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Her moist lips tingled his flesh and jolted his senses, his male senses. “If only we were not in a tree.”
“Are you not the Legend?” she teased. “A man of many talents and skills?”
His hand grabbed hold of her cheeks, puckering her lips. “You will learn well of my talents and skills.” He smiled. “And I will teach you some of your own.”
She spoke between puckered lips, but her response was clear. “Good, I love to learn new things.”
Magnus groaned deep and harsh and kissed her puckered lips. “Damn, Ree, but you excite me in a most unusual way.”
She eased his hand off her face. “I am glad, for I feel myself eager to be with you.”
He ran a tender finger over her lips. “I promise you that our joining will be a time you long remember.”
She kissed his finger. “I have no doubt of that.”
“Map,” he ordered, and she understood. If she did not soon tend to her work, they would be tending to something much more intimate.
Reena made fast work of the temporary map, asking him relevant questions and giving him pause to reflect on answers that would serve him well in protecting his land.
When they were ready to climb down from the tree, Magnus ordered her to remain as she was and not to move an inch. She gave her word, and he grasped the branch and easily swung himself down to the ground. He then walked with haste to his horse, mounted, and returned, stopping the large steed beneath the tree.
“Drop me your satchel.”
She did as he said.
“Walk out carefully on the branch to where I can reach you.”
It was a bare few steps she needed to take, and she took them without trepidation. She had climbed enough trees with Brigid not to worry about one with a thick and sturdy branch.
“Careful,” he warned with a snap, startling her.
She lost her footing and swung her arms to steady herself, but she could not hold her balance, and she toppled off the branch.
Magnus reacted instinctively, his arms reaching out, and she landed with a solid plop right in them. His heart thudded in fright and his breath raced out in a sigh. She simply smiled.
He shook his head. “You smile when you fall from a tree?”
“I smile because I knew you would catch me.”
“You had no doubt?”
“Nay, not an ounce of doubt. I knew you would be there for me. You never fail to help those you love or those your heart will not let you ignore, no matter the price to you.”
One of his men hurried out from the dense tree covering to the small clearing and shouted to him that strangers were spotted in the distance.
“See what they are about,” Magnus ordered and gave a quick glance at the sky. The sun had suddenly disappeared behind a flurry of gray skies and the distant sky did not look promising; a spring storm seemed probable. “The hills just west of here would be a good place to make camp for the night. There are several small caves where we can seek shelter if it rains. Meet me there when you are done with the strangers.”
The man nodded and disappeared after taking only a few steps into the woods.
“You think a spring storm brews?” Reena asked, glancing at the gray sky.
“I do not wish to take the chance, and besides”—he gave her a hasty kiss—“I wish to be alone with you this night.”
The thought his remark invoked caused her to shiver, and she cuddled against him.
“I will keep you warm,” he whispered in her ear and sent gooseflesh racing down her arms.
“And what of mapping?” she asked, attempting to keep her senses rational, to ignore the rush of tingles that nestled between her legs. She wished to be alone with him and get to know him intimately as much as he wished for them to be alone, but fear mingled with her desire. What if she disappointed him? She was thin and small and not as shapely as most women. And that doubt lingered and nagged at her. But since he loved her it should not make a difference. Still, there would be that moment when she would stand in front of him naked, completely vulnerable. Would he still want her? Or were her doubts her own insecurities?
