She laughed and pulled away, seizing his hand and drawing him after her, far enough away from the fire and the Manor that, the moonlight notwithstanding, the darkness would shield them from prying eyes. Well enough, anyway.*

The well-tended lawns were thickly carpeted with lush, springy grass, and an instant's thought produced a feathery-soft blanket to tumble onto, which Ellie promptly did, tugging Hermes down with her and into another long, lazy kiss.

---

*Ellie wasn't precisely an exhibitionist, but she'd snagged more than a few extra voyeuristic souls quite by accident over the centuries, and considered an appreciative audience something of a bonus.