Valenna looked up, her eyes dancing. “It feels right.”
“This isn’t the right time or place.”
She sat up, her hair mussed. “Then when?”
“We’ll go to the sanctuary,” he said, scooting away from her, out of arm’s reach. “Somewhere safe and private, not on the cold ground in a dangerous forest.”
“That is irritatingly sensible.”
They sat across from one another, and Evander’s mind raced. Years of longing tugged at him; he had to have her. Now. No, not now, but soon. And he didn’t just want her lovely body, he wanted her heart. He wanted to belong to her, body andspirit.
“We should just get married,” he suggested suddenly.
He wasn’t certain how she would react to this. Shock? Fear? Even irritation? Instead, her face brightened, effervescent.
“Really, Vander?”
“I can’t seem to get rid of you no matter what I do, so why not make it permanent?”
She let out a happy little squeal and threw her arms around his neck, knocking him onto his back as she kissed his lips, his cheeks, the side of his neck. He laughed.
“So, this is a yes?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, trailing kisses from his ear to his collarbone. “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”
He slid out from under her arms, shocked at his own self-restraint. “Are you hungry?” he asked, standing and moving to the other side of the fire so he could put some distance between them.
“In multiple senses, yes,” she said, grinning.
“Stop it,” he scolded. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, and you’re making it difficult.”
“Good.”
He prodded the fire with a stick and then took a bacon bun from his rucksack and dropped it into her hand. She brushed his fingers with hers, and his whole arm tingled.
“You’re a cruel woman,” he said.
She bit the bun and watched him with her beautiful dark eyes, and his heart hammered so hard in his chest, he thought it might fly away like a hummingbird.
“Where shall we live, Mr. Trevelyan?” she asked, reclining back on one elbow, her body stretched out on the ground.
“I assumed we’d return to Silvanlight. Unless you have some better plan.”
She chewed thoughtfully. “Well, I should like to keep you alive for a few more years, so I don’t much like the idea of you being dragon master.”
“Alright.” He was shocked at how little he minded this. “We used to speak of a cottage and our own dracorium.”
Valenna gasped. “You remember?”
“Of course I remember,” he said, sitting beside her.
She turned and leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. “Well, I’ll settle for a quiet room at a tavern in Cobblepine for now,” she said. “So long as there’s a bed, I don’t care about much else.”
He kissed her, below her ear, and it sent a shiver through him. “I think I can arrange that.”
Chapter twenty-eight
Valenna
