Crow wrapped his arm around Penelope’s waist as she sat down next to him, leaning contentedly into her side. He enjoyed the feeling of sitting beside her, alone in the stables. For a moment, he was able to forget about the castle looming on the horizon, the king’s staff, and their mission altogether. For a moment, all he cared about was the beautiful woman by his side. It was a peaceful feeling.

Holding her close, he noticed that she had gotten rather quiet. He glanced down at her and was surprised to see a blush on her cheeks. [i]What’s going on in her mind?[/i] he wondered, finding the nervous expression on her face unusual. His heart skipped in his chest as a thought made itself apparent in the back of his mind. [i]Is she thinking about…[/i] He swallowed, averting his gaze to look at the horse supplies on a nearby wall, as if they were suddenly very interesting.

His heart pounded with excitement, and he had to force himself not to make any rash movements. After all, just because she was blushing didn’t mean she was thinking about the same thing he was. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by being hasty when he might have misunderstood her expression.

[i]But what if she’s waiting for me to make a move,[/i] Crow shifted his weight. [i]Gods, this is difficult.[/i] He didn’t want to take her by surprise if he was wrong, yet he also didn’t want to appear indecisive if he was right and she really was waiting for him. Therefore, he sat still, unable to choose which course to take.

[color=fff79a][b]“W-Well, I’m not very tired either… and i-it’s just the two of us soo…”[/b][/color] Penelope’s apprehensive voice commanded his attention.

He pulled back slightly to meet her gaze and stared at her in unbridled surprise. [i]She really does want to sleep with me,[/i] he thought as a smile slowly spread across his lips. “I can think of something we could do to pass the time,” he said provocatively, reaching to slide his hand up her thigh.

His heart pounded fiercely. This was it. They were really going to sleep together. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately as he moved his hand up to her chest and pushed her gently onto the hay bale. When he had her on her back, he climbed on top of her and ran his hands down the length of her body, kissing her along her neck and collarbone, then working his way a little lower to her upper chest.

He started to reach for the fastening of her dress, and then wavered, meeting her gaze once more to make sure she was comfortable with going this far with him, “Are you sure you want to do this?”