How could she leave? How could she not? There seemed to be no direction she could go and not lose something essential. “I don’t believe in magic,” she murmured, “but if I did, I’d say this was a magic place. Now, in the day, it’s quiet. Sleeping, perhaps. But at night, the air would be alive with spirits.”

He held her closer as he rested his neck on top of her head. Did she realize how romantic she was? he wondered. Or just how hard she fought not to be? A week ago, she might have had such a thought, but she’d never have said it aloud. A week from now … Hunter bit back a sigh. A week from now, she’d give no more thought to magic.

“I want to make love with you here,” he said quietly. “With the sunlight streaming through the leaves and onto your skin. In the evening, just before the dew falls. At dawn, when the light’s caught somewhere between rose and gray.”

Moved, ruled by love, she smiled up at him. “And at midnight, when the moon’s high and anything’s possible.”

“Anything’s always possible.” He kissed one cheek, then the other. “You only have to believe it.”

She laughed, a bit shakily. “You almost make me believe it. You make my knees weak.”

His grin flashed as he swept her up in his arms. “Better?”

Would she ever feel this free again? Throwing her arms around his neck, Lee kissed him with all the feeling that welled inside her. “Yes. And if you don’t put me down, I’ll want you to carry me back to camp.”

The half smile touched his lips. “Decided you aren’t hungry after all?”

“Since I doubt you’ve got anything in that bag but dried fruit and sunflower seeds, I don’t have any illusions about lunch.”

“I’ve still got a couple pieces of fudge.”

“Let’s eat.”

Hunter dropped her unceremoniously on the ground. “It shows the woman’s basic lust centers around food.”

“Just chocolate,” Lee disagreed. “You can have my share of the sunflower seeds.”

“They’re good for you.” Digging into the pack, he pulled out some small clear plastic bags.

“I can handle the raisins,” Lee said unenthusiastically. “But I can do without the seeds.”

Shrugging, Hunter popped two in his mouth. “You’ll be hungry before dinner.”

“I’ve been hungry before dinner for two weeks,” she tossed back, and began to root through the pack herself for the fudge. “No matter how good seeds and nuts and little dried pieces of apricot are for you, they don’t take the place of red meat—” she found a small square of fudge “—or chocolate.”

Hunter watched her close her eyes in pure pleasure as she chewed the candy. “Hedonist.”