Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The rain continued falling around them through the cracks between the boards above in the weathered structure that no longer provided much protection from a storm. The water dripped softly, darkening the stones beneath their feet.
Ailis drew her cloak tighter around herself, but it did little to shield her from the cold.
“Ye’ll catch cold,” Gordon said when she stretched out a hand to let the rain touch her palm.
Ailis withdrew her hand slowly, but she did not look at him. Her body still burned from his nearness earlier, and she was a bit grateful for the cold because it helped cool her off a little.
“I have survived worse than rain.”
He gave her a look. “Ye are shiverin’.”
“I am nae,” she denied then another shiver raked through her and made her shudder.
Without another word, Gordon reached for the heavy woolen plaid draped around his shoulders. He loosened it and settled it over hers, tucking the thick fabric closer around her neck.
The scent of him clung to it. Ailis’ breath caught as she inhaled it deeply. It was warm, like lean Highland air, faint smoke from the hearth, leather, and the subtle earthy trace of pine and cedar that seemed to belong only to Gordon.
She drew an unconscious breath, and there he was again. Not beside her, yet somehow close enough to make her heart stumble. His scent lingered against her skin, wrapping around her like an invisible touch.
“Thank ye,” she murmured, even though she hated that she felt so many things and did not know how he felt.
“Aye.”
For a while, neither spoke. Ailis watched droplets gather on the leaves outside the pavilion before falling in glittering trails.
“I used to like rain,” she said, heaving a deep breath.
Gordon glanced at her. “Ye did?”
“Aye. When I was a lass, Sorcha and I would sit by the window and watch it. I always thought it made the world look different.”
“Different?”
“More mysterious.” Her smile softened. “As though there might be another world hidden behind it.”
Gordon looked toward the mist-covered hills.
“Have ye ever traveled beyond the Highlands?” she asked, glancing at him this time.
“Nay.”
The answer surprised her. She expected that a man like him would have explored all there was to the lands beyond what they knew.
“Never?”
He shook his head.
Ailis studied him. “I have always wanted to. I have longed to travel beyond the Highlands.” Her voice brightened as she spoke.
“To see Edinburgh. The islands. France, perhaps. I would like to see the sea from somewhere beyond Scotland. I want to walk through markets where I daenae ken a single face. I want to see paintings in great halls and hear musicians from places I have never heard of.”
She laughed softly. “I ken it sounds foolish.”
“It doesnae.”
She turned toward him. “What about ye? What do ye long for? What do ye dream of?”
Gordon’s gaze remained fixed on the rain, his jaw muscles working tight before he answered, “I wanted to travel once.” Ailis waited for him to say more, and he did. “When I was a lad. I used to come here and go to the cliff to watch the valley below.”
“I would hide beneath this pavilion when me uncle was angry. I would sit for hours and imagine I was somewhere else.”
Something inside Ailis ached. She pictured him as a child, alone beneath the rain, clutching whatever small hope he had been able to protect.
His eyes met hers, and for a moment, something unguarded passed through them. Then it vanished.
“But dreams are for bairns,” he added quietly. “I daenae do that anymore.”
Ailis frowned. “Why?”
“Me duty is more important,” he answered.
Ailis looked down at the plaid around her shoulders, and her fingers clenched the wool tight. “Is that why ye want me gone? Is it duty that makes ye want that?”
Ailis’ heart sank when his face drew back into its usual scowl that closed him off then he looked away from her.
His jaw tightened, and she reached out to touch his arm.
“Gordon…” she whispered, her voice breaking into a stuttered gasp as he turned to look at her.
His eyes drifted down to her lips, and her heart began pounding as she waited for him to look away.
Or perhaps I should step away?
Ailis thought he might kiss her, and she did not know whether she wanted that.
What if he pulls away after?
Her heart began beating harder.
He is goin’ to kiss me.
She should have stepped away. Instead, she remained perfectly still, her lips parting on a shallow breath as his gaze met hers. A dark glimpse of desire flickered there, restrained yet unmistakable, and it sent a shiver down her spine.
Gordon moved closer. His eyes never left hers. They held a question, a warning, and something far more vulnerable beneath both.
Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath her skin. Ailis swallowed and stayed still. She could feel the warmth of his breath now, and her lips began parting.
Then thunder rolled across the Highlands. The deep rumble shook the building, breaking the fragile spell between them.
Gordon jerked backward. “Gods help me,” he muttered.
Ailis blinked back to reality as his rough words shattered the heat of the moment.
He dragged a hand through his hair, his jaw tight, his breathing uneven.
For one breath, she thought he might lean in again. Instead, he looked at her. The intensity in his eyes made her pulse leap, but he turned abruptly and strode away from her into the rain.
