Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Margo did not know what had compelled her to reach forward. It was something instinctive, a desire to touch the man who had found the kitten. Even more than that, her emotions were swelling and swirling in her mind.
“Thank you,” she whispered, the sound of the rain fading as the intensity of the storm waned.
Cameron’s eyes opened, his pupils dilated so wide that she couldn’t see the ring of color around his irises. She could barely take a full breath, and his radiating warmth rendered her incapable of pulling her hand away from him.
“Ye daenae have to thank me,” he said, his voice smooth like silk. “Ye just have to promise me that ye will nae longer be so reckless.”
“I cannot make that promise,” she said, her smile not faltering. “I would do this all over again.”
“I ken ye would,” he rasped, his own hands coming up to cup her cheeks.
The last thing Margo saw before he captured her lips in a burning kiss was the kitten adjusting her stance. All thoughts concerning the wee animal were banished from her mind when she registered the contact. Her free hand came to rest against his side, anchoring herself to the moment.
At first, the contact was exploratory. It felt almost as if he didn’t trust himself or the process. When Margo responded, letting her lips part, his restraint seemed to snap.
His hands tightened on her cheeks, the touch growing possessive. She didn’t mind the claiming nature of his approach. In fact, she thought that she liked the way he held onto her.
As his tongue slid over her lips, probing for permission, his grip shifted. His hands found her waist, and he drew her in closer, pressing his body against hers. She felt his warmth rolling off of him, and she practically melted against him, feeling as though he was pouring life back into her.
Margo whimpered as he deepened the kiss.
There was a kind of hunger behind it that made her knees weak.
She held onto him tighter, using his solid body to keep herself upright.
Had he not been standing right in front of her, she was certain she’d have collapsed from the sheer force of the sensation.
She felt dizzy in the best way as his touch sent a rush to her head. Each minute movement of his lips, each brush of his tongue against hers, filled her with warmth and spread through her limbs like a large shot of whiskey.
Wildly clinging to Cameron, Margo tried to get even closer. She felt the tiny body on his shoulder stir toward her but, as she reached up to catch it, the kitten spooked.
Though Margo didn’t feel it, she heard the kitten’s claws digging into Cameron’s dublet. He broke the kiss seconds before the kitten dug her claws into his skin. Hissing through his teeth, he reached up to grab her.
“Ach, ye wee bastard!” he cursed, his voice loud enough to scare the animal and send her tumbling down his front, her claws catching on the thick wool. “Daenae fall now!”
Despite his instruction, the kitten hit the ground with a dull thud. Then, when he bent to pick her up, she scurried away. Another flurry of curses fell from his lips, and though Margo knew the situation was serious, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do not yell at her!” Margo chastised, walking after the two of them. Another peal of laughter bubbled forth at the image of such a large, intimidating man being led on a chase by a tiny gray kitten. “She is afraid of ye!”
“Nay, she kens that she has made a mistake and now she is tryin’ to avoid responsibility,” he grumbled, cursing when the kitten began climbing a tree. “Daenae ye dare climb up there!”
The kitten didn’t listen to him, climbing up on a branch barely out of his reach. The kitten watched as he tried to reach her, tilting her head to the side almost as if she was mocking him.
“I do not think she likes the tone you’re taking with her,” Margo said, forcing herself to stop giggling. “That is why she is sitting there.”
“I believe ye’ve been teachin’ her to be difficult,” Cameron scoffed, taking a step back and squinting up at the kitten. “Now that the thunder has gotten quieter, she’s decided she is brave enough to challenge me.”
Margo took a few moments to take in his form. His body seemed more relaxed now; his shoulders no longer held the rigid tension they had before. Her eyes were drawn to his lips, their shape imprinted in her mind from touch alone. She wanted more from him; so much more.
“She is not doing it on purpose,” Margo said, shaking her head to free herself from the intrusive thoughts. As she stepped forward, she reached up with one hand, wiggling her fingers to try enticing her down. “At least, I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose.”
“Look at the wee thing!” Cameron said, gesturing up at the kitten as if she were caught doing something incredibly incriminating. She swatted at the air, only hitting a few raindrops. “She kens what she is doin’. Ye can see in her eyes that she is brighter than she should be.”
“If that’s the case,” Margo said, laughing again as she lowered her arm again, “then perhaps you should try being kinder to her.”
He went silent beside her, and when she turned to meet his gaze, he was staring at her. The expression on his face was a mix of incredulity and exasperation. She tried to meet it with as much seriousness as she could muster, but she seemed to be caught in a whirlwind of laughter.
