“Wait! Are you crazy?” Jake’s voice carried after her into the small space. “Don’t go out the door.”

Danielle sighed and poked her head back through the window.

“Really?”

“If you do, everyone will know it, and I’m sure you’d like to keep your reputation intact.”

“You weren’t too concerned about my reputation earlier, buddy,” she panted as she placed her palms inside the frame of the opening and boosted herself halfway through.

“Oh, you’re wrong about that,” he answered her decidedly, and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her free. “Tonight you were almost my wife.”

“You should be so lucky,” she said as the rest of her body smacked into his and she slid slowly against his solid frame until her feet found purchase on the ground.

“Lucky would be one word, honored would be another.”

Danielle felt the heat of his skin through her nighttime tunic, and she was consciously aware that he had not released her from his strong arms though she was free of the window.

His left hand supported the small of her back with firm pressure as he raised his right to caress her flushed cheek with the silken cluster of flowers.

“All my life I have longed for someone to share this place with, but I could never set aside my obligations to satisfy those dreams. I can barely believe it, but you’re here with me now, and it’s more gratifying than I ever could have imagined. Let me show you where these flowers grow.”

Jake tucked the delicate blossoms into her hair and ran his hands down the sides of her arms before he gently captured her fingers.

“Come with me. It’s safe. I promise I’ll take care of you.”

She was barefoot, but the grass in the clearing was soft and cool from the gathering dew, so she didn’t give it much thought before she allowed him to pull her into the dense underbrush of the surrounding woods.

“Let me go first to make sure the path is clear of debris,” he said over his shoulder as he took the lead.

Danielle couldn’t really see the trail he followed, but his footing was steady and they navigated the shrubbery with nothing more than a few scratches. They had only gone a short distance when she picked up the sound of rushing water up ahead.

Suddenly the thick foliage gave way, and they found themselves on a sharp outcropping of rock. As the trees overhead opened up and allowed the moonlight to enter the clearing, she saw a tiny waterfall as it spilled over a layer of worn stone before it finally settled itself into a languid pool of inky black water at the bottom of the ravine.

A gentle smattering of delicate blossoms ringed the onyx reservoir below them, and she recognized the flower he had brought to her window earlier.

“How did you get down there to pick that?” she asked him, looking for any possible means to reach the bottom but not finding any.

“When something is very important, there is always a way. Do you know these only bloom at night, at the edge of a natural spring?”

She shook her head in response, suddenly not trusting her voice to answer him. In all her years no one had ever done something so amazing for her, so wonderful as to take her to a place no one else had ever been and show her something most people in the world would never see.

“What can I do for you, Jake?” she finally responded. “What can I give you, out of my entire life that could ever equal this?”

“This?” Jake queried, looking in confusion around the open area before facing her again. He gently placed firm fingers underneath her chin and raised her eyes to meet his.

“Nothing in the world can compare to what you could give me, if you choose it.”

He lowered his face and set his smooth cheek against hers, running his lips along the edge of her jaw line, allowing them to rest against her skin with tender kisses where they caught.

Her hands reached up around his shoulders, and her fingers pulled instinctively against the blond hair at the nape of his neck as his kiss deepened over her mouth. She was a small thing next to him as his steady arms wrapped around her waist and pressed her firmly along the length of his straining body.

He unashamedly pulsed against her abdomen, and she rocked her hips against him in answer to feel the desire he held for her in every way possible. Their clothing was a thin barrier against the heat of passion that raced past the flimsy material, and she found herself guiding his hand up the back of her right thigh.

“Can we do this? You’ve said so often that it wouldn’t be proper.” Her voice was thick with need as she forced the words from her mouth, straining to remove his clothing even as his fingers pulled at her tunic.

“I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore,” he answered her with a ragged breath.