Chapter 14
“I take good care of me sisters too,” Leana admitted as she re-bandaged Kenneth’s wound.
She did it slowly and carefully. Her fingers brushed against his skin all the time, and she tried not to bask in the pleasant sensation.
“I am very jealous of them, to the point that I get annoyed every time someone intrudes on our lives or asks about our past.”
“I can understand that,” Kenneth said in a low voice.
“That is why I understand yer desire to protect Hunter. He’s… fragile, and his well-being depends entirely on ye.”
“Aye.”
“But me intention in askin’ about yer past isnae to pry into yer life. I need to ken the origin of his illness. The more clearly I understand what’s wrong with him, the better me chances of curin’ him.”
For a moment, Kenneth seemed to consider her words, but then he nodded.
“What ye’re sayin’ makes sense,” he relented.
Leana sighed in relief. “So, I need ye to help me with this,” she continued, looking him in the eye. “Could ye please tell me if anyone in yer family has suffered from such an illness?”
“Nay,” Kenneth replied slowly. “Our faither was in perfect health. He died of an untreated injury, but he was always a very healthy man. Nor has Brenda suffered from any similar illnesses.”
“What about anyone else in yer families?” Leana asked, trying to dig deeper. “A cousin, for example. Was Valerie or one of her parents sickly as a child?”
“Nay. We’ve all enjoyed good health.”
She sighed. “Then it’s nae in yer blood.” She crossed her arms, trying to think. Her lips pressed into a thin line before she asked, “Yer faither… did he die very young?”
“A few years ago. Hunter would have been seven, maybe eight.”
“Och… I’m sorry. That must have been hard. Especially for him.”
“Daenae be sorry. I’m nae,” Kenneth grunted.
Usually, he was careful with his words, but his tone was so harsh that it took her by surprise.
“Ye didnae have a good relationship with yer faither, I guess…”
“Nay,” Kenneth replied simply.
“I’m sorry about that. But still, Hunter might miss him.”
“Hunter hasnae met him,” Kenneth stated. “He never met him. And I thank God for that.”
“I understand that maybe he wasnae a good faither to ye…” Leana trailed off, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But Hunter must miss him, even a little. His absence may have left a void in his heart that may have exacerbated his illness.”
At first, she thought Kenneth would abruptly pull away, but he did not. In fact, she was surprised that he did not recoil when she touched him.
But that didn’t change the tension in his gruff voice or his stiff posture.
With a dark gaze clouded with memories, Kenneth said, “Hunter doesnae have to miss our faither, because I can be the faither he needs and deserves.” His hands clenched into fists, and Leana could read the pain in the lines of his face.
“That old man can rot in his grave. We never needed him, and we daenae need him now.”
It was clear that he harbored a deep pain. And though he refused to admit it, the ensuing silence seemed to speak for itself.
“Maybe ye daenae,” Leana said, letting her fingers gently caress his shoulder.
What am I doin’? I’m breakin’ all me rules with this man.
“More than that, Hunter may need a reminder of his faither one day. When ye get married and have children of yer own, how will he feel? Displaced, for sure…”
A thought seemed to come to Kenneth’s mind, for he suddenly shook his head as if dismissing it. “I daenae plan to marry. I see nay reason to. Me braither can be me heir. Me life is too complicated to drag a poor lass into it.”
His words were surprising, but not completely unexpected. Could she blame him when she herself had often felt this way?
So, she didn’t know how to react at first.
“I think I understand,” she whispered as she reached for another strip of clean cloth.
The motion of pulling the bandage across his bare chest and around his back reconnected them, and for a moment, Leana simply lost herself in the sensation. In the warmth of Kenneth, who moved closer and closer to her as if drawn by a magnetic pull.
Their faces were barely an inch apart as her hands worked over him, carrying with them a promise of caresses that made his breath hitch.
Kenneth looked up as Leana traced his shoulder blades with her fingers. An oversight on her part, as she was only supposed to bandage his wound. Instead, the gesture seemed like a caress.
“What about ye?” Kenneth asked in a low, rough voice that made her stomach flutter. “Have ye ever been in love?”
“Nay,” she replied, not turning away from him. “And I daenae plan to.”
