The hair pins slip from her fingers, vanished into the sheets to be found later by Loxley's back or Derrica's hip. She might have stretched past him to drop the pins onto the nightstand, but it's more satisfying to bend, body bowing closer under the slide of his palms.

"All the better for me," she says, mock serious, before a smile breaks across her face while she continues, "Maybe I'll be a damsel one of these days, so I can see you and it in action."

Her elbows come down, one on either side of his head. One finger traces along his horn, before she dips down to drop a brief kiss first to the corner of his mouth, linger for a moment and then kiss him again, properly, as she sinks her fingers into his hair.