Chapter Fifteen #2
Rose felt cold without his warmth and found she didn’t like being away from him, even though he was only a few inches away. She rolled onto her side, tucking her body alongside his and his arm came up to pull her close, his hand resting on the swell of her hip.
She settled her head against his shoulder, and he turned his head to look at her. There was a world of meaning and longing in the way he looked at her, and Rose found that ache forming deep in her stomach again.
What were they doing? This was madness. It could never work between them.
And yet, she found that nothing, nothing in her life had ever felt more right than this.
Around them the storm still raged but inside, all was still.
Rose could hear the gale battering the village and the wind moaned down the chimney, making the flames dance and spit. But inside, it didn’t touch them.
It was as if time and the world outside had been suspended. The MacFinnan spellweaver and the MacNeil laird were gone and they were just Rose and Cailean, two people exploring something that neither of them had expected.
He smiled, his fingertip tracing lazy spirals on her hip. “What are ye thinking, lass?”
Rose smiled faintly. The warmth of his touch made it hard to think clearly, let alone speak.
“I was thinking,” she said softly, “that this shouldn’t be happening.”
Cailean arched a brow but didn’t pull away. “And yet, here we are.”
“Yes.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “Here we are.”
He shifted so he could see her better. His eyes searched hers. “Does it frighten ye?”
“It terrifies me.”
He nodded. “Me too.”
That surprised her. The mighty Laird MacNeil, afraid? But she saw the truth of it in the tightness around his mouth, in the vulnerability that flickered in his gaze.
She exhaled slowly, placing a hand on his chest over his heart. “Everything in my life has always been about control. Plans. Safety. I never imagined… this.”
He let out a low breath. “I never imagined ye, Rose MacFinnan. Not in my life, not in my arms.”
She blinked rapidly. His words struck something inside her, tender and raw. The fire popped, sending sparks dancing upward, and the wind howled again outside, but within their cocoon, the world narrowed to the space between them.
His hand moved to her face, thumb brushing over her cheek. “Whatever this is, it isnae madness. I’ve known madness, lass. But this?” His voice dropped, rough with emotion. “This feels like sanity.”
She leaned into his touch, her lips brushing the inside of his palm. “Then why does it feel like the rest of the world is going to come crashing in the moment we open that door?”
Cailean gave a short laugh, quiet and a little sad. “Because it probably will.”
Rose didn’t want to face what awaited them beyond the door. But they had no choice. They might be just Rose and Cailean inside this room, but beyond it they were still the MacFinnan spellweaver and the MacNeil laird and they had duties they could not escape.
Rose settled into his embrace, content to listen to the soft hiss of his breath and feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek. Gradually, the howl of the wind began to quieten.
“I think the storm is passing.”
Cailen sighed. “Is it wrong of me that I dinna want it to?”
She huffed a quiet laugh. “If it is, then I’m wrong too.”
She pushed herself up to sitting. The fire had died down to embers but as the storm clouds broke, sunlight was beginning to leak around the shutters on the windows.
“We should get back,” she said reluctantly. “They’ll be wondering where we’ve got to.”
“Let them,” Cailean grunted. Then he sighed, rising to sit beside her. “Aye, ye are no doubt right.”
But neither of them moved. They were sitting incredibly close, only an inch between them, but it was still too much for Rose. She wanted to edge closer, to touch him again, to never stop touching him. But time and the world were slowly reasserting themselves.
Cailean reached out and cupped her cheek with one of his big hands. “Come,” he said softly.
She nodded and he leaned in, kissed her softly, then rose to his feet and pulled her up after him.
Slowly, reluctantly, they dressed. Rose found herself stealing glances at Cailean as they did so, feeling a shot of disappointment each time a piece of clothing hid more of his body. Once they were dressed, Cailean doused the embers of the fire and crossed to the door. There, he paused.
His hand hovered over the latch and Rose could see reluctance in every line of his body. She understood it. She felt the same way.
He glanced at her. “Ready?”
No, she wanted to say. I’m not. But she forced a tight nod. “Ready.”
He pushed the door open, and they stepped out into a fresh, sparkling world.
The storm clouds had departed far out to sea.
Rose could still see flashes of lightning in them.
