Dragoncrest Cliffs [m] salt plying

darlin'. she liked that, and peppered pepper with a peppering of kisses across his grizzled muzzle. could she tell him? if he thought they were his, or any chance, he would protect them? there were many ways to answer that were not lies, but might spare him the feeling of a tool; chani thought of him as far more than that.
but why had he gone to her mother? or mireille? she was no child; she could make her own mind.
"i enjoy dat you be older t'en me," she admitted with a glitter to her eyes. "you know more. an' you offer more, just by your years," the young woman rejoined in earnest. "dey be happy because it be our way. my mot'er an' my aunt, dey bot' chose inside de pack. i t'ink," she added with a conspiratorial wink. "an' so did my grandmot'ers. so. i chose you, an' you pleased me. a lot. you do. it was not a mistake."
her eyes, hungry upon his. "your body tells a story. an' i do like readin', pepper."