His dick hardened to discomfort. “Now, sit here—stop making me hard—and just breathe. Listen to the sound of the wind. During the quietest nights, you might even hear the stars sing.”

With a sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

Overhead, a few clouds drifted over the brightening sky. The smell of lake water and plants held a touch of the acrid smoke of the fire.

In the forest surrounding the Hermitage, leaves rustled softly, branches squeaking with the gustier breezes.

Farther from the grassy courtyard, a patch of horsetails sighed in the wind. When camping with Mako, they’d eat new horsetail shoots like asparagus—and use the stringy older plants to scrub the tin dishes.

Birds twittered and sang. In the dark lake water, a fish surfaced with a quiet splash.

Frankie’s breathing slowed. Her body grew even softer as the tension drained from her.

Eventually, she stirred. “I better get to bed. Tomorrow will be a mess. Shopping, replace my license and cards, find a place to stay, and—”

“You’ll stay here. With me.”

“For tonight.”

“For the rest of your time in Alaska.” Which he was very much hoping would be longer than a couple of months.

“What? No, I couldn’t.”

“Sure, you could.” He smiled down at her concerned expression. “I’m not being all that selfless, Frankie. Since I’m not sure why you’re here, I can’t know when you might decide to leave.”

Ah, that made her tense up again. Apparently, she didn’t know the date she would leave, either. She was operating on someone else’s timetable—the friend.

For fuck’s sake, he needed to know more. But…loyalty to a friend was something he respected.

“I’ll sleep better if you’re here and protected.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “And I wouldn’t mind spending more time with you. More than we’ve had so far.”

There it was—the same desire in her beautiful eyes.

He took her hand and kissed her palm. “Say you’ll stay here, Frankie. No strings. I’ll help you find a place if it doesn’t work out.”

“Yes.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I want to stay, too.”

“Let’s call it a night.” He rose, took her inside—and took her upstairs to his bed.

They’d never made love so very slowly before. Oh, Bull usually took his time; in fact, he loved making her come first, sometimes several times, before he finished.