Forcing himself to concentrate on what she’d said rather than the wild ferocity of her beauty, he shook his head. “Mairwen said this cottage has withstood many a year of Highland harshness. We are safest here.” Unable to resist the temptation, he took in her appearance with a vague sweep of his hand. “Ye sleep in yer clothes rather than yer shift?”
“When it storms, you have to be ready.” She scrubbed her arms, went to the fire, and added more wood. “It’s getting colder.”
He’d noticed that and was none too fond of what that could possibly mean.
The cottage shuddered again as if the place had been ripped up by its roots and was about to be torn asunder. An ear-splitting pop exploded, followed by an ominous creaking that groaned like the timbers of a ship twisted by an angry sea.
Instinct bade him shove Calia back into her bedroom and shield her with his body just as a mighty oak crashed through the roof, destroying the living room and the kitchen.
Clawing her way out from under him and scrambling across the floor toward the destruction, she screamed, “Otto! Otto, where are you?”
“He is here, lass. Right here.” Mathison scooped up the cowering dog and placed him in her arms.
She buried her face in her ally’s fur, sagged to the floor, and rocked back against the bed. “Nothing else matters. As long as you’re safe, nothing else matters,” she told the whining beastie. Then she looked up at Mathison. “Thank you.”
“For what, lass?”
“That tree hit right where we were standing. If you hadn’t reacted the way you did…” She shook her head. “Thank you.”
“I will always protect ye, lass. Always.”
Chapter
Six
He would always protect her. Calia replayed the words over and over, wanting to believe them but too burned by the past to accept the vow without question. She needed to ignore this eerie connection she felt with Mathison and concentrate on putting her life back together—alone.
They’d made themselves a pallet on the floor between the bed and what she prayed was the cottage’s load-bearing wall in case the rest of the roof gave way or another tree hit the structure. With the storm still raging with apocalyptic force, it was their only option for shelter until daybreak, which would hopefully bring some relief.
Poor Otto still cowered in her arms between her and the wall. He’d refused to settle down between her and Mathison, so she lay on her side with her back almost touching the mysterious man who had just saved her life. He wasn’t asleep. She could tell by the subtle shifting of the blanket every time he took a breath.
A heavy sigh escaped her as she idly petted Otto, reassuring him with her touch. What a colossal shit-show this move to Scotland had become. It would take weeks to clear away the debris and repair the damage, and who knew how much it would cost? She had insurance, but felt sure there had to be an act of God clause in there somewhere that would keep the policy from paying out as it should, and it would take forever to get any money out of them. That’s how insurance usually worked. After dealing with Gillian’s medical expenses, there was no love lost between her and insurance companies.
“Everything will be all right, lass,” Mathison said quietly, as if he’d heard her inner fuming.
“I didn’t allocate for catastrophes.” She tucked her cheek against the top of her dog’s head, needing as much comfort as he did. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Come morning, once I have a look at the damage, we can make a plan.” He shifted, rolling to his side toward her and touching her arm with a tenderness that both consoled her and made her want to dive into his arms and sob herself senseless.
Either that or have an entirely awkward, inappropriate, and yet what she somehow knew would be a mind-blowing one-nighter. I don’t do one-nighters. But man alive, what a wasted opportunity. Inwardly, she laughed at herself. This rare Scot probably already thought her a crazy American and would be as far from her as possible if not trapped by the storm. It was only right that she let him off the hook easily. After all, he was a nice guy. “I know you didn’t sign up for a mess like this. Once the storm passes, don’t feel like you have to stay around. I’ll be all right. I always am.”
“Why would ye say such a thing?” He sounded hurt…and slightly miffed, and his hand remained on her upper arm in a nice, inviting I’m going to keep you safe kind of way.
“Because you didn’t sign up for this,” she repeated. What else could she say? She was afraid that if he stayed around long enough to rebuild her home, she might not be able to resist him. He had an inexplicable yet undeniable pull to him she’d never experienced before. How crazy would that sound if she shared that with him? “Mairwen hired you to do minor repairs. Weren’t you planning to move on after this job? Or return to your home?”
“I move on whenever I wish, lass, and I also stay where I am needed. Do ye need me?”
More than he would ever know, but she bit her lip to keep from saying that. “We’ll know more in the morning, when we can see how bad everything is.” She awkwardly covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “I just wanted to give you an out if you needed it.”
“All I need is ye by my side.” The velvety darkness, broken by the scant amount of light filtering in from the woodstove in the next room, echoed with unspoken possibilities. “Can ye not feel it, Calia? The drawing between us, the reaching of our souls for one another?” He trailed his fingers through her hair, raking it back from her face. Ever so softly, he traced the outline of her ear.
If she turned and faced him, it would be all over. Even she didn’t possess that kind of self-control. She hugged Otto closer, fighting to remain strong…safe…alone.
“I barely know you,” she whispered, willing him to understand.
“We have known each other since time began,” he said just as quietly. “This lifetime merely needs reminding about all the other times before it.”
She watched the shadows dance on the wall in front of her, her arms wrapped around her dog, who snuggled tighter against her. “You’re talking about soul mates, fated mates again.”
