“If you could refrain from touching my ears, that would be appreciated. And other parts of me.”
“I will do my best to keep my hands to less fire-inducing parts of you. Or perhaps I shouldn’t touch you at all? That seems safer.”
And much less pleasant, but she keeps that to herself. He’s probably right. They’re already living dangerously tonight.
As they emerge from their cottage, the briny sea air fills her senses, and she breathes in deeply. It’s not raining.
“Did you ask the heartlanding for a perfect moonlit night?” Rominy whispers as if he’s afraid to break the spell of the calm waves and moonbeams shining down on the water and white sand.
She shakes her head. “I think this is the heartlanding approving of our adventure.”
He hops to the ground and reaches up to help her, as he always does. Not that she needs help, but the gesture warms her heart every time. And his hands warm the skin at her waist beneath her thin dress.
“Well. That lasted about two seconds.” Rominy huffs a quiet laugh as he drops his hands and steps away. “Are you sure about this?”
“Relax, my love. We’ll be fine.”
Or they won’t, and the heartlanding will douse them again. Either way.
But she doesn’t say that part.
“Come on.” She resists the urge to reach for his hand as she plots a trail across the silky sand beneath her bare feet. All signs of the downpour they endured earlier have vanished. Are their building supplies still where they left them? They’ll have to check tomorrow. Perhaps the wood is as dry as the sand now.
“You look even more gorgeous than usual in the moonlight,” Rominy says behind her, and she turns to find him standing still, watching her with his hands in his pockets as the breeze tousles his golden-brown hair and plays with the hem of his loose linen shirt.
Her heart speeds up at the warmth in his eyes.
“Rominy,” she says softly.
“I can’t help what I feel, El. Even if I can’t act on it tonight. That’s why I’m standing back here. It seems safer.”
A light laugh escapes her.
“Keep walking,” he says. “I’m coming.”
She watches him for a moment before continuing her trek to the creek. Occasionally, she glances over her shoulder as he follows, and when their eyes meet, he offers her a smile that fills her with butterflies.
They wade through the creek toward their private pool, and this time, Elowyn leaves her underlayer in place.
Which does little to temper the heat in Rominy’s eyes as the moon reflects off the water and his hair and his bare shoulders.
“Should I put my shirt back on?” he asks softly, but she shakes her head. It wouldn’t matter. He’s as attractive in a wet shirt as he is without it.
The butterflies return as his eyes drift lower before returning to her face, and he looks away and clears his throat. “Here we are. Is it everything you dreamed it would be?”
“More than I ever imagined.” The allure of moonlight on the water pales compared to how it glistens on his hair and skin.
Whistling wind. Maybe he was right and this was a mistake.
He finds her eyes again, and neither of them speaks.
“I’m about to have an extended lapse in judgment,” he eventually whispers.
Does she even wish to stop him?
Then he groans and looks away before diving into the water.
It’s enough to remind her she’s fighting for her life in the real world.
