Chapter 15
“Why did ye bring me here?”
They were sitting side by side on the bank, on Callum’s cloak, which he had laid out for them.
Rhea basked in the sun and breeze on her face, letting her eyes flutter shut, though a part of her wanted to keep looking at Callum forever.
He seemed softer here in the golden light, more like his older self before the war, before the scars and the pain—which was to say he wasn’t exactly soft, as he had never been that.
But there was a gentler, almost childlike air about him now, as if some of his burdens had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Do ye like it?” he asked instead of answering her.
“Of course I like it,” she said, opening her eyes once more to look at him. “It’s so bonnie here.”
“Aye, it is.” Even his voice was softer, losing some of its usual roughness.
He paused for a long while, staring straight ahead, but just as she thought he would never answer her question, he spoke again.
“I thought ye might like it. And… this is where I used to come with me family when I was a bairn.”
“Did ye?” she asked. “All of ye together?”
“Aye.” He nodded. “Me, Sienna, our mother, and our father. This was before I kent what it meant to be the Laird’s son.”
This was the first time Callum spoke about his family, as well as the first time he expressed his feelings about his father, no matter how subtly. Rhea knew all about it from the servants, gossip, the clan’s history. But she had never asked, and she had never thought Callum would want to share.
She didn’t ask him now either, though she wondered if she should have. Would he tell her more? Would he speak of his father’s reckless spending? Would he tell her how he felt about him as a father and as a laird?
Callum didn’t elaborate, and she let it go. She didn’t want to push him, not when he had given her a glimpse of his feelings, no matter how small.
Is he openin’ up to me? Is he tryin’ to?
She had to commend him for at least trying.
“Only me family kens about this place,” he said.
“Well, I assume someone else must have found it since then, but we used to be the only ones to come here. Me mother would have the servants prepare a basket for us and would take us down here with Sienna, and we would spend the whole day in the water.”
“In the water?” she asked, her eyebrows rising to her hairline. “Is it nae cold?”
“It is,” he said. “Very much so. But I suppose ye daenae mind when ye’re a bairn.”
“Well, I would certainly mind. I cannae imagine gettin’ in there for a second, let alone an entire day.”
“So, ye willnae swim?”
Rhea turned to look at him, only to find him already staring at her with his head tilted, as if he was surprised to hear that.
“Of course nae!” she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. “It’s cold!”
Callum laughed. It was short, barely more than a snort, but she took it as a victory nonetheless. It was a strange sound, coming from him. Still, she wished she could hear more of it.
“I’m only teasin’ ye,” he assured her. “It is too cold now, but it might nae be in August.”
“I’m nae goin’ in there.”
“Yer loss,” he said, in a tone that implied she would go in there.
“Perhaps ye are used to people doin’ whatever ye want, but I’m nae those people,” she reminded him. “I’m yer wife.”
“One more reason for ye to trust me and get in the water,” he quipped.
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I daenae ken how ye always manage to turn everythin’ in yer favor.”
“I’ve had years of practice.” He shrugged. “Runnin’ a clan will do that to ye.”
There was a weariness in his voice, an exhaustion that seemed to follow him everywhere these days.
Rhea couldn’t imagine the burden of being the head of a clan.
She had tried to be that for her people when Callum had been absent.
She had tried to step in his shoes as much as she could, but the council hadn’t allowed her to do anything significant.
She was a woman, and to them, a woman running a clan was a ridiculous notion.
For a while, they both fell silent. It wasn’t the tense silence she was used to, though.
Rather, it was comfortable, calm, giving her the feeling of coming home.
She didn’t know when her anger had faded, but it had.
Every argument they had had, every grudge she had held against him, was now gone and replaced by something akin to warmth.
“Thank ye for bringin’ me here,” she said, breaking the silence. “Ye didnae have to do that, but ye did, and I’m glad for it.”
Callum paused, then said, “We’re family. This place is for family.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest as she stared into his eyes. Before she knew it, he was leaning in, claiming her lips in a kiss.
This one wasn’t passionate or full of need like their last one.
No, it was soft, tender in a way that none of their kisses had been before.
There was something deeper behind it, things that had been left unsaid between them.
His lips brushed against her own ever so gently, his intent stealing her breath more than the action itself.
As always, she melted in his arms, letting go of everything else just so she could be in the moment with him. She surrendered to his touch, letting him pull her closer, wrap his arms around her, and hold her flush against him.
His closeness had always been enough to drive her crazy, but now she needed him more than she ever had, and she couldn’t help but curse herself for asking him for a month of courtship.
As his fingers traced a gentle path down her arm, stroking her skin almost absent-mindedly, all she could think about was finally letting him claim her.
But she couldn’t ask for that. She had made herself a promise: one month for them to get to know each other. She had to remind herself that, for she hardly knew him.
His lips were like twin flames as they kissed a path down her jaw, her neck, leaving a trail of heat behind.
She let her head fall back with a sigh, her eyes fluttering shut once more as she lost herself to the pleasure.
His hands seemed to be everywhere—on her shoulders, down her arms, on the swell of her breasts—making her gasp for air.
He had touched her like this once before, when he had just returned from war. That time, Rhea had put an end to it, but now she didn’t want him to stop.
And she made sure to let him know.
“Daenae stop,” she begged.
