Aleksandra woke the next day with a slight headache and a body that ached absolutely everywhere. And then the events of the previous night caught up to her and her aches were forgotten as a hot flush spread over her entire body, even the tips of her ears. How mortifying. She'd practically forced Aulfr to paw at her. She wanted to squeal and cover her face in embarrassment. She also wanted to stab something. But she wasn't really mad.

As she'd promised Aulfr, she wasn't angry with him. She was just very embarrassed at how she'd acted, and somewhere deep down, she was also secretly thrilled. If she could let Aulfr touch her like that, then she knew she could learn to trust again. She wanted to feel comfortable touching people she hardly knew, and she wanted to love freely. As it was, her only friend was Aulfr.

She turned on her side and looked at his peaceful, sleeping face. Their legs were tangled together and his arm lay heavy over her waist. She loved this man. She thought loving someone took more time than just a month, but she'd loved him for awhile now. Strangely enough, she thought she'd realized this when he'd punched her back the day she'd been angry he spilled her secrets. She enjoyed that he treated her equally. If she hit him, she could be damned sure she'd be hit back. Probably even harder. And then he cleaned her up and fixed her nose.

Slowly, without stopping to second-guess herself, she slid a leg over his hips and sat up, straddling him. She realized belatedly that she wasn't wearing anything except her near see-through shift and undergarments. Too late to stop now, she figured. She settled herself comfortably, noticing that he had narrower hips than she first thought. That was interesting. Hers were wider, probably for having children, she reasoned. And he was also mostly bare. She didn't see him like this very often.

She pressed one slim-fingered hand to his belly and felt the warmth of living skin and lean muscle. She wondered vaguely if she should feel embarrassed by all this touching, but they were both nearly naked and she was straddling him. It was a little late to feel embarrassed. Once she did away with that thought, she felt strangely light. Freed. The feeling washed over her and, with a smile, she leaned down and kissed him.