‘To one of my favorite spots,’ Azam replied. He gave her a dazzling smile. Sunlight streamed in through the gaps between the trees from above, a slight breeze moving the branches.
Sonya watched as a family of bunnies hopped across her path toward their burrow. She gasped. ‘Look!’ she said, pointing. ‘They’re so tiny.’
‘You haven’t seen bunnies before?’ he asked.
She shook her head. She had never been in the forest before the night she’d escaped, never gone exploring.
‘They aren’t too different from mice, you know,’ he teased. She wrinkled her nose, and he laughed.
As they continued, he pointed things out to her as they passed by them: plants with medicinal qualities, ribbiting frogs, capped mushrooms, colorful winged butterflies. They came across some flowers, and he picked a few.
‘Snowdrops for you,’ he said, offering them to her. She took them, inhaling the scent: they smelled a bit like honey and almonds.
As they continued, she spotted a flower she recognized and plucked a pink hyacinth, which smelled sweet and even a little spicy.
‘For you,’ she said, offering it to him. He smiled.
‘Why, thank you,’ he said, taking it from her. He stuck it into the pocket of his waistcoat, right over his heart. She bit back a smile.
They kept walking, and truly, she didn’t care if there was a destination in mind or not; she didn’t want the path to end.
Until they arrived at a beautiful lake. Her eyes went wide, taking in the glittering waters.
‘We’re here,’ he said, and they stopped walking. ‘This is one of my favorite spots.’ He pointed to a section of rocks at the other end. ‘There’s a waterfall there, if you can see it.’ She did spot the slight trickle. ‘It’ll get stronger once we have more spring rains.’
It was lovely, all of it: the green trees, the shining sun, the bright blue waters.
She turned to tell Azam just how beautiful she thought it all was when she saw he had taken off his waistcoat and was pulling his shirt from his trousers. Her stomach flipped violently. Alarm rang through her.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, eyes wide.
He gave her a crooked grin. ‘I’m not going swimming in all my clothes.’
‘Swimming?’ she sputtered. ‘But I don’t know how to swim!’
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘The lake is only deep in the center; we can stay along the shore.’
He continued undressing, and she looked away, her pulse quickening. Even though she couldn’t see, she could hear as he took the rest of his clothes off, the articles falling to the ground, and she felt slightly faint. At the same time, she was mightily tempted to turn and take a peek. He had seen her in her chemise and drawers, after all.
Before she could decide how bold to be, she heard the splash ofwater. She turned, and he was gone, a pile of clothes left behind. But she didn’t see him in the lake, either.
‘Azam!’ she cried, panic beating through her.
Then he broke the water, and relief flowed over her. He pushed his wet hair back, and she felt unsteady for entirely different reasons as she took in the sight of his bare arms and chest, the way his fingers moved as he wiped his face. Droplets of water ran down his brown skin, which appeared golden in the sun.
Her heartbeat felt erratic.
She glanced at the pile of clothes and noted that he wasn’t entirely naked; he hadn’t left his drawers behind.
‘Come on!’ he called. ‘It’s a little cold, but you’ll get used to it. Promise!’
While she was frightened by the prospect, there was an undercurrent of thrill running through her as well. She had never done anything like this before—it was an adventure! Surely one the heroines of her favorite novels would take, and she wanted to be more like them.
‘Alright,’ she called back. ‘Turn around!’
He did, swimming around, and for a moment she was mesmerized by the way the muscles in his back moved as his arms stroked through the water.
Her mouth felt dry. She swallowed, then turned around.
