Chapter 44

CHAPTER 44

H er heart racing and her legs burning as much as her lungs from the exertion, Ciara ran, doing her best to keep up with Magnus’ longer stride. She could hear the clash of steel and shouting voices of the men behind them. It sounded like the entire army they’d seen in the valley was hot on their heels. Ciara had never been as terrified as she was but, at the same time, she felt a rush of exhilaration unlike anything she’d ever known before. She’d never felt more… alive.

“Why are ye smilin’?” Magnus asked.

“I’m nae,” she said with a giggle.

“Ye’re bleedin’ mad.”

The cold air whipped at her skin as they ran, jumping over logs and dodging around piles of rocks, moving in perfect unison. They were wo much in sync, with Magnus boosting her over fallen logs and helping her up onto rocky ledges without breaking stride, it was as if their movements had been scripted. Or as if they were moving through some perfectly choreographed dance together. It made Ciara smile even wider as they ran. Perhaps she was mad, but it felt as if they were connected by some invisible bond that was guiding their bodies.

“We need tae stop,” she said. “I need tae catch me breath.”

He slowed down then stopped and turned around. The sound of the soldiers in pursuit had faded slightly, but they weren’t far behind. Magnus looked pensive but acknowledged the need to stop and catch their winds again with a nod.

“We cannae linger long,” he said.

“Aye.”

Ciara bent over, putting her hands on her knees, and drew in long, deep breaths. Magnus put his hands on his hips and turned his face to the sky, his breath coming out in steamy plumes. Every muscle in Ciara’s body seemed to be aching and she wanted nothing more than to sit down for a while. A long while. But the sound of heavy footsteps crushing branches and dry leaves filled the air around them.

“They’re close,” Magnus said, sounding alarmed.

“Bleedin’ hell,” she said.

Through the light fog that had formed among the trees around them, Ciara saw the glow of torches coming their way. The soldiers were closer than they thought. Magnus looked around, tension on his face.

“Here,” he said.

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a crevice in a rocky outcropping hidden amongst the trees. There wasn’t much room, and their bodies were pressed tightly together. Magnus’ hands were around her waist from behind and his breath was warm on the back of her neck. It tickled her but at the same time, felt sensual. Ciara silently cursed herself for having such inappropriate thoughts at such a bad time, but when she felt his arousal pressed firmly to her backside, she smiled knowing she wasn’t alone in that.

Magnus’ body tensed and she held her breath when the glow of the torches fell on the trees beyond the crevice. Ciara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from gasping when she saw a pair of men just outside the crevice where they sheltered. The light from their torches gleamed off the edge of their blades. All they needed to do was look to their right and the game would be over. As if sensing her tension, Magnus’ grip on her waist tightened.

The soldiers spoke in hushed tones just feet from them. They sounded frustrated that they hadn’t been able to find them, making Ciara smile to herself. Instead of looking to the right though, the soldiers ran on into the night. She listened to the sound of their footsteps fade into the distance. Pressed tightly together in the crevice, they waited for several long minutes after the soldiers had passed. Ciara strained her ears to listen but heard nothing outside.

“I think they’re gone,” she said.

“Aye. But be careful and keep yer eyes open.”

They wiggled out of the crevice and Ciara silently lamented the break in physical contact with Magnus. But she knew it was not the time for such thoughts. The soldiers had gone east, believing they were still on their trail, but they had left their horses at a small, hidden cabin to the west. Moving as one, they turned and sprinted away, plunging through the darkness and away from the soldiers who were chasing them.

The cabin was nestled in a thicket of trees, far off the beaten path. Magnus stopped at the door and looked around, listening closely to the woods around them. They were silent. Their horses were still behind the cabin where they’d left them, and nothing seemed amiss.

“Seems like we’ve lost them,” Ciara said.

“Seems like. But I think it’s best if we dinnae have a fire tonight.”

Ciara nodded but frowned. She was chilled to the bone already and it seemed like the air around them was getting colder. What she wouldn’t have given for a fire. They sat huddled together on a pile of furs on the floor of the cabin in silence for a while as Ciara mentally decompressed from their brush with capture or death.

“Are ye all right?” he asked.

“Aye. Just cold.”

Magnus slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as they nestled beneath the furs. It was still freezing but basking in the warmth cast by his body took some of the edge off. Ciara nuzzled closer to him, her body tingling as she pressed herself to him. She thought of being wedged into the crevice with him, of feeling his arousal pressed to her backside, and felt herself flush. Warmth blossomed between her thighs and when she turned her face up, she found his eyes locked onto hers and the string of inappropriate thoughts flowing through her head so freely reflected in his icy blue gaze.

