“Is there?”
“Staring implies rudeness. Observation is scientific inquiry.”
His lips twitched. “And what does your scientific inquiry reveal?”
That you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. That I want to trace every line of your body with my fingers and my mouth. That I’ve never felt this way about anyone and it terrifies me almost as much as it exhilarates me.
“That you walk too fast,” she said instead.
He laughed—a real laugh, startled out of him—and her heart skipped a beat.
“I’ll slow down.”
“No, don’t.” She caught up to him, slightly breathless. “I like the challenge. It’s good for me.”
“Is that what I am? A challenge?”
“Among other things.”
They walked on in companionable silence, the forest settling around them. She felt herself relaxing by degrees—the tension she’d carried for so long, the constant vigilance and worry, easing its grip on her shoulders.
“About the room,” she said finally. “You didn’t have to agree. If you’re not comfortable, if you need your space?—”
“I want you there.” He said it without hesitation. “I thought I made that clear.”
“You mentioned various activities.”
His sidelong glance held heat. “I did.”
“Care to elaborate?”
He stopped again, so suddenly she nearly walked into him. Before she could react, he’d turned and stepped into her space, one hand lifting to cup her jaw.
“I want to spread you out on that bed,” he said, his voice low and rough, “and learn every inch of you. I want to hear you make those sounds you made last night—and I want to make you make louder ones. I want to wake up with you every morning and fall asleep holding you every night.”
Her breath caught.
“I want,” he continued, his thumb tracing her lower lip, “to give you everything I have. Everything I am. Even if that isn’t much.”
“It’s so much more than you think.”
“Maybe.” He leaned closer, his breath warm on her face. “With you, I’m starting to believe that might be true.”
He kissed her then—soft and sweet, a promise more than a demand. She melted into it, her hands finding his chest, feeling his heart pound beneath her palm.
When they pulled apart, she was smiling.
“The berries,” she reminded him breathlessly. “We came for berries.”
“So we did.” But he stole another kiss before releasing her.
The berry bushes clustered at the edge of a rocky outcropping, their branches heavy with fruit that ranged from deep purple to vivid red. The colors were stunning—richer than anythingJessa had seen in the valley, as if the mountain air somehow intensified pigmentation.
“These will make beautiful dyes,” she murmured, already mentally calculating the possibilities. Purple thread woven with gold from the sunvines. Red and gold accents against cream-colored cloth. The combinations would be striking—unique enough to command high prices, if Halwick was any judge of markets.
He had brought baskets, and they worked side by side in a comfortable rhythm. He showed her which berries were ripest, how to pick without crushing, and which branches to leave alone so the bushes would continue producing.
“You know a lot about this,” she observed.
