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The kiss was even more stirring than Adam expected. Their mouths met at first with tender restraint, then with ardent enthusiasm, and finally with starved passion.

He lifted his hands to caress her jaw.

She pressed her fingertips into the fabric of his gambeson.

She moaned against his mouth, and the sound sang through his veins. Igniting desire. Filling him with desperate longing.

He wanted her. Now.

And he could tell she wanted him as well.

The hidden entrance to the castle was a few yards away. The gate would be locked, but there was enough of a recess in the rock to afford the privacy of shadows.

He broke away from the kiss and swept her off her feet.

She gasped and cleaved to him. Her eyes were smoky. Her lips were wet with yearning.

He ducked into the hidden break in the rock, carrying her into the dim passage. Then he set her gently down.

He meant to woo her sweetly. Slowly. Patiently. He’d frightened her off before. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

But patient she was not.

She flung away her cap and kicked off her boots. She shoved down her trews under her leine, dropping them to pool at her feet. Then she tried to tear off his gambeson with her bare hands.

Her eagerness drove his own. He wrenched down his trews, tossing them aside with his boots.

Unable to delay longer, he turned and hefted her up against the iron bars of the gate. Cushioning her back with one arm, he used the other to lift her hips.

She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his buttocks. Scarcely did he find the hot, wet center of her desire than she thrust forward, sheathing him in a heavenly warmth that took his breath away.

He wanted it to last for hours. Not only because the divine friction of her flesh upon his was thrilling.

Not only because trysting with a woman who loved you was more intoxicating than mere physical sensation.

But because he wished to leave no question this time that they belonged together.

He wanted to leave his scent so indelibly upon her she’d never want to leave him again.

But after only a few dozen thrusts, she began to gasp out his name, tensing in growing agitation. It was all he could do to hold them both upright as his cock drove inside her and his ballocks tightened with need.

Then she cried out and arched against him, bucking like a wild colt, and he could no longer contain his fervor.

He tried to withdraw from her. It was the honorable thing to do. The safe thing. But she clung to him too tightly. With a final desperate hope that she knew what she was doing—that she wanted this—he let out a helpless bellow and pumped his seed into her.

Their gasps mingled with the soughing of the sea as they slowly descended from the lofty heights of ecstasy. He gradually withdrew from her and set her gently on her feet on the sandy rock.

He meant to apologize for his haste. But she reached up to grasp his face in her hands, entreating him with a look to tell her the truth.

“This is meant to be, isn’t it?” she asked. “We are meant to be together?”

Relief coursed through his veins. A tiny part of him had been uncertain. Even now. Even while they were sharing their bodies. Their hearts. Their souls. He’d fallen hard for her. And he feared that she might not feel the same way. That she might abandon him again.

“Aye,” he said, meaning it. “I’m sure of it.”

Eve knew it had to be true. Otherwise, why would it feel so right?

It wasn’t as if she was turning her back on God, was it? After all, a person could serve God in other ways. One didn’t have to be a nun.

Perhaps she would reform Adam. Turn him from an outlaw into an upright member of her clan. That would be a godly purpose.

Or together they could go out into the world to right injustices, like holy mercenaries of His will.

Or maybe they would make lots of children who would grow to serve the church.

She grinned at the thought. It seemed an absurdly simple task, for she thought she could easily couple with Adam every day for the rest of her life.

They sank onto the soft ground. She snuggled against Adam’s chest and twined her bare legs around his. For a long while they nestled together in silence against the rock, peering out at the firth washing against the shore.

Eventually they’d need to leave. But for now, she thought she could happily exist in the arms of this wayward rogue until the sun crossed the sky and the stars lit up the eve.

She smiled, murmuring, “Eve.”

“What?”

“My real name.”

“Your real name is Eve?”

“Aye.”

There was silence. And then she was rocked by the movement of his low laughter.

She turned on him, annoyed. “What?”

“Then we’re definitely meant to be together.”

“Oh.” She’d forgotten about that. “Adam and Eve. Aye, I suppose we are.”

She wouldn’t tell him the other part. That she was not just Eve.

She was Sister Eve. Now that she’d decided to change her fate, perhaps that revelation was unnecessary.

Perhaps she could quietly leave the convent and never again mention her former calling.

