Page 25 of Princess of Elm (Warriors of the Fianna #4)

A strid waited for Cormac outside the hall.

Butterflies filled her stomach to bursting, as they had of late whenever they were about to meet.

She carried an armful of blankets and a spare cloak, in case Cormac didn’t have his with him.

Though bitter cold gripped the air, it was the first night in a month when the stars shone clearly.

On nights like these, when it was so cold you could see your breath before you, sometimes the spirits of the ancestors fought in the skies above and put on a magnificent show for any who dared to seek them out.

It had only happened a handful of times in her life, but that didn’t stop Astrid from looking for them at every opportunity.

Sitric told her that she was lucky to have seen them at all, as they tended to do battle the most over their homelands far to the north, where the skies were clearer and the nights colder.

“Are we camping?” Cormac asked, shaking her from her thoughts as he approached. Without a word, he grabbed the blankets, carrying them for her with a smile that made her heart pound.

“We’re sitting,” she corrected.

She led him to a spot not far from their holding.

Only a short way down the path into town, the track veered sharply, leading to a clifftop that overlooked the harbor.

It afforded an unimpeded view of the ships below them and the sea beyond.

She and Sitric both enjoyed going there from time to time.

Cormac laid the blankets on the ground, sitting on them and reaching for her with both arms—a clear invitation for her to sit in his lap. Against her better judgment, she accepted. She leaned against his hard body, soaking up the warmth.

“My brother and I both like it here,” she mumbled, desperately trying to break the tension that grew between them.

“I can see why,” he whispered back. The heat from his breath washed over her ear and tickled her neck. “It’s beautiful. And thank you for coming to my rescue again earlier,” he added, his chin settling on her shoulder.

“It’s the least I could do. You’ve been coming to my rescue for weeks now, and I didn’t realize until today just how much you risked to do so.”

His arms squeezed tighter around her, pulling her into the warmth of his chest. She leaned her head back, letting herself enjoy the closeness.

A light appeared on the horizon, at the far edge of this inky sky.

A green streak, the color of saplings in spring, flashed from it, dancing like a serpent.

The light cracked overhead again, this time reaching further, a flame sputtering atop a candle.

A second light appeared beside it, this one stronger.

As it reached toward them across the darkness, it changed from an eerie green to the same blushing pink as an autumn apple.

The two lights danced above them like waves in the sky.

“I’ve not seen them since I was a boy still living in the north,” Cormac whispered, his voice filled with awe.

“They don’t visit us often here, but whenever a night is clear and cold, I try to go out and check.”

“What do you think they are?”

His question didn’t surprise her in the least, given his pensive nature. “My parents told me they’re the spirits of our ancestors fighting battles of old.”

“They don’t get to rest when they die?”

The shock in his voice made her chuckle. “Is that what you’d really want? To do nothing forever?” She felt his shoulders shrug behind her, his arms somehow wrapping her even tighter.

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he replied. The smile in his voice coaxed out one of her own. “What do you call them?”

“ Norerljós . The Northern Lights.”

His lips brushed the bare skin of her neck. “And what do you call this?”

“ Hals ,” she breathed, tilting her head to allow him better access.

“Mmm.” The low hum vibrated against her collarbone. He pushed her dress off her shoulder, his soft lips following. “And this?”

She leaned against him, pressing as hard as she could. “ Djarfr ,” she smiled. “Which means bold.”

He stilled. “Too bold?”

Astrid turned in his lap, facing him. She felt possessed by some sort of spirit, hardly able to breathe let alone think. She didn’t know anything—she felt everything. Her hands ran down the broad lines of his shoulders, his chest. “Maybe not bold enough.”

He pulled her lips to his with a hungry growl. Their kiss yesterday had been passionate. This kiss was explosive.

It ignited a fire that left her throbbing and dizzy. She slipped her hands beneath his shirt, her fingers following the hard planes of his body downward to the hem of his trews.

He inhaled sharply, his eyes clouding over. With painful slowness, he unfastened her dress. His gaze raked over her, scorching, before he devoured her lips once more.

The air bit her naked skin. She shivered at the shock of the cold, but she was too far gone to stop now. She ached for him. She needed him. She wanted him. Her hand grasped the hard length between them, exploring.

Cormac groaned, a deep, throaty sound that only made her shiver more—this time, though, it wasn’t from cold.

He braced them with his arms, laying her back on the blanket and covering her with his body.

His hands caressed her legs, bunching her dress toward her waist as he found the part of her that ached for him.

His fingers circled and teased, until Astrid squirmed in frustration. Then he sank them inside her.

Astrid gasped at the sensation, the delicious pressure. For a moment she thought that would be it. Then he moved. And all she wanted was more . “Cormac,” she breathed.

In response, his hand continued its work and his lips found her nipples. Sucking, nipping, working her into a need so desperate she would do anything to have it filled.

“Please,” she begged, tugging his trews open. She took him in hand, guiding him to where she craved him. “Please.”

At last, he obliged, entering her slowly and taking her breath away.

“More,” she demanded. “Cormac, I want more.” Astrid lifted her hips, taking in as much of him as she could. She felt so full, so complete. And, somehow, still wanting.

Everything faded to a blur of pressure and pleasure and the man who gave it to her.

Under the flickering lights of stars and spirits they moved together, until Astrid no longer knew where she ended and Cormac began.

A pressure, an urgency built inside her, demanding, begging. But for what, she did not know.

He drove into her harder and harder, both of them gasping for breath as they joined. A noise of pure ecstasy escaped him as he pulled her close to him, the look on his face and the feel of him inside her shattering the world around her.

Her eyes squeezed shut. She held onto him as though he would keep her from falling apart. It felt as though time stopped altogether, leaving only the two of them on the cliffs under the dancing sky.

When she opened her eyes again, she searched Cormac’s expectant face. And what she saw there scared her into action, for the only word she could use to describe it was ‘love.’ And she wasn’t ready to think about that just yet.

He helped her back into her dress, wrapping her in blankets as she settled back in his lap, her head resting once more on his strong chest, his arms holding her tight.

That had been amazing, magical. But she had let her feelings run wild, and she wasn’t entirely certain she’d made the right decision.

Everything felt so right with Cormac, which terrified her all the more.

“I’ve been thinking about your problem,” he whispered as they gazed up at the twinkling stars. “I have another idea.”

“It’s almost certainly better than anything I’ve come up with,” she smiled. “Tell me, then. What do I try next with my brother?”

“Tell him you choose me.”

She sat up, looking at him over her shoulder in confusion. Hadn’t that been their plan all along? “And then?”

His throat worked over the words. “And then marry me.”

“But,” she stammered, “you can only marry for love.”

“Aye.” His eyes silently pleaded with her.

Astrid’s stomach dropped. He loved her. That was what he was saying. And he wanted to actually marry her. She felt as though she’d swallowed her tongue, a familiar panic descending over her.

Cormac took her hands in his. “Without fear, there is no courage,” he whispered, somehow reading her mind.

She wanted to make him happy, to say what he wanted to hear. But her mind went blank in the face of her terror. “I’m too afraid.”