Moonlight in the Morning (Edilean 6)

“I feel you,” she whispered. “Your clothes, your body against mine. The strength of your arms makes me feel safe, protected. Even though I can see nothing, I feel . . . trust. Yes. I feel secure, that I’m with someone I can trust.”

She took a breath. “The night air is cool but warm at the same time, as though they were mixed thoroughly but remain separate strands. There’s a breeze off the water. I feel good here in this place and with you.”

She closed her eyes, letting him hold her, enjoying the sensation. The photos she’d seen this morning, of the way she’d watched this man grow from a toddler to a tall, straight man, a doctor, ran through her mind. A montage of images and colors, of the sights and sounds they produced played across the back of her eyes.

“Taste,” he whispered, then turned her in his arms for their first kiss.

Their lips met perfectly. Without the distraction of sight, she could give herself over to the feel of his lips, the warmth of his skin. She opened her mouth under his, inviting his tongue inside. She felt his breath catch when she turned more fully in his arms and her breasts touched his chest. Her hands went to the back of his head, her fingers buried in his hair.

He held her tightly in his arms. “Jecca,” he said softly.

She could feel his heart pounding against her chest, and she was breathing heavily.

“Champagne,” he said against her lips.

“What?”

Tristan drew back but kept his face next to hers. “I have champagne and cherries and cheese.”

She didn’t want to give in to the sheer sexiness of him. It was too early for that. “Do you?” Jecca asked, her hands on his shoulders. “That’s great because I’m starving. Lucy and I were working together and I forgot about food.”

Tris took her hand, led her a few steps away, then turned her toward what she was sure was the water.

“I bet this place is beautiful in the daylight.”

“It is,” he said. “I’ve been feeding ducks here since I was a kid.”

“I saw you.” He was to her right, and she could hear him moving things but he stopped.

“When?”

“When you were two and sixteen, and when you graduated from college.”

“Oh,” he said, and she could feel his laughter. “You saw the albums. Miss Livie loves to take photos.”

“I think she loves you,” Jecca said.

“I can assure you that it’s mutual.” She heard him sit down, then he reached up, took her hand and tugged. “The problem wi khe #8217th a picnic in the dark,” he said, “is that you can’t see where to sit. There’s a big stone flower pot here to lean against but I’m afraid we’ll have to share it.”

“Too bad there’s only one of them,” Jecca said as she sat down on the cloth he’d spread on the ground.

“If you want any support for your back, you need to move closer to me.”

She scooted over but wasn’t touching him. “How about this?”

“Very bad for your back. As a doctor, I can’t recommend that.”

She moved so her body was next to his, their arms touching. “Better?”

He extended his right arm, encircled her, and pulled her so her back was to his chest. “Now that’s proper support.”

Jecca laughed. “But how do we eat? You have only one arm and it’s around me.”

“That is a dilemma, isn’t it?” He put his hand to the side of her face and kissed her temple, her cheek. “Ah, Psyche, you are the food of the gods.”

Jecca started to turn around in his arms but her leg hit a container and it fell over onto something else. She sat up abruptly as she tried to grab whatever she’d hit, and in the process she moved away from him.

“Thwarted by a jar of pickles,” Tris said with a great sigh.