Page 10

I’d forgotten how small she was, how careful I needed to be, and the fact she carried a bairn made that doubly true now.

My tongue swept against hers, gentle and questing, and when she made a quiet sound of pleasure, heat shot straight through me. My cock stirred, thickening beneath my kilt, and I had to fight the urge to pull her closer, to press her against the evidence of what she did to me.

This wasn’t the time. With her carrying another male’s child, I didn’t think it would ever be the time again, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t remind her how good things had been between us.

So I cupped her face with one hand, my thumb stroking her cheekbone as I deepened the kiss. She melted into me, her stomach heavy against my hip and her fingers tightening in my hair. The trust in that simple gesture nearly undid me.

Months without her touch, without her taste, and now she was here, kissing me back as if she’d never stopped wanting me. Mayhap ‘twas a ruse, mayhap she did it only for my coin, as John had claimed, but it felt real, and I was here with her now.

My blood pounded hot and insistent, my body remembering every night we’d spent tangled together. The ache low in my belly spread, my cock now fully hard, but I kept my hips angled away from her. I was here for her comfort, but I’d kissed her for mine.

Remembering that, I winced, realizing I’d pushed this kiss on her. When I pulled away, she gasped, then whimpered slightly, and I almost relented. But I forced myself to press another kiss to her forehead.

“I’m sorry, dkaar. I shouldnae have done that.”

“I…”

I felt her shudder as she swallowed, then swayed closer, still holding the back of my neck. “I enjoyed it.”

My lips curled against her skin. “I did as well, but I’m no’ here for my pleasure. I’m here to ensure ye and Ewan are well. He’s inside?”

“Aye,” she sighed. “Where we should be as well, if we do not wish to turn to ice. Come in,” she offered as she pulled away, reaching for the door’s latch.

As she did so, Cataline kicked aside what would be a large piece of wood in her hands, and I realized it had been a potential weapon, had she not trusted me. But she’d trusted me enough to welcome me and kiss me, which is how I knew the last months had been brutal on her.

She needed me, whether she knew it or not.

“Ewan?” she called as she stepped into the ruined hut, tipping her head back. “Come out, honeybun.”

I frowned, glancing around the space. There was a bed piled high with blankets, pulled as close as possible to the hearth, where a pitifully small fire smoked because of a clogged chimney. There were a few items on the rickety table—bowls and spoons—and a pot of something fragrant bubbling near the fire.

Cataline had clearly carried some of her personal items here, but the croft itself was poorly designed and in bad condition.

Up in the loft, something shifted. Either the place was infested with huge rats, or Ewan was hiding up there.

“Oh!” She blurted. “Um…pickling beets? No, uh—I want a pickled beet!”

I was turning to her, to tell her that I’d heard pregnancy cravings were strange and I would return to the town to fetch her some pickled beets, although I wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, when there was a scurrying noise from above. From the corner of my eye, I saw a wee face pop over the side of the loft.

“Good job remembering, Mama!”

Cataline’s voice sounded weary when she sighed out, “Good job staying hidden, honeybun.”

And I realized what had happened. The pair of them, aware of the dangers posed to a lone woman and lad, had developed a code so he would know when ‘twas safe to emerge. And my brave, stubborn Cataline had stood outside that door with a piece of kindling that I could break in my fist, protecting her son from an unknown rider.

If it had been another male, would she be as safe? Would she have survived to come inside and speak the coded phrase? Or would Ewan hide indefinitely?

My chest tightened at the thought, and I became even more determined to convince them to return to safety with me.

Still, I forced a light tone. “Ewan, lad, ye’re twice as tall as when I last saw ye!”

“Maardok!” he gasped, thrusting himself upright. “I’ve missed you!”

And with that, he threw himself off the edge of the loft toward me.

Cataline had only enough time to gasp and stumble toward him, but she needn’t have worried. I would never allow her son to come to harm. Indeed, I snatched him out of the air and swung him about, far more vigorously than I’d done her, as he shouted with laughter.

When I slowed and settled him over my shoulder, dangling down my back, I pretended to ignore him as I turned back to his mother, who was watching us pale-faced and wide-eyed, her hands cupping her belly.