Page 63 of Pallas & Kawehi

Edward chuckled. "I doubt I was ever your superior, son, but go... enjoy your night with your woman. Make memories that you'll never forget."

Pallas reached out his free hand and Kawehi gave him her bag without a fight, but he could see something in her eyes that told him he wouldn't be so lucky all of the time.

By the time they'd moved far enough away that they couldn't hear the water in the showers, he looked over at her. "You didn't fight me because of Edward. Right?"

She gave him a side-long glance. "Smart man. I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own stuff."

"I'm not going to argue about that."

"Then why?"

"Because I like doing things for you. I like making your life easier when I can. I like taking a little bit of weight off of your shoulders."

"You do that just by smiling." She sighed softly and lifted her chin so she could look up into the sky. "Feeling your hand around mine. Holding me close. Every moment we spend together makes me happy. Lifts my spirits. I probably shouldn't say all of this. Edward would say I'm not keeping your feet on the ground."

"Probably, but I'm okay with it. I'm sure you'd hold my feet to the fire when I need it."

"We already know I'm horrible about that when it comes to marshmallows."

They laughed softly together as they finished walking back to the cabin.

He took out his key when they reached the cabin again and took out another beach towel to lay it down across the picnic table.

Kawehi looked at him with a hint of playful suspicion in her gaze. "You're not going to ask me to lie down on the table, are you?"

Her words warmed his skin and other parts of his body.

"No. But I think you might want to lean forward while I'm putting on the lotion for you."

She tilted her head to look at him and the moonlight cast a silver glow across her features. "I don't know if I should be relieved or disappointed."

"You can feel however you want to feel. If you want to lie down later, I won't stop you."

"Okay." She put her bag down on the tabletop and sat down at the table. She'd changed into a strapless top so all she had to do was lean forward. "So sore..."

He pulled the cooler over behind her and sat down on the top. The top of the container flicked open, and they both chuckled at the sound of the lotion as it squished out onto his palm. "It's cold."

"It's cold at first, but then it's perfect."

He grinned as he smoothed if across his palms. "I hope you're ready."

She twitched under his hands at first, but as soon as he started moving his hands across her back and to her shoulders she relaxed into his touch.

"That feels amazing." She sighed and seemed to melt again the table in front of her.

Her voice sounded like heaven in his ears. He continued to move his hands over her back and added more lotion to his hands as he moved down over her shoulder blades. "I think I reached all of the skin back here," his voice was soft as he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't groan out loud if he spoke any louder, "do you want me to do your arms?"

She turned to the side instead of answering in words. Leaning one elbow on the towel covered tabletop, she offered him her arm with a soft smile. "I almost begged you to keep going," she sighed. "It felt so good with your hands on me, I didn't want to move."

"I could sit beside you on the bench."

She shook her head. "You're doing me a favor. I'm not going to keep asking you to get up and move just so I can lay there like a bump on a log."

"I don't mind. You sounded like you were happy."

"I'm still happy."

He smoothed one hand over the back of her hand, and he felt that moment of shivering as the after-sun lotion touched new skin. He started to move that hand up over her forearm and use the other hand to help, but Kawehi held his hand in hers and he wasn't about to pull his hand free.

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