“Very well,” she nodded, but her lips had flattened into a pressed line.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with panic, clinging to her.
“Nothing,” she shook her head. “It’s, “it’s just a while to keep hiding here as a boy.” She gestured down to herself.
“Ye missin’ yer dresses?” The hand he still had on her waist he dropped a little further, caressing her hip. “I will certainly miss these breeches when they’re gone.” His words brought a mischievous laugh from her, coloring her cheeks pink.
“I miss the dresses a little, but I’m certainly not missing the corsets,” she gestured to her body. “It’s been a lot easier to breathe over these last few weeks.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure we get ye out of the corset as often as possible,” he dropped a kiss to her neck with these words, making his meaning clear. She arched up against him and gasped as he began to nibble at the sweet spot on her neck. As she writhed with pleasure, he pressed himself against her even more.
“Magret could be back any minute,” Laura said softly. He knew she was right and reluctantly lifted his head again.
“Well, I’ll be glad when ye are in the castle, and ye nay longer have to hide here,” he said, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. As he moved back, he could see another look of sadness wash over her. “What is with these sad stares today, eh?”
“I’m sorry,” she shrugged. “It’s, “it’s just…what if your father refuses to give his blessing?”
Hearing the words caused pain in Erskine’s chest. As though the ribs had knotted together uncomfortably, and it was suddenly difficult to breathe easily.
“We daenae ken that—”–”
“Yes, but he might say no,” she said quickly. “What if he wants you to marry a Highland woman?”
“A Highlander? Why?”
“Well, there are plenty of people here who are not fond of the English,” she explained before catching his eye with a smirk, “and I also seem to remember a time when you yourself said you wanted a Highland lass.”
“Ah! I did say that- dinnae I?” he laughed at himself. “Ye remember me sayin’ it?”
“Vividly!”
“Aw, vividly?” he teased. “Did it upset ye a little?”
“What do you think?” she laughed too, but she tapped him round the arm in warning of his teasing.
“I still thought ye were a boy then, Laura, and I was extremely confused.”
“Confused? Why?”
“Why do ye think?” he gestured down to where their bodies were still pressed together. “Likin’ ye and constantly imaginin’ what Billie’s features would look like on a woman was somewhat tormentin’….”
“I am sorry,” she laughed despite her words. “Were you very confused?”
“Very!” he complained. “And I blame ye for it.”
“Me?”
“Aye, ye’re the one who dressed as a boy, sat on the back of me horse with me and were just so…enticin’!”
“I hardly dressed as a boy just to torment you, I dressed to escape—”–” Seeing the fire of this statement in her eyes, Erskine was lost again. He kissed her, cutting off her words, midsentence. She responded instantly, threading her arms up around his neck.
Unlike the gentleness of their last kiss, this was anything but. Hands began to wander until Erskine was reaching under her waistcoat and shirt, desperate to touch the bare skin of her waist. Her own hands went under the neckline of his shirt, brushing the exposed muscle there and popping open a few buttons.
Erskine could feel the heat rising between them, it was clawing up his body, probably so much that it was turning his skin red, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that Laura was in his arms.
“Trust me, Laura,” he said between two kisses. “I am nae goin’ to let what is here between us go.”
“You won’t?” she asked, her lips parted and slightly swollen from their explorations.