As if by some silent accord, they moved together, their mouths crashing together. Their kiss was passionate, intense. Their tongues lashed one another with such a thick, raw need that Ciara felt her body warming from the inside. She felt lightheaded with currents of an overpowering desire rushing through her veins. The insides of her thighs grew slick and warm, and Ciara’s belly turned over on itself. She pressed her mouth harder to Magnus’, swallowing his groan and kissing him as if she was trying to suck the very soul from his body.

She and Magnus moved in unison as they got to their knees, frantically tearing at one another’s clothing, pulling tunics over their heads and fumbling with their boots then their breeches, desperate to shed the cloth that kept their bodies from one another. They moved without words, her body reacting to his and his reacting to hers. Just as it had been when they’d made their run through the forest, they were in perfect sync with each other, guided by some invisible bond between them, knowing what the other wanted without the necessity of words being spoken.

Once they’d shed their clothing, Magnus laid on his back and pulled her to him, making her straddle his face. As his tongue slipped along her wet, swollen lips, Ciara’s body tensed. She grabbed hold of his hair with both fists and ground herself against his mouth. His big, rough hands slid along her body, cupping her breasts and her backside as he continued to lash her sex with his tongue, his movements forceful and raw, as if he couldn’t contain the desire that filled him.

He parted her slick folds with his tongue, touching the very center of her and Ciara instantly felt herself let go. She threw her head back and let out a long, shuddering cry as she climaxed. She trembled and shuddered, trying to catch her breath as Magnus continued to lick and suck on her warm, throbbing core. Slowly, her release ebbed, and she was left weak-kneed and gasping for breath, but the fire of lust inside of her burned ever brighter.

Grabbing her roughly, Magnus put her down on all fours then slipped up behind her. With a powerful thrust of his hips, he sheathed himself inside of her fully, drawing a sharp gasp from Ciara, who was still learning to get used to the feeling of being filled up so completely. He ran his hands up her back gently, almost tenderly, then grabbed hold of her shoulders. She turned her head and looked at him, a quivering smile upon her lips as the discomfort faded.

Magnus’ face was dark, his eyes filled with the same primal need Ciara felt. His grip on her shoulders tightening, Magnus started to roll his hips, his long, rigid length piercing through her. Ciara closed her eyes, a smile on her face as her body tingled. His thick staff slid against her slippery inner walls, sending bolts of lightning through her every nerve ending. Ciara trembled and gasped, a low, breathy moan bursting from her mouth.

She leaned back against Magnus, taking him even deeper inside of her. He let out a harsh grunt that was followed by a long, erotic moan that raised goosebumps on her skin. He thrust himself into her harder and faster, the slap of their flesh meeting ringing in Ciara’s ears. Perhaps it was because they’d come so close to death, but their coupling was filled with a raw, primal need. It was as if they were desperately reaffirming their life through their union.

Ciara let out a squeak when Magnus flipped her over onto her back without warning. She spread her legs as he collapsed on top of her, his mouth crashing against hers. He stole her breath with a kiss as he sheathed himself inside of her once more. Ciara clung to him, gripping his forearms tightly as he pumped himself into her. Their eyes were locked together, and Ciara rode the waves of ecstasy that rolled through her body as he filled her.

Their previous couplings had been incredible and had left her entire body shaking. But there was something about being with him this time that felt different. It was rough and raw, but it was also tender and sensual. It was then that Ciara realized they weren’t just affirming being alive after their brush with death, but also their love. She could see it in his eyes as he looked down at her. She could see the depth of his feeling for her, and it made her heart swell while bringing tears to her eyes.

Magnus drove his staff deep into her and held himself there. Ciara pressed her head back against the furs beneath her and cried out. She felt him swell and when he burst, a long, deep groan floated from his lips. As he throbbed, filling her, he collapsed on top of her. Ciara held him, her eyes closed, relishing the feeling of his release filling her up.

As they gazed into each other’s eyes, Ciara realized the passion and intensity between them that night had been partly triggered out of love, and partly out of fear. They were a long way from Dunvegan and with Fairfax’s army between it and them, she didn’t know if they would make it. There was every chance that when they got back on the road in the morning, they could be cut down by Fairfax’s men and she could be dragged back to her father’s lands in chains—for that would be the only way they were going to get her back there.

As she held his icy blue gaze, Ciara knew this night might have be the last time they could express their love for one another.

“I love ye,” she said.

Magnus tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I love ye too.”