New Shores ➳ The Last Kingdom | Finan the Agile (The Northman's Daughter 1)

THE ARMOUR

Shaylee lounged pleasurably in the warmth of her bed. Her pillow was pleasantly warm but somehow unusually hard. Sleepy, she opened her eyes and realised that her head was not resting on her pillow but on Finan's chest. His arms were wrapped around her, and his hand rested on her waist. Shaylee smiled in pleasant surprise. She could get used to waking up like this.

Tenderly, Shaylee ran her hand across Finan's chest, and Finan sighed in his sleep. He pulled her closer, and Shaylee was gently pressed against his side. Shaylee was already worried that she had woken Finan up. But his eyes remained closed, and his chest continued to rise and fall regularly.

So Shaylee had time to gaze at him. He looked younger in his sleep, and on his face lay a carefree expression. If Shalyee hadn't known that he too had his share of unpleasant memories, one could have thought that he had never suffered pain. As her gaze wandered over his face, it lingered on his lips. These wonderful lips! She wished she could kiss them now. But that would undoubtedly wake Finan up, and he should sleep a little while longer. He had truly earned his sleep. Shaylee felt her cheeks turn red as she thought about last night. It was not like she regretted anything. Not at all. She knew all too well that moments of happiness could extremely quickly be over.

Finan's steady breaths lulled Shaylee to sleep again, and she dozed off until it started to lighten up outside. Cautiously, she raised her head and looked up at Finan. She would have loved to continue lying here with him. If she had had her way, she would not have left the bed all day. But she knew that they had to get up. A little reluctantly, Shaylee stretched herself and wanted to detach herself softly from Finan as he moved and pulled her back in his arms. Sheepishly smiling, Shaylee lifted her gaze to Finan's face and saw that Finan was blinking at her sleepily. For a moment, Shaylee saw some confusion in his eyes, and she immediately feared he regretted what had happened that night. But then their eyes met, and he smiled at her broadly.

"Good morning," he muttered, still a little drowsy, and turned to her, " Did you sleep well?" Shaylee smiled and nodded, "Like a baby."

"I don't know how familiar you are with babies, but they are not practically famous for their deep and long sleep," Finan replied teasingly.

Shaylee rolled her eyes with a grin, "You smart-arse."

Finan smiled and bent down to her and kissed her gently on the forehead. For a few minutes, they just lay there mutely enjoying each other's company.

But as it got lighter outside, Shaylee knew that it was about time for them to get moving. With some embarrassment, she turned to Finan. For a moment, she hesitated briefly, then said slightly reluctantly: "I really really do not want to kick you out, but ...."

Finan nodded with a smile: "I know. I should get out of here before there are too many people up that could see me leaving."

Shaylee pulled a face and nodded, "I'm sorry." She crawled up a little so that her lips could reach Finan's.

"If you really want me to get out of here, you shouldn't kiss me like that," grinned Finan after they shared a long kiss. But then he got up and began to look for his clothes. Shaylee watched him getting dressed. Preferably she would have liked to pull him back into bed and stay there forever. But she knew that they were reasonable.

Finan tied his Scian around his waist before bending her down to her again.

"Get some more sleep, Acushla," he instructed her, after kissing her again thoroughly, "And then I would think about what you tell Uhtred."

Shaylee looked at him fairly startled, and Finan began to laugh: "Not about us. You know, about that Irish bastard outside the city walls."

Shaylee swallowed; she knew he was right. Even if she didn't like to accept it. She nodded silently but distracted herself by pulling Finan down to her again and kissing him.