But directly above, the clouds had broken and now the late-afternoon sun was beaming down, making the puddles sparkle like mirrors.
There was a fresh smell in the air, like morning dew, and Rose pulled a deep, invigorating breath down into her lungs.
Cailean held out his hand and she took it as the two of them walked through the village to the house where she’d left her horse.
Inside, they found both Snip and Arrow happily drowsing, heads hanging and tails swishing lazily.
They raised their heads and whickered as she and Cailean entered, hoping for a treat.
Cailean led them both outside and began checking their saddles and stirrups while Rose turned and gazed out to sea.
It looked calm now, peaceful, so different from the raging tempest it had been only a short time ago.
There was no evidence of the dark entity she’d encountered when she’d walked out onto the promontory and even when she sent her senses tentatively questing towards it, she found no trace of the dark malevolence that had lurked beneath the waves.
Was it gone? She didn’t think so. Biding its time, more likely. She shivered, remembering that voice in her head, that power that had so easily bested her.
She hadn’t realized she was trembling until Cailean’s arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her close. “Easy, lass,” he rumbled. “I’ve got ye. I willnae let it harm ye.”
She leaned back against him and closed her eyes. The feel of his hard chest against her back was solid and reassuring and she felt the fear recede to be replaced by a fierce kind of determination. I will best you, she promised whatever lurked in the water. We will best you.
With Cailean by her side, she felt like she could do anything.
They mounted and set off back up the trail towards Dun Mallach. As they rode, evidence of the storm littered the road beside them: fallen branches, piles of leaves, runnels of water trickling down both sides of the path.
“How do you think the keep fared?” Rose asked him as they moved.
“The keep will be fine,” he replied. “It’s built to withstand far worse. The villages though? That’s another matter. There will be more repair work needed after this.”
She nodded, accepting this in silence. He sounded weary, as if the weight of the lairdship had settled around his shoulders once more. She longed to be back in that hut with him, the storm cutting them off from the world.
She found herself dropping back a little, allowing Snip to trail behind Arrow so she could watch the way his body swayed with the movement of the horse, his shirt pulling tight over his broad shoulders, his plaid hanging loose across his chest and across his knees.
Only a short time ago, that strong, powerful body had been atop her, giving her the most amazing pleasure.
She felt her cheeks heat and her stomach tighten.
“Ye are staring, lass.”
She blinked. Cailean was looking at her over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
“I am not,” she retorted. “You were watching me.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “I was. I canna seem to help it.”
Her cheeks heated even further, the warmth spiralling all the way down through her belly and to the spot between her legs.
“See anything you like?” she said in a teasing voice.
“Aye, something I like very much,” Cailean breathed. His eyes shone with desire and something else, something more than just lust, something… deeper.
Rose pulled her gaze away and concentrated on guiding her horse.
They rode in silence, a deep companionable silence, but all the way back she found herself glancing at him.
She couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off him.
Each time, she found him looking back at her and the two of them would break into stupid grins, like a couple of moonstruck teenagers.
This was not supposed to be happening. Falling for the man she’d come to help was not part of the plan.
Is that what this is? she thought. Is that why I can’t seem to breathe when he looks at me? Is that why I’m craving his touch so much? Is that it? Am I falling for him?
She had no answers. She only knew that she didn’t want this journey to end. She didn’t want to reach Dun Mallach. She wanted it to remain just her and Cailean. Forever, if possible.
They did not hurry back, and the sun was sinking towards the horizon when they reached the keep. Rose felt her stomach sink as it came into view and from the slight slumping of Cailean’s shoulders, she guessed he felt the same.
The gates were standing open and as they rode closer, a group of people came running out towards them. Rose made out Maggie among them.
Cailean pulled his horse to a halt, suddenly alert. “What is this?” he muttered.
The group hurried up to them. “My laird! Rose!” Maggie cried. “Thank the gods ye’ve returned. Ye must come now! Quickly!”
A shot of alarm went through her at Maggie’s urgent tone. Cailean’s hands tightened on the reins.
“What is it?” he demanded. “What’s happened?”
Maggie wrung her hands. Her skin was pale, her hair coming loose of the normally meticulous braid she tied it in.