There was somethingdifferentabout wearing Jamie’s shirt. Or tunic, rather, she supposed it was called. She wasn’t sure why it felt different but it felt a bit scandalous.
They certainly hadn’t slept together. Not that it hadn’t crossed her mind. It had on numerous occasions. He was young and attractive, not to mention attentive in every way. She had a hard time forgetting that sweet kiss he’d placed in the center of her palm when they were standing by the loch. Or the way he’d held her in his arms and kissed her with a fiery passion that burned deep and hot through her.
Remembering it made heat wash over her body in a tidal wave for which she was unprepared. She huffed and shoved off the blankets, kicking her legs out and curling on her side to stare at the door. He hadn’t come back yet.
She’d placed the jagged piece of keystone on the table beside the bed. Staring at it now, she was starting to resent that little rock. It had wreaked havoc in her normal, happy, quiet life. Something Moira had said haunted her.
Without you, all will be lost.
Add that to the two visions she’d had and she was not liking thisprophecy one bit.
She huffed again and flopped to her back to stare at the overhead canopy of the bed. The thick curtains on each pole were made of velvet. When drawn, she supposed they would make the bed a cozy cocoon for—
She shoved that thought away.
There was no way she and Jamie were going to getthatcozy.
The door scraped open and he reappeared. Her heart leapt into her throat. Delight skipped through her, as though she were a teenager again gazing at her first crush. She sat up, drawing her knees to her chest and watched as he closed the door. Their eyes met and something passed between them she tried hard not to acknowledge.
His gaze lingered on hers, then dipped as he examined her sitting there, her knees cradled against her chest. A sensuous light flickered through his devastating eyes and something told her she was not getting out of this bed anytime soon.
A grin crept up the corner of his mouth.
It wouldn’t be wise to allow herself to be caught under his seductive spell but she figured it was far too late for that. She was ensorcelled.
“Yer no sleeping?” he asked at last.
“Not yet.”
He went to the hearth and poked the embers, giving them some life.
“Have you ever been so tired you couldn’t sleep?” she asked.
“I have.”
“What do you do when that happens to you?”
He reached for a tankard of ale. “I drink.” He raised it in a cheers motion and then downed it.
She giggled. “Maybe that’s what I need, then.”
Without asking, he poured her a tankard and brought it to her. She took it from him and downed it in one long quaff. The weak ale wasn’tgood but it would do. When she emptied it, she handed it back to him.
His eyebrows lifted as he peered into the empty tankard. He looked impressed.
“Another?” he asked.
“Better keep it coming.”
“Ye best be careful, lass. Ye’ll be as fou as a piper.”
“Well, if it helps me sleep, then I’m all for it.”
He laughed, a deep melodious laugh that rumbled around in his broad chest and it did something for her. A lot of somethings. She was certain it wasn’t the ale that made her stomach flutter. It was Jamie.
“What does that mean—fou as a piper?”
“Means drunk.” He granted her a wicked smile.
