Chapter 9
A sigh left Leana’s lips the second she woke up.
Nay, Leana. Ye cannae have those thoughts. Nae about him.
Her breathing was labored, and she was unable to concentrate on anything. She couldn’t even sleep because, try as she might, thoughts of Kenneth wouldn’t stop haunting her.
Worse, her heart was racing. And though she tried to calm herself, she couldn’t. It was as if her thoughts had taken control of her body as well, preventing her from reacting the way she wanted to.
Another Leana would have put all thoughts of Laird MacReid out of her mind. She would have shrugged off the encounter, knowing it was an error of judgment, and returned to her life and routine as if nothing had happened.
She had always been a pragmatic woman, in control of her feelings and desires, but not this time. For Laird MacReid proved to be the exception.
Frustrated, Leana groaned and covered her face with the sheets.
At that moment, she hated herself, especially for remembering the encounter with Kenneth so vividly.
For having captured the image of him sitting half-naked in the middle of his study, his silvery gaze fixed on her in that rapturous way that drove her mad…
An uncomfortable heat began to spread through her body, and as she recalled what happened right before she left his study, the heat became more intense, to the point where she could almost feel it simmering in her blood.
“Ye have to stop this, Leana. Ye’re a prisoner here. Ye cannae entertain such thoughts of him!” she scolded herself.
But it was all in vain.
Even if she tried, she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t know what that heat meant. Because she did. She had felt desire before—of course, she had—but never like this. Never so intensely.
“Leana, stop it,” she muttered to herself.
And yet she couldn’t help but think about the feel of his muscular body pinning her to the door. The moment when both of them had finally succumbed to temptation. The moment when her lips collided with his, eager for more…
She hated feeling that way about him. What a fool she was to want him!
She hated that she was willing to go back to the man who had imprisoned her in his castle in the first place—he had kidnapped her! But apparently, that was not enough to make her hate him, for her body had a will and a feeling of its own.
Agitated, she threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. She could not stay still, for that would mean giving in to her innermost desires, and there was no way she would ever give the Laird that pleasure again.
“I forbid ye to feel anythin’ for this man, Leana Beaton,” she hissed to herself as she approached the washstand in the corner of the room.
She splashed her face with cold water and let it run down her neck and her chest. The sensation was invigorating, waking her up and dissipating the heat. It made no sense for her to feel so feverish, not when it was so cold outside. But just thinking about Kenneth…
“Nay. Stop it, Leana!” she snapped, looking at her reflection in the mirror above the washbasin.
Unruly, wavy hair framed her face. Her wild, wavy hair bounced with every sharp word, as if sharing in her indignation—untamed, unyielding, just like her.
Strands broke free from their loose arrangement, rebelling against order, mirroring the fire in her voice as she unleashed a scolding that echoed the ones she used to give her sisters.
While she was examining her reflection, she heard a noise on the other side of the door.
She leaned back and looked in that direction. “Who is it?” she called.
It made her uncomfortable to be so far from home. In general, she didn’t like sleeping outside, even though her job often forced her to. She missed the much more familiar sounds of home—her sisters’ slow breathing and her father’s deep snores across the hall.
In a different environment, everything was new, strange, and foreign, and that made her uncomfortable. Even more so, considering her current situation.
Restless, and perhaps wishing for something to distract her, she approached the door. But she heard nothing.
“Must have been a guard,” she muttered, forcing herself back to bed.
She tucked herself in and squeezed her eyes shut, pushing all thoughts of Kenneth out of her mind. She had to remember why she was here—to heal Hunter.
So, she focused on that, forcing herself to believe that the sooner she found the cause of his illness, the sooner she’d return to her family.
“Soon, ye will leave here. Ye will go home to yer sisters and forget this terrible incident,” she promised herself.
But try as she might, she couldn’t get Kenneth out of her head. And her thoughts always circled back to him.
To his half-naked body, pressed against hers. Unharmed, strong, firm…
To his tongue, running down her neck and chest…
A moan caught in her throat, but then she sighed. Eventually, she drifted off, inevitably dreaming of the man she couldn’t get out of her mind, and of the encounter that she desperately wanted to repeat.
Leana’s footsteps announced her presence even before her figure emerged from the corridor.
Kenneth raised his head slowly. He was reluctant to let go of thoughts of the woman he had dreamed of all night. The mere memory of her firm, soft lips set something inside him aflame. But he had to suppress the urge to lunge at her and ravish her on the table.
So he took a sip of his tea, listening to Valerie’s laughter as she entered the dining hall with Leana.
It was obvious that his cousin was trying to befriend the healer—which was good in many ways, and worrying in many others.
And although he didn't say it out loud, everyone knew that the Laird was very protective of his family, especially since his return.
He knew well how much Brenda had suffered during the years of Kenneth and Hunter's absence. The woman imprisoned by her marriage to the man she did not love. Her only joy came from the occasional letters Kenneth was able to send her, telling her of his and Hunter's adventures.
Brenda's life had improved since his return to the castle to take up the position of Laird, and especially since Valerie came to live with them.
But that didn't stop Kenneth from worrying about her and his cousin's welfare.
A part of him feared that Valerie might become too close to Leana, which would mean that the blonde would suffer when the healer left the castle.
