Page 26 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Iain seemed caught off guard by the question; his eyes narrowed as he continued to look out at the landscape around them, and his nostrils flared slightly.

“I hoped that I would see ye again, if anything, just to show ye what I’ve become! Having to leave broke me.”

May nodded at his answer and bit her lip. She wasn’t sure what it was that was driving her feelings, but being so close to him was driving her crazy. She wanted nothing more than to turn and wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and to feel the sensation of his lips on hers again.

They remained up on top of the glen for a while more. May was lost in her thoughts as they decided to sit back against a large oak tree. She glanced down to see that were her hand to move any more to the right, it would touch against his. May wasn’t sure whether the prospect of being close to him was driving her curiosity, or if it was more of a primal urge that she was feeling deep down.

However, when she gave into this urge and moved her fingers until they connected with Iain’s, he shunted his hand to the side and out of reach of hers. May felt her heart sink slightly as she realized that he really wasn’t going to just come back into her life and love her in the way that he once had.

May wasn’t sure if he was even capable of loving her anymore, and that thought frightened her to no end.

“Ye’re staring at me,” Iain commented, as he slowly turned his head to look at her.

May could feel heat rising to her cheeks despite the brisk chill of the wind that brushed against them at that height. She looked down at her lap for a moment to avoid eye contact.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

May then glanced back up, but he was still staring at her, rather intently now. She felt as though she was caught in a trap and had nowhere to back out of.

“Well, now ye’re staring at me,” May countered, as she locked his gaze.

“I ken,” Iain nodded, seemingly unfazed by the situation. May could feel her cheeks continuing to redden as she realized that this was a game that he was playing with her, one of keeping up appearances, and she was losing.

May shook her head and scoffed at him, she wanted nothing more than to get up and move back over to her horse. She wasn’t sure what it was that was tethering her to the spot but may felt completely helpless as she remained in such close proximity to him.

Her frown only deepened as she saw how Iain moved in closer to her. The space between them was getting cut shorter with each moment that passed. Her heart was picking up in pace and her breathing was suddenly a lot heavier than it had been before.

Iain was getting dangerously close to her, but May felt pinned to the spot. She swallowed thickly and waited to see if he really would kiss her again.

But he stopped short at the last minute. There was little more than a slither of space between them, and yet Iain stopped what he was doing completely. May could have sworn that she saw the corners of his lips twitch up at the sight of her ready to kiss him once more. She realized in an instant what he had done; he was testing her. He was seeing if she really would melt back into his embrace after all that time. May had done nothing more than proven to him that she wasn’t going to put up much of a fight if he did want to change how he behaved.

Her cheeks were still impossibly hot and so she shook her head and scowled as she moved away. May turned her face away so that he couldn’t see the embarrassment she felt, but it was quickly turning into anger.

“We should probably start to head back,” she spoke up after clearing her throat, “They’re going to need us back for some of the wedding preparations.”

May turned only to see the small smirk on Iain’s face as he walked over to his horse. She wanted to curse at him and roll her eyes, she wanted to call him out for the way that he was toying with her emotions. However, she was still slightly in shock at herself and how her body had been so ready to just accept that he wanted her.

“Aye, I suppose so,” he spoke with the smallest hint of amusement in his tone.

May breathed out a shaky breath of air before mounting her horse. She rode quickly back down toward the castle. However, as she started to near the edge of the woodland area, May could tell that her horse was becoming rather distressed. She held onto the reins and squeezed with her legs to try and calm down the horse.

“Woah,” May spoke in a quiet voice to try and relax the horse.

“Are ye all right?” Iain asked, as he moved toward her on his own horse. He then quickly dismounted to help her, May looked around frantically as the horse started to buck, there was no way that she was going to be able to hold on.

“I’ve got ye if ye can let go,” Iain spoke reassuringly to her.

May thought about it for a second and knew that she didn’t have a choice in the matter. She squeezed her eyes shut and let go of the reins, pushing her body toward Iain and his outstretched arms.

She landed in them with a slight grunt, but she was unharmed. Her horse started to gallop back toward the castle without her, but May was simply glad that she had managed to get out of the incident without injury.

“Thank ye,” May nodded as she looked up at him. She noticed how close they were again and felt her heart leap at the contact. Iain looked down at her for a second, and there was something different in his expression, something softer than his usual cold and calculating features.

She then cleared her throat, and it felt as though the two of them were coming out of some kind of trance as they realized themselves. Iain let his arms relax slowly as May stood up.

“Ye can ride on my horse with me,” Iain muttered, and helped her up onto his horse.

They rode back on the one horse, with May’s back flush against his chest, and her mind reeling at the close contact.