Not the past—he wasn’t foolish enough to promise that—but perhaps the guilt, the pain, the weight she had carried so long she had nearly grown numb to it.
She blinked up at him, her breath trembling in her chest. And when she didn’t step back, his hand found her cheek at last, warm and impossibly gentle for a man who had torn through two assassins not half an hour earlier.
Her pulse thundered in her neck, the feel of it almost foreign, startling. It was far from the first time he had touched her like this—if anything, they had shared far more sensual moments—but there was something about his gaze, something about the tender way he held onto her that was entirely new, igniting something within her.
He leaned in slightly, enough that his breath brushed her forehead, enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes.
“Lydia…” he whispered.
She thought her knees might give out. He was close—too close, not close enough.
His thumb traced the line of her cheekbone. She had the distinct, dizzying sense that if he kissed her now, she would never recover—and never want to. Lydia felt herself tilt toward him without thinking, her lips parting just barely, and Kieran lowered his head toward hers, slow but certain, intent and impossibly tender?—
A clatter burst from the doorway, and both of them jerked apart. Lydia’s heart slammed so hard she swore Kieran could hear it echoing off the courtyard walls.
Chloe stood frozen in the archway, her arms overloaded with a pile of linens and a lantern swaying precariously from her elbow. Her mouth opened and closed like a startled fish, and for a moment, she seemed to have lost any function that controlled higher speech, too startled by the sight before her.
“Och! Och heavens… Me Laird, Me Lady, I’m so sorry, I dinnae mean… och saints preserve me…” Chloe’s cheeks were scarlet, her voice a breathless rush. “I thought ye’d still be in the hall and I… och please forgive me; I’ll go now; I’ll go right now?—”
Kieran, to his credit, recovered quicker than Lydia did though the muscle ticking in his jaw suggested he was choosing his words very carefully.
“Chloe,” he said, voice low and not entirely steady, “it’s fine.”
“It is absolutely nae fine,” Chloe blurted, horrified at herself. “I interrupted somethin’, dinnae I? I did. Och saints, I did.”
Lydia felt heat crawl up her neck, her face burning so hot she swore it must be glowing in the moonlight.
“Chloe,” Lydia managed weakly, “please breathe.”
“I cannae, Me Lady, me breath’s gone somewhere and left me…” She gasped. “I’ll just... I’ll go. I’ll leave the linens. I’ll leave the castle if ye prefer?—”
“Nay one needs to leave the castle,” Kieran mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face.
Chloe yelped, nearly dropping the lantern, then bolted inside, her footsteps echoing like a frantic rabbit fleeing a wolf. And then silence fell, ringing and awkward.
Lydia stood frozen, heart pounding wildly in her chest, Kieran still close enough that she could feel the ghost of his warmth where he had touched her cheek.
“Saints,” Kieran muttered under his breath. “If that isnae the worst damn timin’…”
Lydia’s blush deepened, her entire face burning so hot, she feared she would soon begin to steam in the night air. “Aye,” she said. “It… was.”
But under the embarrassment, under the raw nerves and the lingering fear of the evening’s events, something else curled, warm and bright in her chest, simply because he hadn’t stepped away.
Kieran was still standing before her. He was still close. He was still looking at her as though he would kiss her again the moment they were alone.
And this time, Lydia wasn’t about to go running.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Come. I wish to show ye somethin’.”
Lydia frowned, confused by the sudden change in Kieran’s tone. She had truly thought he would kiss her, but now, it seemed like the thought was foolish.
Instead, he took her hand and began to tug her along, Lydia following him close behind as he led her to a narrow, winding path that led down the hill from the keep. Every now and then, Lydia glanced over her shoulder at the keep, at its curtain walls, acutely aware of the fact that the farther down the path they went, the farther they removed themselves from safety.
But Kieran willnae let anythin’ happen to me.
“Where are we going?” Lydia asked, and Kieran glanced at her over his shoulder, giving her a small, barely there smile.
