Chapter 28
For a breathless moment after their kiss, Davina thought Baird would pull away, suggest they return to shore, wrap themselves in dignity and dry clothes and all the careful distance they had kept for weeks.
But he didn’t.
Instead, his hand slid to her jaw, tilting her face up to his with a gentleness that made her chest tighten. He kissed her again, more slowly and more deeply.
The world softened around her. The wind quieted. The water rocked them. The sunlight shimmered against their skin.
She melted into him, as her hands found the solid shape of his shoulders, his neck, the places where strength and tenderness lived side by side. Every time his lips brushed hers, the kiss deepened, not with hunger but with reverence, as though he were asking permission with every breath.
Then, without breaking the kiss, he guided her backwards, toward the shallower water.
At first, she didn’t understand. Her breath caught, and she whispered his name against his mouth. “Baird…?”
But his hand slid to the small of her back, steadying her, reassuring her. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her with an expression that made her heart tremble. It was softness edged with awe, as though he could hardly believe she was there, choosing him.
He led her step by slow step until her feet brushed the sandy bottom beneath them and the water lapped at her hips, then, at her knees and finally, at her ankles. The sunlight warmed her shoulders, droplets glittering on her skin.
“Is this all right?” he murmured, his forehead resting gently against hers.
She nodded, unable to speak, her breath caught somewhere between her ribs and her heart.
He kissed her again. The kiss was filled with emotion he didn’t have words for. His hands framed her face, then drifted to her hips, guiding her down with a tenderness that made her knees weaken. The water buoyed her until the sand supported her gently, cool and soft beneath her palms.
Baird lowered himself with her, bracing his weight carefully on his forearms so he never crushed her, his body forming a protective shelter around hers. All the while his mouth moved against hers, slowly and reverently, and she felt every part of him tremble with restraint.
The loch rippled softly around them. His breaths mingled with hers.
His thumb brushed her cheek, tender as a prayer.
And Davina understood, in that moment, that he wasn’t laying her down out of desire alone.
It was trust. It was surrender. It was the first time he’d let himself be vulnerable with someone who could hurt him.
Then, his fingers gripped the hem of her undershirt, which was now clinging to her body, and he lifted it to her waist. He caressed her thighs, gently trailing an invisible line as he coaxed her to open herself for him.
She moaned softly against his lips, only for him to pull away and look at her mischievously, before lowering himself to plant a soft kiss on her stomach.
The thrill of that forbidden excitement seized her completely. She didn’t care that anyone might stumble onto them. All she cared about was that she was with him, in his arms.
When she felt him go even lower, she felt a rush heat between her thighs, at the very exact place where his head was now.
“Baird?” she called out his name, hissing through her teeth when she felt his tongue on her naked skin. “What—?”
“Shhh,” he whispered, only to plant another kiss on her most intimate flesh.
A bolt of longing shot right through her and she couldn’t help but grab a fistful of his hair, as if afraid that he might move and stop kissing her. Every time she felt his tongue, the sensation was new and she wanted more of it… so much more.
He pulled away, only to look at her and she melted at the sight. “I want ye tae feel good, Davina… I will dae anything ye want… I will stop whenever ye want…”
He was as breathless as she was.
“Nay…” she shook her head, wanting him to do everything to her. “Dinnae stop…”
He grinned, then dove right back in, teasing her, licking her, sucking her. She never knew that one could feel so much need, so much yearning. And she knew that only he could satiate her desire.
He took her pearl into his mouth gently, as she felt his tongue flicking over it. When he started sucking, that was when she started climbing the most glorious heights of pleasure. He was bringing her closer to something, but she had no idea what that something was.
She was breathless from her own desire, from his tongue.
Suddenly, a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before raged through her, and she gripped at him desperately, moaning to herself, biting her lower lip. It felt as if she were falling from the highest cliff, completely weightless, while her entire body trembled.
She could not tell when that sensation ceased its grip over her being, but when she opened her eyes, Baird was staring at her as if he were seeing her for the very first time.
She lifted a hand to his face, her fingers tracing the scar along his cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch, and a quiet, shuddering breath escaped him.
“Baird…” she whispered, but the rest of the words dissolved against his lips as he kissed her gently again, with the loch holding them both, two souls finding each other in the quiet heart of the Highlands.
The walk back to their horses felt strangely quiet. Sunlight warmed their damp skin as they climbed the bank, and Baird felt lighter than he had in years.
Davina wrung out the ends of her shift, with her cheeks still flushed pink from the water…
and from everything that had happened within it.
He watched her dress with a reverence he didn’t bother to hide.
Her hands trembled slightly as she fastened the ties of her gown, and he stepped forward before he could stop himself.
“Are ye all right?” he murmured.
She looked up at him, with eyes that were as bright as the loch behind her. “Better than all right,” she said, on the verge of a chuckle.
Her sweetness and her honesty hit him square in the chest. He felt a smile pull at his mouth, helpless and genuine.
“We should head back,” he said, “though I hardly want to.”
The world outside that clearing suddenly felt too sharp and too heavy. But duty waited, and he knew they could not hide here forever.
Davina nodded, still pink-cheeked, still radiant in a way that made his heart twist. “Aye. Let’s go home.”
Home.
He didn’t let himself linger on that word, not when it carried a meaning he wasn’t sure he deserved.
They mounted their horses and rode at a steady pace, allowing the warm day to dry their clothes and the soft breeze to cool their burning skin.
Each time he glanced at her, she caught him looking and blushed deeper, but she didn’t look away.
The connection between them felt impossibly strengthened now, a thread pulled taut and sure.
By the time the castle towers rose into view, the weight of reality began pressing against him again. It all came rushing back: the traitor, the Council, the danger still lurking in the shadows. But Davina’s presence at his side kept him steadier than he expected.
He glanced at her once more.
“I mean what I said,” he murmured. “About freedom.”
She gave a small, knowing nod. “And I meant what I promised. We’ll face it taegether.”
The words reassured him as very few things ever could.
They rode through the gates. Eyes followed them. Baird felt their curiosity, their whispers, their unease after the spectacle earlier. He helped Davina dismount, his hand lingering at her waist. She squeezed his fingers before stepping back, letting him walk ahead.
Inside the great hall, several council members rose immediately, already pressing forward with questions and demands. Baird lifted a hand, silencing them before a single word escaped their mouths.
“We will speak tomorrow,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “At dawn. Filib, the inquiry, the Sinclairs, all of it will be on the table. Ye will have yer answers then.”
A few men shifted uneasily. One opened his mouth as though to protest.
Baird cut him off with a sharp look. “Tomorrow.”
Grudging bows followed. The Council backed away.
Davina watched quietly from the edge of the hall, her gaze steady on him. And for the first time in a long time, Baird felt as though the ground beneath him was not slipping.
He turned back toward her, and felt hope lodge itself in his chest.
Tomorrow would bring trouble, but at least that night, he would have peace… and her.