Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The Cave Pool
And Unexpected Company
Bria stared at him in disbelief. “You cannot possibly mean to join me.”
Kaelan continued loosening the fastening of his vest as though her protest held little importance.
“I do.”
The calm certainty in his voice only deepened her alarm.
“This is hardly proper.”
“Nay,” he agreed easily. “It is not.”
Bria blinked at the lack of apology.
She retreated farther into the glowing water until shadows partially concealed her beneath the drifting steam. Warmth still surrounded her naked body, yet suddenly it did little to ease the nervous heat rising beneath her skin.
“You left me with Winnie earlier,” she reminded him quickly. “Surely you do not believe danger waits for me even here.”
Kaelan slipped his vest off then his shirt, revealing broad shoulders glistening faintly beneath the silver glow reflecting off the water.
His upper torso was riddled with impressive muscles, more so in this soft light than when she first saw him bare-chested.
Or maybe she hadn’t taken enough notice then.
When he continued to shed his garments, Bria instantly turned her back to him.
“You were with Winnie,” he said. “You are alone here.”
Bria frowned toward the cave wall rather than risk looking back at him. “While curious at our arrival, no one seemed to pose a threat to us or danger.”
“Danger rarely announces itself politely beforehand.”
Despite herself, the answer nearly made her smile.
Nearly. Instead, she attempted to cling stubbornly to her irritation, though it became increasingly difficult while listening to the quiet sounds of him removing the rest of his clothing behind her.
“You still should not be here,” she insisted.
“And yet here I remain.”
The low amusement beneath his words sent warmth curling unexpectedly through her again.
Why?
Why in this situation, with every sensible thought warning her this should feel improper and uncomfortable… did she still feel safe with him?
That truth unsettled her more deeply than the sight of him disrobing ever could.
Kaelan paused briefly at the water’s edge, his gaze lingering upon her turned back and the pale curve of her shoulder barely visible through drifting steam.
This had not been a wise decision. He knew that.
Every instinct within him already strained dangerously enough where Bria was concerned without trapping himself beside her in a secluded cave while she sat half-hidden in glowing water looking far too tempting for his own peace of mind.
Yet allowing her to remain here alone had ceased being an option the moment unease settled beneath his skin after she left. Something about Driochmor felt restless today. And Bria remained far too trusting of shadows.
So, he had followed. Necessary or not, wisdom had little place left where she was concerned.
Kaelan stepped into the water at last. Warmth closed instantly around him as he moved deeper into the glowing pool, the soft ripples spreading gently toward her.
Bria remained stubbornly turned away.
A faint smile touched his mouth. “You may look now.”
Her breath caught softly at the sound of his voice so near behind her.
Bria turned slowly at last, though she remained safely within the deeper shadows of the glowing pool where drifting steam concealed some of her from view.
Not that it eased her awareness of him.
Kaelan stood several feet away, the silver light beneath the water gliding across the hard lines of his chest and shoulders, while dark damp hair rested against his neck. Steam curled lazily around him, softening little of the strength in his broad frame.
Bria immediately lowered her gaze before he could notice how deeply the sight unsettled her.
“We should speak of what comes next,” she said quickly, clinging tightly to the safer subject.
Kaelan watched her quietly a moment before nodding once. “Aye.”
Relief loosened faintly within her, directing the discussion to something practical, sensible. Anything but the dangerous awareness growing between them every time they found themselves alone.
Bria drew her knees slightly closer beneath the water. “We should seek out this council Kilham spoke of. If anyone can help us find our way home, surely it would be them.”
Kaelan’s expression gave little away, though his gaze drifted briefly toward the cave entrance before returning to her.
“That can wait.”
Bria frowned softly. “Wait?”
“I still need to track the beast.”
The reminder instantly tightened the fragile calm she had begun finding in the warmth of the cave.
“Kaelan…” She hesitated carefully. “You speak of finding him as though it matters more than leaving Driochmor itself.”
“It does.”
The blunt honesty of the answer startled her.
Bria studied him carefully through the drifting steam. “Why?”
Kaelan remained silent too long.
Long enough to tell her he would not truly answer, again.
Frustration stirred softly within her. “You ask trust from me while revealing almost nothing of yourself.”
His gaze held hers steadily now. “There are things I cannot yet explain.”
“That answer grows tiresome.”
A faint shadow of amusement touched his mouth despite the seriousness in his eyes. “I imagine it does.”
Bria wanted to remain irritated with him. Truly she did. Yet being there, surrounded by glowing water and soft drifting mist while his deep voice wrapped quietly around her made anger increasingly difficult to hold onto.
Silence settled between them once more. Not uncomfortable, if anything, the silence felt far too intimate.
Bria became painfully aware again that little separated them beneath the glowing water. The realization sent warmth rushing through her that had nothing to do with the heated spring surrounding her body.
And judging by the way Kaelan’s gaze lingered upon her face before slowly lowering and lifting once more…
He was not untouched by the moment either.
Kaelan forced his attention away from thoughts better left alone.
The steam concealed some of her, yet somehow that only worsened matters. Glimpses of pale skin through drifting mist tempted far more dangerously than full sight ever could.
He should not have come into the cave. Yet leaving her alone here had never truly been possible. Not after the fear he sensed in her earlier. Or after the confusion Kilham and Winnie stirred within her. Not when every instinct within him demanded he remain near enough to protect her.
Kaelan leaned back slightly against the smooth stone edge of the pool, studying her quietly. Even half-hidden in shadows, he could still sense tension lingering within her despite her efforts to hide it. Something troubled her deeply more than Driochmor itself and more than the council.
He fought the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her. It would not be a wise idea, not wise at all. But he would find out what was disturbing her and do his best to ease her concern.
He failed at keeping his voice even, too intent on having an answer. “What is truly troubling you, Bria?”
