?” He asked. “What...? How...?”“Slowly, Hamlade,” Darrowyn murmured, sinking her chin back on her knees. She watched him – not with concer...n, she would never be concerned about him, but with ... curiosity. “You’ve been merged for quite a while. Take some time to gather yourself and get your bearings.”“Master,” the man breathed. His voice was harsh and coarse, sounding like he had gravel lodged in his throat. He raised his head, but it was almost sad – his chin drew up, struggling to get to his. "Annette nodded. "Maybe but, with my slowness and reticence in returning your love, I'm slightly surprised." Hush, my silly Tig. I suspect those Romany spirits are a lot more canny than to rush you into anything."Annette gazed into his eyes. "You are a very, very special man," she whispered. "I don't believe anyone else but you would have put up with me. Thank you so much, my darling."Harry kissed the tip of her nose. "And if you weren't so special I wouldn't have. I love you, Tig. Yes, I lust. The footman woke up the estate manager and I had him listen to my instructions to the messenger so I didn't have to deal with the issue twice tonight.My dreams confirmed that a large raiding party was camping on the country road in the freehold north of us. The road was off the highway and it connected with our freehold, with no other villages in their path. The troubling news wasn't the raiders but that a large contingent of warriors and laborers left Port City in the dead of the night. Why. Love, relationships, sex, pleasure ... Why can't anything be easy in this world, I was thinking when I finally arrived at the beach, a little excited reminiscing about that night with Sophie. The truth was she now was making my life far more complicated than I wanted it, incessantly hoping to find more time to spend together while I was trying to make sense of the relationship with my girlfriend of several years.The beach was exactly how I remembered it. Low sand dunes about 90 feet to the.