Hearts of Highland Fire

Chapter 13

13

She was a vision.

James swallowed a few times as he gazed upon Iris, taking in everything about her in a gown that made her shine under the candles above their heads. Even from his vantage point, he could see the pink of her cheeks, as if she was embarrassed by his sudden attention, but James could not tear his eyes away from her.

He cared not about earlier, about the warnings that her brother attempted to force upon him.

All he cared about was the shyness about her this evening and how he wished to speak to her.

“Enjoy, mah competitors!” their host was stating, lifting his mug toward them. “And may the best Scot win in the morning!”

Cheers from those around him deafened James for a moment, but he didn’t take his eyes off Iris, pushing through the departing Scots to get to her. He wanted to be somewhere that all the others were not, where they could just be James and Iris without the worry of who might be watching.

“James!”

James turned to find Matteau next to him, throwing his arm over James’s shoulder jovially.

“Where are ye going?” he asked. “The dancing is just starting!”

“I will be back,” James replied evenly, shrugging off Matteau’s arm.

“Back?” his friend asked quizzically. “This wouldnae have tae do with a certain lass that ye have been warned against, would it?”

James shot him a look. “Dinnae tell anyone.”

Matteau barked out a laugh, holding up his hands in surrender.

“Nay, I wilnae for now. Go on, git it out of yer system, mah friend.”

James turned and headed in the direction he had last seen Iris, cursing Matteau for stopping him. Now she wasn’t where he had last seen her, and he wished to talk with her.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, James shoved a hand through his hair as he stalked toward the door. He had lost her. He had lost his chance to spend the last remaining days with Iris. Tomorrow was the final competition, and afterward, there would be no cause to stay. The next time he would see her would be if their clans went to battle again.

His shoulders slumping, he walked out of the keep and past the hoards of clansmen that were mingling around in the courtyard. Tonight, they would all see themselves as comrades in arms and forget any grudge that they had with each other.

Tomorrow they would go back to hating each other.

James walked around the corner of the keep and felt someone tug on his arm, yanking him toward the shadows that the keep was providing. James went to reach for his dagger, but a gentle voice in his ear stopped him in his tracks.

“There ye are, Lennox.”

“Iris,” he breathed, turning to face her. Even in the shadows he could see her lovely features. “I have been looking for ye.”

She arched a brow, holding up a stolen bottle of whiskey between them.

“Would ye like tae join me then?”

Smirking, he snatched the bottle out of her hand and took a long drawl to settle his nerves. He had found her. She had been waiting on him.

“Aye, lass,” he said, wiping his mouth. “I would like that vera much.”

Iris held out her hand. James took it, wrapping his around hers as she drew him deeper into the shadows and further away from the sound of voices. Once Iris seemed to feel like they were far enough away, she plopped down on the grass, snatching her bottle back. James folded himself onto the grass next to her, leaning his head against the stone wall.

“Ye look lovely taenight, lass.”

She handed him back the bottle. “Thank ye. I dinnae think I like gowns.”

James nudged her shoulder with his own. “Well, one doesnae hurt anyone every once in a while. I dinnae mind either way.”

It was true. He wasn’t drawn to Iris for her looks, though she was quite lovely. He was drawn to her because of her fierce determination not to give up, not to let them see that she had any weaknesses because she was a lass.

She made him wish he was as strong.

Iris laughed, and James felt it deep inside him, calming him somewhat. She had that effect on him as well.

James reached up and brushed the bruise gently, the day’s events coming back to him.

Iris maneuvered herself until she was nearly straddling his outstretched legs, her fingers brushing the bruise as well.

“Does it hurt?” she asked softly.

James was focused on her touch and the fact that her skirts were bunched nearly to her waist, revealing a set of pale legs that glowed in the shadows.

“Nay,” he forced out, his throat suddenly tight. He could feel her body heat sinking into his breaks, the way her lithe body was pressed against his. “Iris…”

She stilled at the sound of his choked voice, clearing her own throat and moving off his lap.

“Mah apologies.”

James felt like beating his head into the stone wall behind him.

“Nay, ’tis no need tae apologize, lass. I was enjoying it.”

He felt her fingers brush over his shoulder. “Would ye like for me tae do it again?”

Oh, he did. Desperately.

“Nay,” he replied instead, rising to his feet and holding out his hand. “I want ye tae dance with me.”

