I will put it right, he told himself.I will warn the Douglas. I will bring Leif Snarlsson to justice. I will pay for my mistakes. On this, I swear.
He began brushing down the horse again, the repetitive movements helping to calm his anger and focus his thoughts.
Tomorrow they would ride to Dun Cator. He shook his head. He had never expected to see the place again. Not after...
An image flashed into his mind.Herimage. Dark hair. Full lips. Her voice that had once called to him like that of a songbird.
His stomach twisted with a pain he’d thought long buried. Dun Cator. Why there? Why, of all places, would his fate lead him there? To the one place in all the Highlands he did not want to go?
He felt like a beast being led by a tether, with no choice over its fate. Irene MacAskill’s words suddenly floated into his head.
Learn to open yer heart and allow yer wounds to heal, allow someone to see behind the mask ye paint for yerself.
How?he thought.How does any of this make sense?
Opening his fingers, he let the straw drop from his grasp and watched as the wisps drifted slowly to the ground. With a sigh, he climbed back up the ladder and settled down in the hay beside Caitlin.
For a few heartbeats, he just watched her as she slept, then he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, hoping that his warmth would be enough to keep away the night’s chill.
Caitlin snuggled against him and the despair that filled him lifted slightly. He closed his eyes and rested against the softness of her body. To the soft sound of the horse munching hay below, Kai drifted into exhausted slumber.
He woke with a start. He was dreaming of the past and Irene’s voice lingered in his mind although he couldn’t remember what she’d been saying. He jerked his head up and looked around wildly, scanning the shadows for signs of movement. He could hear his breath coming in short gasps as he listened intently to any sound that may indicate danger.
But all that greeted him was the shuffling of the horse below, her hooves scraping against the wooden floorboards as she shifted her weight.
Sunlight was filtering through the gaps between the boards, that hazy, gray sort of light that indicated it wasn’t long past dawn, and outside the birds were beginning their chorus. Despite all that had happened yesterday, he’d slept soundly, the deep, formless sleep of utter exhaustion.
His shoulders relaxed and he looked down at Caitlin—and found that she was awake and watching him intently.
“My apologies,” he said softly. “I didnae mean to wake ye.”
“You didn’t,” she said sleepily. “The sparrows are making enough noise to wake the dead.”
She hadn’t moved from her spot and was still nestled in the crook of his arm, her head on his shoulder. He could feel her body heat radiating through the fabric of his shirt. Her face was only inches from his, her body touching him in a way that made his groin ache. Lord help him, he was a man, wasn’t he? What, by all that’s holy, was he supposed to do when a beautiful woman was staring at him like that?
So, he did what he’d been aching to do for days: he bent his head and kissed her.
At first, the kiss was chaste—a gentle brush of lips that promised more than it revealed. But then Kai felt himself being swept away in the moment, and before he knew what he was doing, his arms were around her waist and he was deepening the kiss. Caitlin’s body arched into him as if responding to an unspoken need.
He felt all the tension he’d been carrying slipping away as his heart beat faster with desire. He ran his hands along her sides and pulled her closer, drinking in the sweet taste of her lips.
His heart pounded in his chest. Nothing else mattered now—not the danger of the mission or the uncertainty of their future—all that mattered was being here in this moment with Caitlin.
He wanted to make love to her—to feel her naked body underneath him, and hear her soft moans as he moved inside her. He wanted to make her scream his name with pleasure as he drove them both higher and higher until they reached the peak of ecstasy together.
He kissed her hungrily before pulling away just enough to whisper in her ear, “I want ye so badly, Caitlin.”
The heat of his words seemed to send a wave of electricity through them both, and Kai watched as Caitlin’s eyes widened with desire. He ran his hands down her arms and across to her hips, then hiked up her dress and trailed a finger up the inside of her thigh.
Suddenly, Caitlin gasped—but not from pleasure. She put her hands on his chest and pushed away from him, quickly pulling down her dress. Her face was flushed and her breath was coming in rapid bursts.
“What... what are we doing?” she said shakily.
Kai felt as though he’d been doused with cold water. His blood was singing with desire, but the look on her face sobered him abruptly.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I’m sorry if I mis-stepped, lass,” he said at last, his voice hoarse. “But I thought ye wanted it.” He looked up and met her gaze. “I thought ye wanted it as much as I do.”
Yes, it was still there in her eyes: a stark, naked desire almost the match of his own. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her pupils dilated.