Keep her past a secret and avoid a lot of awkward exchanges.

Her father, of course, would be disappointed when he learned she was no longer a nun.

He liked having a representative of his clan in a holy order.

Though he oft complained that Eve didn’t have a suitable temperament for the convent, he figured marriage to the church was more attainable for her than finding a bridegroom who would put up with her wild and impulsive nature.

But she’d show him. She’d found Adam. He was everything she could hope for in a husband. Honorable. Kind. Strong. Brave. Generous. And, except for the minor detail of his profession, everything her father would find acceptable in a son.

In time, she knew, the two of them would have to meet.

The fact that they’d expressed their devotion and consummated their love meant they were as good as wed. But even as the youngest daughter, Eve felt compelled to seek her father’s permission for marriage.

Eventually she’d have to reveal her true identity to Adam. She’d tell him she was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. That would probably come as a troubling shock. He’d likely prefer she were his equal. A commoner. And an outlaw like him.

“Shall we dress,” Adam said, nudging her from her thoughts, “before rumors arise about the pair of terrible archers trystin’ outside the gaol?”

She snickered.

As they slipped back into their clothes, she wondered again how her satchel had come into the possession of Lady Feiyan.

“What did ye do with my satchel?” She already knew the answer, but she wondered what he’d tell her.

He shook his head. “Gone. To be fair, I didn’t think I’d see ye again.” There was a touch of melancholy in his voice. A melancholy she well understood.

“What about my coin?”

“Spent.”

“Spent?” That startled her. That much coin was meant to last at least half a year. “All of it?”

“Ye left me with next to naught to wear,” he said defensively. “I couldn’t exactly fit into any o’ your gowns. I had to purchase new armor.”

“And a new beard, I see,” she said, eyeing the thick growth on his chin. “Or did ye make that out o’ the hair ye chopped off your head?”

He scoffed. “I grew this beard myself, ye wicked vixen.”

She giggled. He was an easy target for her teasing. “And what about my gowns?” she asked casually. “What did ye do with them?” She lowered her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t lie to her.

“Gave them away to those less fortunate.”

His answer was cursory, but accurate enough. Lady Feiyan had donated the garments to the convent.

After they dressed, he scrutinized her costume, straightening her cap. Then he shouldered the satchel.

“I’ll go first,” he said. “Ye follow at a distance.”

“Wait.” She’d only just reunited with him. She couldn’t bear the thought of parting so soon. “When will we…” She caught her lip under her teeth and dipped her eyes in suggestion. “Meet…again?”

He returned her smoky look.

She could read his thoughts in his smoldering gaze. He wanted to hold her again. Caress her again. Ride the waves of surrender with her again. She blushed.

But after a moment his brow creased. “We can’t be caught together at the tournament. ’Tis too risky.”

She sighed and nodded. He was probably right. “After the tournament then?”

He furrowed his brows even more deeply. “I hate to do this to ye,” he said with a grimace. “But there’s somethin’ I have to attend to first. It may take a fortnight or so.”

“A fortnight?” A frisson of alarm shivered up her spine. Something to attend to? That sounded awfully vague. And dismissive.

Did he mean to leave her? Was this revenge? Now that he had his precious satchel, would he give her a taste of her own betrayal and abandon her?

With her heart in her throat, she reiterated, “Somethin’ to attend to?”

“Aye.”

“And what’s that?” If he was telling the truth, he could be more specific.

“I can’t tell ye.”

“Can’t tell me or won’t?”

“Won’t,” he admitted.

Eve’s heart dropped. She’d always heard there should be no secrets between husband and wife. The abbess said keeping hold of secrets was harder than keeping hold of leeches, and once your grip on them was lost, they could suck the life out of you.

“Why not?” she asked. “Do ye not trust me?”

“I do, but…” He winced. “This is a matter o’ grave secrecy and great importance.”

“If ’tis so important, maybe I can be o’ help.”

“Nay. Not this time.”

She blinked in surprise. They’d seemed like such companionable cohorts before. Perfect partners in crime. And now that they’d agreed they belonged together, she expected to share their adventures. The fact he was choosing to exclude her was hurtful.

“Fine,” She raised her chin in defiance. “’Tis just as well. Ye’re not the only one with somethin’ important to attend to.”