Page 26 of Tempted by a Highland Beast (Tales of Love and Lust in the Murray Castle #9)
She didn’t know what to make out of it, yet Rowena was growing more confident that she could see a future with Constantine by her side. That day’s actions spoke to her more than any word of reassurance Constantine could offer her.
The afternoon passed in a blur of activity.
More patients arrived, treatments were administered, and gradually some of the earlier cases began to show improvement.
Constantine and Rowena worked in unconscious partnership, anticipating each other’s needs, coordinating their efforts without need for discussion.
As evening approached and the crisis settled into a manageable routine, Rowena felt the weight of the day pressing down on her.
The emotions she’d been holding at bay—confusion about Constantine’s sudden compassion, uncertainty about her future, the growing complexity of her feelings suddenly felt overwhelming.
“I need some air,” she announced to no one in particular, then slipped out of the castle before anyone could question her departure.
The stables were quiet, most of the grooms occupied with other duties. Rowena saddled her horse with quick efficiency, her hands moving automatically through the familiar motions while her mind churned with competing thoughts.
She rode without conscious direction, letting her horse choose the path while she tried to sort through the chaos in her head.
The way Constantine had taken command during the crisis, how he’d cared for sick villagers with the same focus he’d shown in battle, the gentle authority that made people trust him instinctively—it all painted a picture of a man far more complex than she’d initially realized.
His proposal still hung between them, and Rowena knew she would have to give him an answer soon.
Before she knew it, she’d reached the loch where they’d first met. The water was dark and still in the fading light, reflecting the gray sky like polished metal. Without conscious thought, Rowena dismounted and walked to the water’s edge.
The evening air was cool against her heated skin, carrying the scent of rain and growing things. She stood at the bank for several minutes, staring into the depths and trying to find clarity in the dark water.
Everything with Constantine felt beyond her control.
From the moment he’d rescued her from her uncle’s men, her life had been a series of rapid changes and new realities.
The marriage proposal, the growing attraction between them, the way he made her feel both protected and challenged; it was all happening faster than she could process.
On impulse, she began to undress, her hands working quickly through laces and ties. The water was shockingly cold, but maybe the physical jolt would clear her head, help her think past the emotional tangle that seemed to grow more complex each day.
She waded in slowly, gasping as the cold water rose around her legs, then her waist. When it reached her chest, she took a deep breath and plunged forward, letting the loch close over her head.
The cold was brutal, driving all thought from her mind for several heartbeats. When she surfaced, gasping and shivering, she felt momentarily cleansed, raw and present in a way she hadn’t been in days.
For a few precious minutes, she let herself feel everything she’d been holding back. The fear of making the wrong choice. Of jeopardizing the safety of her people.
The growing attraction to Constantine that she’d been trying to rationalize away. The longing for a partnership like the one he’d offered, balanced against the terror of trusting someone with her future after everything Alpin has put at risk.
The confusion of wanting something she wasn’t sure she should want, with a man she wasn’t sure she could trust, not because he was dishonest, but because the feelings he stirred in her felt too powerful, too consuming to be safe.
She floated on her back, staring up at the darkening sky, and let the cold water wash away her pretenses. Here, alone and vulnerable, she could admit that Constantine fascinated her. That his combination of command and care called to something deep in her.
But wanting something and being wise to pursue it weren’t the same thing.
A sound from the bank made her turn toward shore, her eyes searching the shadows between the trees. Movement caught her attention, a figure on horseback, barely visible in the fading light.
Her blood turned to ice as the figure approached. The way the rider sat suggested someone accustomed to these trails.
As she watched, frozen in the water, the figure moved closer to the bank, close enough that she could make out more details. A man, certainly. He was scanning the area methodically, as if searching for something.
Or someone.
Rowena remained perfectly still, grateful for the failing light that would make her harder to spot. Her clothes lay in a neat pile on the bank, too far away to reach without revealing herself. All she could do was wait and pray that whoever this was would move on without detecting her presence.
The rider continued his slow circuit of the loch’s edge, and Rowena felt her heart hammering against her ribs as the full implications of his presence began to sink in.
She was alone, unprotected, and praying this man was not after her.