Besides that, Valerie was a pleasant and energetic girl who rarely failed to make good conversation. But that was the problem. She was prone to excessive chattering, and at that moment, Kenneth needed Leana’s attention to be focused solely on his brother.
Of course, the attention he had paid to the healer the night before was not exactly conducive to that goal, but he chose to dismiss the encounter. It was only a minor incident—one that could not be repeated, no matter how much he wished to.
Even though Leana’s mere presence was capable of igniting something within him that he thought he had mastered.
Her eyes, which flickered to him for only a moment, were filled with a thousand questions that he wished he could answer.
She was obviously troubled, and that amused and pleased him. She averted her gaze when she realized he was watching her.
With only a quiet “Good morning,” she went to sit at the other end of the table, next to Brenda, while Valerie followed with a jovial gait.
It was better this way, and for the same reason, Kenneth decided not to think about the past encounter, even though he followed her every word with special care and attention.
He ate, pretending as much as possible not to be interested in the conversation between the three women. But his attention was focused on them.
Focused, of course, on the way Leana shifted restlessly in her chair. The way her fingers played with a strand of hair that escaped from her braid, and the way she glanced at him from time to time and then bit her lower lip almost suggestively.
But it was obvious that she had not done it on purpose. She didn’t even seem to be aware of her gestures and the flush on her cheeks. On the contrary, she was trying very hard to pretend that nothing had happened the previous night, as if Kenneth was just a picture on the wall.
“Did ye sleep well last night?” Valerie asked as the maids served breakfast.
“Aye, thank ye,” Leana replied, her eyes trained on her porridge.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Valerie looked pleased, as if she herself had prepared everything for Leana’s stay. Kenneth barely held back a laugh. “Just remember, ye can ask me for anythin’ ye need. It is me duty to look after ye.”
When have ye ever claimed that duty?
“Well, as a matter of fact, I have noticed that some plants and medicines are missin’ from the surgery, so I would very much like to go to the forest and gather some herbs.”
“Great, we’ll go as soon as we finish eatin’. I’ll guide ye personally,” Valerie assured, looking very proud of the task she had set herself.
“Take a guard with ye,” Kenneth ordered at once, proving that he was listening to the conversation even though he pretended not to.
Brenda’s smile curled at the edges, a knowing glint flickering in her eyes as she tilted her head, watching him.
The weight of his words hung between them, but she caught something beneath them—a subtle shift in his tone, a hesitation too fleeting to name.
Whatever it was, she had seen it, and her expression said she understood more than he might have intended.
Of course, it would have been easier if Leana hadn’t felt the need to contradict him all the time.
“Why? So nay one snatches me away like ye did?” she asked in a calm tone, but the message was clear.
Under the table, Kenneth clenched his left hand into a fist.
She has to contradict every word I say…
“The forest can be dangerous. There are wild animals,” he argued.
“I ken. And kidnappers too,” Leana drawled.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, Kenneth almost lost his temper. He was about to stand up, take her by the arm, and drag her to his study to punish her.
Hadn’t they agreed that she would not disobey him in front of his servants and family? But of course, the healer seemed unable to control the sharpness of her tongue, so he had no trouble reminding her of what other use he could have for it.
However, before he could utter a word, she added, “I will gather the herbs after I have tended to yer wounds, Laird MacReid. We need to change the bandages on yer shoulder.”
“Me shoulder is fine,” Kenneth grunted. “Go get yer herbs. Make sure ye bring enough to treat Hunter. One of me men will go with ye.”
“I would prefer to take care of those bandages first,” Leana insisted.
Kenneth could see her clenching her hands into fists, as if she, too, was trying to control her temper.
Well, at least I’m nae the only one frustrated by this exchange.
“Go to the forest first. Valerie and one of me men will accompany ye,” Kenneth repeated, his tone brooking nor argument.
The order did not please Leana, who frowned slightly. She opened her mouth to retort, but the arrival of the maid silenced her.
Under different circumstances, the arrival of a maid would not have bothered him. But the woman was Hunter’s nanny, and many years ago, she had also been Kenneth’s nanny.
Eliza, a kind woman of fifty years, came running, her chubby cheeks flushed. When Kenneth noticed her worried expression, he stood up quickly, his hands clenching the edge of the table.
“What is it?” he asked, noticing that Brenda was also standing up and that Leana was tense.
“It’s Master Hunter, me Laird…”
“Is he awake? So early?” Brenda asked, looking anxiously at the nanny.
Eliza nodded once. “Aye, me Laird, me Lady. And I fear he isnae well.”
“Och, me bairn!” Brenda gasped, scrambling back from the table.
Only Leana seemed to keep her composure amid the tense exchange.
“What is wrong with him?” she asked in a much calmer voice.
“I daenae ken. He willnae stop coughin’, and he’s very pale. Please, ye have to check him right away,” Eliza begged.
Kenneth ran out of the room before she had finished speaking, his heart pounding with fear, dark thoughts racing through his mind.
The only thing that surprised him, perhaps, was that Leana ran faster than him, as if she understood the urgency of the situation.
As if, for a single moment, their hearts beat in tandem such that she felt his fear as keenly as if it were her own.