“I agree,” she said.
She sank back into the silence, watching by the light of the half-moon as he paced slowly between the hut and the lake. His movements, even paces back and forth, eased her into a sleep she did not think she would get. Sometime in the night, he crept into the shelter and lay down on the blanket at her side, close but not touching at all.
The next thing she knew, Ran opened her eyes and found Soren watching her sleep. His gaze was on her mouth then and she heard him groan when she licked across the bottom lip in reaction. It mattered not, she repeated to herself.
They were different people now, with different lives. So why did she pray he would kiss her?
“Ran,” he whispered in that tone she loved.
Mayhap one kiss would prove it was over? Mayhap one kiss would release the tension and let her move on? Even knowing she was lying to herself, she took the next step.
“Kiss me, Soren.”
And he did.
The only thing it proved was how foolish she truly was.
Soren touched their mouths together, sliding his over hers.
But then she leaned in and opened to him.
Like a man dying of thirst, he drank her in. If his hand moved to her waist and drew her closer, he remembered not. If she reached up to take hold of his shoulders, he could not tell. All Soren knew was that she was in his arms.
He tasted her, slid his tongue inside her mouth and teased hers until she touched him back. The kiss changed from touch to possession and he moved on top of her to show her that he’d not forgotten anything of their passion.
She opened to him, sucking on his tongue now and cupping his arse as he ground into her. Her thighs welcomed him and he eased between them, sinking in close to her. The fabric of her garments prevented him from anything more intimate, but she shifted her leg so that his cock was rubbing her deeply.
His body hardened. Hell, he’d been half- erect since the first time he’d seen her in the marketplace. Now, though, his flesh thickened and readied and he prayed for her touch there.
When Ran moved her hands up to tangle in his hair, pulling his mouth to hers, Soren cupped her breasts, sliding his thumbs over the nipples he knew were dark pink and full. She arched against him, causing a friction between their bodies where his cock touched her. Her nipples were always so sensitive and her body responded to his touch as it always had.
A moment later, she pushed at him and they rolled so that she lay on top of him. Straddling his hips, she sat back and reached up to gather her hair out of their way. It made her back arch and her breasts angled right into his waiting hands. Her breasts pleased him, filling his hands and responding to every caress. Her nipples hardened—he could feel them through the gown she wore—so he pleasured them.
He wanted her mouth. He wanted her tongue in his mouth. Sliding his hands around her, he drew her down to him—hair be damned. She placed her hands on either side of his head and balanced there, kissing him, kissing him back, sucking on his tongue.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended.
Ran pulled herself up, still sitting over his cock, and stared at him. Shaking her head, she slid off him to sit at his side. His erect flesh no secret, it pulsed within his breeches as she moved away. Soren took in several deep breaths, fighting the urge, the urges, his body was screaming about.
“I . . .” Ran began. “It cannot be. This”—she glanced at his cock, which pulsed under her gaze— “cannot happen between us.”
He wanted to ease her feelings and confusion, but he had no words to offer about that. The only thing standing in their way was her father. And considering that Svein needed Soren’s ungodly help, he doubted Svein would object at all. More likely, Svein would give Ran to him in exchange for his help if he asked for her. Nothing was more important to Svein Ragnarson than himself.
“Go to sleep, Ran,” he said, climbing to his feet. He would get no more rest this night so he walked over to the lake’s edge and sat there, trying to convince his body that there would be no more of her.
It took a long time for his body to accept the truth of it and to calm. The sun’s light crept over the southeastern horizon then and Soren knew that another day of torment was just beginning. He would pay for his sins one way or another.
Marcus stood near the front of the ship, watching as the sun rose in the east and greeting it with prayers he knew so well. He felt Aislinn at his side as he finished his prayers. With a final word of praise, he turned to face her.
“Aislinn,” he said. “Are you well?”
She nodded and smiled. “I had the most interesting dream, Marcus. You will not believe what happened.”
So little in these last days and weeks had been good and from her expression and her light tone of voice, he suspected this bit of news would bring all of them joy. Marcus took her hands in his and nodded. “Tell me. Was it a prophecy?”
“I met another priest. He lives here on Orkney. He awaits us in the bay where we will arrive.”
“A priest?” Marcus asked.
