Page 16 of Moonstone Angel
She handed him the lamp. “This is for you. Stay out here as long as you like. I’ll close up once you return inside.”
“You needn’t leave.”
“I don’t mind. You seem to be lost in your thoughts. I have no wish to intrude.”
“You aren’t. Stay out here a moment with me, Cara. Look how silver the moon is tonight. Is it always this beautiful?”
“Not always, but it is a perfect night. The sea is so still, like glass. See how the moon reflects upon the water.” A moment later she raised her gaze heavenward to study a cluster of stars. “The skies are clearer than usual. Take advantage of this perfect view of the constellations. How pure and milky they look tonight. Are they not amazing? I must get around to purchasing a telescope for myself. I meant to do it last time I was home but got caught up in roof repairs instead.”
“I would look up at those stars on nights after a battle, after the smoke had cleared and an eerie silence fell over the camp. The stench of battle never faded, but one could overlook it while taking in the sky. It gave me a brief moment of peace as we lay out there, unsheltered and exposed to the elements. Cold and illness claimed more lives than battle wounds, did you know?”
“The winters must have been brutal.”
He nodded. “They were. For both sides.”
She stepped closer to him so that their arms were almost touching. He wanted to close the distance between them, hold her tightly and bury his face against the gentle curve of her neck, inhale the lavender warmth of her skin.
But getting too close to this girl was the worst thing he could do.
First of all, he did not trust her motives yet.
Second, his grandmother adored her and would never forgive him if he took advantage of her innocence.
Third, she did something to his heart.
He wasn’t certain what this feeling was yet.
But it was something he’d never experienced before. She had earlier described her feelings toward her former betrothed aswrongness. Did that mean there was arightnessto love? This is what he was feeling, a conviction that being with this girl was right for him.
Not that he was in love.
He wasn’t.
He could not be.
But standing under the moonlight amid a brilliant display of stars, it was easy to think such a thing was possible.
Perhaps it was merely lust, a desire to kiss her and explore her body…to delve himself inside of her.
He shook out of the thought.
What he was feeling was something more than a mere lustful desire. He wanted to talk to her, listen to the lilt of her voice, and share his thoughts and ideas.
She was now going on about the stars and pointing out the various constellations. He listened because she was excited about them, and it gave him pleasure to learn about the things she felt were important to her.
After a few minutes, she paused. “Why did you let me babble?”
“I enjoyed what you were saying. Also, there’s a gentle quality to your voice.”
She laughed softly. “When I am not railing at you.”
“Even that is music to my ears. I am so tired of being told whatever people think it is I wish to hear. Truth is always appreciated.”
“Do not encourage me,” she said, her grin wide, “for I will have far too much fun spouting my opinions.”
They both fell silent, companionable ease developing between them.
Rowan took in the sounds of the night, the whistle of the wind off the water, and the soothing lap of waves upon the shore. Cara remarked on it a moment later. “The sound of the water will lull you into a deep sleep. If you leave your bedchamber windows open, you’ll be able to hear its gentle whoosh upon the shore.”
