Belladonna

it."
    They divided the food, then settled down to eat.
    As long as he kept his eyes away from the lake, he could enjoy having a picnic with the woman who heated his blood and warmed his heart, and could imagine them having more times like this, a lifetime of days like this. But the lake always intruded.
    "It's not a natural fog, is it?" he asked, turning his head to look at the lake — and the fog that still shrouded its surface.
    "Since that is the nature of this lake, you could call it natural," Glorianna replied.
    He shook his head. "If it was just fog, it would have burned off by now."
    Setting aside the bones of the chicken leg she'd devoured, she delicately licked her fingers clean. Watching her just about broke his restraint.
    "Fog obscures," Glorianna said. "It hides things — dangerous pieces of ground ... or dangerous facets of a person's nature. It's also a warning about the nature of a landscape, that the Dark currents are strong there."
    "Lady of Light, have mercy," Michael murmured, dropping his head to his raised knees.
    "Michael?"
    Her hand on his shoulder, a comforting stroke. He turned his head to look at her. "The place I wanted you to see is called Foggy Downs. They're good people, Glorianna. I was hoping you would know how to help them."
    "Wanted me to see?"
    She was closing herself off from him, backing away emotionally. He could see it in her face. When she stretched out on her back and stared at the sky, he knew he'd slipped badly, but he wasn't sure what he'd done to upset her.
    Then he thought about what he'd said and just sighed. No point chiding himself for words being taken in a way he hadn't meant. At least he knew how to fix this.
    He packed up the remains of their meal and set it aside. Then he stretched out beside her, propped on one elbow so he could see her face.
    "I still want you to see it," he said quietly. "I want that for myself and for those people. But I'm beginning to understand how much weight you already carried on your shoulders, and now you have more. I don't want to add to the burden more than I've already done."
    She'd been staring straight up, ignoring his closeness even though his face must have blocked half her view of the sky. Now she frowned, and those green eyes shifted to look straight into his.
    "Ever since I met you, you've been helping my family in one way or another — and putting aside your own tasks to do it.
    You haven't been on your island looking after your own because you've been looking after me and mine."
    She gave him an odd look. "What makes you think one is different from the other?"
    Am I yours? Something in him shimmered with joy, and for a moment he could have sworn the air tasted sweeter and the sun shone brighter. Suddenly, this delicate connection between them was more important than anything else in the world. Her feelings were more important than anything else.
    He shifted until he halfway covered her, so that, when she looked up, he was all she would see.
    "If I'm yours, how would you feel about a few kisses?" he asked, giving her a smile that was equal parts playfulness and charm in an effort to lighten the mood.
    She looked more amused than charmed. "Why are you so interested in kisses?"
    He did his best to shift his expression to confused sincerity. "I'm a man."
    Laughter lit her eyes while she struggled to keep a straight face. "I suppose we could indulge in a few kisses."
    "Maybe more than a few," he said, touching his lips to the corner of her mouth as he changed the tone of the song forming between them. "But not more than kisses. Not here. Not today." He raised his head and saw the confusion in her eyes. "Not for our first time. For that, I want a bed ... and candlelight. I want to drift on the scent of your skin and float on the touch of your hand.
    And in all the years to follow, when we're laughing and quarreling and living, I want to see the memory of that first time shine in your eyes whenever I touch you, fill you, love you. I want that, Glorianna, for both of us. So, for today, I promise nothing but kisses."
    "Do you keep your promises, Magician?" she asked, her voice husky with desire.
    He brushed his lips against hers. "I do." And the truth of that was bittersweet. "I most certainly do."
    Then his mouth closed over hers, and he spoke to her in a language that had no need of words.
    Who was this man who could kiss her and make the world melt away and still had the self-control to roll to his side of the blanket and say,