It was possible that a healer was in there with him, keeping a close eye on him. She listened for sounds of anyone but could not hear anything.
Taking hold of the handle, she turned it and stepped into the room.
The moment her gaze fell on him, she gasped.
Kai had been bandaged up much more effectively now. He laid on his front, the bandaged part of his back exposed, his face flush to the pillows. He looked pale, even at this distance across the room, lit slightly by the flames in the fireplace.
Ava closed the door hurriedly behind her and moved to his side, not daring to drag a chair forward in case it disturbed him but sitting on the corner of the bed instead. Her palm rose up the covers, nearer and nearer to him as she itched to touch him. Still unaware of her presence, he slept on, looking more relaxed and less tense than she had seen him in days.
As he inhaled deeply in his sleep, his eyelids flickering, the signs of a dream capturing his mind, Ava gave in to temptation. She raised her hand and placed it softly on his cheek, marking the lines of his face with her fingers, gently.
Such guilt raged in her stomach.
Even though she was now betrothed to Blair Grant, it did not matter to her. It was obvious where her heart was. Who elsewould she risk riding out in the snow for to meet at this time of night? Who could she not forget? Who made her smile when all else felt lost?
Kai’s head turned toward her in his sleep. His dream must have ended, for his eyelids fell still, then abruptly, they opened.
“Ava?” he whispered, his eyes blinking rapidly as he looked up at her. “Ye’re a dream. Ye have tae be. I’m in Dunvegan.”
“It’s nay dream. I’m here. I… I rode through the night.”
He sat up abruptly, her hand falling from his cheek as he turned to face her completely, nearly knocking her off the bed.
“What?” He gripped her arms, softly and yet with need. His eyes raked over her, so much so that she could see he was trying to prove to himself that she was indeed no dream. She was here.
“It’s me,” she whispered again. “It’s really me.”
“Ye rode through the night?” he said with sudden tension. “Alone?”
“I ken how tae ride a horse, Kai.”
“It’s dangerous in this snow! Why did ye come?”
“Why do ye think?” She moved to her knees, reaching out and gripping his shoulders too. She couldn’t contemplate not holding onto him at this moment. She had ridden all this way to see him, and all she wanted now was to be as close to him as she possibly could be. “I had tae see ye. I couldnae nae see ye.”
“Why?” he demanded, his voice pleading as his gaze searched her face. “Ye are bein’ reckless…”
“I…”
How can I say the words?
They were there on the tip of her tongue, needing to be spoken, but to say it aloud only made the guilt rage worse. Could she truly tell Kai that she was in love with him when she was betrothed to another man?
“Surely ye ken why.” She closed her eyes, the words fading from her.
“I need tae hear it.” He bent toward her.
Somehow, they ended up with their foreheads pressed together, both kneeling and holding onto each other on the bed. Ava was painfully aware now that with Kai facing her, he was shirtless. The toned lines of his chest completely exposed and just inches away from where her fingers gripped to his arms. The thin strip of linen around one shoulder was the only thing that hinted to the bandage on his back.
“Tae say it…” she began, unable to finish the sentence.
“Then I’ll say it.” He pulled back a little, just far enough to look her in the eye. “Because ye have nay idea how much the last few weeks have driven me mad. Ye have been driving me mad for years, Ava, but tae see ye throw yerself at another man? Tae be the one tae teach ye how tae dae it? It has been torment! Torture!” he hissed, his voice impassioned.
Her fingers slid down his shoulders to his biceps, and they both inhaled sharply at that change in touch.
“Ye cannae ken these last few weeks how much I have looked at ye, wishingIwas the man ye were trying tae win instead ofhim.”
She was glad he had not said his name. To mention him now would have felt wrong.
