“A good and sensible realization.”
“You helped me realize it.”
He smiled. “Princess, I have no doubt you would have come to the same conclusion given time.”
“I do not want to waste any more time on him, and I want to be ready when love does strike.”
He laughed. “I do not think anyone is ever ready when love strikes, but I guess you can give it a try if you want.” He stood, stretched, and said, “As much as I enjoy talking with you, I have to go and see about supper for us.”
“But it is early yet.” She did not want him to go. She was enjoying their conversation and did not want it to end. Another reason to believe she was falling in love with him.
“The skies are heavily gray and night will fall before we know it. I need time to hunt something more than fish.”
“Be careful,” she urged.
He walked over to her, planning to plant a quick kiss on her lips and reassure her that he would be fine. It did not quite turn out that way.
He bent down to kiss her, and she raised up to meet his lips and that was all he needed. She was eager for him to kiss her, and he did not disappoint her.
His hand went around her neck and held it tight as his lips claimed hers, and good Lord, if she didn’t tingle down to the tips of her toes. His kiss was gentle, demanding, teasing, but most of all magical. Sensations rushed through her body, making her legs go weak. If she wasn’t sitting, she would have collapsed against him.
The thought of being in his arms, her body pressed against his, his strong arms wrapped around her had her pushing herself out of the chair. And as she did, his arm went around her waist and lifted her up to press against his hard body.
A soft moan tickled at her throat and rose to reach her mouth, though his kiss stifled it. Her arms went around his neck, and she let instinct take hold, or was it love, that had her kissing him as if she knew what she was doing?
It was when she pressed her body hard against his and felt him thick and strong against her that he broke them apart, holding her at arm’s length while they both took heavy breaths.
“We need to think about what we are doing here,” he said.
“At the moment, my thoughts are anything but clear,” she said, and then smiled. “You seem to take my breath away.”
“You do the same to me, which means I need to leave for a bit. The cold will do me good.”
She scrunched her brow and was about to speak.
“Do not ask me why, Princess,” he ordered, released her, and hurried out the door.
Wintra dropped down on the chair. She had not wanted him to leave, but she had to agree that it was better that he did. He was right. They had to think about what they were doing here. She could so easily surrender to the lust that consumed her, but she would much rather find out if it was love that had her favoring and wanting Torr as much as she did.
She had to keep things in prospective and keep things proper, though she had no idea how she would manage the latter.
Stop thinking about it. The warning in her head was not as easy to heed as one would assume. She needed a reprieve from her rampant thoughts and the only way to do that was to keep busy. She snatched her dress up off the ground and got busy stitching. Besides, it would be wise for her to remain fully clothed at all times while here with Torr.
She not only wanted the dress repaired, she wanted it done properly and that would take detailed work and that meant precise concentration. She focused on her stitching, and it wasn’t long before she was completely lost in it.
Wintra got half the dress done when she realized that the fire’s light had faded. That was when she noticed the fire had died down. She hurried off the chair, placing her dress on it and grabbed a log from the stack to add to the fire. It was then she realized how much time must have passed since she needed to add three more logs to get the fire going strong. When she finally had a good fire blazing, she stepped back, rubbing her arms that had chilled considerably.
She cast a glance at the door, wondering how long Torr had been gone and her stomach gave her the answer. It rumbled with hunger, which meant it had been several hours. Had something happened to him? The thought sent a shudder through her, and she did the only thing she knew to do. She walked over to the bed, got down on her knees, and began to pray.