Page 76 of The Highlander’s Savage Vow

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"Ye're shivering," Ruaridh observed, closing the door behind them and moving to stoke the fire.

"The rain was colder than I expected." She tried to keep her voice light, but she could hear the tremor in it.

"A warm bath will help." He was already moving to call for servants to bring hot water. "We both need tae get properly warm and dry."

Within minutes, their chamber was filled with the bustle of servants carrying steaming buckets, filling the large copper tub that had been brought in and positioned before the fire. The luxury of hot water and privacy felt almost decadent after their simple afternoon in the lodge.

When they were finally alone again, Iona found herself hesitating at the edge of the tub. The intimacy they'd shared over the past few days was still new, still fragile in some ways. But the cold had seeped into her bones, and the promise of warmth was too appealing to resist.

Iona peeled off her sodden cloak with shaking fingers that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Taegether?" Ruaridh asked quietly, reading her uncertainty.

"Aye," she said, surprised by her own certainty. "Taegether."

The hot water was blissful against her chilled skin, and she sank into it with a sigh of relief. Ruaridh settled behind her, his presence comforting rather than threatening as she leaned back against his chest.

"Better?" he asked, his arms coming around her in the warm water.

"Much." She closed her eyes, letting the heat seep into her muscles and ease the tension she'd been carrying. "Thank ye. Fer today, I mean. For showing me the lodge, fer giving me those hours of freedom."

"Ye dinnae need tae thank me fer that, lass. Ye shouldn't have tae feel grateful fer a few hours outside these walls."

The quiet understanding in his voice, the way he held her without making demands, created a space that felt safe enough for the words that had been building inside her chest.

"I told ye Murray forced himself on me," she said quietly, her voice barely audible over the soft crackling of the fire. "But I never told ye exactly what happened. How it ended."

She felt him tense slightly behind her, but his arms remained gentle around her. "Ye dinnae have tae⁠—"

"I want tae." The words surprised her, but they were true. "I fought him off, Ruaridh. Before he could... before he could dae what he intended. I had a heavy candlestick within reach, and I used it."

"Good," he said simply, and the fierce approval in his voice made something loosen in her chest.

"He was stronger than me, bigger than me. But I was desperate, and willing tae fight tae stop him." She took a shaky breath. "I hit him hard enough tae stun him, hard enough tae get away. That's when I escaped tae me parents, when I finally told them what kind of man they'd promised me tae."

"And that's when they ended the betrothal."

"Aye. But the damage was already done, in more ways than one." She turned slightly in his arms, needing to see his face. "It wasn't just what he tried tae dae tae me, Ruaridh. It was the helplessness I felt, the way he made me feel small and powerless. Even after I fought him off, even after I'd proven I could defend meself, that feeling lingered."

"Fear has a way of living in yer bones long after the danger has passed," he said quietly, and she knew he was speaking from his own experience.

"Aye. Fer months, I couldn't bear the thought of any man touching me. Couldn't imagine ever feeling safe enough tae... tae want someone's touch again." Her voice caught slightly. "I thought Murray had stolen that from me permanently. The ability tae trust, tae desire without fear."

Ruaridh's hand found hers beneath the water, their fingers intertwining. "But ye dae trust now? Ye dae feel safe?"

"Aye. With ye." The admission felt monumental, a bridge crossed that she'd never thought she'd be able to build. "I never thought I'd feel this calm with another man, this... peaceful. But somehow, with ye, the fear fades."

"Why dae ye think that is?"

She considered the question seriously, turning it over in her mind like a precious stone. "Because ye've never tried tae take what I wasnae ready tae give. Because ye've let me set the pace, make the choices. Because when ye touch me, it's not about possession or control—it's about connection."

"Iona." Her name was barely a whisper, but it held a weight of emotion that made her chest tight.

"And because ye understand what it's like tae have someone try tae break ye," she continued. "Ye ken what it means tae rebuild yerself from pieces, tae find strength after feeling powerless."

They sat in comfortable silence after that, the warm water lapping gently around them as the fire cast dancing shadows on the walls. Iona felt something shift inside her chest—not healing, exactly, because that was still a work in progress, but acceptance. Acceptance of what had happened to her, of how it had changed her, and of the possibility that those changes didn't have to define her future.