To Dream of a Highlander(34)

When Finn brought his blade to the man’s neck, it happened. Her throat grew tight and clogged. Dots danced in front of her vision. She meant to turn away but her head swam and she tried to suck in breaths while scrabbling for a hold on something. Heart beating rapidly, she pressed a hand to her chest and rubbed at it in a bid to draw in some air but it was useless. Darkness crowded her mind and the world tilted away.

Footsteps and voices echoed in her ears and something pressed underneath her. She struggled to open her eyes and draw breath but panic still gripped her, forcing her to curl up. And then she was floating, cradled by two strong arms. It should have made the sensations worse but somehow the warmth of those arms eased the constriction in her throat and she sucked in several ragged breaths.

Still weak and fighting the images in her mind, Catriona kept her eyes shut. She vaguely heard Lorna’s voice and then footsteps on wood. They were carrying her to her chambers, she realised. Soft blankets swallowed her as she was laid down, their herby fragrance comforting. She longed to stay locked in the dark abyss. Safe from life and the demons that shadowed her every step.



***

Finn jerked awake, heart pounding unnaturally. He scowled, lay there for a moment and stared at the fabric canopy above him. He strained to listen. What had woken him? He rubbed his arm. It tingled and he was sure something had jabbed him.

An odd sound stopped his eyelids from falling closed again and he sat. Was that crying? Screaming? It was faint but it certainly sounded like a woman. Climbing from the bed, he grabbed the shirt he’d flung carelessly over the chair in the corner and left the laces loose. Night still reigned and only splinters of silvered moonlight seeped in through the shutters to guide his way.

Nearly stubbing his toe on the end of the bed, he hastened to the door and tossed it open. The torches were still lit and the one outside his chamber stuttered with the sudden gust. He paused in the doorway. Aye, a woman to be sure. And the tightness in his chest told him he knew which woman it was.

Katelyn.

He strode along the corridor that linked the chambers. The sound increased and even though he told himself she couldn’t be in danger, the tension in his gut amplified.

Ready for anything, he eased open Katelyn’s door. It squeaked on its hinges and he grimaced. But no one attacked him. Indeed, the only person in the room was Katelyn. Lying on her side, the torchlight from the corridor revealed the long length of her thigh and her magnificent hair cascading down her back, clearly having come free from a braid. His racing heart slowed as he studied her. The blankets were entirely gone, kicked off onto the floor. She hadn’t bothered drawing the curtains around the bed. The weather had not been cold enough for that.

So Finn had a glorious view of that incredible figure encased in a whisper of a chemise.

Before his body responded to the sight, she tossed suddenly, a whimper coming from her lips. Finn stiffened as her anguished expression became apparent. She did it again, moving quickly and frantically, and her whimpers turned to cries. He watched, took a step forward and paused. Should he wake her? Would she be embarrassed to find him in her chamber?

She made the decision for him when she nearly flung herself off the bed. If he didn’t act, she would surely harm herself. Quickly coming to her side, he caught her when she rolled again and urged her gently onto the bed with him. Sweat clung to her brow and it dampened his shirt as he bundled her into his arms and pressed her hard against him. Katelyn fought him but the noises quietened to a soft sob. The sound pierced him, like a knife wound. He’d seen this before, especially in men who had witnessed battle for the first time but he didn’t know women could suffer the same.

When she ceased fighting him, her breathing slowed but still she cried. He stroked her cheek, felt dampness there and softly urged her to awaken. Katelyn tensed abruptly and he knew she was finally awake. But she couldn’t stop crying.

Ach, powerless yet again.

Finn raised her face to his. The golden glow of the torches still crept in through the open door so he saw the pain in her eyes. Katelyn didn’t look away or bury herself against his chest as he thought she might do. It appeared as though she was incapable. She sobbed openly, uncontrollably and he had to watch every heart-breaking moment of it.

Unable to bear her pain any longer and refusing to question why that hurt anguished him so much, he did the only thing he could think of to soothe away her tears.

He kissed her.

She tasted salty and wet at first. And she still wept but the sound quietened, giving way to slow, heavy breaths. Katelyn opened her mouth to him while he cradled her head, a hand speared into her hair, the other stroking away the tears on her cheek.