"I see," Kieran said, and let the kindling fall. "Very well, if I can't have a fire, I'll have you. Your body will warm me." He pulled her into his arms.
She gasped, more in astonishment, he thought, than alarm. "What are you talking about?"
"That's a line from an old movie. From a number of old movies, in fact. Not bad, eh?"
He held her tight. She was definitely female. After a moment he pushed her away.
"That was a mistake. I want to be able to go on disliking you without any qualifying considerations."
She laughed, a curiously flat little sound. "Was everybody crazy in your day?" she asked. And then, "Reed—"
It was the first time she had used his given name. "What?"
"When they threw the stones, and we got back into the flitter, you pushed me ahead of you. You were guarding me. Why?"
He stared at her, or rather at the pale blur of her standing close to him. "Well, it's always been sort of the custom for the men to— But now that I think of it, Webber didn't bother."