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Another soft knock. Magnus’s hands tightened against me pulling me closer.

He answered, louder, “Aye?”

Tyler’s voice came through the door, “Checking if you guys are awake, I’m starving.”

“Aye, we are just awake. Give us a few moments we will come for you in your room.”

“Cool.”

I giggled, stifling my mouth into his neck as Magnus rolled us over, climbed on and finished, fast, quiet, done. He collapsed onto me. This had become my favorite moment, okay, one of them, him, strong yet weakened. His back taut from holding himself up above me, now spent, on me, his arms collecting me safe, his body holding me down, warm, still inside me, soft and gentle, his breath close to my ear reminding me of him, his heartbeat against my mouth, alive.

All of it. I loved.

He whispered into my ear. “Twas terrible timin’.”

I giggled again. “It was. But you still finished strong, my love.”

He turned his head to see my face and grinned. “Did I tell ye today that ye are a verra good wife?”

I raised my brow at him. “Isn’t that what you were saying with your big manly cock?”

“Och, now ye are definitely the verra best wife.”

“By calling your cock big and manly I went up a notch from good to best? Now I feel challenged to see how far I can go.”

“Ye can go as far as ye want, I will nae complain.” He smirked and rolled off me and disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the familiar sound of him pissing into the toilet. He came back, tossed me another towel. And then we both realized we had to put on our 18th century clothes again. Muck and mire and...

I sighed and pulled the shift over my head and dropped it to the ground.

Magnus put on his kilt while I pulled up my skirt and yanked on my bodice. I stood in front of him so he could tighten my lacings.

He tightened them and tied the knot and then like every time, put his hands on my waist and paused. I gathered that this created big feelings for him, me, from his future, bound up like someone from his present, or past, because he was in both worlds now. He had a tendency to sit there and think on it, possibly enjoy it.

I turned to face him and his expression was less enjoyment and more worry like he wanted to stop time, hold us here forever.

I looked down at him and he met my eyes. His brow creased with worry. I gently rubbed my thumbs along the ridge of his eyebrows, massaging it away. And then I put my hands on his shoulders. “Did you kill those men?”

He nodded. “Aye. While they were collapsed from the pain of travelin’. Tyler helped me on it, but twas my decision.” He winced. “I daena like myself much because of it, mo reul-iuil.”

I nodded.

“But I couldna let them take us through those doors. Twould have been end of us. I ken tis true, but I am nae the kind of man who wants tae kill like that.”

My mouth turned down and I sighed. “You aren’t that kind of man.” I massaged his forehead and ran my fingers through his hair, pushing it from his face, making it lay down after the damp sleep had riled it up. “You are a gentle man.” I pushed up his chin and pressed my lips to his forehead. “The gentlest man I know. You are also ‘Master Magnus’ and you handle shit when it needs to be handled. And that shit needed to be handled. So you did. Like this needs to be handled. And guess what? On that rooftop you took step one, get off that rooftop. That’s what you had to do.” I squeezed his shoulders. “I’m very glad you got me off that rooftop. I’m not sure how glad I am to be here, in Lady Mairead’s house. But if there’s food involved, I’m willing to deal with just about anything.”

Magnus kissed me on the lips and stood. “I am terribly hungry too.” As if to punctuate it, his stomach growled. And he and I both laughed.

46 - KAITLYN

Ishould have recognized trouble ahead when I saw the empty seat, with the place set, but we all sat down without noticing it or forgot to remark on it when we did. Lady Mairead was dressed in a suit dress, a little like something a First Lady might wear, but of that filmy material, and accented with fur and with jewelry that looked gold and sparkly like diamonds. I was of course wrapped in filthy wool. She winced when she saw me.

“Remind me tae have your clothes laundered and suitable clothes brought tae ye, Magnus.”

Apparently she wasn’t speaking to me. She took her seat at the head of a very long lavishly set table, and her staff, numbering at least eight from what I could see, began buzzing back and forth to the kitchen.

She gestured for Magnus to take the seat to her left and gestured for me and Tyler to sit across from Magnus. Tyler tried to put me close to Lady Mairead, but I dodged for the chair farthest away. I sat down, relieved at my strategy: I would use Tyler to block my view of Lady Mairead, or better yet, block her view of me.

I swear every time she looked at me her brow raised and her eyes flashed maliciously.