“What ye are is sick. This damn rain is making us all sick.”
“’Tis nothing. I’ll be fine.”
Her head rolled to the side and all three men jumped forward to catch her before she fell.
“We’d best get her some place dry,” Terrence said, and Darragh bit back a retort.
Clasping her small body in his arms, Darragh did his best to protect her from the unrelenting rain as he followed the other men, who had finished setting up a small lean-to for her. The fire within cast a gentle glow and the men had made a heap of whatever dry material they could find and covered it with a heavy fur for a makeshift pallet.
Darragh removed her soaked mantle before gently laying her down. Duncan retreated with the others while Terrence handed him a freshly cooled cloth.
“She’s pale, Darragh.” He spoke loudly to be heard above the rain.
“I can see that.” Darragh struggled to keep the irritation out of his voice. Her dark eyelashes against her cheeks made her look even more vulnerable. He felt his own failure miserably. It was his job to look out for her.
“Terrence? Check the accommodations at the roundhouse. I need to get her some place dry come morning.”
His friend left without a question, closing the flap to their makeshift alcove, leaving them alone together. Brighit’s clothing was damp and he worked at the ties, loosening her outer gown until he could work it off her. She lay there in her chemise, vulnerable and pale.
Supporting her head, Darragh held the cup to her mouth until she had finished the warm drink. When he dipped the cloth into the water and rubbed it along her neck and chest, Brighit still didn’t stir.
He refreshed the cloth, “Ye have my sympathy.”
“No. No sympathy.”
Darragh snorted, working the cloth beneath the neckline to cool her breast. “I did not say ye deserved my sympathy, only that ye have it.”
“I do not want it.”
His hand stopped midway to the bowl of water. Her words cut him to the quick, but it struck him with sudden clarity why she didn’t want him caring for her. Even in her weakened state, she would behave as if she disliked him? How she’d hate him caring for her. With sudden clarity he realized it was a lie. She needed him, but she didn’twantto need him. It was her damn pride.
He thought back over these past two years, how easy it had always been to bait her. How her eyes would flash with resentment when he selected the best meat for her, offering it to her on his own dagger. How very irritating she was tohim… and how much he wanted her.
Alone in their cocoon, the driving rain overpowering all other sounds, Darragh stopped listening for Terrence’s return and adjusted himself so that he held her securely in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, before drifting off himself. His dreams were of their first time. The sound of her sighs. Her fingertips pressing into his back, urging him on in her passion. The overwhelming sense that he was where he belonged.
He awoke with a start, his breathing labored. The sun had gone down and the fire was nearly out, leaving even their small space chilled. Brighit rested peacefully beside him, her skin now cool to his touch. Whatever had made the others ill had left her as well.
As quietly as he could, he eased himself away from her to feed the small fire and then doffed hisbraitto use as a blanket to cover them. She appeared very peaceful. And desirable.
“Brighit?”
“Hmm?”
Her eyes still closed, he lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips pressed against his with a surprising urgency.
“Are ye awake?” he whispered the words against her parted lips, but she moved closer, deepening the kiss when he would have withdrawn.
“How are ye feeling?”
Her responding moan cut right to his own desire. She reached an arm around his shoulders, holding him closer. “Ah, much better now.”
He didn’t dare move, but she found his hand and placed it against her breast before she started kissing him again. Her breath quickened and Darragh had to resist the overpowering yearning to explore her body more fully, to satisfy the fire she was igniting in him.
“Yer fever may be gone, but ye should probably rest,” he forced himself to say.
When he withdrew from her, she yanked him back. “Do not leave me. I am cold alone.”
She held his upper body tight and nuzzled against his ear, sending a rush of blood to his cock. Her nipples teased him, pressing into him through the thin material of her chemise.
