“It’s Mairi, me lady.”
“Come in Mairi. There’s no need, I’ve already taken care of the lady.”
“Ok, me laird,” Mairi smiled and bowed her head before closing the door.
And she heard her footsteps receding.
When she could no longer hear the healer’s footsteps, she turned to keep talking to Magnus. But almost immediately Magnus closed the distance between them and kissed her.
His kiss was desperate and claiming and full of all the fear and relief and need that had been building between them for weeks.
Ada gasped against his mouth and he took advantage, deepening the kiss until she was drowning in the taste of him. Her hands found his shoulders, gripped tight as her knees threatened to buckle.
Magnus made a rough sound low in his throat. His arms came around her waist, pulled her flush against him until she could feel every hard plane of his body through the thin fabric of her torn nightgown.
The realization sent heat flooding through her. They'd kissed before—but this was different. This was Magnus with all his walls down, all his careful control shattered by the night's events.
This was Magnus letting her see exactly how much he wanted her.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Magnus rested his forehead against hers. "I shouldnae have done that. Ye're hurt and exhausted and?—"
"Dinnae ye dare apologize fer kissin' me." Ada's fingers curled into his shirt. "Dinnae ye dare."
"I'm nae apologizin'. I'm just—" He pulled back enough to look at her, his hazel eyes dark in the firelight. "Ye need rest. And I need tae nae lose control when ye're barely holdin' yerself taegether."
"I'm nae the one barely holdin' together." Ada pressed her hand over his heart, felt it thundering beneath her palm. "Yer heart is racin' faster than mine."
"Because ye're in me arms and yer nightgown is torn and—" Magnus stopped himself. Closed his eyes. "We should stop."
But his hands didn't release her. Didn't move from where they rested at her waist.
Ada rose up on her toes, pressed a kiss to the corner of his jaw. "What if I dinnae want tae stop?"
Magnus groaned. "Ada?—"
"Ye said ye were done bein' afraid." Another kiss, this one just below his ear. She felt him shudder. "So stop bein' afraid and kiss me again."
"Lass, ye dinnae ken what ye're askin'—"
"I ken exactly what I'm askin'." Ada pulled back, met his gaze steadily despite the heat flooding her cheeks. "I want ye and I think—I think ye want me too."
His jaw clenched. "Want daesnae even begin tae cover it."
"Then why—" Ada stopped, the question dying on her lips as understanding hit her.
"Ye're afraid ye'll hurt me."
Magnus didn't deny it. Just looked at her with such raw vulnerability that her chest ached.
"I willnae break," Ada said softly. "I promise. I've survived me fatiher's cruelty fer years. I survived taenight. I'm stronger than ye think."
"I ken ye're strong. That's nae—" He exhaled roughly. "I've been so careful with ye. So controlled. Because I was afraid that if I let meself truly want ye—truly need ye—I'd lose that control completely. And then ye'd see what I really am beneath all this."
"What ye really are?" Ada frowned. "Magnus, what?—"
"A man who wants things he shouldnae want. Who feels things too deeply despite spendin' years tryin' nae tae feel at all." His hands tightened on her waist. "A man who's terrified that if he lets himself love ye, he'll nae survive losin' ye."
The word hung between them. Love.
