Page 36 of Healing the Highland Sinner
Rosalind spent a couple minutes pacing the room, clenching and unclenching her fists in a vain effort to cool down. She stopped and turned to him. Her face was red, her eyes tight, and a scowl pulling the corners of her mouth down.
“Yer cursing… ‘tis creative,” he said lightly.
“That man. He’s insufferable,” she growled as she stamped her foot. “Who is he tae scold me like I’m some misbehavin’ bairn?”
“He’s somebody who cares fer ye, Rosalind. Somebody who worries fer ye.”
His words seemed to take a small bit of wind out of her sails as her shoulders slumped, though her face remained twisted with anger.
“I ken he cares fer me. But he wouldnae have…”
Her voice trailed off, but Ellair knew what she was going to say. A small smile crossed his lips as he sat up as straight as his aching body would allow.
“He wouldnae have allowed ye tae come after me,” he said.
She swallowed hard and looked to be fighting off a thick wave of emotion as she nodded, seemingly unable to speak.
“He wasnae wrong,” Ellair said. “Dinnae getmewrong, I’m bleedin’ grateful ye did. But in his place, I would’ve advised the same thing. Goin’ in there like ye did was reckless, Rosalind. Ye could’ve gotten yerself killed.”
“I couldnae let anythin’ happen tae ye.”
There was a hitch in her voice that stood out to him. Ellair studied her face and wondered at the meaning behind her words. As if she sensed him probing her mind, she cleared her throat and folded her arms over her chest, trying to wipe the emotion off her face.
“I sent ye in there and Ciar’s men failed tae have yer back like they’d been ordered tae,” she said. “Ye didnae sign up fer that and I would’ve felt guilty if I had.”
It was a plausible reason, but her voice still carried a tremor, telling him there was more behind her words than she was admitting. He decided not to press her on it. Not yet. But there would come a time when he would. So instead, he nodded.
“Aye. Ciar’s men nae turnin’ up was a problem,” he said. “But I made the decision tae go intae that warehouse alone.”
“Because I ordered ye too.”
“But I made the choice tae go in alone,” he repeated. “So, ‘tis me own fault. It was as reckless as ye comin’ after me the way ye did.”
A small laugh escaped her lips and as she raised her eyes to him, he admired the way the flush in her cheeks made her skin glow and sparkled in her chartreuse eyes. It stirred something deep within him and Ellair felt his arousal growing. Tearing his eyes away from her, he bit the inside of his cheek, tamping it all down.
“I should see tae yer wounds,” she said.
“Are ye goin’ tae put some of that stinky stuff on me?”
“Oh, it’ll be even stinkier than the last batch.”
“Wonderful,” he groaned with a laugh.
Rosalind retrieved a basket with an assortment of colored jars and clean cloths and set it on the table beside him. She turned and walked over to a side table and picked up a basin of water and carried it over as well.
“Take off yer shirt,” she said.
“Dyin’ tae see me unclothed again, eh?”
She pulled a face. “Ye’re as incorrigible as Ciar is insufferable.”
“We all have our gifts, me lady.”
She laughed, a high musical sound that sparked joy in his heart. “Strip,” she said.
“Aye.”
He grimaced as he raised his arms over his head to pull his shirt off, a groan bursting from his throat. Rosalind gently helped him remove it then tossed it onto the table.
