“Good.  Do you want to go in and retire for the night?”

            Deborah shook her head. “I’m too nervous to sleep.”

            Cam slowed the swing and stopped it.

            “Let’s take a walk, then.”

            She started to protest, to say no, that it was too dark but then she noticed that a full moon commanded the sky and silver light drifted down to bathe everything with soft radiance.    Beneath the old trees in the front yard, shadows were puddles of darkness but everywhere else, the magical illumination made the farm breathtaking.

            “I’d like that,” she said, accepting Cam’s hand as he led her down from the porch into the new spring grass where the earth felt soft beneath her feet.    She let the night wrap about her like a cloak, allowed the faery magic of the moon to lift her spirits.    Holding hands, they walked across the yard to the long drive and down toward the road.    Dwarfed by the moon’s brilliance, a thousand stars sparkled in the night sky although to the west, a dark mass of clouds portended approaching storms.

            As she stared into the face of the moon, she could almost believe there was a Man in the Moon.  This was an enchanted evening, she mused, if she'd ever known one and although she felt cool, she didn’t want to go inside.    At the moment, all she wanted was to be with Cam and to be one with the night, to watch the moon move across the sky until the sun rose again.

             When they stopped, she turned toward him.  Cam pulled her into the circle of his arms and then he kissed her, his lips captivating hers.   In the slight chill of the night, his mouth offered warmth, heat, and succor.   She raised her lips to his like a rose seeking water or sunlight.  In that kiss, he asked and she answered, hearkened to his wordless communication.   Cam kissed her as a few clouds drifted across the face of the moon, making shadows move across them.

            Deborah wasn’t cold any long, her body shimmered with heat from his, fired by his kiss.  As she held onto him, his hands caressed her and when he took his mouth from hers, he whispered sweet words she almost couldn’t hear for the rising passion that made her blood flow faster.   A dull roar like that of a seashell filled the space between her ears and she could think of nothing but Cam and his insistent mouth on hers