“Of course not,” Crow smirked when Penelope noted that he hadn’t forgotten their deal. “I take this very seriously.” He closed his eyes and sighed softly as she kissed his neck, and his heart beat excitedly as she reached for the hem of his tunic. She was taking more initiative than he was used to her doing, but her new enthusiasm thrilled him. He wondered how else she had changed during the time they had been apart, and he suddenly felt a rush of eagerness to find out.

As she pulled at his shirt, he shifted to allow the fabric to slide easily over his head and then tossed it onto the floor. His upper body was adorned with bandages that wrapped around his arm and waist to protect his still-healing wounds. However, not wanting Penelope to dwell on that fact, he leaned down again to meet her lips as he worked the fastening of her peasant dress. He knew that as long as they were careful to avoid putting too much pressure on any of his injuries, he would be fine.

Sliding the clothing off of her once he had loosened it enough, Crow took a moment to look at the knight. She bore a few new scars, but he still found her just as beautiful as he did before. He met her gaze and smiled affectionately, feeling lucky to be with such an attractive woman.

“What did I do to deserve you?” he laughed softly and shook his head. Leaning in once more, he kissed her deeply as he explored her body with his hands. He enjoyed the intimacy of being with her like this, and he didn’t even feel his usual urgency to get straight to sleeping with her as he did with other women.

After a bit, he took her hand and gently guided it to the hem of his pants, allowing her to remove the clothing for him as he continued to kiss her along her collarbone.