Page 30 of Desiring the Highland Laird (Highland Destiny #1)

T he keep was silent that night. After the evening meal, the men scattered. Jamie skulked to his own bedchamber. Malcolm announced he was going to the armory to sharpen his sword. Callum stomped outside, banging the door to the great hall behind him and disappearing into the gloaming.

With nothing else to do, Evie offered to help Roslyn clean up in the kitchen.

“Och, that’s no necessary, lass. Go rest, for the day has been trying.”

It was the last thing she wanted to do, though she knew she should since she had a day of hard riding ahead of her.

She meandered to her bedchamber, pausing in front of the enchanted tapestries.

It was a relief to see they had not changed in the last twenty-four hours.

The army was still marching toward Moira.

Chloe’s face had not yet become clear, yet the lines of her visage were apparent.

Her hearth was cold. With a sigh, she placed logs onto the log holder, then sat back on her heels, brushing the dirt from her hands. She wasn’t ready to go to bed yet. She wasn’t ready to face the next day alone with Callum.

She got to her feet and reached for her cloak, pulling it tightly about her and heading for the door. She decided to head outside to the stables to see the little gray mare who had captured her heart.

Much to her surprise, Callum was in the stable tending to his black war horse. She paused in the doorway as she watched him brush the long neck of the steed with a careful and gentle hand. He spoke in low murmurs to the horse. The horse snorted in response.

He turned as he put down the brush and caught her standing there staring at him. Surprise followed by question flickered through his eyes. She immediately tore her gaze away, her face flushing hot as she moved deeper into the stable.

“I-I didn’t mean to intrude.” She immediately kicked herself for her stammer but he’d caught her off guard. “I came to see about Mist.”

When the mare heard her voice, she popped her head out of the stall.

“She appears to like ye,” Callum said, a smile in his voice.

Evie moved to stand in front of her to pet her long nose. She had never been so attached to an animal before. She knew it was because they were never allowed to have pets growing up. Evie had longed for a house cat or a dog.

She sensed Callum next to her. He held an apple in his hand. “Give her this and she’ll follow you everywhere.”

Evie took the apple from his palm, their eyes meeting, and her heart jumping in a wild thump. Her hand brushed his, sending a zing of excitement through her. She turned back to Mist and fed her the apple. The horse chomped down on it without wasting a moment, making Evie smile.

“She’s a beauty,” she said.

“Aye, she is,” he agreed. “And she’s yers from now on.”

She snapped her head up. “What? No. I couldn’t—”

“The mare belonged to my sister, God rest her.” He reached over to pat the animal’s neck. “She’d want someone to care for her as ye do.”

She started to object, to tell him that she refused to accept such a gift.

Because she planned to return to the future.

Which made her think of the stone in her pocket.

She slipped her hand into the folds of her gown to make certain it was still there.

She wrapped the stone in a handkerchief and tied the ends together to keep it secure.

Satisfied the stone was still safe, she removed her hand and then went back to patting the horse’s nose.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice a rough whisper. Then she dropped her hand. “I should go. I don’t want to interrupt your time here.”

She turned but he caught her hand in his, pulling her to a stop. She looked at him over her shoulder.

“Yer no interrupting,” he said. “I’m glad yer here.”

Her heart lurched at those words. “Are you?”

“Aye.”

He continued to hold her hand, his roughened palm against hers.

Then he tugged her closer. She turned to face him as he pushed her fingers open and gazed down at the lines still imprinted on her palm.

With a gentle touch, he ran the tip of his finger over them, outlining the strange brand the stone had left behind.

He had done this once before, but this time seemed more sensual, more reverent.

“I thought the lines would go away by now,” she mused, watching and loving the way his finger traced them with such a faint touch it sent her senses reeling.

Her gaze lifted to his and she found he was looking at her with an intensity she had never seen before.

His blue eyes flickered, a sensuous flame passing between them.

It was something she had sensed once before when they first met and then when he’d kissed her.

Now, she was certain it was there, a strong pulse of emotion that shimmered in the air around them. As if they were meant for each other.

She could not stop thinking about the dream she had had when she was still in Edinburgh. She could not stop thinking about the way the firelight had flickered over his hard, chiseled features. Or the way his hands had curled around the end of the chair arms when she approached him.

That dream, she knew, would become reality.

A breath shuddered out of her.

“I…feel as though we have always known each other,” she said, her voice but a whisper.

“I feel the same,” he replied. “’Tis a strange feeling, and yet not.”

She nodded understanding and dropped her gaze to their entwined hands. She had never felt so comfortable with a man before. She’d dated plenty, of course, but none of them had made her feel as though she were safe and secure. None of them had made her stomach flutter with anticipation and need.

“Callum, I…I can’t help but think we were meant for each other.”

He lifted his hand, placing it along the side of her neck, his thumb tracing the outline of her jaw. Then he tipped her head upward so their eyes met once again. His eyes reflected the glimmers of light surrounding them and she saw the tenderness in his gaze. It took her breath away.

He was going to kiss her. She knew this as sure as she felt the wild beat of her heart. He had kissed her once before, of course, in the kitchen over midnight snacks but that was nothing more than the brush of his lips. She wanted more. She wanted intense. She wanted fiery passion.

She wanted him.

She tipped her head to the side, ready and waiting and willing.

Her eyes fluttered closed to savor the moment.

She wanted to memorize everything about it.

He smelled of horse and leather and an underlying sweet scent she didn’t know.

His calloused hand was rough against her skin and she relished it.

Then it happened.

His lips pressed against hers. Gentle at first. She slid her arms around his neck and leaned into him, letting the warmth of his body cascade over and through her.

Letting the power of him press into her and relishing in it.

His lips sent spirals of desire and wondrous need through her.

She had never felt that before with anyone else.

She never wanted to feel it with anyone else but him.

She kissed him back with a sudden need and a hunger that nearly consumed her. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her closer to him. She was enveloped in his steady warmth. She was certain she felt the pounding of his heart against hers.

When he pulled away, it took everything in her to squelch the whimper that wanted to escape for the loss of his mouth against hers.

“Aye, lass, I feel the same.”

A moment of confusion went over her as she stared up at him, wondering how in the world she had gotten to this point in her life.

How had she managed to fall through time and become instantly besotted with a man she had never met?

A man from medieval Scotland who had walked through her dreams?

Was it predestined? Or was there some other force at work?

It was too easy to fall in love with him. Too easy to want him to be her protector and her lover for the rest of her life.

“What do we do now?” she heard herself say, unable to hide her puzzlement.

A smile tipped the corner of his mouth as he peered down at her, still holding her in his arms.

“I think I’ll be kissing ye again.”

Before she could take a breath, he did. His mouth slid over hers, making her melt against him with such longing she thought she might come undone.

A snort in her ear startled her. They broke apart.

Evie stumbled back a step in her hazy stupor to see the gray mare had moved closer to her and snorted in her ear.

She laughed as the horse nuzzled her. Callum emitted a chuckle that rumbled deep in his chest. He stepped away from her and then returned a moment later with another apple in his hand.

Grinning, she took it from him and fed it to the mare who seemed all too happy to interrupt their romantic interlude for the treat.

“’Tis getting late,” he said, then. “We have a day of riding on the morrow.”

“Yes,” she agreed. When Mist nibbled the rest of the apple, she turned to him. “I should get some sleep.”

He nodded. “We leave at first light.”

“Good night, Callum.”

“G’night, lass.”

She left him in the stable. As she did, it was impossible to shake the incredible feeling that things were different between them. She had a whole lot of unanswered questions. Questions she didn’t know how or when or if she would be able to answer.