To Dream of a Highlander(11)

Still he felt the need to atone for his conduct. “Forgive me, my lady. Ye were shaking. Ye need body warmth.”

“I—thank ye, sir.”

And now she thanked him for his behaviour. Lord, she was unlike any lass he’d ever met. Ach, in his experience lasses either played the coy innocent or the uptight noblewoman. He’d eventually broken through all of those acts, he thought to himself with a grin. But Katelyn was different. Mayhap under other circumstances he would have been met with pretence, but he suspected not. Few people fooled him.

“Yer gown shall be dry before long and then ye will have no more need of me.”

She nodded, viewing him from under her lashes. Something unreadable sat behind those eyes. Likely a quick mind worked behind them.

“Are we far inland?”

“Some ten miles.”

“Do ye no’ fear Scots attacking ye?”

“We hold a strong position and have many powerful sword arms on our side. Ye need not fear, my lady.”

“Aye.” She flexed her fingers against his chest and withdrew them abruptly. “Are we to travel far?”

“Six nights.”

Far off, the howl of a wolf skipped over the hills and Katelyn pressed into him. Her trembling increased. His heart flexed.

“’Tis far off, dinnae be concerned,” he assured her. He scowled when his voice came out gruff. That soft little body against his chest sent an increasing ripple of awareness through him. He threw his gaze up to the sky in a prayer for restraint.

“’Tis a clear night. We’ll no’ see rain,” he offered weakly in an attempt to force his mind away from smooth flesh beneath thick fur.

“Aye.”

He glanced down to see her gaze turn heavenwards. The tilt of her lips reminded him of a plea to a lover.

For a kiss.

And for the briefest moment he considered dipping his head and brushing his lips over hers, just to see how they would feel. Finn clenched his jaw and looked away once more—away from temptation. This was another man’s woman. And a vulnerable one at that. He did not need a helpless lass attaching herself to him.

A prickle skimmed along his side where their bodies touched. Ach, he was already too close. Any closer and he would be tucked beneath the fur and caressing that pale skin. He smirked to himself. At least keeping watch was going to be easy. In spite of the exertions of the day, sleep couldn’t be further from his mind.

Noting her trembling had ceased, he drew in a long breath and focused on the pinpricks of light above him. It was a habit—staring at them and feeling insignificant. As a large man, there were few times in life when he felt like that. That gentle ache that always sat in his gut throbbed, reminding him of Alice’s death—and the powerlessness that came along with that. Never again would he place himself in such a position.

That howl came again and he scowled. He hoped they were not being tracked though the fire was sure to keep the wolves at bay. Katelyn emitted a noise and he tightened his hold.

“They’ll no’ get close,” he murmured, reassuring her again. Why did he feel the need to erase her fear? All that mattered was that he got her to his sister’s keep. “We could see them coming many a mile away. We have been blessed with a bright night.”

“Blessed…” she whispered, though he couldn’t be sure if she intended for him to hear.

He supposed being taken from her home and dragged across the Highlands might not seem a blessing to her but it was surely a better fate than whatever that Norseman had planned for her.

“Aye, the heavens shine down upon us.”

“I-I havenae seen a night like this in a while.”

“’Tis beautiful indeed,” he agreed and frowned at his words.

Sat on a lonely hill with the stars and an almost naked woman for company and here he spoke of beauty. It seemed he had little control over his tongue this night.

“The siege prevented me from going outside for many weeks.” The hardened tone to her voice made his scowl deepen. She turned her face toward him, as if she expected a response and he fumbled in his mind for one. What did the lass wish of him? Was comfort not enough? Did she expect more of her rescuer? If he only understood women better.

Of course, if he’d been planning to bed her, he would have done it with ease. But offering comfort or conversation… nay, he was far out of his depth here.

“But see now,” he gestured to the sky, “the stars have come out for ye this night.”

“For me?” The faintest hint of humour sat in her tone, a welcome relief from the frigidness.

“Aye, indeed. For ye, wee lass.”

She softened a tiny bit more, truly moulding to him. “I have missed the stars.”