“Ye sound very sure ye can avoid it.” His words almost sounded like a challenge.
His hand rested gently on her waist, where it curved, trying to give her some kind of support so she wouldn’t lose her balance as she leaned over him…
But the gesture flustered her. She sucked in a breath and then quickly secured his bandage.
“I ken meself. I ken how to control meself if I want to.”
“Love isnae something ye can control,” Kenneth pointed out, his good eye sweeping slowly, very slowly, over her.
That look meant something, and she knew it well. She could almost feel his eye on her bare skin, undressing her.
And unlike with other men, she liked it
“Desire cannae be controlled either,” Kenneth added.
“But I can control how I express it… or with whom,” Leana whispered, her heart racing as she swallowed thickly.
Kenneth smiled, obviously enjoying the situation. He pulled her a little closer, letting his fingers run down her back.
“If ye’re nae plannin’ on fallin’ in love, are ye at least plannin’ on gettin’ married?” he asked, business as usual.
But their bodies were close, and the heat of his body radiated like a restrained fire, and every inch between them felt insufficient to quell the electric current skimming her skin.
Her breath hitched before she could control it, and the scent of wood and wind that clung to him wrapped around her senses.
A part of her craved the touch, the closeness, the unspoken promise hanging in the charged air between them—but she forced herself to remain still.
Her fingers clenched the fabric of her dress, a desperate attempt to anchor herself, to deny what was undeniable.
She couldn’t afford to surrender. Not to him.
Not to the sensations his nearness stirred deep inside her.
Still, she tried to hide how much he affected her. “What’s the point of a marriage without love?”
“A lot more than ye think.” Kenneth’s smile was bitter. “People get married all the time. Most of them do it without lovin’ each other.”
“Well, that willnae be me case,” Leana declared. “I daenae plan on getting married.”
“Why nae?” Kenneth asked.
“Because if I did, I could nay longer be a healer. I wouldnae be able to travel or share me gift with the world…”
“Perhaps, but ye would gain other things. A family, children, maybe love…”
“I told ye, I daenae plan on fallin’ in love,” she insisted. “Besides, if I were to get married, what chance would ye have of kidnappin’ me again in the future?”
The joke was meant to lighten the mood, but Kenneth seemed to take it as a challenge.
He pulled her closer until his chest brushed against hers and his warm breath fanned her cheek. “There is nay power on this earth, Leana Beaton, that can keep me from seekin’ ye,” he murmured.
Lord, give me strength. This man will be me ruin!
She swallowed thickly again, her throat tightening as his gaze bore into her.
Their breaths mingled in the charged air between them, a tantalizing dance of closeness.
His scent—earthy, with a hint of cedar and something uniquely him—wrapped around her like an intoxicating veil, making her head swim.
The way he stood, towering yet steady, exuded a quiet strength that both unsettled and drew her in.
Her pulse quickened as she felt the heat radiating from his body, the space between them shrinking with every heartbeat.
She fought the urge to lean closer, to let herself be consumed by the magnetic pull of his presence. ..
The feeling was warm and pleasant, making her want more.
Her body remembered the previous night’s encounter. More than that, Leana reminded herself that she was not there to succumb to the Laird’s charms but to find a cure for his younger brother’s illness.
Once she did, she would leave.
“My, ye take it all too seriously,” she teased, patting him on the chest playfully.
Reluctantly, she pulled away and dropped her hands.
“All done for now,” she announced, figuring that the sooner she got away from him the better.
Her feet led her to the door. She thought about running away and taking refuge in her room, but she hadn’t even taken three steps when Kenneth stood up quickly and grabbed her arm.
He pulled her against him slowly and lowered his lips to her ear. “Why do ye run… when I can see in yer eyes that ye want to stay?” he whispered.
It was true, and she knew it. They both did, in fact.
“This isnae right…” Leana murmured, her palm resting on his chest as she sucked in a breath through parted lips.
His delicious scent was in her mouth, on her tongue. She felt it running down her throat, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him again.
“Tell me why it isnae,” Kenneth demanded, his arm banding around her waist. “Ye want me as much as I want ye…”
“It’s just the heat of the moment,” she lied. “It’ll fade as soon as we break apart.”
