If she yields to the kiss, he begins to lose himself in it. They have not spent a night together since leaving the villages. He has been taken from her twice: once here and then again in his return. He does not want to be parted from her again, but even tonight, he’ll be in a hammock and she’ll be in the ladies’ cabin.

“You have me. My body and my sword and my heart. You have my love.” He rests his forehead against hers, and breathes, and chuckles softly. “And a pretty necklace, whether you want it or not.”