The sound of his laughter washes over her like a balm; flattening raised hackles and taking the tension away from her tightly squared up shoulders. Briar so badly wanted to please him, to understand the more subtle art of bringing comfort to the wounded and dispirited. Noblesse oblige really was a double-edged blade that fashioned her into this bold creature, but rendered her rather deaf to a capacity to empathize with others. Even the people she loved the most.

"I'd sooner marry the dog."

Her voice pushed reedy through her tightening throat as she pressed her forehead against his until her head fell heavily against his shoulder. Dammit, if only he knew the grace in which he expressed his love was one she envied.

"It's everything I want." The cold, damp soil soaked through her knees where they sat, awkwardly to one another and yet she never felt warmer a day in her life then now.