“What shall we do instead?”
“Can we just sit and exist for a while? Talk?”
She doesn’t answer at first, and he laughs. “You’re already bored, aren’t you?”
A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I would never admit to such a thing.”
When he pokes her, she squirms away.
“I knew you were ticklish!” he laughs.
“I will never admit to that, either.”
“I think you will.”
Before she can react, he’s finding all her most ticklish spots as she squirms under his wandering hands and tries not to reveal to him exactly how ticklish she really is.
It’s a lost cause, though. He’s clearly winning this battle. Especially when he pins her to the deck and holds her there while he tickles her.
“You win,” she squeals as she arches her back to escape his hand. She could overpower him if she wanted to. She is an elf, after all.
But she doesn’t want to. Not when he’s looking at her like that.
She gazes up at him where he hovers over her, pinning her hands to the deck above her head. His eyes are full of heat the same way they were during their swim. His gaze travels over her, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe. He leans near her ear, his breath teasing her sensitive skin as she whimpers.
Without warning, he lets go and pulls away, not looking at her as he breathes out through pursed lips. “Sorry. I got carried away.”
“I didn’t mind,” she offers, and he laughs.
“We’re supposed to be listening to Tharios.”
“We seem to struggle with that.”
An amused grin sneaks onto Rominy’s face as he looks out over the horizon. Then he gasps.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Look.”
She follows his gaze to the light dancing where the sky meets the water in the distance.
“A sunrise,” she breathes.
Dangling his feet into the water, he pulls her to his side, and she leans her head against his shoulder.
Neither of them speaks of the sunrise—of what it means—as if they’re afraid to hope.
“Will you sing for me?” she whispers.
“Sing for you?”
She nods as she rests against him.
“I suppose I could do that.”
“And if you wake without me, will you sing for me there, too?” She speaks so quietly that the soft breeze almost swallows her words.
With a kiss to her temple, he tightens his arm around her. “I can definitely do that.”
