Willa’s heart nearly broke at that.No excuse to linger…
She looked down so that he wouldn’t see the pain in her eyes. “Are you certain you’re well enough to travel? Perhaps you should wait a few more days…”
“Nay, lass. I’m well enough. And thank ye, for that. Dinna think I am no’ grateful. I ken well that I owe ye my life.”Aye, no excuse. He’d been well enough to travel home for days now, and he knew it. But the thought of leaving made him feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. How he could come to feel this way in such a short time, he didn’t know. Perhaps kissing her had been a mistake, but the feeling that Willa belonged to him was pulling and clawing at him, stronger than ever, nearly as strong as the urge to claim her with his body.
In a split second, his mind was made up. “I’ll come back to ye”, he told her.
She raised her head in surprise and he saw that her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
“You will?Truly?”
He smiled tenderly and reached up to brush a lock of hair from her face. “Aye. I will go home and set things to rights and then I will return, because I ken even now that I willna be able to stay away for long.” He searched her face, as if all the answers could be found in the depths of her eyes. “I dinna ken what it is, but there is… something… between us.”
Willa relaxed back into his arms, pressing her cheek to his bare chest. He had said nothing about wedding her, or of making a life together. He had said nothing of forever, or even love. He had not even said that helikedher. For all she knew it was only the incredible passion between them that he could not resist.
But he was coming back. That was enough, for now.
Chapter12
Willa gave Drust her horse to ride, insisting she couldn’t leave if she wanted to anyway, because she had promised to wait for James and Maura. She had no real need of the horse, other than for company. He looked deep into her eyes before he kissed her goodbye, though it was a chaste kiss that left her feeling empty and wanting more.
“I’ll come back. As soon as I can. Will you promise to wait for me here?”
“I can’t promise, Drust. But I’ll try.” She paused, uncertain. “What will happen, when you come back? Between… us?”
He cupped her chin and lifted her face to his. His expression was serious. “I dinna ken. But I want to see ye again.”
She nodded. What had she expected him to say, after all? That he loved her? That he couldn’t live without her? She would more than likely never hear words like that from a man like him.
But he’s coming back.
He dropped his hand and took two steps back before turning and swinging up onto the waiting horse. She knew him well enough by now to catch the slight wince of pain as he settled into the saddle. It probably hurt like hell, but he hid it so well. Most men would still be recovering in bed, but not Drust. He was either that strong, or that stubborn, or probably a bit of both.
“I’ll see ye soon”, he told her. Then he rode away.
Willa followed for a bit at a distance, climbing to the top of a rise to see him riding the edge of the valley into the hills beyond. He did not look back; not even once. She took one more step as the horse and rider began to fade out of sight, straining forward to catch a last sight of them. Would he really come back? If he didn’t, she had just lost him forever.
It was several moments before her mind registered the faint tingling hum around her.The wards! Bloody hell! She turned quickly and ran back into the sphere of their protection. She had been so lost in watching Drust she had completely forgotten about the boundaries. But she had only been outside them for a moment, and even then close enough to still feel the thrum of invisible energy… surely her safety hadn’t been compromised.
Fighting a shiver of apprehension at her carelessness, Willa looked once more to the south, but she could no longer see Drust. He was gone with only a promise that he would come back to her. She turned and walked slowly back to the empty cottage, not looking forward to the long night alone, and the even longer days to follow… The tears began to fall long before she reached the door, rolling down her cheeks and falling to the ground. Stumbling inside, she collapsed into a chair and the tears quickly progressed to sobs that wracked her whole body. He had really left. What if something happened to him and she never saw him again? What if he never came back? She didn’t know where he lived, she didn’t even know the name of his clan! She had never had the chance to tell him that she loved him…because she did. Against all odds, she loved a man that she still knew almost nothing about. Nothing except the vague truths she could see in his eyes and the certainty that he was meant for her.
Hours later, after night had fallen, Willa lay in bed and held tightly to the pillow Drust had slept on. She pressed her face to it so that she could inhale his scent. It calmed her and made her heart beat faster all at the same time. She wondered if she should have followed him after all, pride and dignity be damned. But she had given him her horse… and she never could have kept up on foot. Besides which, she would have brought danger to them both. She had no doubt she was being hunted even now. The more she thought about it, the more she knew Colm was not acting alone. Could he really have taken an entire castle that swiftly without help? Likely not. There was something else at work here, someone was helping him… someone with perhaps an even darker motive.
And maybe… maybe she had no right to bring to bring so much danger to someone else’s life. Perhaps she was being incredibly selfish, wanting to be with Drust. Now that he was gone and she was alone, things seemed so much clearer. Willa realized that despite his promise otherwise, she did not entirely believe that Drust intended to return to her. He had a life, a family… perhaps even a lover at home. He had been alone with her, and injured, and they had been drawn together. What if once he left he realized it was all just a pleasant diversion? He might decide not to come back after all. Maybe he would even all but forget about her!And maybe that would be for the best.
Pain rose fresh and hot in her chest and she chided herself for thinking the worst of him. After all, he was honorable… too honorable to even take her body when she could feel how much he needed to. Certainly he wouldn’t leave her here alone without returning her horse… what if Maura and James didn’t return when they were supposed to? He would feel it his duty to return the horse and make sure she was safe, wouldn’t he? Perhaps then she could tell him to forget about her…
There was a sudden sound from somewhere in the cottage, and Willa froze where she lay, her eyes wide open in the darkness, her breath held, listening.
Probably just a mouse…
A long moment passed. Were those footsteps in the kitchen? Had James and Maura perhaps come home early? God, please let it be them!
But it wasn’t.
The door to her room swung open silently on its leather hinges and the figure of a large man filled the dimly lit entrance to the room. Behind him, a second man held a torch up above his head to cast the light towards her where she huddled on the bed. She felt the instant rush of fear course through her body, a surge of adrenaline immobilizing her for a moment that felt like a lifetime. Willing her limbs to move, she scooted up against the head of the bed and glanced towards the window… her only means of escape. But the man in the doorway easily saw her intention.
“Dinna move”, he growled in a thick voice. “Stay right there.” He was moving closer, the other man right behind.
