Crow was just about to respond to Rikki when he suddenly heard Penelope slide her chair closer to his. He turned just in time to see her swing her legs over his lap to push the female thief away. An amused laugh escaped his lips, and he slipped one arm around her back to prop her up while she leaned against him. He liked this bold side of her, and while he wasn’t fond of the fact that she had to assert herself to Rikki because of the other woman’s persistence, he did enjoy seeing her act out like this. It was a wilder part of her that he didn’t often get to appreciate, and it sent his heart racing even more than it already was.

Meanwhile, Rikki didn’t seem nearly as entertained. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and folded her arms over her chest. “Fine,” she huffed. “You c’n have ‘im for now, but this isn’ over. Sooner ‘r later, ‘e’s gonna come back t’me. Jus’ you wait.” She looked away from them to do a quick sweep of the crowd in the tavern, her gaze landing on a man at a nearby table with dark hair and hazel eyes. A foxlike grin crossed her lips, and she stood up, casting Crow a careless shrug. “If yer not gonna kiss me, ‘m gonna go have some fun with ‘im.” With that, she headed over to the other table, sliding into a seat next to the man she had targeted and striking up a conversation.

Crow made a face at her back and then turned back to Penelope with a grin of his own, “Looks like we manag’d t’get rid of ‘er.” In the next moment, he fell quiet again as his attention wandered back to her features. It was so easy for him to get lost in studying her face. Everything about her that he already found attractive was accentuated by the alcohol in his system, making her that much more irresistible to him in the moment. His eyes roved from her face down to the rest of her body, from her chest to her hips.

“Gods, I ‘ove you,” he murmured, slipping his free hand behind her knees and using both arms to pull her all the way onto his lap. Once he was holding her comfortably, he pressed a deep kiss to her lips and traced his hands sensuously over her body, losing himself in her touch without a care of who could be watching.