“Is it wrong that we’re discussing this without even being betrothed?” Saoirse squeezed her eyes shut.
“Nay. What we talk aboot in private is our business, just like what we do once we marry is only our business.”
“Once? Nae if?” Her eyes flew open.
“I wouldnae have this conversation with a maiden if I didna plan to make her ma wife. I wish to give ye time to decide if I’m the mon ye wish to marry. But I ken what I want.”
“Is it because ye desire me, Magnus?”
“Partly. Ye’re the bonniest woman I’ve ever seen. But ye’re intelligent, kind, and I love hearing ye laugh. Ye’re easy to trust. I didna think I would ever trust a woman again without reservations first. Something felt wrong aboot Louisa from the beginning, but I forced maself to set aside ma concerns. I shouldnae have. Mayhap it’s because I’ve kenned ye yer entire life, but I dinna think that’s it. I remember ye as a child, but it’s as though ye’re a different person to me now.”
Saoirse leaned back. Neither loosened their hold, but they could now see each other’s face.
“I feel the same way. I remember ye as someone who was always patient with the weans and fun when ye’d take us on adventures. But the mon before me could be a stranger I’ve met for the first time. It’s so different, how I felt aboot that lad and how I feel aboot ye now.”
“How do ye feel, Saoirse?”
“Like I can finally be maself without worrying what others think. That I can be confident aboot what I want and what I wish to say. I dinna have a reason for being so shy. Naught happened to make me so. I just get overwhelmed when there are so many people around. And there always are in such a large family. I enjoy time by maself. But for once, I’ve found someone who I wish to share that time with. I even wish for time away from Rose, and I’m closer to her than I am ma own sisters.”
“I’m nae shy, but I understand enjoying time without all the effort that goes in to being around others. It’s why I didna mind riding patrols so often. Aye, I was with other guards, but it was so much quieter than being at the keep or in the villages.”
“Since Grandda and Uncle Callum have sworn none of us will ever have to marry for an alliance, I thought I might make a home with a husband in a croft. But ye’re a tánaiste, so I suppose ye must live in yer keep.”
“Nay. It’s a luxury afforded the laird’s family, but it isnae a requirement. If we marry, and ye wish for a croft, then that’s what we shall have. It would be wise to live within the walls, but if ye truly prefer living in a village, then I will see to it.”
“Ye’d give up living with yer family in yer home for a croft that would be smaller than yer Great Hall?”
“If it made ye happy, then aye. If ye come to the Mackenzie clan as ma bride, then I will provide for ye always. That doesnae just mean fine clothes and wine. It means whatever ye need to make ye happy, so ye dinna regret yer choice.”
“Magnus, living in a keep wouldnae make me regret marrying ye. I may prefer a croft, but where I live isnae as important as the mon I marry. If we canna have a croft, it’s nae what would make me say nay. It’s if we dinna suit.”
Their gazes locked, and heat surged between them. Magnus leaned forward as Saoirse went on her toes again. Their mouths collided this time. Saoirse didn’t hesitate to open to him as his tongue slid along hers. She matched his movements as her hands roamed over his massive shoulders and broad chest. She’d seen naked men because of her time spent as a healer. She’d seen men training without their leines. But never had she seen or felt a man’s body that made her wish to climb him like a tree and hang on.
Magnus’s left arm slid between her shoulder blades until his hand cupped her nape. The other rested at the small of her back. When she shifted restlessly and pressed his sporran against his cock, he inhaled sharply. Need coursed through him as he fought to recall that she was a virgin. She was the most desirable woman he’d ever met, and he’d never had to exercise restraint before. His past partners were experienced and there for their mutual pleasure. But what he wanted with Saoirse wasn’t a quick tumble to satisfy an urge.
He kissed along her jaw to her neck, nipping at the crook of her neck before kissing behind her ear. Each shuddering breath she took spurred him on to discover her next reaction. When she reached between them to push his sporran out of the way with a disgruntled huff, he caught her wrist.
“Saoirse, kenning what lies beneath a mon’s plaid and feeling it are two different things. Even if ye are a healer.” Magnus realized he found it unpleasant knowing his wasn’t the first and only male body she would see. But he named himself a hypocrite in the same instant. He doubted Saoirse wanted any reminders that she would be neither the first nor the only woman to see him bare.
“Do ye nae want me closer?”
“I’d share a body to have ye close enough, but I dinna want to make ye uncomfortable and ruin this.”
“It willna ruin it, Magnus. It’s what I want.”
Magnus hesitated for a moment before spinning his sporran toward his back. His hands rested in the dip at the small of her back, just above her backside. His fingers pressed against the top of the plush flesh. Saoirse arched her back, her hips touching Magnus’s. She felt his arousal against her mons, and she wanted to rub herself against it like a contented kitten. Magnus wished to lift her and wrap her legs around his waist before thrusting his cock into her.
The ledge upon which they stood was barely wide enough for them to stand facing one another. One step backward had Saoirse’s back brushing against the wall. She moaned her satisfaction at the feel of being sandwiched between two unmovable objects. She thought he’d aroused her as much as she could get a moment ago, but being pressed against the wall with Magnus’s body pinning her there was more exciting than she imagined. Their kisses grew wild, both insatiable.
“Saoirse! Saoirse!”
“Bluidy hell, it’s Thormud.” Saoirse looked toward the cave entrance as Magnus stepped away, careful not to fall backward into the pool within the cave. She scrambled to grab her basket and knife. She moved to a spot where she hadn’t yet collected the algae. “We’re in the cave, Thor.”
Thormud appeared in the entrance and stared at the pair. Magnus leaned against a wall with one shoulder pressing against the surface, his arms crossed, and his sporran back in place. Saoirse was several feet away, bent over a rock but looking toward Thormud.
“Ye’re collecting algae?”
“Aye. Ye didna think I came for a swim, did ye?”