“Ye must think this is a joke, aye?” he challenged, the corner of his mouth tugging upward.
“It is quite humorous,” Margo conceded, tapping her fingers against the tree trunk, in an effort to entice the kitten down.
The animal hunkered down lower, her claws digging stubbornly into the tree branch as if she were refusing to leave her perch.
Thunder rumbled again, this time louder, as though it were approaching them once more.
“Though it is becoming less so the longer she stays up there. It sounds as if the storm is circling back.”
“Aye, it is,” Cameron said, running a hand through his hair to sweep it away from his face. “I have an idea.”
“You do—” she began, her words cut off as she was lifted into the air. Her stomach swooped, and her view changed so suddenly that she felt a bit dizzy. “Cameron! What are you doing?!”
“Ye are eye-level with her, are ye nae?” Cameron asked, his forearm coming down over her lap to hold her steady.
Whipping her head up quickly to confirm her position, she nearly lost her balance. Her arms circled the air wildly, one of her hands slamming into the tree branch. The other found support right on top of Cameron’s head.
“Watch what ye’re doin’, lass!” he grumbled, adjusting his grip on her once more. “If ye make me lose me balance, we’ll both go down.”
“You could have warned me you were lifting me up!” Margo said, her fingers tightening in his hair.
“Ach, fine! The next time I pick ye up, I will ask for yer permission first,” he replied, widening his stance. Lightning struck overhead again, and the rain began to fall more steadily. “Now, will ye grab the kitten? Or has she run off because of yer shoutin’?”
Swallowing down another argument, Margo focused on her new surroundings. She was up higher in the air than she cared for, but she could see so much more from here. Right in front of her, the kitten perched and watched her with intense interest.
“You are a difficult thing,” Margo said, letting go of Cameron’s hair and grabbing the kitten. With the animal cradled to her chest, she called to him, “You can put me down now.”
Cameron shifted, taking a slow step back from the tree. Margo’s weight on his shoulder was solid, though she was even lighter than she looked. He felt as though he could go through his entire day with her perched there.
“Daenae tip over,” he grunted as he grabbed onto her hips.
“Just do not move too quickly,” she snapped, still fiery despite her precarious position.
“Ye’re the one that’s clumsy, not me,” he replied, slowly lowering her to the ground.
Even after her feet were steady on the ground, Cameron did not let go of her. Where his hands rested, the storm’s icy chill was retreating beneath the warmth of his palms. She didn’t seem inclined to pull away, her focus seemingly on the gray kitten in her hands.
“You should not have done that,” she said, softly chastising the tiny creature. “What would have happened if we could not have gotten you down?”
The kitten mewled in response, wiggling in her arms and getting tucked into her chest. It was then that she seemed to realize Cameron was still holding onto her. She went stiff for a beat before relaxing incrementally.
“We should get back to the castle,” he said, his voice low, as if he did not want to scare the moment off. “The rain is pickin’ up.”
“Right,” she said softly, though she didn’t move immediately.
He dropped his hands from her waist, realizing she might be waiting on him. She turned around then, not stepping away. When her eyes met his, the energy surrounding them surged back, as though the interruption with the kitten had never happened.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling as lightning lit her face, making her look divine. “For finding her. And for finding me.”
“Ye daenae need to thank me,” he told her, his fingers twitching at his sides with the desire to pull her into another kiss.
It was as if his hunger, now that he had allowed himself to indulge in it, had grown insatiable.
Even though the wind was now howling against the cliffs, the only thing he could think of was her lips on his.
It would be so easy for him to reach out and pull her in again, to claim her mouth as his once more.
The kitten wiggled again, and Margo laughed. Hearing her giggle was like standing next to a roaring hearth. He had to tear his gaze away from her, swallowing hard as he was trying to find his footing.
“I think she would like to ride in your sweater again,” Margo murmured a beat later, offering her to him. “She is beginning to shake.”
“Aye, so are ye,” he said, accepting the kitten and tucking her against his chest between the layers of wool. The tiny thing shook, nuzzling further against the warmth of his body.
She looked at her own hands, frowning as she stretched her fingers to banish the chill. When she met his eyes again, she said, “I did not even realize I was shivering. I was so focused on finding her.”
“I ken,” Cameron said, turning away from her and the desire to pull her close and warm her up the same way he was warming the kitten. “Now, quit standin’ around. We’re goin’ to be racin’ the storm on the way back.”