The ghost directed Darach’s attention to a small volume, lying in the shadows, near where Emily had lain. Adjusting her weight, he freed one arm and scooped it up, tucked it inside his plaid the best he could, gathered Emily close to his chest and descended the stairs without looking back. He would carefully evaluate the portent of this odd shift in the ghost’s behavior, later. Right now, ’twas more important to reunite Emily and Tessa.
* * *
“Emily,honey, where are you? Please ans—” Tessa halted in the doorway of what she thought of as the morning room and watched Darach descend the stairs with Emily in his arms. The rest of her plea stuck in her throat like a thorny burr as she noted the child’s limp form.Emily!She rushed forward, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. “Is she—”
“Shh, nae. Merely asleep,” Darach whispered. “Would ye prepare a spot tae lay her down?”
Tess needed to touch Em’s hair, watch the steady rise and fall of her chest, before she was willing to leave her long enough to open the library doors and usher Darach, with his precious cargo, inside. Rushing to their pile of gear, she debated taking the time to blow up a mattress, but she didn’t want to put Emily on the cold, drafty floor. Besides, Darach seemed oblivious of any burden as he cradled Emily, gazing at the child as if she were the most precious thing on the planet.
To Tess, she was. She cringed, shamed to the core over her earlier outburst. How could she have been so self-indulgent? So blind to the effect her behavior might have on Emily? Or, even on Darach?
No! She wouldn’t allow herself to examine the outcome of hers and Darach’s exchange. Good or bad. No need, she reminded herself, grabbing the battery-operated air pump to inflate the mattress. He’d be gone soon. That hadn’t changed, even if her feelings for him had.
A soft whir filled the still room as she switched the pump on and watched the mattress rise and take form.This is how I feel, she realized, testing the tautness.I’m full to bursting with emotions I don’t dare put a name to, afraid if I do, they’ll expand or deflate, or become something I’m not prepared for and I’ll either burst from the pressure or fade to nothing without them.
Blinking back the unexpected sting behind her eyes, she put the pump away, grabbed a sleeping bag and dragged the mattress closer to the fire. It was time to shake off her self-pity and take care of what really mattered. Emily.
“I just need to roll this bag out, then you can lay her down,” Tess said as she worked, relieved she didn’t have to look at Darach just yet. She had no idea where they stood after her tantrum. She hated how reactive and accusatory she’d been, with him. He hadn’t deserved that.
She clamped her jaw tight, annoyed by the anxious flutter in her belly, and reminded herself she was a grown woman, not a flighty teenager.
And what happened to her determination of mere seconds ago, to set all concerns besides Emily, aside? Was she so weak of character, she couldn’t hold her resolve a full minute?
Frustrated with her own behavior, she stood and backed away, giving Darach plenty of room to lay Emily down. Half the length of the library, to be exact. To cover her awkwardness, she went to her stash again and pulled a small pillow from the pile. Pretending to straighten things, she waited until Darach had laid Emily down and moved away to add more wood to the fire.
“ ’Tis later than I realized,” Darach said above her as she gently tucked the pillow beneath Emily’s head. “Full dark. I must’ve lost track of time, searching for the lass.”
“Me, too.” Tess smoothed the hair from Emily’s forehead and leaned down to brush a kiss to her temple. “Where was she?”
“In the garret. The attic, I ken ye called it when Emily first discovered the entrance.”
“Hiding?” Tess finally risked a glance at him, but only briefly. When he didn’t immediately respond, she looked back in time to catch a conflicted expression clouding his face.
“No,” he finally stated. “Just lyin’ there. Asleep.”
“It’s my fault.” Tess rose, hugged her arms to her waist and walked to the windows. “I’m so ashamed. There’s no excuse for frightening Emily like that. Or, speaking to you that way. I’m sorry.”
The darkness outside was so complete the windows acted like mirrors, reflecting the flickering fire and the man standing behind her, as enticing and as temporary, as the flames he’d fed.
She watched him come closer, held his gaze in the glass. When he reached her, laid his hands lightly at her waist and gently eased her back against his hard chest, she didn’t protest. Couldn’t. Didn’t want to, despite the warning in her head.
“Ye dinnae give the lass enough credit, love,” he whispered against her cheek. “She’s stronger than ye think. More like ye, than ye think. And ye do her a disservice by thinkin’ tae hide yer feelin’s from her.”
He slid his arms fully around her, hugged her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple, in the same way, with the same gentleness she’d kissed Emily. “As for me, ye’ve naught tae apologize for.” His warm breath brushed her chin, triggering a tantalizing shiver.
“Ye were frightened. Understandably so,” he whispered, trailing his lips down her cheek to her neck. “I ken ’tis more that frightens ye, than just the candle.” He found a most sensitive spot beneath her ear to place a lingering kiss. She felt the strength leave her legs as the desire to turn around and test his lips with her own, became almost too much to bear.
“Youfrighten me,” she whispered, giving in and turning inside his arms, to look up at him. “You have the ability to strip all my senses away and leave nothing but nerves and…anticipation.”
“For?” He kissed her forehead, her eyelids.
“This,” she breathed, rising on her toes to press her lips to his.
Everything else slipped away. Nothing existed but his hands caressing her back, his mouth moving over hers and the ache, the terrible ache he brought to her, inside her. She wanted more, needed more, something to extinguish the yearning and the insanity of loving this man.
