He yelled as he came, the release from months of seeing her, the release from their dangerous fall, the release from loving someone and finally knowing they loved him in return. “Oh fuck,” he whispered, cursing as luxuriated in between her legs. Her hands ran along his arms.
“I feel like an absolute fool, but—”
“—I love you,” he interrupted. “I love you more than everything I’ve ever felt in my entire life put together.”
She smiled, almost a bit sly. “Have to be first, don’t you?”
He pulled out, finding a rag that once wrapped the parcels of food. He cleaned himself and her with it. He gestured to her. “Please. What were you going to say?”
“I love you, Tristan Bridewell.”
Balling up the rag and throwing it across the stone gully, he gave her his most arrogant look and said: “I know.”
She threw her head back and laughed. He couldn’t help himself, he leaned forward and licked the beautiful column of her neck. She shrieked. “What are you doing?”
He couldn’t go again right away; there was some time to wait. “The trespass has been committed. I like to revel in my choices.”
“But aren’t you tired?” she challenged.
“Do you have something better to do?” he challenged back.
“Let me rest. Then we’ll see,” she said, righting her clothing.
For the sake of the cold, he donned his clothing, and they lay together in the darkness of the gully. “What are we going to do?” Eleanor asked.
“We’re going to get married, obviously. It’s going to be very challenging to have rendezvous this entertaining if we aren’t.”
Her laughter rang like small bells in the darkness.
“Is that a yes?” Tristan asked, a strange nervousness clanging through him.
“It is a yes, but I was asking about getting out of here. Getting to safety.” Just as she finished speaking, her stomach growled.
Tristan felt her words like another command. A less sexy one, but a dire one. She couldn’t walk, so it was up to him to figure out what to do. How to bring home his bride.
*
Eleanor awoke alone.Their chamber was humid from her breath and her body heat, but Tristan’s absence was notable. After all, if she wasn’t touching him, where could he have gone?
At least there was time for her to take inventory of herself. The ankle was still swollen and sore, but slightly less so. Or perhaps that was merely optimistic thinking. The rest of her body felt sore in a different way. She felt raw between her legs in a way that made her smile. Their coupling had been extraordinary. No wonder people got married.
So, where was he? She dressed and, gathering courage to face the cold winds, she threw off the oilskin tarp and peeked out of the gully that had been their makeshift love nest. The fog had subsided, but the sun was still obscured by clouds. Movement caught her attention, and she turned. There was Tristan, striding along the rocky hillside, the climbing rope wrapped across his chest. He looked magnificent, as if he were a hero out of a fable.
Once he got within earshot, he immediately apologized. “I’m sorry you had to wake up alone. But I had an idea, and I couldn’t wait.” He heaved the rope off his shoulders and slid down into the gully, kissing her on the lips as if their connection was comfortable and easy.
It thrilled her that it felt that way. She could stand with having a greeting kiss after every return. “What is your idea?”
“It occurred to me that we could tie you onto my back, and I could carry you down.” Tristan began tidying up their cave, throwing off the blanket and stowing packets of food and what was left of the whiskey in the hole in the ground.
She frowned. “I’m not terribly light, I’ll have you know. I don’t think it’s wise.”
Tristan paused then looked up at her. “I will attempt to say this without offending your sensibilities.”
She put her hands on her hips. What insult could he manage at this point?
“I have seen porters carry loads three times their own weight up and down mountains, with a clever use of ropes to balance the burden. Don’t you think we could do something similar?”
It was a good idea in theory, but Eleanor didn’t know anything about either the physics or the physiques involved. She stared at him, trying to imagine where ropes would even go. “It may take some trial and error.”