Any way that James could hold her was good enough for him. They were flirting with danger right now, dancing around what they were feeling, and if she offered him something like that, he might not be able to walk away.

Almost shyly, something that James was still growing used to with Iris, she placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet.

“I cannae hear the music,” she said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer.

“Do ye need it, lass?” he murmured near her ear. “Or can we pretend tae make our own music?”

“Aye,” Iris said shakily, as if she was just as bothered by the sudden flare of attraction between them. “I think we can.”

Her hand found his and James moved them across the grass slowly, his hand tightening on her waist as he did so. Iris felt right in his arms, unlike any other lass had before. He didn’t care if she was supposed to be his enemy.

None of that mattered to his heart.

After a few moments, he felt her relax in his arms, and he tugged her closer, emotion hitting him from every part of his body. Yes, his body wanted to claim her as his, but his heart told him to treat the lass as if she were special.

Because she was.

“This is nice,” Iris murmured, her hand tightening on his. “Much better than a crowded great hall.”

“Aye,” James answered, withholding that he was just pleased that he didn’t have to worry about her brothers interrupting them.

“Do ye care for me?”

Her question surprised him. Could she not see that he cared for her greatly?

“I thought that much was clear.”

Iris lifted her head, and he saw tenderness in her eyes.

“We cannae do this, James,” she whispered, pulling away from him. “We cannae.”

James watched her pick up the bottle once more and take a hefty swallow.

“Tell me why.”

By the gods, he was frustrated!

“Because,” she retorted, “we are enemies! Mah da, yer da, they are never going tae allow us tae…tae…” Iris stumbled over her words, and James took a step forward, backing her up against the stone wall.

“Wot?” he urged. “Wot are ye aboot tae say, lass?”

Iris stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head.

“It doesnae matter. I should go.”

He didn’t want her to leave. James knew the moment she left, it would be like they were the first time they kissed. Iris was already telling him that she wasn’t willing to fight for them to be together, but he wasn’t going to accept her defeat.

He couldn’t.

“Nay, lass,” he said, bracing one of his hands on the wall beside her head. “I cannae let ye go just yet.”

Before Iris could respond, he lowered his head and kissed her carefully, well aware that at any moment she could do him bodily harm for doing so. He was desperate for her affection, for a chance to make her happy.

He felt her start of surprise before she was kissing him back with fervor, winding her arms around his neck to pull him closer. James obliged her, breaking their kiss to trail his lips over her cheek, then down along her jaw.

“Tell me,” he whispered across her skin. “Tell me that ye can walk away from this.”

“James,” Iris breathed, her hands clenching his hair as he found the lobe of her ear. “By the gods…”

That was all he needed. His hands shaking, James found the front of her bodice, undoing the lacing and cursing against her neck when he knotted them more.

Iris laughed huskily as she batted his hands away and released the laces, letting her bodice fall open.

“Lass…” James whispered as he pushed the fabric away to reveal her pert breasts. “Ye’re lovely, Iris.”

When his hand brushed over the stiff peak, she gasped.

“Do ye like that?” he asked, a lazy smile on his face.

“Och, ye know I do,” she forced out, tugging on his hair until he did it again.

James did more than just touch her, and when he lowered his head to catch her nipple in his mouth, Iris let out a string of curses.

It only made him wish to hear them again. James’s breeks grew uncomfortably tight as he lavished her other breast, his ears filled with her moans. He shouldn’t be touching her like he was, but he couldn’t force himself to stop either.

With one last suckle, James brought his lips back up to hers, kissing her.

“James,” Iris breathed, her hands everywhere on his body now. “I need…”

“Aye, I know,” he finished for her, feeling the same need thrum through his body as well. It would be easy to take her to his tent or hers and give them both what they were wanting. She was an innocent—of that he was sure of—and she deserved something more.

He wished he could give it to her.

Iris pulled away to stare at him. “Then why are ye not giving me release?”

“I’m trying tae be less like a brute,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers. “Ye deserve better, Iris.”

She blew out a breath before pressing her body to his, to where he could feel every soft curve of her body.

“I dinnae wish tae have anyone else, James. If this is the last time we see each other…”

Her voice cracked, and James swore.

“It will not be. It cannae be.”

Could he really go back to the life he had before Iris fell into his?

How could he ever forget about her in the months ahead?

“It has tae be,” Iris said after a moment. “We are enemies, James. No one is going tae let us be taegether. They will always keep us apart.”

James lifted his head. “Then run away with me.”