By the time Gordon and Ailis returned to the keep, night had settled over the Highlands.
Rainwater streamed from his hair, soaking through his tunic.
His boots struck the stone with heavy, wet steps as he entered the great hall.
Ailis was dry because he made sure she wore his cloak while he wandered off into the rain to cool off.
Another minute with her in that pavilion, and he would have lost his mind.
I cannae have that.
As they dismounted his horse and walked toward the keep’s entrance, he saw his brother, Sorcha, and Marion all waiting, faces drawn with worry.
Sorcha rushed forward and hugged Ailis the moment she got to her. She stood beside Sorcha, wrapped in his wool while Marion hovered nearby with a worried crease between her brows.
“Where have ye been?” Sorcha demanded, her eyes darting over Ailis. “We were all worried for ye two as ye dinnae return with the others from the hunt.”
“We feared ye had been caught in the storm,” Marion added.
“And why are ye soaked through? Was there nay shelter?” Callan asked, looking to Gordon.
Gordon heard the questions. He could answer none of them without revealing far more than he wished.
His thoughts were still filled with Ailis. Her face, her lips… and that treacherous moment before the thunder broke them apart.
His jaw tightened as he scrambled his mind for the right answer. “We got caught in the rain and had to wait it out.”
“But ye are soaked,” Marion said now, moving to touch his face. “I shall have the servants draw a bath for ye two. Ye daenae want to catch a cold and…”
“It willnae be necessary for me,” Gordon said before he walked away from them.
He reached his study and shut the door hard behind him.
A moment later, Malcolm entered his study.
“The men in the dungeon have spoken,” Malcolm announced.
Gordon turned sharply, ignoring the cold slithering under his skin as he walked to his shelf and reached for his whisky. He needed the heat from the liquid to burn through him now more than ever.
“And?” he questioned Malcolm after taking a long drink from it.
“They didnae confess who sent them, but I found this in their possessions.”
Malcolm showed him a torn piece of clothing with the familiar colors of dull gray and dark green.
Cold settled through Gordon. “These are the Kerr colors.”
“Aye.”
Gordon’s hand tightened around the edge of his desk. “Then he is here because he is plannin’ somethin’,” Gordon continued. “Why else would he risk acceptin’ me invitation? The raid was merely a distraction.”
“Ye were right to invite him,” Malcolm said now. “And all ye need do is give an order when ye are ready, Me Laird.”
“I want every man watchin’ him while he remains beneath this roof. Every move he makes, everythin’ he does must be reported to me. We must figure out what his real plan is.”
“Ye think he will strike again?”
“I daenae ken.” Gordon’s gaze hardened. “And until I do, Sorcha and Ailis are never to be left unguarded. Put two men near the women’s chambers. Quietly. I want nay alarm, but I want them protected.”
“Aye, Laird.”
“How is the lass we rescued?”
“She is recoverin’ well.”
Gordon’s shoulders eased slightly. “She is?”
“Aye. The healer says she has taken broth and slept.”
Relief loosened something inside him. “Good. I shall visit her.”
He could not remain in his study right now anyway. Not when Ailis haunted him like this.
I came so close to losin’ control.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he remembered her lips only inches from his.
How much longer can I deny meself what I really want?
He did not think he could for much longer. He needed to find ways to put distance between them until the binding and even after it.
Gordon went to his chamber to change out of his wet clothes first before he headed to the healer’s chamber to visit the girl.
She was asleep when he entered the chamber, but her eyes opened when he approached.
“Me Laird,” she whispered, surprise etched into her small face as she tried to get up and curtsey to him.
“Daenae move,” Gordon said to her softly. He reached out and gently guided her down to the bed again. “I only came to make sure ye were all right.” He pulled a chair beside her bed and sat, taking in her pale look. “What is yer name, lass?”
“Maria, Me Laird.”
“Maria,” he repeated softly. “How do ye feel? Do ye feel pain anywhere?”
She gave a tiny shrug. “Nay, Me Laird. I am much better, thank ye.”
Gordon adjusted the blanket around her shoulders. “Ye shall have no cause to fear again. Ye are under me protection now, and the men who took ye will pay for it.”
The lass nodded as she held his gaze then she finally settled down into the bedding again. Her eyes fluttered close after a moment, and he watched her breathe, his chest loosening with a wash of relief.
This was what he knew. He understood how to protect his people and lead them. He knew how to keep enemies beyond his walls and make them fear him. It was the life he had always known… It was all he had been taught. It was how a true leader ought to be.
Alone, feared, strong.
A woman like Ailis wanted travel, painting, and love… She wanted to dream, and he could not stop her.
Gordon knew he could not want her. Heavens, he could never even dream of wanting her.
But somehow, he had started to long and wish for more.
And it was all her fault!