“Oh my,” Lily gasped as she looked around and walked towards the edge of the cliff so she could stare down. “This is beautiful… This is perfect. I have never seen anything like this,” she breathed as she stared down at the blue waters beneath the cliff.
Killian stood next to her and gently eased closer so he could touch her hand. They stood there for a long time, staring down and enjoying the silence.
He finally led her to the shade an oak tree provided. They sat, and he took out the history book he had shown her. Killian took his time to read each page to her, then they sat there for a long time, and he told her about his travels to England and Asia.
“They serve the best tea in Asia. The family I lived with was the son of an English earl who fell in love with a woman beneath his station and traveled to Asia with her. They seemed pretty happy, and his wife made the best tea,” he told her.
“So, what about English tea?” Lily asked him as she laughed. “It was all I had tasted before I moved here.”
“I find English tea a bit too plain.”
“I would like to taste some other kinds of tea one day… I’d like to travel the world like you have, too. It would be very interesting.”
“Maybe one day I can take ye,” Killian said.
He enjoyed being with her like this. He did not even realize he had made a statement about a future.
“You would?” her voice shook as she asked, and those wide blue eyes landed on his again.
“If ye ask nicely.”
Killian loved the flush that sprang up her cheeks and neck, but then she rolled her eyes to hide her embarrassment. He could see himself spending more time with her like this in the years to come.
A hearty sensation filled him as his thoughts spiraled down a future path. Killian had never considered a future with anyone, but just now, he envisioned having Lily with him here always and showing her the world.
Killian knew she would love every part of their travels if they eventually set out. She had a keen sense of adventure, and her spirit had caught his attention from the start.
He sighed, allowing his heart to expand with the rush of energy and excitement that flowed through him.
Can I really have a life with her?
Lily was reading to herself now as he stole another glance at her. Killian could feel his heart beat for her already. He could not handle the rush of emotions coursing through him then.
When and how did he start falling for Lily?
25
They got back to his keep late that evening drenched from the unexpected downpour from the heavens. Her earasaid felt heavier because it was soaked, and her hair clung to her skin.
Lily didn’t feel the usual tension when there was a storm. Killian made her feel strangely safe.
In a way I have never felt with anyone before.
She loved how easy it was for her to relax with him and enjoy his presence.
His smooth tone, and the deep tremors of his words as he reads to me.
She replayed their day in her head, smiling.
Even with the shivers coursing through her, she still laughed at his joke as they ran into his keep. He slowed her down when they passed some guards. Then, he turned her around, smoothed his hands down her arms, and brought her closer to him.
Lily’s heart drummed in her chest, expanding till she drew in a deep breath. She had never spent so much time alone with a man before. Unless they were fighting.
Earlier in the day, her nerves had been all rattled and tense in anticipation of what the day would be like, but sitting with Killian at the cliff, listening to his stories and laughing with him… all of that had made her feel…alive.
“Ye should change into warmer clothes and join me for supper,” Killian said as he stared into her eyes. “I will have the cooks make us soup.”
Lily nodded, then hurried away from him to get to her chamber. A servant came in with hot water for her bath after some time, and she took her time to soak in it, enjoying the warmth that seeped into her skin to ease the chill in her bones.
