Chapter 28
‘I am in love with ye, Creighton. I tried nae to be, but here we are. But I cannae, I will not, spend me life beggin’ a man to notice me.’
Nora’s own words repeated over and over in her head, almost taunting her.
Should I nae have said that? Was it a mistake?
Too late now. She could hardly cram the words back into her mouth. And if she could, Nora wasn’t entirely sure that she’d want to.
Creighton stared down at her, his expression unreadable. There was no anger in his eyes; that had melted away. Only confusion, perhaps, and something else.
I told him I loved him. Now what?
Nora’s heart hammered against the inside of her ribcage. There was a powerful urge welling up inside her to run, to rush out of the door and down the hallway away from all of this, to hide. Maybe she could go and crawl under her bed—but no, her room adjoined Creighton’s. He could find her there.
I want him to find me. I want to hide away. I want… I daenae ken what I want.
The only certainty in her mind, taking form bit by bit, second by second, was that she wanted him.
Creighton’s chest shifted under his thin shirt, muscles pressing against the fabric.
Nora swallowed, fighting the urge to reach out and run her hands over his broad chest, tracing the curve of muscle up to those wide shoulders.
She knew how they felt under his clothing.
What would they feel like when he pulled away that shirt, exposing himself to her?
He’d already seen her completely bare. His eyes, roaming over her like a tangible thing, left a trail of fire behind them.
He looked at her with fire in his eyes now, and an answering flame bloomed in Nora’s chest.
“Ye love me,” he whispered, almost to himself. “I cannae remember the last time I heard that said. Me mother, probably. Laurie tells me that she loves me and hates me with the changeableness of a bairn.”
Nora lifted her eyebrows. “Ye think that I mean it in the same way? If ye do, then ye are more foolish than ever I thought.”
Something snapped between them, something intangible, something she could not quite describe.
Creighton surged toward her. His hands landed on the curve of her waist, hauling her toward him with a kind of desperation, a drowning man clutching at a rope thrown to him. Nora’s mouth opened, a muffled gasp wrenched out of her when he pressed their bodies together.
“Always with the insults,” Creighton breathed. “Sometimes I think that I ought to teach ye a lesson, lassie.”
With what felt like a superhuman effort, Nora pressed her hands against his chest and pushed, hard. Not really hard enough to dislodge him, but he stepped back anyway, creating space between them.
“Nay,” she whispered. The wanting pulsed inside her, a hard knot in her gut that shouted at her, telling her that she was making a mistake, what was she doing? He was right there, so close. Nearly.
“Nay?” Creighton murmured, brows knitting together. “What is that ye want, Nora?”
“I want somethin’ real,” she responded, the words coming out without her having to think of them in her head. The sentences unspooled, popping up in the air between them. “I want ye, Creighton, so badly that it hurts, but I cannae… I am nae yer toy.”
“Toy? Nay, lass,” he breathed, taking a step toward her.
He moved gingerly, as if trying not to spook a skittish deer.
“The day I first saw ye felt like… like…” he paused, frowning.
“I saw an eclipse once. When I was in university. We kent it was comin’, even those who didnae study astronomy.
All of us, students and professors alike, went out to see.
I didnae ken what to expect. I’d read about eclipses, but seein’ it… ”
“I heard this story. Andrew told me,” Nora managed. “Red is yer favorite color.”
He nodded, smiling wryly. He took another step forward, closing up the distance which had opened between them. Tentatively, he reached toward her, warm palms cupping her cheeks. Nora let her eyes close, sinking into the sensation of his hands against her skin. She could feel his eyes on her face.
“The moon covered up the sun,” he continued, his voice a low drawl in her ears.
“The world turned red, so bright nobody could look up at the sky. Darkness and light, mingled together so sweetly. For hours afterward, whenever I closed me eyes, I could see that eclipse, the red and black together. Beautiful. So powerful, so breathtakin’.
Even though we kent nae to look at it, all of us risked a peek, at least once.
We had to. Ye cannae look away from somethin’ so beautiful, so powerful. ”
Nora found that she was holding her breath. She inched open her eyes, meeting his gaze squarely.
“It sounds like a wonderful experience,” she murmured.
