“I shall return in one piece,” Killian promised her before wrapping her into a warm embrace. He rested his chin on the top of her head and waited till her sobs subsided a little before he released her. “Ye ken what to do… Ye must stay here and run the keep while I am gone.”
She nodded and sniffed hard before wiping her cheeks with both hands. “I shall handle things here, I promise.”
Killian smiled at her softly before he kissed her forehead, and then headed out. Lily crossed his mind as he hurried away, and he considered telling her of his mission before heading out.
Thinking of being close to her again, of seeing her blue eyes widen when he told her of the trouble in his village, would make his heart tingle for her all over again. Killian could notunderstand what it was about this woman that made him want to be close to her all the time.
Like I can tell her everything and anything.
Her laugh made it easy. Her eyes welcomed him into their depths and took away his worries. He didn’t like the feeling.
He had reached the foot of the stairway before he spun around abruptly and headed to her chamber without giving his actions a second thought. After one raspy knock, the door opened, and Lily stepped aside to let him in.
“You are soaking wet. Were you in the rain?” she complained once he closed the door behind him and faced her.
Her brows drew together in a frown, and Killian let his eyes roam over her body, which was clad in a flimsy excuse of a nightdress covered by a nightrobe.
He could make out her full figure in it. She had slender curves. Her nipples poked through the fabric, and a low groan bubbled in his throat as he stared at her.
Killian’s heart skipped another beat precariously, and light-headedness whooshed through him, nearly making him swoon on his feet.
“Killian?”
“I leave for Wehnthor now,” he said to her in a hoarse voice, tearing his eyes away from her body so he could stare into her blue orbs. “Wehnthor is a village here in MacColl. It was raided, and the people there need my protection.”
“Take me with you,” Lily demanded in the next second before he could tell her more. She stepped forward. Her eyes widened further and searched his. “Take me with you, Killian. You know I am better off on a battlefield than locked away in a fancy chamber here in your keep. I need to be active… I need to feel alive.”
Killian shook his head immediately. “It is too dangerous, Lily… Ye have never been on an actual battlefield before, and the clans we fight against are dangerous.”
“Killian, please…”
“I cannae put ye at risk.”
“I do not need you to protect me. I am a warrior. I am just as skilled as every other man in your army… I can defend myself… I have protected you and fought by you twice now, you know that.”
“It is safer in my castle. I have men watchin’, guardin’ ye and my sister. There are plenty of other things ye could do here and—”
“Other things like what?” Lily interrupted. “Read books and crochet all day? I am a warrior, Killian, not some lady.” Sheturned away from him and began pacing around. “I do not knit, or embroider… I hate the pianoforte, but I learned to play for my friend when I served her in England. I learned to read and serve tea…” She huffed out a deep breath and made hand gestures as she spoke.
It was the first time Lily spoke about her life to him, and Killian absorbed every word and every inkling of emotion that flitted across her face. When she faced him again, he saw passion in her eyes. The embers buried there reminded him of why he had left home many years ago.
I went in search of passion… and happiness.
“Here in Scotland, I could finally become my own person. I could do what I wanted—practice my fighting skills to protect myself and my mistress—but I still had a master. All my life, I have had a master to serve, to care for, and now… here in MacColl, I do not have one. Here in MacColl, I am either your prisoner or your ally, and you have said that I am not your prisoner.”
Her chest heaved with her deep breaths as she closed the gap between them again. “So, take me with you and let me be your ally. I know I said I wasn’t that, but… let me fight with you.”
She sounded convincing. She was right, even, and Killian knew she could handle herself. But it wasn’t her safety that worried him.
It is mine.
Being around her was dangerous to his heart. Having her so nearby in battle would leave him restless and aching with need for her at every turn.
“Killian…” She touched his arm and stepped closer to him.
The faintness of her tone hovered around them and drew him in till he found himself craving more of it.
Killian’s head swooned as he inhaled her scent. It took a strong will to keep his eyes from wandering down to her body again. If they did, then he would have no one else to blame but her for tempting him.
