Leo was an early riser. And Prudence typically was, but here... here it was as if she were catching up on a hundred years’ worth of missed sleep.
“Revisiting a lost love,” he said.
Her stomach clutched until he continued.
“Sketching.” He looked away from his paper for the first time, kissing her forehead. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it.” He offered her the sketchpad.
She started from the beginning, seeing the one room of their cottage on the first page. The garden on the next. Then there were a few figures and practice shapes on the next few pages. Then came a wine glass in the sun, shaded and textured such that she felt like she could pick it up from the pages. On the next was her sleeping form.
“Leo,” she gasped. The woman in the figure was undoubtedly her, but she looked so beautiful, so peaceful. There was no way this was drawn without some kind of artistic license.
“I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but I couldn’t help but watch you in the mornings. The light catching yourhair...” He took a wayward strand of hers between his fingers, playing with it in the sunlight. “I can’t do it justice.”
“I look so beautiful here.” Her cheeks grew hot.
“It’s because you are beautiful, Prudence. Perhaps you don’t know it well, and you need to buy more looking glasses.”
There was something else in this drawing. Something she couldn’t name—more than just her sleeping form, and the bunches of blanket near her elbow. There was feeling and motion to this sketch. She could almost taste the feeling of waking after a deep sleep.
“Do you like it?” He sounded nervous—an emotion she hadn’t really heard in his voice before. As if her opinion mattered to him a great deal.
“It’s incredible, Leo. I’m flattered.” She stared at it some more, tears welling in her eyes. She felt...loved. And even if that wasn’t a word Leo would use, or her for that matter, she felt it all the same. Or perhaps it was that she felt loveable for the first time in ages. She sniffed away the blossoming tears. “You can do this, and you became anaccountant?”
Leo chuckled. “I’m much more than an accountant.”
“Well, you’ll always be an accountant to me,” she said sweetly, holding the sketchpad to her chest. He reached for the sketchpad, but she clung to it, so he succeeded only in dragging her onto his lap. Which might have been his goal all along.
He kissed her long and soft. She touched her forehead to his when he was done. “Good morning,” he rumbled.
“Good morning.”
“Shall we go back to bed?” he asked.
“Please.”
He stood, doing his very best not to groan as he picked her up and carried her into their one-room cottage, closing the door behind him with his foot. Prudence clung to him, her arms laced around his neck, and her eyes on his face. This was the life shenever wanted to end. Here, in this cottage, with a relaxed Leo Moon, for the rest of her life.
*
LEO FELT ASif he’d lost his mind—in a good way. Yes, he was back in the very county he’d sworn never to return to. But the Thornridge cottage was in perfect condition, and he’d thank Mr. Brushworth for his excellent work. Leo hadn’t thought of all his usual worries since Prudence arrived. The hampers kept their dining options simple—he didn’t want to risk going into the village and having anyone recognize him, not that they would. He’d been a boy here, and no one had ever heard his voice as it was now.
Mr. Brushworth hadn’t come to the county until after Leo and his mother had left, so there was no worry that he might recognize Leo. And for all Leo knew, the men he’d wanted to avoid were likely dead. One didn’t become a highwayman for its career longevity. And so he relaxed his mind, let down his ever-vigilant guard, and enjoyed himself.
He enjoyed the wine in the hamper from Mrs. Brushworth. He enjoyed the morning sun—it was the hottest summer anyone could remember, and Leo was happy to make the most of the cool mornings. He adored watching Prudence sleep. The deep sighs she’d make when she shifted position, the way her head burrowed into the crook of her arm as she slept contentedly on her stomach.
And he got reacquainted with his sketchbook. He’d packed it on a whim, but he was so glad he’d done so. The play of sunlight off the trees, the low stone garden wall, the freshly pruned hedges, it was a treat to take time to study them. Now he understood why men allowed themselves leisure once a fortune was amassed. This was delightful, and far more enjoyable thanhis days in his dark study, comparing columns and figuring percentages.
But most of all, kissing Prudence’s sweet lips whenever he desired was the best part of this sojourn. That he could lean over while she read a book and he sketched, and kiss her. Sometimes a small peck satisfied him. Sometimes, he kissed her until she dropped the book on the ground and climbed into his lap. He liked those times. Every man had his pride, and that bolstered his.
They spent the afternoon kissing slowly, letting fingers drift slowly, and then finally, he put on the sheepskin sheath and gently entered her body. Her fingers clutched at his arms as he did so, her body rocking in time with his, their gazes locked. This was more than a business arrangement, he could admit that. Prudence was an incredible woman all around. Not just her honey-colored hair, not just her funny American accent. She was intelligent and insightful. They talked for hours as they walked through the woods, both of them entertained and entertaining.
“Prudence,” he whispered, thrusting with the most control he’d ever exerted in his life. He didn’t know what else he would say but that. There felt like something more he ought to say, but his body took over, and while her back arched under him, her fingernails digging into his forearms, all speech was lost as he climaxed along with her, lost in the sleepy afternoon sun.
Later, after cleaning up and putting on clothes, Leo suggested another walk in the woods.
“I haven’t been keeping up with Ophelia’s training regime, so I could use a long walk,” Prudence said, making a face.
Leo recalculated the route in his head. “We could climb Hooper’s Hill and watch the sunset from there.”
