Page 36 of Highlander’s Burning Touch

There, Deva sighed, leaning her head on into the crook of his neck. He still had the simple woolen vest and hose beneath the heavy clan plaid. How she wished to get under his clothes, her fingers itching to touch his flesh.

Squashed up close, Deva melted into Niven’s aroma. She could almost taste him, his scent running through her. Grabbing the side of her arm, Niven brought her close, shielding her from the rain which was falling over the glen.

She shivered. They both looked out across the glen at the oncoming storm coming from the Macaulay lands. The weather had deteriorated rapidly since leaving the MacLean lands. And now, the advancing night brought that reality home to them.

“Night’s coming,” said Niven, eventually, but even though they both knew this was madness, neither of them budged an inch.

He tapped her gently on the spine, sending her senses into an overload. All of Deva’s feelings overwhelmed, rising to a brimful inside her. She simply wanted to lay him down here, beneath the trees, and make slow love to him. But then reality intervened.

The wind reeling around the empty glen side reached a crescendo, catapulting into them with a shoal of autumn leaves. The blast temporarily blinded her, leaving her blinking and streaming at the eyes.

“Here,” said Niven, bringing his handkerchief over to her face and softly brushing the grit away.

Tears poured from her eyes as she brushed the errant leaves off. She was a mess; her hair was blown everywhere, and her eyes red and puffy. And yet Niven was staring in fascination.

“What?” she said, picking the debris from her hair. The sweetness of his touch electrified her skin.

Now the gale was blowing all about, buffeting them this way and that. Her hair was flying five ways across the glen, and it was as clear as day that they could not stay here. Yet neither of them moved an inch,

Niven was still looking, staring deeply into her. He had looked so far away that Deva almost laughed out loud.

“What, what is it?” she laughed. “I look a mess, I ken,” she said. She was struggling with her hair in a failed attempt to tie it into a pleat.

“Nae,” he said softly, bringing his finger to her face and stroking it softly, “Nae, ye look beautiful…”

Deva stopped laughing and became drawn into his hypnotic gaze. This was insane. It was freezing. They were wet. And yet, his stare was doing unspeakable things to her.

“We shouldn’t,” she said, seriously.

“Nae, we mustn’t,” he agreed, but his smile said he wanted to. He was still holding her hand and squeezed it tight.

That touch was all she needed. Instantly, an electric buzz had begun on the inside of her, reaching its way out. And all this with just his hand!

“Niven, I,” but the words she was about to speak were taken by a sudden gust of wind that howled its rage across the valley. She tried again, but this time Niven hushed her down and brought his finger to her lips.

“Shush,” he said, pulling them both tightly down into the base of the tree. For a moment, she wondered why, and then she heard it.

Coming from across the way, thundering hooves approached at speed. Clearly, whoever it was would come their way and quickly.

Hastily rearranging her garments, Deva pulled herself up smart and grappled to her feet, taking care to stand apart from Niven, who was hurriedly doing the same.

The hooves came crashing, careering around the bend, then an excitable horse gave a whinny. Deva’s eyes flashed over to it, fearing it might be her own poor mare, left stranded by the side of the road.

But it was the rider, advancing along the winding path to the glen. From the shadows, he emerged, sharply dismounting from his gray horse.

Through the darkened gloom, Deva could just make out the glint of red in his hair as he stood there, his light eyes flashing incredulously.

“At last! I thought I’d nae catch ye!” he said. His voice was pitched somewhere between bemused and quizzical.

He came a little closer to where they were, and Deva tensed. Warily, she glanced to Niven by her side.

In the dark, she couldn’t make out the features of the man in front of them. If she had done, she might have recognized him.

The flicker in Niven’s face told her that something had irked him, but all the same, he didn’t act as if they were in any danger.

The man’s face relaxed into a smile as he came towards them. Now Deva could see.

“So then, ye live another day, Niven?” the man said. His voice vaguely taunting, but the atmosphere between the two men was hard to gauge.