Finn’s lips fell on hers, desperate and hungry. She needed to be close to him, to taste him, to touch him. In his arms, she felt safe. She felt loved. She felt that, in spite of the insecurities in this life, she had a haven to call home. His hands untied the stays in her gown, her heart pounding again. This time, it wasn’t in fear.
The chill rain kissed every inch of her that Finn missed, her skin turning to gooseflesh as his lips worshipped first her neck, then her shoulder.
Eva shivered as a gust of wind sent a volley of icy raindrops toward them.
Finn covered her with his own body, moving to lay atop her and shield her from the raging storm. A droplet of water fell from his hair, landing squarely on her nose. She giggled as he wiped the drop away. He grinned at her in return, his eyes clouded with hunger. He smelled like grass after it rains, earthy and crisp and surreal.
“You’re warm,” she whispered in his ear, so he could hear her over the chaotic weather. Cupping his face in her hands, she stared so deeply into his blue eyes she felt she could fall into them. “Would you really marry me, Finn?”
He pulled her hand to his mouth, soft lips kissing first the back of her hand, then her palm. Another wave of heat shot through her, her breath catching as his eyes devoured her and his lips scandalized her. “Would you really let me?” he countered.
“Baeth hasn’t bothered us in years,” she reasoned. “I think I may finally be free to marry without trouble from him.”
“And if he does?”
Eva shivered again at that thought. She would never be ready to lose another loved one to her cousin’s thirst for violence, but she doubted he would resurface after so long in silence. Finn pitted against Baeth still felt unimaginable. Luckily, it didn’t matter any longer.
“He won’t,” she insisted, “but if he does, I believe only one of the Fianna could defeat him.”
Finn’s laugh brought out his single, adorable dimple. “I’m not afénnidyet,” he cautioned.
“You will be.” Eva knew it deep in her bones, felt the truth of it. “I’ve not seen a warrior so accomplished in all my life. You’ll pass the trials, Finn, of that I have no doubt.”
“Would you want me if I didn’t?”
Eva saw the vulnerability in his face, the question in his eyes. She saw the young boy inside the man, the one who had been an outsider his whole life in spite of his many talents.
The one who had seen her at her worst and still believed in her.
“I will always want you, Finn,” she told him in the Ostman language, “whether you’re a bard or a farmer or afénnid,we will belong with each other.”
Another crack of thunder reminded Eva of their tenuous position in the shelter of a swaying pine.
“We should head back,” Finn began.
Eva’s kiss interrupted him. Right now, all she wanted was more time alone with Finn. Storm be damned. “I need you,” she whispered between kisses, her hands sneaking under his soaking léine.
His breath grew ragged as his hands worked to free her from her sodden gown.
Eva pulled him down atop her, warmed by his hard body even in the relentless winds. She sighed, arching her back as his hands explored her soaking skin, his mouth following behind, lighting her on fire.
Nothing mattered but getting closer to Finn. An aching as she had never known bloomed deep within her. She needed to feel his touch again.
But she also wanted more.
Eva gasped as Finn took one of her nipples into his mouth, his hand moving purposefully down toward her thighs. This time when he pulled her skirts up and reached beneath them, Eva didn’t protest. Instead, she reached for the waistline of his trews.
“Eva,” Finn’s ragged whisper sent a shiver of excitement through her.
His voice alone melted her. She dipped a finger beneath the taut fabric until she grazed something hard and smooth.
“Eva,” he repeated, his voice filled with dangerous promise, “if we do that, we’ll be married indeed, even if not by law.”
“We’ll be lovers?” she asked, undeterred.
“Aye,” he confirmed. “Do you know what that means? I know that sometimes daughters are not—”
“I don’t,” she interrupted gently, “but I’d like you to show me.” She didn’t know precisely what that meant, but Eva knew she liked everything Finn had taught her about love thus far.
