Chapter 12 #2
Taking a trance-like step closer to the bed, he thought he heard a voice in between the hammering beats of his heart.
“Yesss….she belongs to you.”
Ceann tensed. He had heard the voice clearly, but when he turned, there was no one else in the room.
He must have imagined it. Startled from the spell he had fallen under, he backed quickly towards the door.
Reaching it, he stepped into the hallway, and looking at the bed one more time, closed it behind him.
He leaned for a moment against the cool stone wall, struggling with his will, before going to his own room, where he sank down in a chair by the fire.
His whole body trembled as he fought to regain control of himself.
What the hell had just happened? Maybe he was going mad.
He poured out a glass of whiskey, but then set it on the table, untouched.
It wouldn’t help anyway. He had never wanted anything so badly as he had wanted Ella in that moment.
He had never come so close to losing control, of not caring about the consequences.
Had this woman been sent here by the very devil to torment him?
Had someone put a spell on him, or another curse?
He really should send her away somewhere before he did something he would regret…
but that thought was equally distressing.
His head dropped down into his hands, and he groaned and pushed his hands through his hair in frustration. He was torn. Hopelessly so.
Chapter 8
By the next morning, after spending a largely sleepless night, Caen had decided it was Ella he was angry at for the way she had made him almost lose control.
It was at least better than feeling so vulnerable.
Never mind that he was keeping her here, and that it was he who had gone into her room to watch her sleep.
She seemed to be always in his thoughts, and yet he still didn’t know the first thing about her.
He knew her name; that was all. It angered him even more that he was thinking about her being in his thoughts.
God’s blood! But there was something about her, something that made him long to pull her close and forget the past. To have her naked in his arms and make love to her slowly and gently, and to claim her violently like some wild beast. The urge was primitive and powerful, beyond all rational thought.
Damn her for appearing out of nowhere to plague him with such desires!
He slipped out early so he would be sure to avoid her.
By leaving at dawn, he could easily make it to Rossmoor and back in a single day.
The only problem, of course, was that the long ride left him alone with only his thoughts, and his thoughts kept turning back to Ella.
Curse the damned bloody day I found her!
She had turned his whole world upside down without even trying.
Never had he wanted so badly to believe the curse was just a legend, but he knew that wasn’t so.
Something had happened all those years ago when his father had disappeared, and what deal the man had made with the devil, he couldn’t fathom.
But the end result was his own heartbreak.
These past days, his mind had turned unbidden to dreams he had thought long banished.
Having Ella here, even though he barely knew her and couldn’t trust her, was changing him.
Her spirit and gently teasing nature had actually made him want to smile, made him want to be happy.
What would it be like to have a woman like her love him?
To come home from a battle hard won and see her rush out to greet him, his own bairns following on her heels?
He hadn’t let himself think about these things in years, not since he had finally admitted to himself that the curse was real.
All of those women, all of those nights spent in the arms of one he didn’t love.
Or sometimes he didn’t even spend the whole night, but callously left them right after the act.
Aye, they would give him anything he asked for because he was Laird, but not one of them had been able to give him a child.
Not one. And in the end he had only felt more empty and alone than ever before.
He was not proud of that time in his life, and he hadn’t lain with a woman in three long years.
In truth it had been no hardship. He could no longer bear any pretense of closeness, of intimacy, where none existed.
It had begun to feel cheap and vulgar. A useless act, when his own hand behind closed doors was release enough when he needed it.
He had been fine… perfectly fine, until Ella had come along and awakened lust in him again.
So lost in his thoughts was he that he barely noticed when Rossmoor came into sight.
He hailed the guard and rode into the bailey as the gate opened.
Leaving his horse to the groom, he reluctantly entered the keep.
Ross was at the dais, having his afternoon meal.
When he saw Ceann, he looked surprised enough, and hurriedly stood to greet him.
“Ceann? What brings you here lad? We didn’t expect you!
Come, sit down and join me for a meal. You look well.
” Ceann sat down with his uncle, but declined to eat anything.
In truth, he wasn’t hungry. He eyed the food suspiciously.
Though he hadn’t really ever thought about it, he realized now that he had never liked Ross.
He tolerated him because he was family, but he and his father’s younger brother had never been close.
There was something… unsavory about the man, though he wasn’t sure exactly what.
“Where is Hugh?” he asked, realizing his cousin wasn’t in the hall.
Ross smiled, his pride in his son showing on his face.
“No doubt he’s still on the lists, or if not, he’s probably tumbling some lass or another, as young men are wont to do.
” His uncle laughed heartily and slapped Ceann on the back.
“And how about you? Have you a favorite lass at the moment? We’ve all been wondering if you’ll ever get around to wedding and bedding.
You seem to be enjoying bachelorhood a bit too much, eh? ”
Ceann shook his head. “No Uncle, one lass is as good as the next, as far as I’m concerned. I have no wish to be tied down yet. There’s time enough for that.”
“Aye, you’re right, some of the worst years of my life, when your aunt Janet was alive.
Who needs all that nettling and weeping?
Women are only good for one thing, if you ask me, and you don’t need to wed them for that.
” His gaze turned speculative. “But what brings you here unannounced, nephew? It seems to me it’s been nigh on four months since I saw you last.”
“Aye, well I only came back from fighting for the Duke a few weeks ago, as you know. And of course it takes some work to get things back in order again at home... I was out riding the borders and thought I’d put in an appearance, since I was nearby. And… I wanted to ask you about something.”
Ross raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair a bit. “Aye?”
“I want to know if you’ve seen a certain lass, one who claims to have been here at Rossmoor recently.”
Ross broke into a lewd grin. “Well, then the answer is aye, I’ve seen several lasses. I saw one or two in my bed just last night in fact.”
Ceann was quickly growing tired of his uncle’s poor attempts at bawdy humor. It seemed to him to be out of place, almost as if he were trying to draw his attention from something else… No, he was reading too much into things.
“No, Uncle, a particular lass, with blond hair and blue eyes. Quite pretty. Have you seen anyone like that?” He watched Ross carefully, but could read nothing from his face.
The man rubbed his chin as if he tried to remember. “I would certainly like to see a lass such as that, but no, I haven’t. Pretty, you say?”
“Aye. Someone saw her near here, just yesterday in fact.” Ceann was still watching his uncle’s eyes, and he thought he saw a flash of something, anger? before he carefully hid it. He couldn’t be sure of what he had seen, but it was enough to plant a tiny seed of doubt.
“No, there was no such lass here, at least not that I know about. And I make it my business to know all what lovely lasses pass through my gates.” He tilted his head and eyed Ceann. “Is she something to you lad? Your woman, perhaps?”
Ceann shook his head. “No, I have no particular woman, as I’ve said. She’s just someone who was under my care for a few days until she can be returned to her kin, and she went missing…”
“Cousin! Ah, it’s good to see you!”