Page 11 of Time of the Warlord (Stones of Scotland #5)

C iaran couldn’t control his anger as it burned red-hot through his body - but neither could he stop kissing her. He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him until they kneeled close beside each other in the sand, their dripping wet bodies pressed together.

He broke away from her lips for a second.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he whispered against her cheek, and then he was kissing her again, lost in the salty sweetness of her lips, and her soft gasps against his mouth.

He didn’t break away again until he was short of breath. Gasping for air, he stared at her. She looked just as shocked as he felt.

“Well,” he said, needing to break the silence somehow. “There’s no point staying here. It will be hours before anyone can fetch us, and we’ll have frozen to death by then. We might as well head to Dunadd on foot.”

Sadie hissed in a sharp breath, as if that surprised her.

“But won’t they expect to find us here?” she said. “Dunadd’s a long way to walk.”

Ciaran shrugged. “We could have landed in a worse place. I’ll light a signal fire when we stop for the night. If any boat sets out to look for us, they’ll find us easily enough. But I suspect they’ll sail straight on to Dunadd and send a smaller boat out tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Sadie seemed to be struggling to understand what was happening. “You mean we might be out here all night?”

“You should have thought of that before you jumped in,” Ciaran said, pushing up to his feet. It seemed safer to keep a distance from her, after what had just happened.

“I didn’t jump,” she muttered, but she didn’t add anything else.

“There’s plenty of caves along this coastline,” he said. “We’ll find shelter, and hopefully some fresh water. Come on.”

He set off across the sand, his boots sinking into its softness. When he turned around, he found to his annoyance that she was staring after him but not moving an inch. With a growl of frustration, he turned and marched back to her.

“Come on ,” he said. “There’s no point staying here. We might as well start moving.”

She still hesitated, looking strangely reluctant. Did she really think they could just stay here and wait for the boat to come back?

“If you don’t move now , I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you to a cave,” he threatened.

That seemed to do the trick. Her eyes widened and she took a step forwards. To Ciaran’s relief, she followed him along the beach without further protest.

He found one cave quickly enough, but it looked as if the high tide might catch it. Too risky.

“Let’s head inland,” he said. “There must be a farm or something nearby. I’m not lord of these lands, but people will still offer us hospitality.”

“We should turn back,” Sadie said, her voice wavering slightly. “Surely a passing fisherman will find us and take us back to the island. There’s no need to walk all the way up to Dunadd.”

Ciaran stopped and looked at her properly for the first time. In his determination to avoid meeting her eyes after that kiss, he hadn’t really stopped to ask what was going on.

“Why do you suddenly not want to go to Dunadd?” he asked. “And what the hell happened to land you in the sea?”

She bit her lip and he knew he’d hit on something. For all her determination on keeping secrets, Sadie was not very good at hiding her thoughts. Something was bothering her.

“I’m just not sure,” she said at last. “Maybe I’m not ready to go back yet.”

Ciaran felt a strange warmth spread through his chest at her words. Maybe I’m not ready to go back yet . Could that have anything to do with him? With the searing kiss they’d shared on the beach? He took a step towards her, his fingers itching to grasp her waist and pull her tight against him. But some dark flicker in her eyes held him back. There was more to this story, he was sure of it. Something important that she wasn’t telling him. He looked away.

“We need to go to Dunadd, and that’s final,” he said gruffly. “Matthew will be worried sick about us.”

Sadie sighed heavily. He sensed that she wouldn’t argue any further - at least, not now. No doubt she’d find something else to debate in due time.

And then she surprised him.

She took a step forwards and clutched at his arm. He froze, unable to tear his gaze away from her beautiful face.

“Do you trust me, Ciaran?” she asked softly.

He wanted to say yes . He wanted to lean forward and kiss those full, rosy lips.

“No, I don’t trust you,” he said with a croak.

Sadie smiled, swaying a little closer to him.

“I don’t trust you either,” she told him, her voice a little husky. “But if we’re walking all the way to Dunadd together, we need some kind of arrangement. We need to trust each other at least a little.”

Ciaran nodded. She was definitely speaking sense. At least as much sense as he could understand, with her lips so close to his, and that maddening perfume swirling through the air around him.

Wait .

He stepped back again, placing a safe distance between the two of them. Her hand fell away from his arm.

“I’d thank you not to try charming me like that again,” he said stiffly. “Remember this: I am the one who knows how to reach Dunadd. You can do whatever the hell you want, but I bet you wouldn’t last five minutes out here alone. So I suggest that you follow behind me and do what you’re told.”

Fists clenched, he turned away and set off towards solid land. He would not let himself be manipulated like that again.