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"Flatterer," I said, giving hiain

"Ye ," he said with approval, disregarding the look and circling round ood fat sue at his head

He caught it neatly, grinning

"I didna realize hoell ye’d filled out, Sassenach, so bundled as ye’ve been these last weeks I havena seen ye nakd in ah I were a prime entrant in the Silver Medalist Round at the Shropshire Fat Pigs Show

"Enjoy it," I advised hiain for quite so my--undeniably rather full--breasts

His eyebrows rose in surprise at ry wi’ ives you an idea like that?"

He se absently over his chest as his eyes traveled overthe ruddy, curling hairs, and the daleamed on his skin

"I like ye fat, Sassenach," he said softly "Fat and juicy as a pluht have considered this a simple attempt to remove his foot from his mouth, were it not for the fact that nakd men are conveniently equipped with sexual lie detectors He did like it fine

"Oh," I said Rather slowly, I lowered the che I hesitated for a moment, then stood up and let the che his breeks I reached across and took the sponge fro, shall I?" I murmured I turned my back, put a foot on the stool to wash, and heard an encouraging rumble of appreciation behindwarmer; by the time I had finished ht chill in fingers and toes

I turned round at last, to see Jah he still rubbed at his wrist, frowning slightly

"Did you wash?" I asked "Even if it doesn’t trouble you, if you have oil fros you touch--and I’m not immune to the stuff"

"I scrubbedtheh, he sly of the acrid soft soap we made from suet and wood-ash--it wasn’t perfus like floorboards and iron pots No wonder he’d been scratching; it wasn’t easy on the skin, and his hands were rough and cracked

I bent my head and kissed his knuckles, then reached across to the small box where I kept my personal bits and pieces, and took out the jar of skin balm Made of walnut oil, beeswax, and purified lanolin froreen-scented with the essences of chamomile, comfrey, yarrow, and elderflowers

I scooped out a bit with my thumbnail, and rubbed it between in with, but liquefied nicely armed

"Here," I said, and took one of his hands betweenthe oint his callused paler as I worked my way down the joints and rubbed more ointment into the tiny scrapes and cuts There were still marks on his hands where he had kept the leather reins wrapped tightly

"The posy’s lovely, Ja at the little bouquet in its cup "Whatever h?" While in his oay quite rohly practical as well; I didn’t think he had ever given me a completely frivolous present, and he was not a etation that could not be eaten, taken medicinally, or brewed into beer

He shifted a bit, clearly unco away "I just--I ive ye, only I lost it, but then you seeer had plucked a feans for Brianna, and I--" He broke off,that sounded like "Ifrinn!" under his breath

I wanted very h Instead, I lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles, lightly He looked ee of a half-healed blister on my palm, left by a hot kettle

"Here, Sassenach, ye need a bit of this, too Let reen ointulfed my hand in his, warm and still slippery with the oil and beeswax mixture

I resisted for adeep slow circles on my palave a sh of pleasure, and must have closed my eyes after all, because I didn’t see him move in close to kiss me; just felt the brief soft touch of his mouth

I raised ers sers tith his, thu He stood close enough that I felt the warmth of him, and the delicate brush of the sun-bleached hairs on his arm as he reached past htly oncetides, and the firelight flickered di on the surface of water far above We ether at the bottom of the sea