Crow murmured his agreement and pressed another kiss to Penelope’s cheek. The sooner they could be together—or [i]really[/i] be together, since they were just keeping it a secret at the moment—the better. He hated sneaking around so much. Was the first time they had been able to spend time alone since he’d been given his title, and they were hiding in a [i]supply closet[/i]. He wished they could just come forward and start courting publicly already. It would be so much easier than what they were doing now.

As Penelope smirked at him, Crow raised a brow in confusion, wondering why she looked so amused. He grimaced when she went on to talk about the other noblewomen who would probably try to win him over to court them. He hadn’t thought of that, but she was probably right. If there were already noblemen trying to use him for their own gain, it was only a matter of time before the women joined suit. He shuddered at the thought of being pursued by a bunch of arrogant aristocrats who would only marry him for his status, and he was all the more glad that he already had the knight, whom genuinely loved him.

At Penelope’s dramatic sigh and words, Crow smirked. “I’d like to see that,” he laughed, leaning in to press a teasing kiss to her forehead. In the next moment, his expression softened, and he moved in again to meet her lips in a deep kiss, trailing his hands over her back as he held her against himself. He lingered for a while before pulling back to catch his breath. His hands rested at her waist, and he met her gaze with an affectionate smile.

“You’ll never have to compete for my heart, because you’ve already won it long ago,” he said softly, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You stayed with me when I was a criminal and even when I was on my deathbed—twice.” He chuckled as he recalled how he had nearly lost his life both to his illness and to Jaxon’s sword. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I swear, I’m going to stand by you the same way you’ve stood by me. I love you, Penelope.”