She bristled at his commanding tone, then saw the concern in his eyes. He worried over her and that eased her annoyance. Though it did not help her in deciding whether she should share with him what Winnie had told her.
Her obvious reluctance to talk to him struck a spark of frustration in him.
He wanted this done between them, settled, but he could not push her, could not take her in his arms and kiss her until she surrendered.
However, surrender was not what he was looking for from her.
It was more, so much more, and she had to give it freely.
Kaelan softened his tone, though it remained strong. “You can trust me, Bria.”
She watched him drift a little closer and while she thought to back away, keep her distance, she didn’t. She remained where she was.
“Part of me does trust you and another part…” She shook her head and went to turn away.
His arm reached out to gently circle her waist and keep her there, though he dared not bring her close, dared not let their bodies touch.
“Continues to be confused over me,” he finished.
Bria knew he would not stop her if she moved away from him, but she didn’t want to. His touch brought her comfort, lessened her worries, and she wanted nothing more than to rest her head on his chest and linger in…
What? What was it she truly wanted to linger in?
She didn’t want to admit, though she had allowed herself to think she was falling in love with him. Though it made no sense. And yet she loved being with him, sharing in this journey, this adventure she could have never imagined or would have thought to take.
Life was good just as it was. She didn’t need any more than what she had at Willowmere. At least that was what she believed until Kaelan entered her life.
One touch. One. That was all it took and now she didn’t want to be separated from him. That alone shocked her but learning from Winnie that her roots lay in Driochmor and her gift of touch came from it as well was something she did not want to believe or accept.
The prospect of it frightened her and made her want to retreat to a safe place, Willowmere. But she was safe with Kaelan. Wasn’t she?
Her touch comforted and never without permission, but it wasn’t comfort she sought to give right now. It was what she wanted, needed to know for herself.
She went to rest her hand on his upper arm and that’s when she saw it.
The wound. It was completely healed and not a scar in sight.
She went to touch where the wound had been, but his hand locked around her wrist, stopping her.
“Don’t, not yet.”
He felt the sudden change in her, a ripple of tension beneath his hand still at her waist and for a moment he thought he caught fear spark in her eyes, but it was too brief to be certain.
“How?” she asked. “It is impossible for your wound to have healed that fast and leave no scar to mark the spot.”
He silently admonished himself for forgetting about his wound. She was not meant to see it, not yet. Always not yet. It was getting to be tiresome.
A sudden thought had her stepping away from him, his hand falling away from her waist, letting her go.
“Magic. Is that what healed your wound, magic? I’ve seen that you are familiar with this land. Are your roots in Driochmor?”
“My roots are in Northland, and I am here on a mission for my tribe’s leader. And I can say no more about it. I should not even have told you that.”
“It involves the beast?”
“Aye, it does.”
Bria nodded at the soap on the stone. “You should wash.”
“Are you telling me I don’t have a pleasant scent?” he said, hoping an attempt at humor might help the precarious situation.
“I quite like your potent scent,” she said without thinking and drifted away from him, ducking down until the water skimmed her chin.
At times, her scent drove him to distraction but hearing that his scent did the same to her further stirred the arousal he was fighting to keep at bay.
He grabbed the soap and started scrubbing, anything to get his mind elsewhere.
Bria felt the sand beneath her feet disappear and she began to swim in the deeper part of the water.
Her da had taught her to swim when she was young, though it worried her mum.
But her da insisted it was better their daughter knew how in case there ever came a day it proved necessary for her to know.
Thoughts of her parents lingered. She lost them two years apart a few years ago. And she missed them every day. Her mum had been a skillful healer and her da a farmer who could coax the land into producing fine crops.
She stopped swimming and tread water, like her da had taught her. If, as Winnie said, her roots were in Driochmor, did that mean her parents came from here as well?
A decision came to her then. She could not leave Driochmor until she learned the truth about herself. And who she truly was, no matter how even the idea of it frightened her. Not so much the search itself but what she might find.
She turned to swim back to Kaelan and bumped into him.
She quickly backed away, having felt too much of him brush against her and how it caused her body to tingle with far too much pleasure.
“How is it you can sneak up on me without me hearing you?”
“I have talents,” he said with a playful smirk, trying desperately to ignore how the mere brush of her body sent his desire for her soaring.
She wondered about his talents but didn’t ask.
“I need to talk with you about—”
“Not right now,” he said and turned away abruptly.
“This cannot wait,” she insisted.
“We need to leave now,” he insisted more strongly.
Bria looked around concerned. “Are we in danger?”
“If you don’t move from there and get dressed, we may be.”
She scrunched her brow.
Kaelan eased himself deeper into the shadows, so she wouldn’t see the passion he knew had to be burning in his eyes or how his arousal could no longer be contained.
“Move, Bria,” he ordered more sternly than he intended. “That part of the pool lights brighter. I can see every bit of you.”
Bria gasped and hurried into the shadowed part of the pool.
Kaelan was already out of the water, reaching for his cloak to dry himself.
With his back to her, it gave her the opportunity to slip out of the water without him seeing her. She grabbed her drying cloth and garments and hurried to the shadows to dry herself and get dressed.
When she was dressed, she gave her hair a good drying with the cloth and ran her fingers through it to prevent it from knotting. Then she stepped out of the shadows.
Relieved to see him fully clothed, she approached him. “I think you are right, the council can wait—”
She was in his arms before she realized he had grabbed hold of her.
His hand went to her backside to press her hard against him as his lips came down on hers in a kiss that left her breathless, her heart racing, desire mounting, and wanting more, so much more.
And with his manhood hard against her, she knew he felt the same.
He stepped away abruptly. “Soon. It better bloody hell be soon.”
He stormed out of the cave, leaving Bria to follow.