She mumbled in her sleep.
He covered her with the brat and stood. All properly covered now. He remained rooted to the ground unable to take his eyes off her. The gentle curve of her neck attracted his attention. The lobe of her small ear just visible beneath her thick hair. If he kissed her there, she’d surely moan.
“Sweet Jesus.” Sean glanced toward heaven for some help. He forced his feet to move away, to the other side of the fire where he dropped onto the hard ground.
Sean needed a good swiving. He’d gone without satisfaction for too long, even turning away a few very eager lasses. Women always noticed him. They liked his large size—and there had never been a shortage of females. It had been that way since he’d first sprouted up before the other lads. And continued to grow. Some of his best curses were learned from the mouths of the women slaking themselves on his rod.
This time he’d been holding off until he could finally be with Brighit. He’d convinced himself that now she would accept him if only to avoid taking vows as a nun. Never did he believe she would have fallen for someone else. Tadhg had actually rolled his eyes when Sean explained he saved himself for Brighit. That had been the reason Sean offered his friend’s treasured knife as collateral for the horse.
So now the first woman he encounters keeps setting him off like an untried lad. That had to be the reason for this urge to poke this particular female. Her unintentional offer to him had shot right to his balls. There was definitely more fun to be had with that one. He’d found himself considering the best plan for getting her out of those trews so he could pay homage to that tight arse and find what other treasures lay between her legs.
He snorted, his lips curled into a sneer. “Well that’s not going to happen.” He grabbed the skin and emptied its contents into his mouth. “Not ever.”
Propping his head against the log, he stared into the fire. This was not a need he was about to get satisfied by some woman who, for whatever reason, dressed up like a lad. He’d go for a properly dressed, shapely woman. With breasts that hung like fruit. Like Brighit. Perhaps once he saw this one reunited with her brother, he’d find himself some willing wench.
The fog in his brain finally spread throughout his head and he slept.
It was the cold that awoke him. His body stiff from the hard ground and the frigid dampness working through his limbs. The fire glowed with its dying embers. He poked it around with a stick and tossed in the last few pieces of dried wood.
He glanced toward Tommy. She had not moved. Body warmth was not to be taken lightly. He crossed the camp and dropped behind her, lifting the long brat to cover himself as well.
Sean kept a discreet distance between them. The deer skin material did much to ward off the cold and he quickly drifted back to sleep.
In his dreams, a lovely woman with flowing brown hair rode behind him, astride his mount. His own horse, Hamish, so he must be in Eire. That would mean the woman would be Brighit. Her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. His hand covered hers but he found them ice cold. He tried to warm them, even bringing them to his mouth for a hot breath. They refused to heat up.
Was she dead?
He jumped down from Hamish and reached up to take the woman by her middle. It wasn’t Brighit. Someone he’d never seen before. She had dark brows arching over fetching green eyes. Her smile looked sad and he knew he had to get her warm or she would surely die. He held her against him. She molded into the contours of his arms, pressing her small form against his chest.
“I canna get warm,” she said.
He stroked her silky hair down her back. “Shh.”
His hand grazed her from crown to buttocks. A firm, round buttocks. “Mmm, ye’re cold everywhere.”
“What are ye doing?”
The woman suddenly pulled away from him. Her expression spoke of accusations he didn’t understand.
He opened his eyes. His hands were tucked between his knees and his teeth chattered.
“What are ye doing?” The woman dressed as a lad.
“Trying to sleep.” Exhaustion pulled at him. The darkness around them indicated sunrise was still a long way off. “Let me sleep.”
“Ye need not share yer cloak.”
Tommysat beside him, her hair a mess around her shoulders, her tunic askew, and eyes that were shooting arrows at him.
“I decided I did. Go back to sleep.”
“I’m not comfortable like this I... usually sleep alone. Ye’re too close.”
He glared at her. “I dunna bother young boys. Go back to sleep and let me do the same.”
“I dinna—”
She sounded like a girl again.
