When he turned, his chest breaking the surface, her breath caught painfully in her throat. She pressed herself back into the dirt, her fingers clawing into the damp earth, waiting for the roar of his anger.
His eyes swept the shoreline, passing over the shadows where she hid. He didn't see her.
The relief that washed over her was dizzying, making her limbs feel heavy and weak. But right behind it came something darker, sharper—a hot, pulsing frustration that settled beneath her ribs.
She wanted him to look. The realization was a lightning strike. She wanted those gold-flecked eyes to pin her to the dirt. She wanted him to know she was there, watching the water drip from his skin. The thought made her shift unconsciously, leaning forward to catch the light on his shoulders.
That was when his head tilted. It was a slow, deliberate movement—the way a wolf catches a scent on the wind. The air in the cove suddenly felt pressurized, thick with an awareness that made Enya’s skin prickle with static.
“Ye ken,” his voice carried easily across the water, warm and amused, “if ye stare any harder, ye’ll burn a hole on me skin.”
Enya went perfectly still, the blood in her veins turning to fire. She pressed a hand over her mouth, mortified, her pulse thudding so hard against her palm she could feel the heat of her own blood. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for the ground to open and swallow her, but the image of his bare, wet shoulders was burned into the back of her eyelids like a brand.
When she dared to peek, he was moving—a slow, liquid circle that brought him closer to the bank. Closer to her.
“Well?” he called. His voice was a low, vibrating bridge across the water. “How much longer d’ye plan tae watch me from the weeds, Enya? I’m starting tae feel like a prize stallion at a fair.”
Her first instinct was to run. Her second was to deny everything. What came out instead was a flustered, indignant whisper that did nothing to improve her situation. “I was nae spying.”
His laughter rippled across the lake, deep and unhurried. “Aye? Is that why ye’re crouched in the gorse like a fox? I can see the top o’ yer head, lass. And I can hear yer heart from here.”
She stood up abruptly, abandoning her cover. If she was caught, she’d at least be caught with her chin up. She straightened her skirts, though her hands were shaking. “This is a public place, me laird. I have every right tae walk the cliffs.”
“That,” he replied, pausing where the water hit his mid-chest, “is debatable. This is me private sanctuary. But I suppose a thief who can pick a lock daesnae care much fer property lines.”
He rested one arm on a smooth, flat rock at the edge, his chest rising and falling in a steady, powerful rhythm. He made no move to hide, no move to duck. He simply watched her, his eyes bright with a predatory amusement that made her skin hum.
Her gaze skidded away, then returned against her will.
“Ye should—” She faltered, her gaze skidding over the bronze muscle of his arms before snapping back to his face.
“Cover meself?” he finished for her, his brow arching.
“Aye,” Her face went incandescent. “It would be the decent thing tae dae.”
“Why?” He tilted his head, the water dripping from his jawline. “There’s nay one here but us. And ye seem tae be finding the view… interesting.”
“It is indecent,” she snapped, her frustration flaring to mask the fact that her knees were trembling. “And ye are being deliberately provocative.”
“And yet here ye are,” he said mildly. “Still looking.”
She stepped forward, closer to the water’s edge than was safe, her hands clenched at her sides. “I didnae ken ye would be here, Harald. I came tae see the lake. Alone.”
“That part I believe,” he said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming a velvet rasp. “The rest, less so. Ye wanted tae see what lay behind the lock, Enya. Well… here it is. All o’ it.”
She shot him a glare that should have turned the lake to ice. “I am leaving.”
“Are ye?” He began to swim again, his movements long and unhurried, the water swirling around his hips as he moved into shallower water. “Why? Ye’ve already seen all there is tae it, I think.”
Her breath hitched. The implication of his nakedness sent a fresh, liquid jolt through her lower belly. “That was nae me intention.”
“I ken,” he said quietly, his teasing tone vanishing. He stopped, the water now lapping at his waist. He was only a few feet from the bank now. If he took two more steps, he would be entirely exposed to her, and the thought made her head swim with a terrifying, delicious dread.
“Ye are enjoying this,” she accused, her voice trembling. “Ye like making me look like a fool.”
“I like the way yer eyes darken when ye’re pressed, Enya,” he corrected, his gaze heavy and visceral. “Without the armor. Without the lies.”
“I am nae pressed,” she lied, her heart hammering painfully against her ribs. “I am bored. And I am going back tae the castle.”
