Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
“Scott!”
In an instant, Keira disentangled herself from his arms and stepped back, a flush creeping over her cheeks. Noah turned to see her brother standing on the path behind them, looking murderous as he glared at Noah.
“Ye said ye would protect us!” Scott bellowed, advancing on him and looking every bit the man he would one day become. “But this is what ye wanted all along, is it? I should have used me dirk when I had the chance.”
His hands came up, and he shoved at Noah’s chest. It barely moved him, but Noah was still impressed with his bravery.
“Ye will do right by me sister,” Scott demanded. “Ye will honor her, as ye said ye would. Ye cannae treat her this way.”
“Scott!” Keira protested, “it is alright.”
“It is nae alright!” Scott shouted, turning on her. “He is usin’ ye.”
“Scott, it is nae as though I am a lady; I can do as I like!” Keira stated simply. “We will be leavin’ in a few weeks,” she continued, “and all this will be over.”
Noah was dismayed to find that her words made a pang of sadness bloom in his chest.
Keira seemed to think her leaving was quite commonplace, yet now, the idea of her going away from him forever was far from pleasant.
“I thought ye were an honorable man,” Scott said angrily, looking at Noah with real fire in his eyes.
“Careful lad,” Noah replied sternly, “ye watch yer mouth.”
“Scott, go back to the castle,” Keira insisted. “Now!” she said with some force.
Scott shot Noah one last furious glare and stood his ground. “Nae until he is gone,” he said forcefully.
Noah turned back to Keira; the blissful sensations he had felt after their time together evaporating like smoke. He took a deep breath to calm himself as she looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes.
“I am sorry,” she whispered. “Pay him nae mind.”
“Why are ye apologizin’ to him?” Scott raged again, and Noah knew things would not improve if he remained with them.
He gave Keira a shallow bow, turned away, and walked back to the castle. As he passed him, he gave Scott a vicious glare and was gratified to see that, despite his bravado, Scott backed away in fear at the rage in Noah’s eyes.
Isn’t he right, though? A little voice said at the back of his mind. Ye are usin’ her, and ye can offer her nothin’ she would ever want, not as the man ye are.
Keira watched Noah walk away, wishing they could have parted under better circumstances and cursing herself for being unable to resist him.
She turned back to Scott, who was glaring at his departing back with a furious expression, and put her hands on her hips.
“Ye had nae right to interfere,” she said sternly, and Scott looked back at her in amazement.
“Me? Ye are the one lettin’ him touch ye that way. He is a laird; ye are nobody. He doesnae have to treat ye well, and he is takin’ advantage when ye need his help.”
Keira could understand his point of view, and even accept that it might still be true, but in her heart, she knew that Noah had different intentions.
The level of his desire had been too great for it not to be real. He had wanted her just as passionately as she had wanted him. When their bodies moved toward each other, it was through necessity, not want or need. It had felt like an unstoppable force neither of them could deny.
Right from the beginning, she had felt a pull toward the man, and what they had shared that evening had only proved it more powerfully.
She walked over to her brother and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly against her and knowing that everything he did was merely for her own protection.
“I am sorry ye had to see it, but I dinnae believe that is what he is doin’,” she said fervently.
Scott pulled away. “Ye think he cares for ye? Ye are just a healer, Keira. He owns a castle.”
“I ken that. But I dinnae believe he is usin’ me. It is hard to explain. But I ken ye are just doin’ what ye believe is best for me.”
“I liked him. I thought he was different.”
“He is.”
Scott only scoffed. “He is just the same as Lucas.”
“Nay!” she said firmly. “Nay, he isnae.” She sighed, taking his hand as Scott dutifully picked up her medical bag and pulled it over his shoulder. “Lucas is a cruel man who doesnae care for anyone but himself. Laird MacAllen cares for his people, and no matter what ye believe his intentions towards me might be, he has cared for us. He dinnae have to help me, or ye and Daisy, but he did.”
Scott nodded, looking as though he was thinking about it carefully before responding.
“Alright. I suppose that is true. But I dinnae like the way he looks at ye.”
Keira paused, dinnae ask, ye shouldnae need to ken.
“And how is that?” she asked.
“Like ye belong to him,” Scott said unhappily, probably wishing to instill some fear with his words, but as they made their way slowly back to the castle, all she could feel was anticipation.
