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It reminded him of Sasha’s hair, set off to perfection by the dark purple shirt she ith a long white skirt that swirled around her ankles as she walked Once again she’d twisted her hair up on top of her head He pictured hiant curve of her neck just before he removed the wooden sticks to set her hair free

He’d dearly love to see it down loose around her shoulders--or better yet, spread out on his pillow as he kissed that sprinkling of freckles on her nose So lanced in his direction, she blushed and immediately hurried on toward the next bed of roses

But she did take his hand and tug hiesture vanquished the knot of nerves in his chest For the h to pretend they were just an ordinary couple out to enjoy an evening of music and each other’s co down, the y into their encore Sasha couldn’t reht out more Larem had produced a blanket from his pack for theotten each of them a lemonade and a piece of strawberry shortcake

Watching hih hipped crealy sensual experience It was al the decadent dessert for the first time

She barely knew theabout him that stirred e tie and then her heavy work schedule had left little time for a social life Or at least that had been her excuse The truth hen she’d h she’d known the risks of getting involved with a Paladin, she’d hadn’t been able to help herself And when he’d died, it had al the saht, she should be old enough to know better, but obviously not The more time she spent in Larem’s company, the more reckless she felt Hoould it feel to kiss that stern mouth? What kind of lover would he be? Maybe she should just toss the dice and see where the night led the late summer, there was a chill in the air as the sun went down Larem noticed when she shivered and leaned toward her "Are you cold?"

"A bit I’ht"

He hesitated, then wrapped his ar the warmth of his body

"Is that better?" His voice was a deep ru a whole different kind of shiver through her

Oh, mama, yes!

But she kept that comment to herself and just nodded Too bad the concert was about to end She could’ve happily spent hours sitting right there, enjoying the night with Lareed to their feet, applauding loudly She reluctantly joined the Larem’s touch

He folded up the blanket and stowed it back in his pack "The zoo is open for another hour Want to wander around a bit before we call it a night?"

"Sure"

It seemed only natural for him to take her hand, especially with the jostle of the people surrounding the the two of the down a path with only a handful of others nearby

"Did you like the music?"

Lareain sometime I think they do a whole series of concerts here"

"I’d like that" A lot

When a sn said it led toward the animals of the African savanna As dark as it was, they’d not likely be able to seeLare the what the zebras were up to

Sure enough, when they were alone, he dropped his bag on the ground and turned to face her in the faint glow of a distant laently ca her palms up the hard planes of his chest His pale eyes stared down into hers for the longest ti to do this all evening"

Before she knehat he was going to do, he tugged the chopsticks out of the knot on top of her head The heat in his ser-co down around her shoulders

"I kneould feel like silk You should wear it down all the tiets in the hen I work"

His accent thickened considerably when he murmured, "Then wear it this way just for me"

Then he kissed her--finally His lips settled over hers, gently at first but then with considerablyon to the soft cotton of his shirt, Sasha held on with all the strength she could muster The feel of his hands as they touched and tempted warmed her from the inside out The ht

She liked that about hiround and carried her backward several steps

"Uh, Larem?"

"The bench," he murmured