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‘Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kenna again,’ she said, the grin on her face stretching involuntarily.

Duncan twisted around to look at her, his eyes alight. ‘I’m sure she’d love to see you, too. Although, what will Ruby do without you?’

‘She might have to spend the night with Fergus and the other dogs.’ Even as she spoke, she couldn’t help but think she was being crazy, but what was it Fergus had said about making memories? This night definitely felt like one of those.

‘To the lodge, please,’ Duncan told Roddy.

44

The entire ride, Bex’s mind raced with anticipation of what the night would hold and, by the time the lodge came into view, her body was so raw with adrenaline that her legs trembled.

As Duncan opened her car door, she turned and looked at Roddy.

‘Thank you ever so much for the lift,’ she said.

‘No worries.’

‘And maybe…’ She hesitated. ‘Maybe if you see Lorna any time soon, you could keep this to yourself?’

He let out a slight chuckle before lifting his fingers to his lips and making a twisting motion.

‘She won’t hear a word from me,’ he said, at which she flashed a quick smile before stepping out of the car.

As the Land Rover reversed away from the house, Bex turned to Duncan, though rather than the grin she expected to see on his face, a deep frown furrowed his brows.

‘What is it?’ she said. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘Everything’s great,’ he said, offering her a fleeting smile. ‘Only…’

‘Only?’ A flurry of nerves whipped through her as he took hold of her hand and pulled her in close so that her chest was almost pressed against his. His eyes were trained on hers.

‘I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret tonight,’ he said.

For a second, Bex assumed he was joking – that this was his attempt at humour – only that frown line of his was still firmly in place.

‘Duncan, I have done this before. Quite a few times.’

He let out a small sound. ‘I know that. Well, I assumed. But that doesn’t change things. Bex, I meant what I said tonight about you. About you being the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.’ He lifted his hand and gently cupped one side of her face. Involuntarily, she felt her weight fall into him. ‘I’m crazy about you. And…’

‘And I’m leaving,’ she said, filling in the blank that he was leaving unsaid. ‘It makes things complicated.’

‘It does,’ he replied.

His fingertips had slipped into her hair now, while his other hand had fallen back into that little dip at the base of her spine, which, at that precise moment, felt like it had been created solely for the purpose of him holding her.

‘So where does that leave us?’ she asked, wishing she could control the ache spreading through her chest. ‘You don’t want to do this?’

‘Are you kidding?’ For the first time since they had stepped out of the car, the frown lines had gone, and in their place was a look of pure disbelief. ‘Of course I want to do this. But it doesn’t have to be tonight. I can wait. I can wait as long as you want to. And if you decide that it’s not worth the risk, the potential heartbreak, then I’ll get it. There’s no rush here, Barker. I’m yours if you want me. Now, tomorrow, whenever.’

It was quite possibly the sweetest thing a man had ever said to her, although if his purpose had been to put her off him, he had well and truly failed. Instead, she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. She could feel the tension that ebbed through him, although with every breath she took, a little more of it dissolved. Soon it was as if they were one mass of need. The fear of heartbreak was gone. They weren’t going to hurt each other. How could they do that? The thought was absurd. They barely knew each other. This was… Well, she didn’t know what it was, but she knew she wasn’t going to give it up.

Her hands wandered down his back, where she pulled his shirt out from the top of his trousers and slid her hand up his back. A simultaneous gasp escaped both their lips. That was the first time she had touched him like this – felt her palm against the softness of his skin – and she wanted to see more. Feel more.

‘I need to open the door,’ Duncan said, drawing sharp breaths between their kisses. ‘I need to get you inside. Now.’ As he finished talking, a slight shadow of a frown came back in place. ‘As long as you want to?’ he added.

Bex rolled her eyes. ‘I swear, if you ask me that once more, then I’m going up to the castle and I’ll never speak to you again.’

‘Noted,’ he said, grabbing the door handle.