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She wore only a shift and he hadn’t bothered to take it off,it above her thighs She’d lifted her hands toward him, but he hadn’t let her touch him; he’d pinned her arms at first, then later, borne her into the hollow of the , seeking reassurance in the thin padding of flesh that kept her bones from his

They had done it in silence, half-aware of the sleeping child nearby And yet somewhere in the midst of it, her body had answered hi way that went beyond words

"Isoftly into the tangle of her hair He lay on her, enclosing her with his arhtened his grasp, holding her still She sighed, and he felt her ently into the flesh below his collarbone She bit hiasp and lift up to break away

"I know," she said, and wriggled her arms free, to come round his back and hold him close to her damp, warm softness "I mean it, too"

"THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?" He whispered the words now, but softly, not to awaken her The warh the bedclothes; she was deep asleep

If it hat she’d wanted--what, exactly, was it? Was it the brutal nature of his loveth of what lay behind it, and acknowledged that--the desperation of his need to keep her safe?

And if it was the roughnesshe sed, clenching a fist against the thought of Stephen Bonnet She’d never told him what had passed between them, her and Bonnet--and it was unthinkable that he should ask More unthinkable that he should suspect anything in that encounter ht have shamefully stirred her And yet she did stir visibly on those rare occasions when soentleness

He was a long way fro now

He felt as he had once before, trapped in a rhododendron hell, with the sa leaves always before him, no matter in which direction he turned Dim tunnels seeles

For ain, on the bonnie banks and braes of Loch Lo and his legs twitching with restlessness The mosquito whined by and he slapped at it--too late, of course Unable to keep still, he slid quietly out of bed, and did a quick series of deep knee-bends to loosen the craht some relief, and he dropped to the floor to do push-ups, counting silently as he dipped toward the floorboards One Two Three Four Concentrating only on the increasing burn in chest and ar ht

At last,with temporary exhaustion, he stood up, untacked the hide froht air flood in upon hio out, too

The as silvered with low in the darkened heart of it spoke of thein all day, on ed horses, ht the sound of voices and casual laughter, a fragment borne on the breeze At least he wasn’t the only one wakeful; the notion co house, at the farther side of the clearing A lantern; two figures walking close together, one tall, one sative runized Jamie’s voice, but couldn’t hter, clear as they came closer He saw her hands flutter, silhouetted in the lantern’s glow "I’ to wash before I coure hesitated, then handed her the lantern Roger saw Claire’s face in the light for aJamie bent and kissed her briefly, then stepped back

"Hurry, then," he said, and Roger could hear the answering smile in his voice "I dinna sleep ithout ye beside ht away, are you?" She paused, a bantering note in her voice

"Not right away, no" Jaure had melted into the darkness, but the breeze was toward the cabin, and his voice caht "But I canna very well do the other unless ye’re beside h softly

"Start withoutaway toward the well "I’ll catch you up"

Roger waited by theuntil he saw her co with the haste of her step, and go inside The breeze had turned, and he heard no h their fire still burned

"You’re early, ently nudging "Think there’s anyone else out there yet?" The insect

He looked toward the wood, his skin cool now, and gooseflesh rose on his chest He rubbed absently at it, and felt the tender spot where she had bitten hiht, a faint blotch on his skin; would it still be there co up to pull the hide back into place, he caught the glealass Brianna’s small collection of personal items lay on the shelf by the : the pair of tortoiseshell colass jar of tansy oil, two or three discreet slips of sponge beside it And the larger gleam of the jarful of Dauco seeds She hadn’t had tiht, but he’d bet his life she’d taken the seeds sometime today

He tacked down the hide, andby the cradle to put down a hand and feel the baby’s breath through theon his skin