Her hand on his face tickled a little, but it also thrilled. He'd never had anyone stroke his beard before, which sounded like a stupid thing to be thrilled about but it was. He'd been so long without contact, even before the island, that even this little bit was waking him up the way her presence had already worked on his emotions.

"Good," he said softly, then looked doofily at her for a long moment before he realized what he was doing and shook his head. "I'm sorry. You make me feel like a teenager. It's embarrassing."