Phei had known Sienna for years but he had never expected or even imagine her sitting on his lap with her breath unsteady and her mouth softened by her first real kiss, looking at him as if something inside her had opened and she did not yet know whether to guard it or give it.
His hand tightened gently at her waist. "Sienna."
Her lashes trembled. "What?"
He looked at her like the answer should have been obvious. "You are so beautiful."
She blinked once, slowly, then looked away at once. "No."
"No?"
"That is an unnecessary statement."
"It is very necessary."
"It changes nothing."
"It changed your face."
"It did not."
"Your ears disagree."
Her hand came up at once to cover one ear, and then she realized what she had done, her lips pressed together, and then she leaned forward and hid her face against his shoulder.
Phei's hand stopped halfway to her back.
This was Sienna hiding in him.
