Moonlight in the Morning (Edilean 6)

She liked that he went places to save lives. She even liked that he didn’t brag about his good deeds. “Have you ever seen Reede on your travels?”

“He and I have worked together half a dozen or so times. Now, he’s a real hero. You ever hear about how he rode a cable down into the ocean to save a child?”

“Kim’s told me about it at least four times. She framed the news photo that reporter took that day. Where were you when that happened?”

“Around,” he said.

Something about his tone made her know he’d been there with Reede. “In the helicopter or on the shore?”

“In,” he said.

“Did you lean out of the ’copter, hanging over nothing, and grab the kid from Reede?”

“More or less,” he said, “but Reede went down the cable.”

“How did you two decide who’d go?”

“Rock, paper, scissors,” Tristan said. “I lost.”

She tightened her grip on his hand and smiled into the darkness. She liked a hero who kept his acts quiet.

“You still haven’t told me what you did today,” he said.

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“Neither did you.”

Tristan chuckled. “Not much. Wandered around town. Took lunch to my dad, but he was too busy to eat, so I left and came home. I tried to do some repotting, but I’m not good with only one arm.”

“If I weren’t at Mrs. Wingate’s you’d be visiting her and Lucy now, wouldn’t you?” Jecca asked softly.

“Probably.” He kissed her neck, nuzzling his face against her warm skin.

“When you get back . . .” She couldn’t think clearly with his lips on her neck.

“Yes?”

She took a breath. “When you return from Miami I think we should be more normal.”

“Normal?” He pulled back from her. “You mean I can introduce you to people as my girlfriend?”

“Don’t you think we should wait until we see each other before we make such a strong commitment as boyfriend/girlfriend?”

Tristan slid his hand up her shoulder, his long fingers entwining in her hair, and turned her face to his. He kissed her slowly and softly.

Jecca felt her body giving way to his. The cool night air, the sound of water and the warmth of him, the sweet taste of him, all made her want to turn to him fully. She wanted them to remove each other’s clothes, to fully expose their bodies, and make love on the blanket.

“Jecca,” Tristan whispered against her lips.

“I have to go,” she said, and pulled away from him.

His answer was a groan.

She moved so she was no longer touching him. She needed to think of more ordinary things and to calm herself down. “You’ll be back on Sunday?”

He took a moment to answer. “Yes. The day after the party.”

“Party? Oh, you mean for Reede. I nearly forgot about that.”