Stand up, Sprout.? She stood, still facing me. Her eyes were wide, her head making the tiniest of ?no? motions, not of negation, but of disbelief tha... I would do this to her. I looked at her. ?On the other hand, you?re smarter than the average vegetable, a little. Maybe even as smart as the average alley cat.? I snapped my fingers. ?That?s it! I will call you ?Allie.?? She had hated that nickname, never permitted it, corrected everyone who used it. But it was a promotion from ?Sprout.? . He got no indication from her face.“What specifically do you have in mind?” Phil asked.“Just a little less frantic couplings,” Hailey said. “You know, acting more as individuals instead of a group. Do you mind?”“I think that’s OK,” Phil said. “We all know where we stand. Right?”He looked around the table as the women exchanged glances. Then they nodded in almost unison.“How will it work?” Phil wondered.“That’s the problem,” Tiffany said. “We’re not sure. I mean, we all think it would be nice to. I couldn’t look into his eyes from being so nervous. He slowly backs me up against the wall and while holding my face, he kisses me. But not just any kiss. It was as if he was starving for me. I started to feel hot. I couldn’t tell if it were from the heat from the fireplace, or if it was just my body temperature rising. I could literally feel his hands gently running up and down my neck as he devoured me. Next thing I know, he pins me against the wall with my legs wrapped around his waist. My. That was the only luxury that she allowed herself. She ate what the men ate. Sir Gorman attended to her every need and she loved him even more for his dedication to her. It was still chilly in the spring but as they moved south the forests thickened and the path though it was so narrow that the wagons barely made it.They were met at the border of Baytar by an entourage headed by Prince Felix himself. They exchanged pleasantries as he led them on the last leg of their journey. Felix and Nora.