The MacKaids might be headed back to the village or they might be trailing them still.
It was a gamble he didn’t mention to Nora. He wanted her to have the delusion they were safe. The truth would only worry her unnecessarily when there was nothing she could really do.
He did need a little time to rest before they went any further.
“I wish I had something to stitch this with,” she mumbled. “But we’ll have to make due with just bandaging it.”
“Bandaging it with what?”
She lifted her skirt high, gifting him with a luscious view of her legs and ripped more of her chemise. A large portion of it.
“You keep doing that, lass, and you’ll be naked by the time we get back to the others.” He smiled wolfishly at the thought. “Not that I’d mind that, of course, but I’m thinking you might be embarrassed.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Just like a man. You’re lying there half dead and all you can think of is me taking off my clothes.”
“Half dead, not all dead.”
She shook her head at him as she bandaged his ribs. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Nay, my lady, I am en-courage-able.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “That’s not a word, my lord.”
Ewan had to admit he loved teasing this woman. “Sure, it is. It’s a perfectly good word.”
She leaned over him and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Ewan closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her as he savored the softness of her mouth on his.
Aye, the lady was the world to him.
He drew a ragged breath as she pulled back from him. “You rest here while I?—”
“Nay!” he roared, sitting up in spite of the pain that lacerated him. “It’s not safe.”
She gave him a peeved glare. “I have needs to tend to, Ewan, and if you don’t let me do so privately, I’ll not be kind to you in the future. I’ll only be right through yon trees and I won’t be gone long.”
Ewan looked at the trees where she indicated, trying to see if there was anything lurking there to grab her. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, but he could understand her need for privacy. “Very well. But you talk the entire time so that I know you’re safe.”
She laughed at that. “I think this may very well be the only time in my life anyone has ever invited me to talk.”
He kissed her gently. “I cherish your tongue, my lady,” he said, then he tasted said tongue with his own. He moaned at the feel of her.
“Aye,” he said, pulling back. “I find myself quite taken with it.”
“So you’ve changed your mind about having it cut out?”
He laughed at her reminder of what he’d said to her the day they met. “Aye, lass. I’ve become quite attached to it, now be off before it gets any darker.”
She bit her lip, then did as he said. As she left him, she began chattering on about her favorite ballad.
“You know,” she said, her voice drifting back from the forest. “I miss my lute. ‘Tis a pity I didn’t have it when Graham showed up. I could have used it to bash him.”
Ewan smiled at her as she continued on.
Heaven above how he loved to hear her prattle.
“By the way, Ewan, I am very sorry for all this.”
