Page 62 of When a Highlander Vows
He will have to be told. For I dae fear he will begin to come courtin’ soon enough.
Caitlin stayed a little longer until she heard footsteps from behind her, and she turned to see Lucas coming her way. Her first instinct was to turn away, to give herself time to gather her thoughts. After the kiss in the library and her tears with her friends, she wasn’t sure what she’d say.
And then he was right beside her, first leaning down to rub Fallows on the head and then standing tall. For a few seconds, they simply stared out to sea together, and Caitlin let out a breath. She’d seen his face after she’d told him that what he’d done was hurting her. Him touching her and then leaving suddenly, proclaiming that it was wrong.
He had been truly sorry, and while he seemed sorry to have hurt her, she knew that she’d not like to hurt him either. If the mysterious men they’d met on her way to the castle had come right then to fight against him, she knew she’d fight tooth and nail to keep him safe.
Nae merely hidin’ away in a bush.
She was tired of always hiding away. Lucas was doing the same when it came to her, but she wanted to be bold, to be free, to let it be known that her heart was claimed. As he stood beside her, she could feel the warmth of his presence. It made her feel safe, protected, even loved, despite all his fears.
“Thank ye for the stone,” she said softly. “Like I had hoped, it gives me a place to think of Seamus. Perhaps it does the same for ye?”
“Aye.” She looked up to see him nodding. “Although I daenae wish to disturb ye.”
“Nay. I want someone to share this with me. Ye are the only one around here who kenned Seamus and loved him. It is grief shared.” Her instinct was to reach out and grasp his hand, and she even looked down at it, the urge so strong.
But she held back, and instead, she clasped her hands together. “Thank ye for what ye did for Rachel and Mary, Lucas,” she said, and he nodded.
“It was what ye wanted. And it was the right thing.”
Before she replied, he spoke. “Would ye still like to learn to swim, Lass?” Lucas asked, his face curling into a cheeky smile.
“Aye, I suppose I dae.”
“Well then, today is the day.” He started stalking off toward the beach, and with a smile, Caitlin stared after him for a little before she jumped up and hurried to catch up, Fallows barking and running after them.
He needed to leave again, that day in fact, if he was going to get his plan for Caitlin to forgive him in order, but he didn’t want to do it without seeing her again. Leaving things as they were was not an option, or he wouldn’t be able to bear the torture of it on his travels with only the pain in her eyes the last image he had of her in his mind.
So, after he left his study, drunk as could be, he asked a servant where to find the lass, and he was pointed in the right direction. The brisk afternoon air made him feel stronger, and as he approached her, he smiled. Caitlin was lovely in every sense of the word. And he watched her for a little, trying to memorize the line of her face and the color of her hair. As they sat in companionable silence, thinking about Seamus together, he had a wild, rebellious idea. It was risky, considering how much he wanted her, how much he enjoyed the feel of her under his hands. But it could still help her, still make her happy, even if there was no touching between them.
He asked her if she wanted to swim, and then he walked forward, knowing she would soon follow. Despite all her goodness, some purity, he knew that Caitlin enjoyed the wildness. He knew that she was tired of being trapped by her eyesight. And he smiledto himself when he heard her footsteps across the gravel of the beach.
“Lucas, yer mad!” she cried, but she was laughing. “It is nae warm enough, it bein’ late afternoon.”
“Nay matter. The water here is always cold, Lass, and it invigorates the body.” He waved to her as he hurried forward, jogging over the beach until they reached the water.
Quickly, he began to remove his clothes, and Caitlin exclaimed again.
“Lucas, surely, ye daenae mean for us to strip down out in the open like this?” He could hear her hesitate. “Together?”
Trying to keep his chuckle to himself, he straightened. “I willnae undress all the way, of course. And ye mustnae either.”
Although that might make things more interesting.
He kept his gaze firmly down as he focused on removing his jacket and shirt, and heard the rustle of fabric as she removed the bodice and the overskirt. Once he was ready, he turned back. Only a little. And held out his arm.
“Hold onto me, Sunshine,” he said, knowing what her touch would do to him, but it was nothing more than he deserved.
She did as he said, and out of the corner of his eye, saw her in her white under skirts and stays. And he bit back a groan. He had seen her somewhat bare but not all the way, and now he was being a saint, trying his best not to let his mind wander to all the ways they could tangle up in each other.
Her sharp gasp as they entered the icy water made him laugh. Fallows barked too as she dove in, rushing around excitedly.
“Aye, ‘tis cold enough to freeze a man’s bollocks off,” Lucas said, and then he laughed again when he saw her surprised face.
“Sorry, Sunshine, I forget I shouldnae be so crass and crude when ye are around.”
“Stop that. I had a brother, remember. I am nae so fragile as ye would like to believe,” she said quietly, and Lucas found he did not have an answer to that.
