Page 37 of Highland Steel

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Rhoswen tossed and turn atop her pallet, unable to sleep. Her brother and sister had been sleeping for hours already, and the entire MacKeefe Clan had turned in, since they always got up early to do chores.

Rhoswen wanted nothing more than to rest, but her mind was in too much turmoil to do so. Every time she closed her eyes, she either thought about kissing Logan, worried about little Lockie and her siblings, or heard her father’s voice telling her she had to kill Ranulph Drummond.

“Aaaah,” she said, sitting up on her pallet to find her hands balled into fists. Part of her wanted to believe that everything was going to be all right. But common sense told her that if she didn’t get Lockie now, he’d be dead before long. She’d lost too many people she loved lately and barely had any family left. She had to get her nephew. But now that they’d lost the sword, she had nothing to give to the Drummonds in trade.

“I dinna ken what to do,” she whispered to herself, feeling like she needed to walk in the fresh air to clear her head. At home, she used to walk the battlements when she was upset or when she missed her mother and sister. The cool wind in her hair seemed to blow away all her troubles. Mayhap if she walked down to the water, the Highland air would do the same for her and then she’d be able to sleep.

She quietly got up, dressing in her own gown since it took longer to don the MacKeefe plaid and she didn’t want to wake her siblings. Pulling the gown over her nightshift, she slipped into her shoes and tiptoed to the door. There was a MacKeefe shawl hanging on a hook. She took it and wrapped it around her shoulders and stepped out the door. Once outside, the breeze blew her unbound hair, already making her feel better.

“Trapper, get in here,” she heard Ethan calling out the door of the house where he lived with his family. She didn’t want anyone to see her, so she slipped around the back of the hospice and hurried down the hill toward the water.

It was a beautiful spring night, with not a cloud in the sky. The full moon shone down on the hills and reflected off the sparkling water of the bay. She made her way down to the shore, slipping out of her shoes, liking the bite of the cold water against her feet as well as the sand between her toes.

A large splash in the water scared her and she gasped. Spinning around, she quickly scanned the area. Then she noticed an animal on the shore, heading in her direction. Rhoswen froze in fear. It looked like a wolf in the moonlight. Now she regretted coming out here by herself. She didn’t even have her sword with her and had no means of protection.

The animal came forward, growling lowly, causing her to back away. There were no rocks or sticks in sight, and she was too far from her shoes to grab them and throw them at the wolf or even put them on and run. Now, she’d never be able to outrun the wild animal in her bare feet.

“Stay away,” she warned it, with her arms stretched out in front of her and her palms facing the beast. “Leave me alone.” The animal lowered its head, growling again and came even closer.

“Jack?” she heard Logan’s voice in the night and then more splashing of water. The wolf turned its head and ran back down the beach.

“Jack,” she whispered, releasing a sigh of relief. Then she laughed. What a fool she’d been. She should have recognized Logan’s wolf. But to her, all wolves looked alike so there was no way she could have known.

“Who’s there?” came Logan’s voice. He emerged naked from the water and looked down the shore in her direction.

“It – it’s me, Logan,” she called back.

“Rhoswen? Is that ye, lass?” He hurried down the beach toward her, not bothering to don his clothes. There was enough moonlight that she could see his naked body . . . and it intrigued her. “What are ye doin’ here? It’s no’ safe for ye to go out at night alone.”

He walked up to her, having a conversation, apparently forgetting he was naked.

“I – I needed some fresh air.” Her eyes focused on his sturdy chest. Water glistened against him, running a path down his body. Crisp ringlets of blond hair stuck to his chest, looking more of a brownish color since he was wet. His nipples were flat with little raised bumps in the middle from the cool night air.

“I’m glad Jack told me ye were here.” He came closer.

“I – I thought the wolf was going to hurt me. It growled at me,” she told him, finding it hard to concentrate since the fact he was naked was very distracting. It made her wonder if all the Highlanders acted this way.

“Naw, that’s just Jack’s way of tellin’ me when he sees someone or if he senses trouble. He doesna mean ye any harm.” Jack ran up to them and sat down at Logan’s side looking up at him in admiration. Logan turned and bent over to pet the animal, giving Rhoswen a side view of his bottom end. She found herself looking.

“I see that now,” she said.

“I’m actually kind of glad ye’re here.” He stood up, and when he did, her eyes dropped below his waist. She couldn’t help but gasp when she saw his erection.

“I can see that, too,” she said, wetting her dry lips with her tongue, feeling as if she couldn’t even swallow.

“I like that,” he said, stepping right up to her now and reaching out, putting his fingers under her chin and lifting her eyes to his.

“What do ye like?” she asked, feeling her body warm at his touch.

“I like that ye licked yer lips when ye looked at my manhood. That tells me ye’re interested.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to –” Her words were cut off with his mouth covering hers in a passionate kiss. She closed her eyes, melting under his touch. Reaching up, she put one hand on his broad shoulder while she held the shawl closed with the other.

“Never apologize for wantin’ to make love with a man, lassie. It is only natural.” He kissed her again, slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her up close against him. She felt his aroused form poking at her and it only made her want him.

“Mmmm,” she said, slowly relaxing in his embrace. “And is it natural to be walking around naked in the middle of the night, too?” She looked up at him and smiled.