Page 58 of Ironling
That earned her a faint smile. “Thank you, my lady. You…you’ve helped greatly. I enjoy listening to you talk.”
Aislinn flushed from head to toe. That deep brown gaze of his returned to her, compelling her up out of her seat. Gently, shelaid her hand on his arm.
“Thank you for telling me.”
The corners of his lips, which had just begun to turn up again, fell, and his gaze grew evermore serious. Slowly, he took the hand she’d laid on his arm in his.
Keeping her gaze, he lifted her hand and bowed his head, pressing his warm lips to the back of her hand.Pitter-patterwent her heart as her breath escaped her in a soft gasp. His eyes flicked to her mouth, and she couldn’t help it, she drew her tongue along the bottom lip.
She felt the rasping breath he took against her skin, then a harder, more fervent kiss was pressed into her palm.
The forge fires crackled, Wülf snored, and the nightingales sang, but Aislinn hardly heard any of it over the rush of blood in her ears.
The way he looked at her now…the frisson of heat that arrowed between her thighs when he tasted her skin…
The smithy door clattered open, and Fearghas stomped inside.
She and Hakon gaped at the old blacksmith with surprise.
“Evening, milady,” he said in his usual brusque way, but rather than shuffling off deeper into the smithy, he stopped to look at the scene before him.
His big bushy beard twitched.
“I’d better go,” she murmured.
“Good evening, my lady,” Hakon said just as quietly, allowing her hand to slip from his.
She tried to walk away, but under Fearghas’s inscrutable gaze, it felt too much like fleeing. So she turned and told the both of them, “I like the new organization. It seems most efficient.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Hakon’s smile was wide and, interestingly, a bit smug. She’d never seen quite that expression on him, a hint of wickedness, and she…rather liked it.
She couldn’t help keeping his gaze for another moment as her heart tried to thunder right out of her chest.
She had her answer, even if she didn’t know what it was.
Things werechanging—and while that did frighten her, she couldn’t help the well of excitement, too.
Giving him one last smile, she left the smithy, the hand he’d kissed curled against her breast, just above her racing heart.
14
Hakon wiped the sweat from his brow, heart lighter than it had been in days. His beast was…if not settled, then at least quiet as it lay in wait. A few afternoons in Lady Aislinn’s company had soothed his gnawing discontent and renewed his enthusiasm for work.
Not even Fearghas’s grumbling could deflate his spirits. There was nothing for the head blacksmith to truly complain about, not when Hakon was inspired enough to complete his work and much of Fearghas’s with time to spare.
Without so much sourness in his demeanor, Hakon had a better time at being friendly. He made a point to take his breaks outside and chat with the potters. Captain Aodhan stopped by more than once for a fitting of the new breastplate Hakon had offered to make, and several of his knights followed suit.
Looking around as Hakon measured and made charcoal marks on the metal, Captain Aodhan had remarked,“This is the cleanest I’ve ever seen the smithy.”
Fearghashmphedfrom his anvil.
“Oh, I figured it wasn’t your doing, you old pack rat,”thecaptain joked.
“Nothing wrong with the way things were,”Fearghas growled back.
“No, there wasn’t. And there’s nothing wrong with this way, either.”
The head blacksmith sunk into a moody silence. Captain Aodhan tossed Hakon a knowing look and settled in for his fitting.
