She wanted to kiss him.
Wanted to close the small distance between them and press her mouth to his and show him without words what his acceptance meant to her.
But the courtyard was still too public, and her emotions were too raw, and if she started kissing him, she might never stop.
"I should..." She gestured vaguely toward the keep. "I should go inside. It's getting’ late and I'm exhausted and need tae think about everything that happened today."
Something flickered in Alpin's expression—disappointment, maybe, quickly hidden. "Aye. Of course. Ye've had a long day."
Mhairi turned toward the keep, then paused. Without allowing herself to overthink it, she stepped back and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
Then she fled before he could respond, practically running across the courtyard and into the keep. Her heart was racing, her cheeks burning, and she felt simultaneously terrified and exhilarated.
She wanted a future there.
And Alpin wanted it with her.
The thought carried her all the way to her chamber, where she closed and locked the door behind her, leaning against it as she tried to catch her breath.
Mhairi had just changed into her nightdress when the knock came.
She froze, one hand on the tie of her robe. "Who is it?"
"It's me."
Alpin's voice, rough and low through the door.
Mhairi's pulse jumped. She crossed to the door slowly, her bare feet silent on the stone floor. "Alpin? What are ye daeing here?"
"Open the door, Mhairi."
It wasn't a command. More like a request made by someone who was holding onto his control by a thread.
She unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Alpin stood in the corridor, still in the clothes he'd worn to the village, his hair slightly disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. His eyes were dark, intense, fixed on her face with an expression that made her stomach flip.
"Ye cannae dae that," he said.
"Dae what?"
"Tell me ye want a future here. Tell me ye want tae build a life. Look at me like ye want tae kiss me in the middle of the courtyard where everyone can see." He stepped forward, backing her into the room. "And then just walk away like ye didnae just turn me entire world upside down."
Mhairi's back hit the wall beside her wardrobe.
Alpin moved until he was right in front of her, one hand braced against the wall by her head, caging her in without actually touching her.
"I'm sorry," she managed. "I didnae mean tae."
"I'm nae askin’ fer an apology." His eyes dropped to her mouth, then back up to meet her gaze. "I'm askin’ fer permission."
"Permission fer what?"
"Tae show ye how much I want this future with ye. To stop holdin’ back. Tae stop pretendin’ I dinnae want ye so badly I can barely think straight." His free hand came up to cup her face, thumb stroking her cheekbone. "But only if ye want it too. Only if I'm nae misreadin’ this completely."
Mhairi's breath came fast and shallow. Every nerve in her body was singing with awareness of him—his nearness, his warmth, the barely leashed desire in his eyes.
"Ye're nae misreadin’ anything," she whispered.
