6
Finley stretched her arms over her head as she made her way to the great hall for dinner, feeling the pull of her sparring today on her body. There were mornings she could barely get out of bed from pushing her body too much, but it was a good problem to have.
“Finley!”
Finley turned to see her sisters running toward her. “Wot is going on?” she asked as they skidded to a stop before her, their eyes wide and their cheeks red-faced. Lisbeth was the middle sister, a precocious one at twelve, and she forever was getting their youngest sister, Malta, in trouble.
By the looks of it, they were in trouble yet again. “Wot did ye do?” she asked again, placing her hands on her hips.
The sisters looked at each other before Lisbeth cleared her throat. “Ye see, we didnae mean tae do it, but he’s such a nice-looking Scot that we wanted tae, err, see him naked.”
Finley arched a brow. “Ye are far too young tae be wanting tae do something like that! How would ye like it if someone spied on ye like so?”
“We didnae get tae see anything,” Lisbeth grumbled, looking quite put out by the discovery. “I locked the door instead of unlocking it.”
“I didnae want tae see him naked,” Malta declared, her brow furrowing. “I dinnae know wot the fuss is all aboot.”
Finley didn’t either. “Who was it?”
“The new Scot, the McGregor,” Lisbeth offered up, pressing the key into Finley’s hand. “He’s locked in his room now.”
Great. Anyone but him. “Go on tae dinner,” Finley replied. “I will go and let him out.”
The sisters ran off, and Finley blew out a breath as she turned toward the room that she had shown Erik to days before. Leave it up to her sisters to make her acknowledge that he was still around the keep. After their sparring session, he was all she had thought about.
And dreamed of.
Sure enough, as she drew near his room, she could hear him pounding on the door, asking someone to let him out. How her sisters had gotten the key from the inside to begin with was beyond her comprehension, but more importantly, Lisbeth was looking to see a naked Scot.
Finley would have to tell her aunt about that one. The last thing they needed was for her to start peeking at the warriors. Likely it would give her nightmares for weeks.
Finley drew in a breath as she inserted the key in the lock, intending to turn it and swiftly walk away, but the moment she did, he must have yanked on the door because it opened under her hand, pitching her forward and into a hard wall.
No, not a hard wall, but a strong chest that smelled like sandalwood, her nose buried into his soft tunic. She was acutely aware of his arms coming around her, and for a moment, she froze, not sure of what to do.
“Well, lass, if ye wanted me tae hold ye, all ye had tae do was ask,” he said into her ear. “Not lock me in mah room.”
Finley sputtered and pushed away from Erik, putting some distance between them. She knew her cheeks were on fire, and though she didn’t want to meet his gaze, she forced herself to do so anyway.
“I didnae lock ye in yer room,” she said hotly, attempting to scrub the smell of his clean body from her senses. His hair was damp, and he was dressed in a clean tunic that matched the color of his eyes, and as her eyes wandered down his body, she drew in a shaky breath at the tight-fitting breeks he was wearing.
Not to mention he was barefoot. She hadn’t been around any Scot that was barefoot before.
“Like wot ye see, lass?”
The smug tone had her eyes meeting his once more. “I didnae lock ye in yer room,” she bit out. “Mah sister did. She wanted tae see ye naked.”
He arched a brow, a rumble of laughter escaping him. “’Tis one way tae do it, I guess. Is this the same one who doesnae like a bath?”
So, he had already met Lisbeth. Some of the anger and embarrassment ebbed from her. “Aye, that’s Lisbeth. I...I apologize for wot she did.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “There’s nothing tae apologize for other than the hell she is going tae give ye in the future.”
Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Finley found her lips curving into a smile. “Aye, she is going tae be.”
He chuckled, and she felt it clear to her toes. “Dinner is ready,” she forced out, trying to break the tension in the room.
Erik grinned, and Finley forgot to breathe. No wonder her sister wanted to see him naked. With a grin like that, it was hard to remember that she didn’t like him at all. “Are ye going as well?”