Callum let out a low growl as his hands closed tightly around her waist, laying her down on his cloak. “Are ye certain?” he asked.
“I… I…”
Rhea didn’t know what she wanted, but he was quick to hush her with a kiss.
“I willnae claim ye,” he said. “Nae yet. Nae until ye’re certain.”
Rhea would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a pang of disappointment at that.
“But that doesnae mean I cannae pleasure ye,” Callum added.
Now she couldn’t help but frown, confused.
“Relax.”
The moment he said that, she tensed up, but he was patient with her. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, the crook of her elbows, peppering kisses everywhere he could reach until she finally began to relax, her body going limp.
Only then did he claim her lips once more, before kissing a trail down her neck all the way to the neckline of her dress, which he promptly grabbed and all but tore off her, pushing down the fabric until her breasts were bare.
Rhea gasped, half in surprise and half in embarrassment, her cheeks burning. Although Callum’s reaction was enough to replace her embarrassment with need.
He groaned, his palms coming up to cup her breasts. His hands were huge, big enough to encompass her entirely, and she couldn’t help but arch into his touch, her back bowing off the cloak.
When he lowered his lips to her breasts, sucking on her sensitive nipples, she was gone entirely.
This was more pleasure than she had ever experienced, every sensation—from his hands on her hips, his lips around her nipples, his beard against her skin—seemingly amplified.
Soft sounds escaped her throat; she couldn’t help it.
Every touch, every brush of his lips, every swipe of his tongue felt too good.
Ever so slowly, Callum moved lower and lower, raising her skirts at the same time. She pushed herself up on her forearms, watching him, apprehension and need warring inside her.
What is he doin’?
Rhea didn’t dare ask. She only watched as he looked up at her, and she could have sworn that for a moment, a smirk curved his lips. And then his head disappeared between her legs, and his lips found her core, sucking on her sensitive flesh.
She let out an unbridled moan, her head falling back as her eyes snapped shut.
Suddenly, the sensations, which were unlike anything she had ever experienced before, were too much and not enough all at once.
Every slide of Callum’s tongue over her folds, every drag of it over that sensitive nub at the top of her slit, had her writhing in pleasure and rocking her hips, seeking more.
But Callum wouldn’t have it. His hands found her hips, and he held her down as he pleasured her, making her take everything he was giving her.
Pressure built in her core as he teased her. But when he focused on the spot that had her seeing stars, flicking his tongue over her sensitive nub over and over, it was only a matter of time before pleasure crashed over her.
She screamed his name, her voice echoing in the air around them as he worked her through the aftershocks, lapping at her until she finally went limp.
Only then did he stop, pulling down her skirts until she was fully covered and tucking her breasts gently back in her dress.
He gathered her in his arms, his fingers threading gently through her hair as she came back down from her high.
They were both quiet after that, simply enjoying each other’s company. Rhea wished they could stay there forever, without their problems, without everyday life weighing on them, but eventually, Callum stood and pulled her up with him.
“Let us head back,” he said. “We daenae want to be out when it’s dark, nae here. The paths are treacherous.”
He had barely finished speaking when his gaze darted away. Rhea followed it and saw smoke rising up in the air, thick and black. It wasn’t the kind of smoke that came from a chimney—there weren’t any chimneys around anyway. No, this was the kind of smoke that came from something burning.
“It must be a village,” Callum said. “Take yer horse and head back to the castle. I’ll go and see what this is.”
“I’ll come with ye,” Rhea offered.
Callum was quick to shake his head. “Absolutely nae. It could be dangerous.”
“Ye have nay saddle,” she reminded him.
“I can ride without it.”
“I daenae want to leave ye alone.”
“I’ll be fine, lass. Of all the people ye have to worry about, I am the last of them.”
“Callum, I willnae hear it,” she insisted. “We’re wasting precious time here. Just let me come with ye.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I worry about ye, whether ye like it or nae!” she cried, unable to hold back the words. Only moments ago, she had been so happy, so content with how close they had become, and now he was shutting her out once again. “And I worry about the villagers. I wish to help. I can help.”
“How can ye help?” he demanded. “Ye’ll be in danger, Rhea. If this is an attack—”
“If this is an attack, the villagers will need me help, Callum,” she cut in. “They will need me. Me people will need me.”
Her last words seemed to shift something inside him.
There was irritation in his eyes still, that much was certain, but there was also pride and a strange fire that she had never seen in him before.
It had nothing to do with passion, though.
It had nothing to do with him seeing her as a woman, as his wife.
Rather, it had everything to do with him seeing her as an equal, as a fighter, as someone willing to go far for her people.
“Fine,” he relented through gritted teeth, perhaps thinking that she hadn’t noticed the change in him and trying to conceal it as much as he could.
Rhea couldn’t blame him. Now that she knew he was more proud than annoyed, she was bound to insist on helping regardless of the danger she would be facing.
“But ye’ll stay by me side, and ye’ll do as I say. Do ye understand?”
“As ye command, me Laird,” she said teasingly.
Callum rolled her eyes at her, as if annoyed, but she could have sworn she saw another smirk on his lips.
“Let us go, then,” he uttered, and the two of them climbed back on her mare, pulling Slàinte along with them.
Callum kicked his heels into the mare’s flanks, urging her to run as fast as she could, and Rhea held onto the cantle of the saddle, the wind stinging her eyes.
But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to their people in time.