45

This wasn’t at all what she’d expected.

The hedge enclosed gardens smelled heavenly. Beautiful, exotic white birds with red, blue and green crests chattered in the trees, filling the air with their music. Every once and a while they would pass an exceptionally nice smelling flower or herb along the stone paths, and Keilor would stop and tell her its name and perhaps a little about it. Once he’d even picked a small spray of blossoms and tucked them in her hair.

Jasmine couldn’t figure out what he was up to. She’d never seen him so gentle, so considerate of her needs and wishes. This morning she’d expected to be the one who’d entertain the winner, and when he’d woken her from her sleep she’d felt guilty for not being ready for him. Now he was the one going out of his way to make their time pleasurable. It confused her, and left her feeling vulnerable and so feminine and...soft.