Chapter 18 #3
Aidan recalled Briana’s grumbling about wanting an apple. Morrigan didn’t sound much different. She wanted it now. “Of course.”
Nearby, a group of young women were peeling apples. More people stood around them, urging them on. He put a hand in the small of Morrigan’s back and guided her to the front of a crowd of onlookers.
“This doesn’t look like a game.”
“Ah, but it is.” He nudged her closer. “You need to peel an apple all in one paring.”
“That’s all? That seems far too simple. Is it a race?”
“It’s more difficult than it looks.” He motioned to the person who was handing out the fruit. She offered one to Morrigan.
She eyed the apple. “Perhaps I’ll just eat it.”
This playfulness in her was something new. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Aidan wanted to kiss the smile pulling at her lips.
“Peel it first.”
The woman offered her a knife, but Morrigan shook her head and drew her sgian dubh.
“You don’t need to kill it. Just peel it.”
“You don’t need to tell me how to use a knife. As you well know, I’m an expert.”
He snorted and she stared into his face.
“You have no cuts or bruises at the moment, Mr. Grant. Some of these women might say you look handsome. So don’t tempt me to use this on you.”
He took her chin in his hand. Her eyes widened in surprise. They were deep black pools with glints of firelight reflected in them. Their faces were inches apart. “There are better ways to mark me than with the knife.”
Morrigan’s gaze drifted to his mouth. He wanted to kiss her. Right now. Aidan’s hands itched to pull her hard against his body and tell her to do her worst.
She pulled away and fixed her attention on the fruit. A single line furrowed her brow, and her eyes focused on her task. She was all concentration as she peeled the fruit with precision and speed. Heads turned in their direction. Those around them cheered her as the entire skin came away unbroken.
“Fine work, lass,” an onlooker called out. “Now throw the peel over yer shoulder.”
Shouts came from all sides as Morrigan tossed the skin. The women nearby all gathered around where the peel landed. Everyone had an opinion.
“What are we looking for?” Morrigan wanted to know, joining them.
“The letter. What letter do ye see?”
She took a bite of the apple and leaned down to study the pattern of the curled skin.
“It’s an A,” she announced.
Cheers went up all around her, and Morrigan stared at them in confusion.
Aidan always thought of himself as a man of reason.
He used fact in his arguments. He largely ignored fantasy and old wives’ tales.
He liked to walk on solid ground and avoid slippery slopes.
Still, he was a Highlander, and his heart beat a little faster as he stared at the shape of the apple peel on the ground.
“What does it mean?” Morrigan asked the women around her.
“The peel takes the shape of the first initial of the man ye’ll marry.”
She leaned over and stared at the pattern again for a long moment. When she straightened, her face was flushed, and she shook her head. “Rubbish.”
Her denial prompted loud laughter, and she walked calmly toward him.
Aidan decided that she could say what she wanted, act as composed as she pleased, but even in the light of the torches, he could see the bright splotches on her cheeks.
“Who do you think it is?”
She didn’t answer but held out the half-eaten apple toward him. “Would you care for a bite?”
“I believe I would.”
He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and slowly brought the fruit to his lips. Their eyes locked. Deliberately, he took his time—staring at her mouth, wet from the apple—before he took a bite.
He saw her lips part, and he released her. Everything around them disappeared. The crowds, the fires, the village, everything. Only he and Morrigan existed. They were two people drawn together by an invisible tie. Caught in this moment, this sublime instant, as time stood still.
“May I kiss you?”
She stared at his lips and nodded slightly.
Aidan took her hand, and the two of them moved quickly down a lane away from the light of the market square fires. Urgency seized them, and suddenly they were running. He didn’t know where they were going until she pulled him to the gate of a dark cottage.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, his gaze scouring every inch of her face. “So perfect and—”
Morrigan kissed him. Raising herself on her tiptoes, she crushed her lips against his.
There were no soft words. No coaxing. No wooing.
Their kiss became the unleashing of repressed desire.
Aidan’s fingers delved into her hair, and his mouth devoured her lips, forcing her mouth open.
His tongue surged inside. She gave a stifled gasp, and her body molded against him.
Her hands encircled his waist, pulling him tighter.
Suddenly, she drew back. Her eyes were wide. She pushed him away, shaking her head. He backed up a step, his heart still racing.
“I can’t,” she whispered, alarm evident in her voice. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”
Morrigan turned and ran up the lane, and Aidan watched her go, confused and wondering what exactly he’d done to frighten her.