And then she put her foot down on something squishy, and this time she wasn’t holding onto his hand to right herself.
With a gasp, she pitched forward, down the stairs…and right into his arms.
He’d stepped forward to catch her, and she slammed against his chest hard enough to knock the breath out of her. He didn’t stumble however; he merely held her. Although she was normally a head shorter than him, in this position they were almost eye to eye.
They didn’t move.
She became aware of his hardness, his heat, pressed against her breasts. Her hands were on his shoulders, and she wondered if they needed to move. They wanted to move, to touch him, to see if he was as wide and hard and interesting all over. Her fingers crept toward the small hairs at the back of his neck, wondering what he’d feel like there.
He was staring at her lips and, suddenly self-conscious, she found herself flushing. “I tripped on something,” she offered in a whisper.
His gaze flicked away for half a second, before returning. “There’s something on the step,” he replied in an equally quiet murmur. “ ‘Tis yellow and long. Mayhap crescent-shaped, prior to its meeting with yer foot anyway.”
Now her hand was on the back of his neck, and she wondered if she might tug him a little closer. With his arm around her waist, and his other hand supporting her hip, it was hard to imagine they might get any closer, but his lips…
His lips were so close, and she was suddenly ravenous.
“Fen calls them nanananas, I think,” she whispered. “A new sort of fruit.”
He was staring at her lips again, making her warm, making her pulse beat a tempo she didn’t recognize. “Slippery.”
“Moist,” she agreed. “Sweet.”
“Delicious?”
She all but moaned, “Definitely.”
When he tightened his hold, Leanna was already stretching up to meet him.
And when her sister called her name, she cursed aloud. Kenneth stiffened, and she slid most of the way out of his arms to turn to face Nicola.
“What?”
Her older sister held up her hands, palm out. “I came to find Kenneth, no’ ye. Besides, ye might want to remove yerself from the path of those preparing supper.”
She nodded to the harried-looking girl with the stack of trenchers who was waiting for the steps to become available.
“Mind the fruit,” Leanna offered the lass, just as Kenneth asked, “Is it about Brodie?”
Nicola nodded as Leanna turned back to her. “The arrow missed his lungs, by the blessing of St. Crystal, and he’ll have use of his arm again soon enough, barring any infections.”
His arm around her waist tightened briefly, and she wondered if he was aware of this sign of worry.
“And his knee?”
Nicola winced, and her expression told of her sorrow. “He’ll keep the leg, but ‘tis too soon to ken if he’ll be able to use it again.”
The curse Kenneth whispered was interesting enough for Leanna to make note of for future use.
“I’m sorry, Kenneth,” Nicola offered, even as Leanna rested her head against his shoulder, offering what comfort she could. “I did all I could.”
“Aye, lass. I believe ye,” he said with a sigh, suddenly sounding as weary as Da did when worrying for an entire clan. “And I thank ye for it. Have ye told Brodie, or is he sleeping?”
“I’ve no’ told him, but he’s nae longer sleeping. Coira’s in the sickroom, interrogating him about the bandits who did this. She demanded I fetch ye.” Nicola rolled her eyes, and Leanna suddenly realized how tired her sister looked. “I was going to anyhow, so ye could see yer friend, but apparently she has questions for ye as well.”
Kenneth nodded briskly and squeezed Leanna’s waist once more. She glanced up at him, but he didn’t meet her eyes before he strode off down the corridor in the direction her sister indicated.
Mayhap Leanna spent a little too long staring at the way Kenneth’s arse filled out his kilt so nicely, because her sister cleared her throat.