“I willnae stop wantin’ ye, even if I daenae see ye for the rest of the month,” he said, making her insides melt. “And ye… Will ye stop wantin’ me?”
His hand—warm and gentle—ran over her cheek, while his thumb brushed her lips. He traced her bottom lip, and Leana could not help but gasp, longing for a kiss she dared not ask for.
Fortunately, Kenneth was able to read between the lines. To understand that it was more than a kiss she wanted.
“Ye want to… experience other things, daenae ye?”
Leana closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and nodded once.
I give in to temptation, but… Lord, how good it feels to do so!
The unraveling of her modesty lay bare before her, undeniable and raw. Kenneth loomed as a possible doom, but she wanted to fall into that abyss, present before her. Kenneth loomed as a possible doom, but she wanted to fall into that abyss.
So, she didn’t resist when he leaned in slowly and brushed her earlobe with his lips.
“Ye daenae have to fall in love to experience pleasure like ye’ve never kenned, Leana Beaton,” he promised.
Leana let out a soft moan. Her hands clung to his arms, feeling his muscles bunch with the strain of holding her. His fingers wrapped around her hip and squeezed gently.
Through the fabric, she could feel the outline of his still-soft member. She knew a man’s anatomy well enough, though she had never enjoyed it in person. She had never dreamed of it. But now, in Kenneth’s arms, she understood that this was exactly what she wanted.
“Ye can… Ye can do this,” she murmured.
She wished with all her being that Kenneth wouldn’t beg. Fortunately, he also seemed to be burning with desire, for his eager lips found hers immediately, surrendering.
A moan of satisfaction escaped her. Her nails dug into his arms as he gripped her tighter around the waist and squished her breasts against his chest. His tongue, as direct as his words, probed her lips open and plunged into her mouth to explore her.
It came as a surprise to Leana. She had never kissed a man like that before, but she found she liked it.
She surrendered, submissive at first, but then she grew delirious with desire as Kenneth’s hot tongue slid against hers. He nipped her lips before kissing down her neck.
Kenneth pushed her back against the table. Leana rebelled against him for a moment, though deep down she loved being possessed in this way.
He tilted her neck with deliberate care, his fingers brushing against her skin, leaving a trail of warmth in their wake. His mouth found the curve of her throat, and the first touch of his lips sent a shiver cascading down her spine.
He explored her skin with tenderness and hunger, his teeth grazing in places that drew soft, involuntary sighs from her lips.
Each bite, each press of his mouth, seemed to ignite a fire beneath her skin, a restless ache that she couldn’t suppress.
Her hands hovered uncertainly, caught between the urge to push him away and the undeniable pull to draw him closer, to surrender to the storm he was stirring within her.
“Nay one’s ever wanted ye the way I want ye right now, lass,” he purred.
His hands ran over her dress, and she felt her skin tingle. A delicious wave of dizziness assaulted her as her tongue tangled with his. She needed his kisses. She needed him closer. She needed his intensity. She needed his dominance.
And Kenneth didn’t seem to hesitate to give her what she needed. He held her against the table as he pulled down the sleeves of her dress, so he could explore her better.
At the same time, Leana raised her face, closing her eyes and feeling his hands cupping her breasts. A moan escaped her lips, and Kenneth let out a grunt of satisfaction.
As he kissed her, she buried her fingers in his thick, dark hair. She had been dying to do it for so long, but now she indulged in all the fantasies she had entertained ever since she had laid eyes on him.
“Kenneth, be careful. Yer wound…” Leana whispered.
But Kenneth silenced her with another kiss, claiming her once more. His hands slid down to her buttocks, making her gasp.
The next second, he lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather and set her on the table. His hands, strong and sure, spread her legs and pulled her dress up her thighs, baring her skin to his hungry gaze. He almost groaned when she wrapped her legs around his hips.
“I have better things to worry about than a wound,” Kenneth muttered as he ground his hips against hers.
Leana could feel his member, hard and thick, inviting her to go beyond drapery and propriety, to give herself over to pleasure.
Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her fingers clung to his back. She caressed him, her eyes closed, her lips parted, while liquid heat pooled between her legs.
She realized that she wanted him more than she could ever admit, that this was not just a descent into the abyss, but an opportunity.
A chance to fly, or at least to die trying.