Tansy awoke when the first pink light of dawn slanted through the window behind her bed.

She was pleasantly warm, and more rested than she had felt in forever.

It was only when she stretched and felt Burton tighten his arm around her waist that she remembered why.

Holy crap.

“Good morning,” he murmured into her hair. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” she said. “Did you?”

“I did,” he whispered. She could feel him smiling into her hair.

Tansy closed her eyes and soaked in the moment.

“Are you hungry?” Burton asked.

“I guess,” she replied. “But we’re up early enough, we could go for a swim first.”

“That sounds nice,” he told her. “Although if you wanted to stay in bed…”

His hand trailed down her hip.

“My sister will be awake soon,” Tansy whispered back. “We need to get out of here.”

He kissed the top of her head and then launched himself out of bed.

She tried not to stare, but he was magnificent. The morning light set off his muscled torso. His sweats hung low on his hips, revealing a double line toward paradise.

When she managed to drag her eyes back up, he was grinning at her.

She grinned back and slipped out of bed, relishing the way he gawked at what she had always considered her very average body.

“I like your design,” he told her.

“Oh, it’s a tattoo,” she said. “I got it in honor of Grandma Helen.”

There was a sound in the hallway.

“Out the window,” she whispered to Burton.

He turned and slid open the large window beside her dresser.

Tansy grabbed her dressing gown from the hook and they both slipped out the window and dashed through the berry fields toward the pond. There was a faint ghost of pain in her ankle, but she was sure there was no real damage.

The birds were singing after last night’s rain and the world was painted in vibrant greens and blues.

Burton laughed when they stopped jogging at the edge of the pond.

“What?” Tansy asked.

“I was only thinking that we do a lot of sneaking and running away together, don’t we?”

“I guess we do,” Tansy said. “It’s probably not a good sign.”

“Then let’s stop running,” Burton suggested.

He shucked off his pants and dove into the pond.

He entered the water with barely a splash. It was hard not to notice how quickly he learned. She tried to remember if the boys had even swum in the pond more than once.

“Are you coming in?” he called to her, slicking his wet hair back over his head.

“I’m coming,” she said, removing her robe and walking out to the water’s edge.

She hopped in cannon ball style, creating a terrific splash.

She heard Burton’s delighted laugh just before she was completely submerged.

“Was that a belly flop?” he asked when she came up.

“Nope, it was a cannon ball,” she said, shaking her head.

“A cannon ball,” he echoed. “Fantastic. I’m going to try one.”

She watched as he scrambled up the bank. Water trailed off his naked body, glistening in the pink dawn.

He got a running start and then flung himself heavenward, curling his body into a ball and hitting the pond so hard Tansy was afraid the resulting splash would empty it.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them he was emerging from the water right in front of her.

“That was fun,” he said.

“It looked like fun,” she smiled up at him.

“But not as fun as last night,” he said. A smug half-smile tugged up the corners of his lips.

Tansy splashed him.

“You splashed me,” he said with playful indignance.

She splashed him again.

“Oh, that’s it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her out of the water.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’ll let you choose,” he teased. “I can either kiss you or dunk you.”

“How about both?” she asked.

He promptly sank into the pond with her in his arms.

The water was cool around them and she felt her hair floating upward, weightless.

Burton’s hand moved up to cup her cheek.

Tansy opened her eyes.

Burton gazed back at her through the bubbles that swirled around them.

It was different somehow. As if they had slipped the bounds of time down in the quiet deep.

He leaned forward and kissed her. His lips were so warm.

She kissed him back, wishing they could stay under the water forever.

When she broke their kiss, they rose to the surface together.

The sun was glowing orange over the hillside now.

“Thank you,” Burton said softly. “This was very nice.”

She leaned her head against his chest.

It was hard in this moment not to wonder what it might be like to be his mate. Maybe they would have to travel, but if she could get this place running again first, and they had a couple of good farmhands, it might be okay to be gone part of the year.

Whatever his responsibilities off the farm, Burton really seemed happy on the farm. He worked hard, and he clearly enjoyed the simple pleasures of this place.

As strange as it was to think about who he was and how he had gotten to her, Tansy was beginning to think there was something to his idea that they were meant to be mates.