AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stood after hearing her sit and quickly shed his tunic and shirt, and her breath caught when he turned to face her. Muscles rippled over his chest and down his stomach. They filled his arms, and the firelight glistened off his damp skin, making him appear as though the fire had kissed it.
“Unlike you, I have no problem standing naked before you, so if it disturbs you to see me naked—” His hands went to the ties at his waist, and Reena closed her eyes in a flash.
She heard his laugh and felt like a coward.
“In time, Ree,” he said quietly and sat down beside her, a blanket wrapped around his waist. “You will not be able to get enough of me naked.”
It was her turn to laugh. “You are so sure of yourself?”
“Nay,” he whispered in her ear. “I am sure of you.”
She opened her eyes and turned her head, their lips brushed once, twice, three times, and then he kissed her.
A sudden crash of thunder rocked the ground and startled them apart.
“Do you think the heavens warn us?” she asked.
“Aye, they do, the heavens grow tired of us delaying our union as man and wife. We are meant to be together, for I think we are the only ones who understand each other.”
“You jest with me,” she said and teasingly poked him in the arm. It was a solid wall of muscle and warm flesh, and it sent a tingle running down her spine. “Though I do agree that we understand each other better than most.”
The scent of the cooking bird grew heavy in the air, and Reena sniffed it appreciatively and gave a small yawn.
“Hungry and tired?” he asked with concern.
She wiped away a small spot of rain that had settled on his chest from the wet ends of his hair. “You care so very much.”
“Of course I care, I love you.”
She shook her head slowly. “Nay, I do not mean only me.”
“Be careful,” he whispered. “You may ruin my reputation if word spread that—”
“The Legend has a caring heart,” Reena finished.
He turned away from her, but she caught the troubled look in his eyes. “None would believe you. I am the Legend and I earned my name.”
She reached out to him, her hand resting on his shoulder. “You are—”
She stopped suddenly, and he turned to see her eyes wide and her mouth open, as if she were about to speak, then froze.
He grew concerned. “What is wrong?”
“You have a caring heart.” Her blue eyes shone brightly, and she looked excited, as though she had made a discovery.
“So you say, do you think otherwise now?”
“Nay, nay, you care, and because you care you could not have killed Mary, your teacher’s young daughter. You did not kill her, you protect her.” She did not let him answer. “And I realize now that your teacher never meant for his daughter to die, and you understood this. He knew you would make certain she was cared for, he understood you as I do.”
“I am not that complex, but Mary’s situation is such that I must ask you to give me your word that you will repeat none of what you know.”
“You have my word, I will say nothing.”
“And I will tell you no more, for there are those who search for her, and I will not have your life endangered by knowledge of her whereabouts.”
“As you wish,” Reena said, “but if there should ever come a time—”
“I will seek your help,” Magnus assured her. “I do not know about you, but that bird smells delicious, and I am starving.”
