It was well known that Malachi and Joanne had already kissed dozens of times before.
However, this was the first time that Malachi really felt like she was placing herself in his hands.
She seemed to have absolutely no guards up, and her willingness to express her feelings was so much greater than before.
This was also the first time that he had felt like he was really about to take things a step further.
Silently, he wondered just how far he should go.
He wasn't at all unaware of Joanne's past, nor the time it had taken her to overcome it.
But he feared that taking things too far here would reverse a bit of her progress.
And because Joanne seemed to sense his hesitation, she relented momentarily.
Breathing somewhat heavily, she rested her head against his chest and listened to the sound of his own heartbeat thumping out of control.