the pause between breathing

She tilts her head for him, welcoming the kisses scattered against her neck, one of her hands sneaking back up to gently run through his hair. "You don't need to apologise for that," she assures him with a smile. "I'm sure it's not something you'd choose to do if you could help it." Her eyes close for a second to enjoy the kisses and the attention, and her fingers do indeed find the relatively new scar from the blade that had buried itself beneath his ribs. Isla's smile grows to hear that he agrees, blinking up at him once more and nodding her understanding. "The irony, that you're more of a burden when I'm at home not knowing where you are and worrying," she mumbles, giving him a good-natured nudge for his trouble. Then she's tugging him forward and to the side a bit so she might reverse their positions, leaving Varus sprawled out on the bed and Isla sitting astride him. "Now," she says softly, her hands roaming along his hips and thighs. "I think I have a puzzle to finish." Isla the flesh is weak