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.She was half reclined alongthe tree branch, her legs slightly bent, her feet flat.They were long, slender legs, clearly outlined by theflimsy muslin of her dress.Her feet were slim, her ankles trim.It was strange what a change anacquaintance with someone could bring to one s perceptions.Lauren Edgeworth seemed far moreyouthful to him now than she had appeared when he first saw her.And less classically beautiful and morefemininely pretty. If you can ever persuade yourself to open your eyes, he said, you will see that the view has made theclimb worthwhile. Nothingcould do that, she assured him.But she opened her eyes and looked.It really was an impressive vista.There was a clear view over the treetops to the stream and the parterregardens, which from here could be viewed in all their geometric precision, and the eastern front of thehouse.But they were high enough to see far more than that.There were the cultivated, tree-dotted lawnssurrounding the house, the river with the lake in the distance, the deer forest and the spire of the villagechurch, the hills in the opposite direction, farmland in the far distance.A feast for the eyes and the other senses too.There were birds singing.There was a suggestion ofcoolness in the slight breeze.And there were bars of sunlight and shade across their bodies from thebranches and the sun, which was descending in the late afternoon sky.There were the heavy smells of Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlheat and vegetation and.a soft, fragrant soap. Nothing could make the climb worthwhile, she said severely, though the prospect is a good one, I willconcede. Well.Cool praise indeed.But a moment later she ruined the effect of her words.He felt a slight tremorbeneath his hands, and then she was laughing softly.Lauren Edgeworth was laughing! I am up in a tree, she said. Gwen and Aunt Clara will not believe it even if I should tell them.Noonewho knows me would believe it.Lauren Edgeworth up a tree, without a bonnet. She seemed to find the idea enormously tickling.For a few moments her laughter was almost silent.Butshe could not contain it.She burst into peals of glee, gales of merriment.And Kit, holding her safe, joinedher. And loving every moment of it? he asked when he could. NowthatI will never admit to, she said and laughed again.But finally they were both quiet, and whenshe spoke again her voice held more wistfulness than humor. I will remember today.All of it.For thewhole of the rest of my life.Thank you, Kit. He settled his cheek against the top of her head her hair was warm from the sunshine.The pleasureshe had given her today ifthey had given her pleasure were such simple things.But she wouldremember them for the rest of her life? Strangely enough, he believed he would too.He bent his legs at the knee, braced his feet against the branch on either side of her, and relaxed.Whenhad he last done this? Just sat, that was, soaking up sunshine and heat, feeling the sheer comfort ofanother human presence? It seemed that perhaps he had never done it.Certainly not in recent years.Hewas always busily intent upon filling in every idle moment, avoiding every chance that he mightinadvertently come face-to-face with his own thoughts.He even avoided lying in bed at night until he wastoo exhausted to do anything but fall into instant sleep.Though even then there were the dreams.But he abandoned all thought, all his cautious defenses, as he closed his eyes.He had always favored small women, not being a particularly tall man himself.He had always beenattracted to voluptuous women.And passionate women.He had had several affairs over the years, mostof them tumultuous in nature, intensely satisfying, soon over.His summer with Freyja had followed muchthe usual pattern, though he had always denied it to himself, the only real difference being that his passionhad not been satisfied physically and therefore had never been slaked.It had been over before he wasready to see it end.At the time he had thought he never would want it to end, that she was the woman towhom he could pledge his lifelong devotion.But had he not thought so with numerous mistresses beforeher?Lauren Edgeworth was tall for a woman.She was slender.She was cool in nature.Not frigid.No, notthat.But probably incapable of hot physical passion.She should have been unattractive to him despiteher undeniable beauty.But he desired her.He turned his head slightly, buried his nose in her hair, breathed in the scent of her.He desired her in an unfamiliar, controlled way.Without the usual burning need to mount her body tosatisfy his hunger.It was a curiously uncarnal desire.And yet itwasphysical.It was desire he felt, not justadmiration or affection. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit
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