Ah, a rare norribeth story! I think it's a happy medium among willabethers and sparrabethers. Lol. James having a "suppressed smile" is Sooooo perfect! I can see his facial expressions in this one so clearly. Elizabeth's perspective is so good, too, how you just have her trail off as she looks at him.

"Tempting… teasing… tantalizing… and then, in the end, the solace of his surrender, as complete as her own."--I loved this whole paragraph and would have liked to have quoted all of it! Just gorgeous, so poetic and steamy at the same time.

"I didn't hurt you?"--Aw. This is so in-character of James, too. How intimate and tender. Very good.