****
Logen sent the other two men, Ross and Andrew, out to form a perimeter watch while he stayed near the women.
Coira and her cousin moved ahead of the healer and separated, their attention on the ground as they searched for the plants the healer required. The healer moved more slowly, but with purpose, and found the first of their quarry before either of the younger lasses.
Logen watched the three of them, confident in his instinct to escort them. All were so intent on their search, they paid no attention to their surroundings. Granted, the noise of their movement and their voices would scare away most creatures, but some predators would not be so easily dissuaded. And some roamed on two feet, not four.
Logen was not surprised to note Coira moving away from the rest of the group. No doubt she would be seeking solitude along with plants for the healer. As long as he could see her, he was content to let her wander unchecked. But soon she moved out of sight, and he caught the attention of the other two men.
“Ross, stay with the healer. Andrew, stay with Elizabeth. I’ll find Coira.”
As soon as the two men acknowledged his order, Logen started after her. Flashes of movement ahead confirmed her trail. Coira could walk quickly, but he would not lose her, even in these woods.
Nor would he give up the chance to be alone with her, away from the others.
All during the time he’d done as she requested and left her alone, he had craved her touch. It soothed him. Made him feel calmer, more himself, and kept the anguish at bay that sometimes threatened to overwhelm him. The anguish that had consumed him for months after Flodden and still caught him unawares at times. Coira’s touch healed the holes in his soul, if only for the brief time while she touched him.
He would not force her to such closeness if she did not desire it. He could be strong. But here, in the silence of the deep woods, away from the clan, away from their small group, he hoped for a few moments of the peace Coira could give him. If she would.
Again, he caught sight of her. She had stopped at the edge of a small clearing to pick from a patch of something growing in a spot of sunshine. She held a bunch of crinkly leaves to her nose and smiled as he approached.
“I canna believe I found these. We’re lucky they’re still here for us to enjoy.”
“Ye kent I followed ye.”
“Of course.”
Logen nodded.Of course. She’d have sensed him, even if she hadn’t heard him.
“What do ye think?” She held out the bunch for him to sniff.
The fresh, bracing scent surprised him. “Mint?”
“Aye. Growing wild. A different smell...” She paused and touched a leaf to her tongue.
Logen felt his body harden at the glimpse she gave him of its moist, pink tip.
“And taste from what the healer grows in the keep’s garden.” She dropped the bunch into her basket and inhaled against her palm. “I love the way the scent lingers.”
Logen took her hand and held it up to his face. Indeed, mint perfumed her skin. He was tempted to kiss her palm. The idea of it suddenly surged through him, firing his blood and tightening his groin even more. Aware of the blush stealing over her cheeks, he could not resist. He blew gently to tease her senses. Her sharp intake of breath rewarded him. Then he kissed her palm. Sucking lightly, he pulled the minty fragrance into his mouth, and when he heard her moan, only then did he lift his head. He glided his tongue across her palm to savor the taste of the mint on her skin, then released her hand, plucked another leaf, and rubbed it gently across her full lower lip as he asked, “More?”
“Aye.” Her breathless answer parted her lips.
Logen smiled. She had to be feeling the desire raging within him. “Ye are a brave lass to tease me so,” he told her before he allowed her to take the tip of the leaf into her mouth.
She raised her eyebrow, her invitation clear.
“I wish to share that one,” he warned as he allowed the leaf to fall between them and bent to kiss her.
She lifted her arms and threaded her fingers into his hair.
“Ach, that’s an ‘aye’, is it?” he challenged just before his lips met hers.
In answer, she tugged him closer. Her kiss tasted as sweet as the last berries of summer, infused with the mint she had used to tease him. The heat from her mouth beckoned him to touch the tip of her tongue with his. When she pulled her body against his, he swept his tongue into her mouth, taking possession, and wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t need her special sense to know she welcomed him. Her body told him, as well as her taste, and her scent. The peace he’d hoped to find with her was there, but he’d found so much more.
He wanted her and he would have her. But not here, not like this. He broke off the kiss and just held her, reveling in the feel of having this woman in his arms, welcoming him, soothing him, firing his blood. She deserved more than a tumble in the woods. He’d like nothing more than to lift her skirts and sink into her, to find the sweet oblivion that existed nowhere else. But nay, he thought as he dropped gentle kisses on her face, he would not use her that way. “Ye try me, lass,” he whispered into her ear and felt her shiver in his arms.
“I do?”
