.” At the time she was repulsed, finding the odor to be foul. Later, before they had started their friendship even, she was horrified when she recognized the scent of him and convinced herself she must have imagined it. She knew now that she was fooling herself and had been for a while. She wasn’t fooling herself anymore. Lily scrubbed at his chest as she ruminated on it further. “Maybe I was a little excessive in my disgust.” she admitted with a cheeky smirk.

“Come on, be a good sport. I’m almost finished,” she said, feeling the need to move them along before James undid her completely. Lily slid off of the bench and into the water, shifting James onto the seat that she had so recently vacated. It was impossibly easy in the water and drew a giggle from her as their roles were reversed. “The smell of you in your natural element is something I love, clearly, the potion proved that. But I can also appreciate the scent of you freshly bathed.” She commented pointedly, popping a kiss on his lips before wadding backward in the water to better attend to his legs and feet. The last of his appendages that needed cleaning, well nearly the last. She gave them her full attention as she had every other part of James, satisfied that there wasn’t a speck of dirt left on him. When she was finished she ran her fingernails along the bottom of his right foot, grinning mischievously.

[James Potter]

He felt her hand tangle in his hair, and James grinned against her stomach. Was it just his imagination, or were her breaths growing shallower, faster, as his were? Should he give up on reminiscing, should she give up on giving him a clean? He looked up to see Lily smiling bright, and took an exaggerated step away as she prodded his chest, rocking back towards her after. His hands caught the edge of the tub on either side of her as she went on, detailing her own first brewing of the love potion - which he had overpowered, while neither had realized it. Some part of her had known, early in sixth, just as he had. The heart under her busy hands thumped hard at the realization, and he logged the other notes - the river must be Cokeworth's, right? and she'd known him then more than she did fresh parchment and tropical flowers - before he was fully distracted by her description of him, and her attention to his chest. Sweet, sun, sweat, earth. As much as Lily scrubbed, and as long as he remained in this flowery bath, she'd still be able to pick him out of a lineup.

James let out a grateful laugh at her admission, grinning up at her and that smirk sported so boldly, even in owning her earlier overstatement. Pride had gotten in their way for so long, and while he was certain they would still choose opposing - and equally valid, and equally foolish - hills to die on from time to time, he was thankful that, for the things that mattered, they found themselves on the same side these days. Even in these little moments, being able to look back and laugh, open up about what they'd been thinking when it felt like their orbits would never collide, when in reality they'd just been on other sides of a classroom. "We've gotten better at that too, you know," he chuckled. "Used to think you'd rather swallow your tongue than admit when you were wrong, to me. Probably because I was the same." Laughter abating, James shook the damp hair from his forehead and looked up at her, brows raised. "I can't believe I was there for you too, then," he admitted. "Embarrassing, innit? A potion knowing us better than ourselves. I should've gone for it and asked you out last year, eh?"

She was terribly determined to see her self-proclaimed mission through, Lily was, and while he had an exciting moment of wonder when she joined him in the water - it was a moment that passed, as she moved him towards the cutout. He obliged and lifted himself onto it, and she giggled, and he couldn't keep a smile from his face at the sound. She swam in close enough to kiss, which he gladly did, before returning to the task at hand. "Alright, love, alright - note taken." James settled onto the bench and gave his face a scrub with both hands as she tended to his legs, wondering if he really did smell as horribly as she thought, just how long it'd been an issue, and what more there was to do about it. They were fleeting thoughts to be returned to later, for while his girlfriend was looking forward to appreciating a better smelling him, he was already appreciating her. Lily was absolutely focused, her hair darker than he usually saw it as it floated around her while she tended to him, the cloth and her hands working up up up - a mischievous look exchanged as she backed away, and he gave a sudden yelp, knee springing up out of the water as she tickled his foot. A weakness newly learned learned in confidence!

James pushed off of the bench to meet her, grin to match, and lifted her around him once more when his feet touched down. She'd been noticeably careful to relax him - until the end - and he had to appreciate the tactic. Lily really was everything and then some, and he ate it up. She'd arranged this respite, this retreat, and while he'd enjoyed following her lead so far, James was ready to jump in. "You," he laughed, continuing in jest as he turned his face from side to side for her inspection. "Do I meet your standards now?"