Moving ever so slowly, he slid a crooked finger under her chin and eased his arm back around her. “Perhaps the dog was sent to tell ye It is not such a bad thing to open yer heart to another. Perhaps he was a messenger of sorts . . . to tell ye that ye are not meant to be alone.”
She hitched in a quick intake of breath as he leaned closer. He must taste her, must seal this tenuous connection with a kiss. He bit back a groan as she ducked her head and rolled out of his embrace.
Keeping her head tucked against the tiny dog cuddled to the crook of her neck, Mairi turned back toward the drenched rolling green of the park dotted with benches, statues, and carefully tended shrubs. “I haven’t covered half the garden. I could still find him. Princes Street Garden is huge and has lots of hidey-holes he could find.”
Frustration pricked at Ronan, heating him against the cold, freezing rain. How the hell could he convince the woman she could not find the wolf because he stood before her as a man? It was not the time to confess all. That certainty settled like a stone in the center of his gut. He had no choice. At least while he helped her search for the wolf she would never find, she might grow a bit closer to him.
He scanned their surroundings, then pointed at a bedraggled grove of trees bent low with the freezing rain. If he was still the wolf, he would take shelter there. “In weather such as this, there be but two reasons an animal would not be hunkered down within a shelter such as those trees or perhaps a cave.”
Mairi wrapped the plaid tighter about her shoulders and pulled the hood of her jacket farther over her face. “Food or a mate. I know. I get that.” She squinted against the rain as she turned and scanned the park. “See that’s just it. I know he’s hungry. I saw it in his eyes. That’s why I left him alone. I went to the market to get him some food.”
He had not been hungry for food.Ronan motioned her forward toward the narrow path winding through the park. “Come. We will walk this place through and see if we can find yer wee dog searching for a meal.” A comforting warmth spread through him as Mairi rewarded him with a grateful smile.
“I really appreciate your help.” She glanced up at the dreary sky, blinking against the sleeting rain, then frowned as her gaze returned to him. “You’re getting soaked to the skin. I can’t believe Eliza didn’t give you one of her umbrellas.” She shrugged the plaid away from her shoulders and held it out to him. “Here. You need this more than I do. My jacket will keep us dry.” The bedraggled wet pup poked its glistening black nose out of her shirt, eyed Ronan, and growled.
Ronan took the plaid, shook it out, and draped it back around Mairi’s shoulders. “Nay. The wool of my colors will keep ye a far sight warmer than yer wee jacket.” How could she think he would take back his plaid and leave her to the likes of some sort of waistcoat that looked to be thin as a monk’s parchment?
The furrow between her dark brows deepened. “You’re going to end up with pneumonia.” With one hand, she yanked the plaid away from her body and held it out to him. “Put this on . . . please. I don’t want to be responsible for you getting sick and ending up in the hospital.” She shoved the plaid toward him again. “I’m already in enough hot water with Eliza. If you get sick, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Ronan stopped walking. Damn the woman was stubborn. He knew how to end this. “Look. Over there. Is that yer missing dog?” He pointed to a dense cluster of beech trees.
Plaid and weather forgotten, Mairi whirled to look. “Where?”
“I’m certain I saw movement beside yon hedge upon the hill.” He left the path, hurrying toward the indicated spot with long, ground-eating strides. He dare not look her in the eye. She would know for certain he was telling tales.
Plaid bunched under one arm and the other arm holding the pup tight inside her jacket, she scurried past him. When she reached the hedge, she bent low with a bobbing up and down weave, searching the shadows beneath the drooping branches of the bush. “Are you sure? I don’t see anything.” She straightened and looked back at him, frustration and worry etched across her pale features.
Guilt thumped him dead center of his chest. This farce was madness. He could not keep toying with the lass. It was not honorable. “Perhaps not.” He stole a glance up at the ever-darkening sky. “The day grows short and the weather grows worse. Come. Let us go. We’ll not find the lad today.” He reached out his hand, silently praying she would take it. “Come, lass.”
As if to add credence to his words, a harsh gust of wind shoved against them and the sleeting rain increased to a stinging deluge. He held his hand higher and eased a step closer to the steep incline. “Come, mistress.”
Mairi shuddered with a heavy sigh; her sad gaze focused on his outstretched hand. “I guess you’re right.” She carefully picked her way forward and slid her cold pale fingers into his palm.
He gently helped her down the hillside, steadying her as she carefully picked her way down the slope made all the slicker by the frozen rain building up on the grass.
“Shit!” She jerked sideways in an awkward sliding dance and skittered forward.
He caught her up against his chest with a solid thump. “I’ve got ye, lass. I’ll not let ye fall.”
Arms pinned between them, she hitched a quick intake of breath, looked up at him, and smiled. “Thank you.” Her gaze faltered lower, shifting to his mouth.
Now.Instinct urged Ronan on. He must have a wee taste of her or die in the trying. “Ye are quite welcome, lass,” he whispered. With the barest touch of his thumb, he smoothed a wet curl from her cheek and eased in closer. Her lips parted, waiting, tempting, filling him with hope. Aye. He could not stop now.
She didn’t lean in, but he thanked the gods when she didn’t repeat what she had done earlier and roll free of his arms. He tightened his embrace lest she change her mind. Moving with painstaking care, he brushed the gentlest of kisses across the seam of her barely parted lips. Such softness. Such sweetness. Divine pleasure in a touch.
Her tensed body relaxed in his embrace. With a heart hammering moment’s hesitation, she leaned into him. His hopes soared and he deepened the kiss, opening her mouth wider, and delving deeper.Mine.Stroking his thumb along her cheekbone, he tenderly nibbled at her bottom lip, savoring the taste of her.Mine forevermore.
Her hand fluttered to his chest and she finally pushed away. The tip of her tongue ran along her reddened lips as she gripped the plaid bunched in her arms with a trembling hand. “Who are you? Really.”
Ronan swallowed hard then sucked in a deep breath. “I am a lost soul, searching for the other half of my heart.” Lore, dinna let her cast him away.
Her dark brows knotted over her troubled eyes. “That is no answer. Who are you and where did you come from?” Her voice quivered as she took another step back.
He sensed now was not the best time to reveal all. The connection with her was still too tenuous. Damn, he wished there was an easier way to win her. Never had he been any good at charming women. He lifted a hand and waved it in a slow arc around him. “I am from here. This land gave birth to me. I have always been . . . here.” He hastened to continue as her eyes narrowed. “I tire of being alone. Are ye not weary of loneliness yerself?”
“I have my family. My sisters. And Eliza.”
“Ah but that’s not the loneliness I mean. Ye know of what I speak.” He missed the soft warmth of her against him and would give anything to hold her again.
