Looking up at her face and form, outlined and graced by moonlight, Rory drew a slow breath through his nostrils and released it in a sigh. "No. No you're not." His own Larch-inflicted traumas rode close on his shoulder, it seemed, ghostly and more or less easy to ignore until they savagely invaded his memories and dreams. And he hadn't even spoken of the worst of them to Pippa.

Oh, how he wanted to pull her back down to him and coax her into more lovemaking ... and how disastrous a mistake he'd make if he did.

No more running, no more evasion. He reached for her hand and folded his fingers around hers. "Where should we start?"