Heart of the Dove by Tina St. John & Lara Adrian

Author:Tina St. John & Lara Adrian [St. John, Tina & Adrian, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lara Adrian, LLC
Published: 2012-03-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Her world was steadily shrinking. Or perhaps it was just that when Rand was around, the sun and sky, the trees and flowers--all the splendor of her once vast and intriguing world--seemed naught but a spectacular backdrop for the man who inhabited Serena's every waking thought.

He invaded her dreams as well.

In the few hours' sleep she had managed the night before, she relived the thrill of Rand's intense gaze as she told her feeble tale by the fire. She relived his impulsive touch as well, when he boldly took her hand while her mother slept only a few feet away. She had wanted so badly to kiss him. She truly would have, a thought that put a shamed heat in her cheeks just to recall it now.

All the while they lay across from each other in the darkened cottage, Serena had yearned to be in his arms. To know his kiss once more.

He had denied her that as the night spun on toward morning, but in her dreams, there was no space or circumstance to separate them, and she was his.

She looked at him now, striding along beside her as they headed into the forest the next morning, and it took all her effort not to allow her hand to brush his. Instead she held fast to her berry basket and marched through the bramble toward the knot of bushes that hung heavy with fruit. She had yet to gather the whortleberries for her mother's favorite tart, a task inadvertently thwarted by Serena's rescue of the snared dove the day before, and prevented by rains until now.

"Calandra arose early this morn," Rand commented as they navigated the dewy greenery of the woods. "Where did she go?"

"To worship, I expect. She has a favored niche in the forest that is hers alone. She goes there every morning to pray and reflect."

Rand grunted in acknowledgment as they arrived at their destination. A small brook trickled in front of them, originating at the falls and ambling past rock and trees to disappear deep into the grove. The berry bushes were nestled into an elbow of that little stream, which created a fertile patch of ground for the dark beads of fruit that clustered in abundance in the bushes.

"I may be at this a while," she told Rand, setting down her basket and watching as he strode to the edge of the brook and stared out into the woods beyond. "I'm sure there is no danger here. You don't have to stay with me."

He crouched down, catching a handful of water in his hand. He drank some, then spread the rest over his face. "I'm where I want to be," he said, regarding her over his shoulder only briefly before sluicing another handful of water over his bearded jaw and into his tousled dark hair.

She dared not think he would choose to be with her, but a hopeful part of her quickened with elation. Serena knelt in the soft moss below the berry bushes and began to pluck the ripe fruit into her basket.

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