She leaned in and that was all the permission he needed not to pull back immediately. If he had to guess, Eugene would assume this was her first experience with anything like this and so, despite her sigh and her hand in his hair, he was determined to keep it light and easy.

It took more willpower than he was ready to admit.

It had been a long time since he'd felt that familiar fire light inside him, but Eugene was keeping it to a slow burn. Still, he wanted to express his gratitude more fervently without words and so he tilted her chin up just a little, changing the tone of the kiss to something a bit more intimate. The indulgence lasted only a minute longer before he pulled back, breathless and grinning. "I wonder if this means I can start calling you by your first name?" He raised a playful eyebrow at her, running the hand on her back up and down absentmindedly, anything to keep himself grounded in the moment.