He nodded. “It was. And the way I felt, when the moon covered up the sun in that way, was how I felt when I first saw ye. I understood, when I saw that eclipse, how a person could believe that the sun and moon were worthy of worship. And when I saw ye, really saw ye, I understood how a man could fall in love without realizin’ it, and hand himself over, heart and soul, to another person. ”
Nora had to breathe, her lungs were thrumming. She let out a ragged exhale, not daring even to blink, certainly not to look away.
“Ye are me eclipse,” he whispered.
Nora said nothing. She only looked up at him, breath stuttering in her throat, her mind reeling.
“Oh,” she managed at last. The single word seemed almost ridiculously small for the conversation.
A slow smile spread over Creighton’s face, curving his mouth and crinkling up his eyes.
“Oh indeed,” he murmured. Slowly, carefully, he leaned forward, and fitted his lips to hers.
For a moment, that was all it was: his mouth pressed against hers. Warmth spread through her skin, even so, the dreaded blush reddening her cheeks.
He shifted, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
Deepening the kiss, the tip of his tongue traced out her lower lip, and Nora opened to him without even thinking twice.
Curling her hands around his shoulders, she pulled herself closer to him, feeling the shift of muscle beneath her body.
“When the year is up, and the peace treaty signed,” Creighton whispered, pulling back only an inch or two to break the kiss and speak. “I daenae want ye to leave. Lass, I never want ye to leave again.”
“I willnae,” she breathed, keeping her eyes closed. She could feel his eyes on her, feel his warm breath tickling her chin. “I’m goin’ nowhere.”
He kissed her again, more passionately than before, his hand rising to cup the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her hair.
It was too much. Too much and not enough. Nora pressed herself against him, swallowing down a moan as it crawled up her throat. Her skin prickled like it was on fire, the thrum of wanting deep in her chest growing louder and more insistent with every passing moment.
“I want ye,” Creighton breathed, pulling away and pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. His stubble grazed the soft tap of her pulse, making her shudder. “I want ye so badly I feel as though I’m aflame. I feel like climbin’ into a bath of ice water just to calm meself down.”
Nora let out a ragged breath, pressing herself against him. Something hard and hot nudged at her hip, and when she experimentally rolled her hips against it, Creighton shivered, his whole body shuddering. Heat exploded in her gut, and she dug her fingertips into his shoulders.
“When we were together before,” she managed, voice rasping. “Ye never… That is to say, ye made me…”
“Find yer peak?” he whispered, lips sliding over the front of her throat. “I thought I did that well enough.”
“Oh, oh aye, ye did, but ye never seemed to find yers. I daenae want it to be like that. Nae this time.”
He pulled back, seeking out her gaze. A flush spread across his cheeks, and his eyes were blown wide and dark with desire.
“It willnae be,” Creighton promised thickly. “Nae this time. I daenae believe that I could hold meself back if I tried.”
Nora was caught in a wide grin when he kissed her again, teeth clinking once, his tongue warm and heavy inside her mouth.
The world trembled around her, and she was lifted and placed back on the table.
A warm hand curled around her knee, and Nora made herself pull back slightly, forcing air into her lungs.
“Nae here! We prepare medicines on this table,” she breathed, fighting back a giggle.
Creighton buried his head in the crook of her neck, letting out a low, disappointed growl that echoed through her body.
“Where, then?”
“That door, the third one along.”
He lifted her as easily as if she weighed nothing at all.
Nora tightened her grip around his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his waist. Together, they moved toward the door she had pointed out.
Creighton kicked it open, revealing a small, narrow room with a bed pushed into the corner, ready for a patient.
Carefully, as if putting down a most precious burden, Creighton lowered her onto the bed. He followed her down at once, pressing their lips together in a quick, almost careless kiss.
Nora didn’t care. Her blood sang in her veins, and desire felt like a hot, relentless ripple in the back of her mind. Knees planted on either side of her hips, Creighton pulled back, red-faced.
“Are ye sure about this, lassie?” he breathed. “This is more than what we have done before.”
“I’m sure,” Nora whispered, reaching up to tug at his shirt. “I’m ready.”
Heat flashed in his eyes. Instantly, he understood the signal, tearing off his shirt with such force that she was sure she heard a seam rip.
Muscles rippled across his body—thick biceps and corded forearms hanging by his sides.
Nora swallowed hard and leaned forward, resting her palm on his chest. His skin was hot—almost too hot.
“I can feel yer heart,” she whispered. “It’s beating fast.”
He placed his hand over hers. “It beats for ye, Nora.”