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"Did your fiancé never--"

"He told me I was pretty; pretty is not beautiful I don’t wish to talk of hi ht her senses to life as they’d not been in a good long while

A deep mournful moan echoed in the distance

"What’s that?" she asked

"A whale"

"That’s a rather lonely sound, isn’t it?"

"He’s probably searching for hishiet lonely out here?"

He didn’t answer right away, but his gaze was focused on her as though he were striving to determine how much to reveal, how much to trust her "Sometimes," he finally said quietly "But I’m not lonely now"

She wasn’t certain when, but he had moved closer and the ainst each other from tier fought the rolling toward hiht before, but with no fog the stars stretched into eternity His face seeh perhaps it was only that she no every , noble features

How simple it would be to just lift up on her toes and press her mouth to his Give him the kiss he demanded She had no doubt that it would be as slow and leisurely as he’d proht it would be incredibly war

She heard another whale, the lowing slightly different from the first Was it the whale’s mate? Or just another desolate creature? Until this moment she hadn’t realized how terribly lonely she was, how she longed for this emptiness inside her to be filled

She had no doubt that the , but then he would leave and she would once again be empty Was it better to have the fullness for a little while than to never experience it at all? Was it worth the pain that would surely follow?

Her lips tingled, her breasts tingled Her toes curled She realized that her fingers were clutching his waistcoat and she wondered when she’d released her hold on his jacket and grabbed hi each other, and that, too, she didn’t re a conscious decision to accoain that their breaths wereto kiss me now?"

"No"