His brows quirk as he looks at her, but she says nothing.
“This was a trap.”
She nods. “It was.”
“You intend to make me eat, don’t you?”
She sucks in her cheeks to hide a smile. “Perhaps.”
He leans his head back and lets out an exaggerated sigh, and laughter bursts from her. She loves this humorous side of him he rarely shares with anyone else.
“How cruel I am to ensure my husband doesn’t starve himself.”
“I survived just fine for most of my life without you shoving food in me, you know.” The smile teasing at his face reveals the truth, though. He likes it when she fusses over him.
She lifts her shoulder in a half-shrug and wanders closer, laying a hand on his chest. “Are you saying you don’t want me here? Seeing to your needs?”
Stars above. That is probably the most brazen thing she’s ever said to him. Her cheeks burn, and she’s about to pull her hand back when he presses his own palm over it, holding it in place.
“I am not saying that.”
The heat in his eyes floods her with warmth of a different kind, and for the space of several shallow breaths, neither of them says anything.
He’s not catching fire as quickly as he normally does.
Then he kisses her. Soft and slow. An undemanding kiss that makes her toes curl.
Still, he doesn’t catch fire, though he’s growing warmer.
“Your magic,” she whispers against his lips.
“You burned through my heat this morning. It’s easier to control now.”
“It is?”
“It is. I may need your help expending my fire magic regularly.”
“Seeing to your needs?”
“My need for you.”
He definitely has his moments. Stars above.
He kisses her again, and she wraps her arms around his neck as he pulls her closer.
“You need to eat,” she eventually says, and he rests his forehead against hers.
“My stomach is tied in knots.”
“Can I tempt you with sweets?” She buries her fingers in his hair, and he groans.
“I believe you have me confused with Elowyn. My temptations lie elsewhere.”
“Perhaps a caramel apple?”
His eyes snap open. “A what?”
“You don’t have caramel apples in Lostariel?”
