Something was tickling her ear.

Her sleep befuddled mind assumed it to be an insect of some kind and she sleepily swatted at the side of her head with her hand.

"Ouch!" came an indignant, and rather loud exclamation in her ear.

The sudden sound made Marian regain consciousness quickly and she sat up to see where the noise had come from.

Robin was lying on his side, looking indignantly up at her, rubbing his left eye (which looked somewhat bruised) with his hand.

"Why did you shout like that in my ear?" she demanded, "I was sleeping"

"You poked me in the eye!" said Robin in indignation.

Her expression softened immediately.

"I did?"

"Yes!"

Marian moved closer to him to inspect the damage she had caused.

"Can a man not whisper declarations of love into his fair lady's ear without sustaining an injury these days?" grumbled Robin, still rubbing at his eye

"Not when the man in question has an extremely tickly beard" retorted Marian, gently removing his hand from his eye and inspecting it herself. "Oh Robin, you are making a fuss about nothing!" she scolded him.

"It hurts!" he insisted, but a sly grin was creeping over his boyish face. He leaned closer to her and said softly "Kiss it better"

Marian rolled her eyes and swatted the side of his head before lying back down, snuggling into the nest of blankets that surrounded them. Robin, undeterred by this brush off, reassumed his position lying behind her,
his arms encircling her waist.

He lifted his head off the ground a little and used his nose to brush away the hair on her neck.

Marian closed her eyes and leaned into him as shiver run through her at his touch.

Robin bent his head and began to lay a trail of soft kisses, starting at her shoulder, progressing over her collarbone and up her neck. When he reached the side of her lips, they broke into a smile. He rolled her over to face him and then, taking her face in his hands, Robin planted a small kiss on her lips.

Marian responded with a much stronger one, pressing her body against his. He smiled against her lips. His hands moved from her face to the back of her neck, through her hair, down her spine, over her hips, down her
thighs.

Moving one hand up to hold her head against his, he moved so that she was on her back, he, slightly on top of her.

His hand started up her body again, caressing her inner thigh as he journeyed up and he was almost there
when;

"Robin, no"

He dropped his head, gazing into her blue eyes, seeing a smile play around her lips.

She reached down and retrieved his hand, pressing it to her lips before pushing it firmly against his chest.

"Not today" she said

He grinned sheepishly at her. "As you wish my lady."

She kissed him gently "Thank-you"

He rolled off her and onto his side. She turned her back to him and he spooned against her, his strong arms encircling her.

Robin loved the way their bodies fitted perfectly with each other, the way Marian wriggled slightly beneath his embrace to get as close as possible to him. He loved how warm she felt. He loved to hear her quiet, steady breath. He loved it when they just lay like this for hours at a time, not uttering a word to each other, but
completely in harmony.

"Robin?" Marian enquired, breaking into his thoughts as she turned over to face him.

"Yes my love?"

"I'm sorry"

"What for?" Robin asked, reaching a hand around her head and gently caressing her soft curls.

"For your eye"

Robin chuckled softly and drew Marian a little closer to him, not that there was much distance between them at all. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest.

"You are entirely forgiven"

Marian breathed a sigh of contentment and rolled over again, nestling into his embrace. She found his hands, resting around her belly button and laced her fingers into his.

She loved the feel of Robin's hands in hers. She played with his fingers, letting the drowsy feeling overtake her again. She thought of all the times his hands had entwined with her own. All the times they had run through her hair. All the times they had tenderly cupped her face, drawing her into a passionate kiss.

"I love you" she murmured, her voice barely audible.

But he heard her.

He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them, before replying, "I love you too"