Ned shook his head, turning his back. “Out. Both of ye. Now.”
Freya glanced up at Brendan, nibbling her lip. There was a flash of pain on his face, quickly smoothed away. He turned to her, taking her hand. She hadn’t expected that, and was too shocked to pull away.
“We’ll go, then. I’m sorry, lad.”
Ned said nothing, and did not turn around as Brendan and Freya walked out.
“I’m shaking,” Freya confided, once they were a few streets away from the pub and safely tucked away down an alley that didn’t smelltoobad. “Can we take a moment? I feel as though I’m going to pass out.”
Brendan smiled down at her. “Aye, a fight will get yer blood up, alright. If I were ye, I’d stay away from the village for a while. Stick to the convent.”
She sighed. “I suppose ye are right. Thank ye, by the way. For saving me.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He kept looking at her strangely, still breathless, his blue-gray eyes clear and intense like chips of ice.
She straightened up, leaning back against the stone wall behind her. “Why are ye so keen to help me?”
He tilted his head to one side. “Well, nobody deserves Laird Grahame’s rage.”
Freya paused, taking this in. “Wait. Do ye know him? What aren’t ye telling me, Brendan?”
He sighed, glancing away. “It doesn’t matter. Listen, lass, I mean it. Stick to the convent. Ye shouldn’t really have left in the first place. The village isn’t safe for ye anymore, not with Grahame soldiers tramping around.”
She pursed her lips, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, I do feel pretty brave when I’m with ye, ye know. Especially since ye keep saving me without being asked.”
“Oh, ye want me to stop?”
She gave a short laugh. “No, no. Absolutely not. I like being with ye.”
He flinched, turning his head sharply away. A muscle feathered in his jaw.
“Ye shouldn’t feel at ease with me. I’m a dangerous man. Ye don’t know what I’ve been through. I’m unlucky, and danger follows me like a dog at my heels. I may not be able to protect ye next time.”
Freya swallowed thickly, tilting her head. She knew he was going to look at her again, could feel it like something inevitable. He did look at her, the muscle in his cheek jumping again.
“I can’t help it,” she said, her words not feeling quite like her own, as if they were being forced out of her. “Everything is exciting when I am with ye. Even danger. I don’t mind it.”
He was looking at her, his expression strangely intent once again, his eyes dark and hungry. Something tightened in Freya’s chest, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Was it her imagination, or was it suddenly hard to breathe?
“Don’t try my limits, lassie,” he ground out.
Freya grinned. “Oh, but it’s so much fun.”
He growled, low in his chest. And then, quite without warning, Brendan leaned down and kissed her.
Chapter 8
Fire and Truth
Freya had never been kissed before. Other women her age had had their first kisses, but she was a laird’s daughter and known to be pretty bristly, so nobody had ever tried. She’d always had too much pride to make the first move.
It was a warm, thrilling feeling, shooting through her and warming her chest. Brendan’s lips were warm and soft, pressing neither too hard nor too gently. She found that she’d placed her hands on his shoulders, quite naturally, and their bodies just seemed tofittogether.
Her eyes were closed—she knew that much about kissing—and so when Brendan’s large, warm hands closed around her waist, Freya jolted, the sensation overpowering, making her legs threaten to buckle. She rose up on her tiptoes, pressing herself against him, wanting to chase the delicious pulse of desire just starting to wake up inside her.
Her hands shifted up to the side of his neck, and then to cup his cheek and wind in his hair, pulling him against her,wanting, even though she wasn’t sure what she was asking for, or even what she wanted, or even what heshouldbe wanting…
Laird Grahame won’t want an impure bride,suggested a small, perfectly clear voice at the back of her mind.If ye give yermaidenhead to a grumpy young man who lives in the forest, ye cannot marry a laird after that. Ye would have to stay with him.
