gaze. Blast the man for seeming to be able to see right through her.
A quarter of an hour later, as they passed through a denser part of the forest, she slowed her horse and veered further off the road.
“This should keep us hidden.”
The men murmured their agreement, dismounting to take care of the horses. She did the same, her eyes drooping as she wiped down her mount’s flanks. She fed him an apple from her satchel and then tied him loosely to a tree so he wouldn’t wander off. That done, she sank to the ground and leaned against a tree, every muscle in her body aching. She worked to stretch out her muscles, feeling the tingly sting of the knots slowly starting to loosen.
“I’ll take first watch,” she said.
“I’d be honored if ye’d allow me to do it, Mistress J,” John said.
Her eyes fell closed as she nodded and murmured her agreement, grateful that he’d stepped in.
When she woke hours later, it was the dead of night, and she felt much refreshed. She glanced around their makeshift camp, making out three lumps on the ground, her men sleeping. And a single figure leaning against a tree. From the shape of his long, muscular body, the way he held himself, she knew right away who it was. Toran.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” he said with a little chuckle. “Ye snored loud enough to lead every redcoat within a mile to our location.”
Jenny rolled her eyes, stretched out the kinks in her body, and then stood to walk over to him, feeling a slight twinge in her bottom from where she must have put most of her weight while sleeping.
“I dinna snore.”
“I thought about smothering ye but figured ye’d not appreciate my efforts at keeping dragoons at bay.” Though she couldn’t see him, she could picture the teasing smirk, the way his eyes would twinkle.
“My da told me about one of the men in their caravan during the first uprising who snored so hard it used to rattle the leaves from the trees. By morning, he’d be covered in a natural blanket.”
Toran chuckled. “Did they smother him?”
“Nay, for his noise was enough to keep even the dragoons away. They feared there was a rare boar in the forest.”
Toran laughed again. “Well, ’tis a good thing I was only teasing.”
“I dinna snore,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Och, nay, no’ that. Ye snore like a prize champion, Mistress. I only meant I would never smother ye.”
“Well, I suppose I should be grateful for that.” She softly punched his shoulder. “I might not be so kind. Let’s find out. I’ll take watch while ye sleep.”
Toran spun slowly from his spot, his hands grasping her hips as he framed her body with his, the tree at her spine. She inhaled sharply, surprised at the sudden movement and very, very interested. Every inch of her skin lurched, reaching for him, wanting to feel the hot press of his body against hers, his mouth capturing her lips.
He stared at her a long time, his face covered in nighttime shadows and the pools of his eyes reflecting the barest of light from the stars. It made his gaze glisten and sparkle. They remained still, chests heaving, eyes locked, and she waited for him to kiss her. But still he didn’t move, just kept his hard, heated body pressed so intimately to hers. And when he finally did move, it was to step away.
Toran raked his hand through his hair, as dark as the midnight sky. “I’ve seen no one come this way since my watch. John saw a few people, but they looked like harmless Scots. Merchants or farmers, wandering home from a market or some such.”
Cool night air replaced where the heat of his body had warmed her, and she had to clench her hands into fists at her sides to force herself not to reach for him and tug him back. She felt the loss of him keenly, the tease of him being so close.
She wanted him, and he knew she wanted him, but he wasn’t going to make the first move. The man was going to let her make the next move.
But taking any further steps was terrifying in so many ways. They had a mission. They had a country to recapture in the name of their people. A new sovereign to support. Dragoons who wanted them dead. Every time she convinced herself that being with Toran would be all right, her duties surfaced