She’d been through a lot. She needed comforting. Ever so gently, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. His chin rested on her head. She shook with her tears, her whole body moving against him. He stroked her back, careful not to think of her as a beautiful woman but as someone he could help. Like a sister. Yes. A sister.
After a while her tears subsided and he was quick to release his hold of her. “I think we should get something to eat in ye and then we can decide what we should do.”
Sean moved to stoke up the fire. The dying embers quickly ignited the dried leaves he’d collected. He kept an eye on Thomasina who remained sitting on the floor facing the fire. She didn’t appear to be looking at the fire but lost in her own memories.
“These fish are plentiful. I am quite adept at catching them.”
He glanced her way, a fish in each hand, but she barely nodded in response. She was lost in her thoughts.
“I hope ye have a liking for fish. ’Tis less bloody than the little animals ye seemed to have an aversion to.”
Something must have caught her attention because she turned to him. “How did ye ken that?”
He dropped his hands and smiled at her. “Ye could not bring yerself to watch me skin it. I tried to be quick.”
She stood up, a frown on her lovely face, and came to stand beside him. “Ye cared how I felt?”
Sean’s confusion was complete. What was it she was asking? “Yea! I cared and tried to not prolong yer discomfort.”
She took the long stick poker he’d been using with the fire out of his hand. Wrapping his arm around her back, she pressed herself against his body. “Thank ye for yer kindness.”
Thomasina tipped her head back, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Ye are a special man. I want ye to ken that.”
She withdrew and walked out of the cave. Sean kept her in his view as he cleaned the fish. She sat on a boulder a few feet from the mouth of the cave. The hill dropped off, creating a scenic view of dark hills and green forests. The birds chirped in the trees as if readying themselves to settle down for bed. Sean speared the fish and stuck the end into the ground so that they could stay over the fire to cook but not close enough to burn.
What had that been about? Of course he noticed how squeamish she behaved when he cleaned their supper. He feared she’d be sick but she wasn’t. Instead she ate the meal with relish and thanked him for it. She appreciated everything he did for her. He, of course, gave her a hard time because he wanted her to remember she pretended to be a boy. He’d been terrible to her. Perhaps an apology was in order.
He wiped his hands on the cloth from his bag, smoothed his hair back, and headed toward the entrance. The sun was lowering in the west, an orange and pink display that gave the sky an unreal appearance. Thomasina stood by her horse now, stroking it with the hard brush.
Sean leaned against the opening, crossed his arms, and watched her a bit. He said, “Is that yer brush for the horse?”
“Yea. Niall made it for Daisy.”
“Yer brother? Well done. Solid. And she enjoys the brushing.” As if understanding their words, the horse pressed her snout into Thomasina’s side.
“Yea.” She didn’t turn towards him but kept her attention focused on her animal.
“Thomasina, I want to explain why I’d been so hard on ye.”
She turned toward him, a curious expression on her face.
“I knew ye were a girl—a woman—and I was trying to help ye to remember yer pretense of being a lad.”
“Why dinna ye ask me why I was pretending?”
Sean felt again his knuckles grazing her breasts. Although he’d concentrated on not letting his face show what he knew, his desire had been to touch her again. He’d wanted to cup her breasts. To move in closer and feel their weight in his hands. To press against her nipple with his palm, encouraging its rigid response.
“I told ye. I dinna need to ken. It was yer decision.”
She tightened her lips and stared at him.
He shifted under her perusal.
“Is that the only reason?”
He again saw her working so hard to get a large fire going despite the damp wood. His hands itching to stroke her round cheeks with every stretch. And when she bent over the fire, a burning desire to come up behind her, pull down those trews, and take her.
“Yea. Ye kept forgetting yer part.”
