“Yeah, well,” Crow shrugged. “He threatened a lot of different things, but I knew he wouldn’t get the chance to try. He was no match for you, darling.” He smirked at Penelope coyly. Even though he knew she felt bad about bashing the man’s head in with that rock, he was grateful she had worked up the nerve to do it. Despite his confident words, there had been a brief moment when he had been afraid the mercenary would actually take his arm off. If she had waited much longer, he very well may have done it.

He laced his fingers with hers as she sat down on the bed and took his hand. “You know me,” he offered a small smile, hoping to cheer her up. “I’m too stubborn to go down that easily.” As she leaned in, he met her lips in a kiss. He slipped his hand around her waist, drawing her slightly closer to himself before she pulled away.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he exhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. “I love you too, Penelope,” he said breathily, chuckling softly at the way she winked at him. He slid his hand around her torso, resting it on her thigh. Gods, she was beautiful. He wanted to be with her so badly. [i]We’re going to be alone all night…[/i] a devilish voice whispered in the back of his mind. [i]It’s a perfect opportunity to—[/i]

“W-we should go to bed,” Crow cleared his throat awkwardly, averting his gaze. He withdrew his hand from her leg, dropping it into his own lap. “It’s late, and we both need to recover after what happened.”