Crow leaned into the grass with his eyes closed, panting heavily as he fought to catch his breath. Between the length of time that had passed since their last intimate encounter and Penelope’s zeal during this one, he was feeling quite dazed. As she rolled off of him to lay at his side, he turned his head to meet her gaze with an absent grin, “It really did,” he said breathily, running his hand over her arm. “Although I hope we never have to wait that long again. This is too much fun to be a monthly activity.” He pressed a teasing kiss to her nose.

As she mentioned that they shouldn’t stay for much longer, he nodded faintly in agreement. Even though he wished they could lay together in the woods all night, they couldn’t risk getting caught by her overprotective father. If John found out what they had been doing, the knight really would kill him—or think of some other twisted way to punish him for sleeping with his daughter. He shuddered at the thought, suddenly finding the strength to sit up and gather his discarded clothes.

Once he finished getting dressed, Crow yawned widely and leaned back on his palms, arching his back as he stretched out his torso. It had been so long since the last time they’d been together that he’d forgotten just how exhausted he felt when they were finished. It was difficult for him to even keep his eyes open. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of his weariness, and rubbed his eyes with one hand. Unfortunately, the feeling persisted.

“I know we need to go back soon,” he mumbled, looking up at Penelope blearily. “But we don’t need to leave this very moment, right?” He yawned again. “Let’s stay… just a little…” He didn’t even manage to finish the thought before his exhaustion suddenly overtook him and he passed out, collapsing onto his side as he fell unconscious.