“I need you to know I’m not like that,” Vivien fidgeted with her hands in front of her, biting her lower lip.
“Not like what?” Kieran asked, confusion clear in his expression.
“Like my husband – most Englishmen. I do not hate the Scots; I hold nothing against you. I am not afraid of you.” Vivien hoped Kieran believed her; she was not lying to him. “I don’t agree with the cruelty my people have shown yours throughout history. I am here, in your country, because I was forced to be here, not because I wish you harm. If I had a choice, I would stay here willingly.”
“That is very brave o’ ye tae say, my Lady.” Kieran inclined his head to her, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“It is the truth. I must go – before they realize I have left the castle,” Vivien turned, taking a few steps away from Kieran, her entire body screaming at her to stay with him when he wrapped his hand around her arm gently.
“Stay, please Sassenach,” Kieran implored her. Vivien hesitated, and against her better instincts, turned back to face him. There was something in his eyes that she could not quite read. A mixture of sadness and excitement seemed to blend together and an altogether confusing combination to her.
“I cannot stay long,” she said, her eyes locked on his, that familiar blossoming of heat in her core unfurling yet again.
The feel of his hand on her bare arm was almost too much to bear. Shocks ran beneath her skin, originating from their point of contact. Her breathing became shallow as she searched his eyes for something – Vivien did not know what she hoped to find in their depths, but she searched, nevertheless.
“Was that the only reason ye came tae see me?” he asked, his tone gentle, his hand still resting on her arm, “Simply tae show me my suspicions were correct tae begin with? Tae return something that always belonged tae my family?”
Vivien swallowed, aware of the silence between them while she built up the courage to answer Kieran.
“No, I suppose not,” she murmured, feeling herself beginning to blush.
“Are ye here because o’ the kiss?” The look in Kieran’s eyes told Vivien everything she needed to know – he wanted her to say yes.
She smiled slightly, unwilling to answer.
“It is, isn’t it?” Kieran’s smile matched her own, a slight lift to his lips, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
Vivien knew full well that she should not be allowing this conversation with him. She should not be feeling the emotions that were running rampant throughout her body. She felt dizzy at the thought of that day – of the passion with which Kieran had kissed her. He had been gentle yet firm at the same time.
Her eyes trailed to his lips; Vivien could not help herself. She seemed to have lost all control of her body as it ached to fall into his arms.
Finally, Vivien nodded, turning her face to the side to try to hide her shame at her honesty.
Chapter Thirteen
“It is naething tae be ashamed o’, Vivien,” Kieran said, taking a step closer to her. He was barely inches away from her. Vivien could lean forward and kiss him if she really wanted to.
She wanted to.
His eyes blazed with something more than laughter. A deep, unbridled desire burned in their depths; it took Vivien’s breath away to see a man – to see Kieran – looking at her that way. A way in which no other man had ever looked at her.
“If I’m being honest with ye, an’ I will be, I have not been able tae stop thinking o’ it.”
The certainty and honesty with which Kieran said it left no doubt in Vivien’s mind. He meant it, and as hard as it was to believe that a man like him could possibly be interested in a woman like her, Vivien believed it with all her heart and soul.
Kieran moved his hand from her arm, holding her hand in his, his fingers intertwining with hers. Shocks ran through her hand where it connected with his, shooting straight to her heart, traveling through the rest of her body as though it were a current flowing through her blood.
There was an unmistakable, undeniable desire coursing through her veins, leading straight to that hidden place at the apex of her thighs. She burned with the heat that was building there, closing her eyes momentarily to collect herself before she threw herself into Kieran’s arms with reckless abandon.
Kieran smiled at her, turning her knees weak at the gentle promise displayed on his lips.
“I’ve tried, Sassenach,” he continued, “I’ve tried my best tae forget that kiss every day since it happened. I cannae. There’s naething I can dae tae get ye out o’ my head.”
Vivien would have expected Kieran to be too ashamed to admit such a thing to her, that he would be willing to share something so deeply personal with her. She had never heard a man say anything anywhere nearly as romantic to her before.
There was a deep need to be honest that ran through him, she realized. He was too much of a gentleman to hide his emotions from those he cared about. What she couldn’t understand was why he wanted her – she had no experience, no fascinating traits that could capture a man’s attention, least of all a man as magnificent as Kieran.
“I haven’t either,” she said softly, her eyes drifting to their clasped hands.
