Page 64 of Kilted Abduction
“Ciara, I think?—”
“And that’s the problem with ye, Magnus. Ye’re always thinkin’,” she said. “’Tis time ye learned tae nae think and just let go. Tae just dae. Live a little and have some fun with me.”
Magnus immediately had misgivings about this entire little excursion. Being out before dawn, climbing the steep and unsteady path to the cliffs above Dunvegan seemed like folly. But mostly, the moment they’d just shared left Magnus feeling a bit strange and he thought he needed a little time away from Ciara. He wanted some time to himself to get his head back on straight and banish the voices that were echoing through his mind, trying to persuade him to kiss Ciara or give in to the temptation that coursed through his veins.
His urges were inappropriate. They were wrong and he couldn’t give in to his passions, no matter how desperately he wanted to. It just wouldn’t be proper or, for all he knew, welcome. Just because he wanted to believe he saw his own desires reflected in Ciara’s eyes didn’t mean he actually had, and he would never force himself on a woman. That was the sort of barbarity he’dseen English soldiers inflict upon more than a few Scotswomen and Magnus would never be party to that sort of behavior. That wasn’t his way.
“Are ye comin’?” Ciara asked.
Without waiting for his reply, she turned and started up the path again. Magnus watched her for a moment with a clenched jaw, fearing she was going to lose her footing again. She seemed to be a little steadier on her feet though and was picking her way along the stony path carefully. Magnus let out a frustrated breath and shook his head.
“Bleedin’ hell. She’s more stubborn than a mule,” he muttered.
The wind picked up as they climbed the path and Magnus shivered. Ciara was smiling though and didn’t seem to notice the cold. She turned and looked over her shoulder, making sure he was following. Magnus’ heart tripped over itself as he thought she had never looked more beautiful than she did in that moment.
“How much further?” he asked.
“Nae much. Quit whinin’ and keep climbin’,” she teased.
He grumbled but kept following her. When they reached a branch in the trail though, he paused and watched as she followed the branch in the path that led to a ledge on the cliff face. His heart dropped into his belly, and he felt an icy fist offear for her grab hold of his heart and squeeze. He shook his head.
“Ciara, get away from that ledge,” he called. “The wind up here will blow ye right off!”
“Come. ‘Tis beautiful up here. Especially now.”
“Get off there and come back here.”
She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him then took a first step out onto the rock ledge. It was wide enough to walk normally, but the drop from the ledge to the rocky shoreline below was at least a hundred feet. There would be no surviving a fall from that height. And with the gusts of wind that blew in off the ocean, the footing could be treacherous. He had seen people nearly fall from ledges before and it was why he had always avoided it. Between the wind and slippery stones, it was all too easy to lose one’s footing out there.
“Are ye comin’ or nae?” Ciara shouted over the wind.
“I’m nae.”
“Dinnae be a bairn. Come out here with me.”
“Ye’re goin’ tae fall.”
“I havenae yet,” she called back.
“Yet? Ye’ve done this before?”
“Aye!” she said with a laugh. “How’d ye think I kent tae bring ye here, ye fool?”
Everything inside of Magnus was telling him to stop. To back away. To turn around and go back to the warm bed in his chambers. His every sense and part of his mind were screaming to stay away from the ledge. He wasn’t a coward. He was simply a man who calculated and assessed risk. And in his judgement, stepping out onto that ledge was unnecessary and completely foolish.
And yet, despite every warning bell in his head ringing, Magnus found himself moving toward the ledge then stepping out onto it. The stone ledge was twice the length of his foot, but it was against a sheer cliff face and when he looked down, he could see the waves crashing against the rocks below sounding like distant thunder. The air was thick with the smell of the sea.
“Ye’re doin’ fine,” Ciara said. “Come. Just a wee bit further.”
She was talking to him like a bairn, which irritated him, but he was too concerned about losing his footing to care too much. He moved slowly and deliberately, wondering why he was doing it with every step he took. This wasn’t like him. He didn’t take unnecessary risks. He didn’t do stupid things. And yet, there he was, stepping out onto an open ledge a hundred feet above the certain death that awaited down below.
“This is foolish,” he replied. “Ye’re goin’ tae get us both killed.”
“Maybe. But I’d rather die up here, doin’ somethin’ I love than locked in a drab, dreary chamber livin’ a life I dinnae want. That’d be a depressin’ way tae die.”
Ciara held out her hand and Magnus took it then pressed his back against the cliff face, the way she was standing. They stood side by side, looking toward the horizon.
“Ye’ve done this before?” he asked.
