Hewas too much.
His head dipped down, lips seeking hers.
Eilidh . . . panicked.
She had let too much in and wandered too far outside her habitual numbness.
That’s when it struck.
Terror engulfed her, a tidal wave of fear, obliterating the last vestiges of her numbness and drowning her in emotion—frightpainhorrorhelphelphelp.
A vise gripped her lungs, squeezing out the air, leaving her gasping.
The world went black.
She was trapped. She couldn’t free herself from the steely arms encasing her.
She devolved into a wild creature, shrieking and hitting.
“Let me go!Letmegoletmego!”
Kieran hissed and released her immediately, leaping back, palms out.
She wrapped one arm around her stomach and pressed a shaking hand to her mouth.
He stared, eyes wide and horrified.
“Eilidh . . .” he whispered.
She pivoted and fled from the room, the very hounds of hell at her heels.
19
December 1815
Ye have tae leave, lass,” Kieran whispered to Jamie, pulling her off her feet as he hugged her tight. “Things cannae continue like this.”
The hour was late. She had waited until everyone was asleep and then sneaked into his cabin, as was her wont. The room was dim, lit only by a slit from a dark lantern in one corner.
“But I just got here,” she murmured, arms a vise around his neck. “Besides, ye tell me to go, but your actions saystay, stay, stay.”
He breathed out a soft laugh, setting her gently back on her feet. “Ye know what I ken.”
“Do I?” She rose to her tiptoes and pressed her nose into the crook of his neck.
She was so fierce and determined, he often forgot how truly wee she was. The top of her head barely skimmed his shoulder.
He bent his head and caught her lips with his, nipping at them.
As usual, his heart drummed in his chest. After a day of arguing with Cuthie over supply issues and disciplining a wayward boatswain, he was unbearably relieved to have her in his arms once more.
Why had this brave, beautiful, spunky lass chosen him?
The thought regularly filled him with wonder.
But loving Jamie Fyffe came with obstacles.
Foremost . . . he was terrified.
