A Surprise Encounter

Still trying to dismiss the unexpected sensation he'd aroused with his touch, she meant to follow him out, but her unsteady gait convinced her she'd need his help. Placing a hand on his arm for balance, they made their way through the stables and into the night. She was just out of sorts enough that she almost missed seeing Midnight until she was directly in front of her. Casting an appreciative eye over the mare, she smiled up at Donnor before noticing the horse was swaying almost as much as she was. But how? She wasn't in the barn, and they'd just dumped the contents of the flask, there was no way it could be from their doing.

Donnor's comment made her giggle. Ain't sure a drunk horse is much of a way of gettin' home... With no building to cut the chill, she began to shiver, inwardly cursing her attire again. She hated dresses, there was little warmth provided when the skirts billowed around her feet. As he placed his jacket around her, she shivered again, an uneasy fluttering confusing her further. She could smell his scent on the jacket, a heady mixture of wilderness and whiskey, all male and very distracting.

Shaking her head, she frowned to herself. - What is wrong with you girl? Have you gone daft? Never, ever drink any concoction he comes up with again! - It was then he scooped her up, adding his own body warmth to her already dazed bemusement. Drawn to his face, her eyes locked with his, widening briefly as a flickering of awareness rushed in. I...I had a great time too...'cept fer the landin' on my bum sos often... The only fall she could recall at that moment was not one of landing on her bum. Each detail ran through her mind, a slow moving picture of him falling backwards, her landing sprawled against him, their lips unintentionally pressed together.

Her face was flushed again, she'd lost the will to speak and clung when he finally deposited her on the horse's back, burying her face in Midnight's mane in a vain attempt to replace the scents burning through her senses. The girl, man and horse disappeared from view, swallowed up in the night with no one the wiser.