Scott was quiet and subdued on the rest of the journey, and Keira was not inclined to force the conversation to the topic at hand.
She knew he was right about many things, and that the correct course of action with Noah would be to distance herself from him, but she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to do it now.
She had never felt pleasure like that. It was as though he had opened up her world to a whole new plane of existence.
I have never felt so safe in all me life as I have in the last few days, she thought regretfully. Whenever he touches me I just want to forget anything else exists.
Scott left her at the door to her bed chamber with a dark look that she tried hard not to be annoyed by.
He was her brother, but he was acting like her father, and she did not care for it. She had been looking after herself and making her own decisions for nearly twenty-five years; she did not need him to tell her what to do now.
She opened the door, looking forward to ridding herself of her wet things. But she stopped in her tracks at the sight of Noah standing beside the fire, waiting for her.
He was still wet from the water of the loch, his hair a little fluffier than usual, his kilt sodden and damp.
She remembered her hand moving beneath it as she had touched him. He wore no underclothes; it was a heady feeling to know that if she chose to, she could reach out and do it again.
He stood up to his full height, looking uncertain as they stared at one another.
“We need to talk,” he said, walking past her and closing the door. She turned to ask him what he meant by that, only to find his huge arm leaning against the door above her, his body inches from her own, so powerful and strong she could barely breathe.
She looked up at him, seeing the same need in his eyes as she felt every time he was close to her, and she hurriedly moved to the fire. He did not follow. Both of them seemed to recognize that keeping some distance between them was wise.
The fire was welcoming, and it helped to warm her chilled skin.
“What did ye wish to say?” she asked, feeling worry settle in her gut as she looked at his stern expression.
“Yer brother is right,” he said finally. His jaw clenched as he said the words. “I am an honorable man, but I have nae treated ye in the way that ye deserve.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand before she could speak.
“What if we were to marry?”
Keira could only gape at him in response. “What?” she asked, her voice coming out as a croak. She could not believe that he would even think such a thing, let alone suggest it.
“Ye and yer siblings would be protected from those who are huntin’ ye. Ye would be safe.” He huffed a laugh, and it was a cynical sound. “Me council might even stop houndin’ me to take a bride.”
Keira felt something cold and unpleasant settle in her gut at the clinical nature of his words.
“And ye’d be more comfortable here than travelin’ around the world tryin’ to find yer place in it,” he finished, glancing up at her and then away to all corners of the room.
“This wouldnae be a traditional marriage, lass.” He said to the light fitting in the center of the room. “I wouldnae wish it to be.”
She frowned at him. “Why not? What do ye mean?”
“We would live separate lives. It would be a union of convenience to protect yer family and to assist me in me status as laird, nothin’ more.”
“But why?”
“Because that is the way it has to be.”
She stared at him, bewildered. “Ye mean ye would expect me to take other lovers?” she asked.
Noah felt his stomach turn over at that possibility. He hated the idea of her even looking at another man, let alone being touched by him.
His eyes scanned the dampness of her dress, the curves of her full figure. He closed his eyes, shutting out the want that surged to the surface again.
This is madness. What am I doin?
“All I ask is that ye dinnae fall in love with me,” he said carefully, holding back the words he really wanted to say. Words that told her that she belonged to him, and she would never have another man touch her for as long as he lived.
“Why do ye say such a thing?” she asked.
“Nothin’ good will come of it, lass,” he said softly.
“Is it because ye are in love with another?” she said, her hand coming up to encircle her throat. A throat he had kissed not an hour before. “Another healer, perhaps?” she said, startling him.
At the look of uncertainty in her eyes, he advanced on her, gratified to see the lust bloom again on her face as he towered over her.
“I have never wanted anyone the way I want ye,” he whispered, his voice dark with need, fighting the urge to grip her arms and force her against the wall again. Instead, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face to look at him.
“Yer brother is right,” he said. “I am an honorable man, and I have mistreated ye. This will be an arrangement for us to find peace, and that is all it will ever be.”
He took a deep breath, stepped away from her, turned on his heel, and walked to the door. As he gripped the door handle, he turned back to her for one final look.
“This is all I can offer ye lass. I’ll leave ye to think it over.”