“That’ll be the day,” Crow returned Penelope’s smile, feeling his heart flutter with affection for the knight. He loved the way she looked at him, with her warm expression and kind eyes. He could get lost in the deep green of her irises if he let himself. As she leaned in to kiss him, he closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of her lips moving against his. He really did wish they could just stay like this forever, especially with everything else that was going on. It would have been nice to simply forget it all and be with her in their own separate world, but he supposed this was good too though. It may not have been permanent, but having her by his side relieved quite a bit of his lingering stress over the barons’ coming decision.

As she draped her arm around him, Crow exhaled contentedly, sinking into the comfort of her touch. He laid still for a moment before he heard her speak again in a soft voice. “I’d like that too,” he murmured in agreement, giving her hand a fond squeeze. The thought of having a whole day to spend with her without worrying about anything or anyone else sounded like paradise to the thief, and he couldn’t wait for the day when they would be free to do something like that.

He touched a gentle kiss to her forehead and then met her gaze again with a hint of excitement in his eyes. “We can take as many days as you want,” he promised, grinning at her eagerly. “Because lucky for you, I’m a master at disappearing. I’ll make sure we go someplace where no one will be able to find us.” He lifted his hand from hers to brush his fingers lovingly along the edge of her cheek, tracing the length of her face slowly down to her jawline. “No responsibilities and no interruptions…” he added in a dreamy voice. “I can’t wait.”