Page 42 of Ruining a Highland Healer
"Daes that feel better?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Much," he murmured, sounding half-asleep already.
Something between them shifted; the air seemed charged with an unspoken tension. Valora's hands moved with increasing confidence, her touch lingering longer than necessary, tracing the lines of his muscles, feeling the heat of his skin beneath her fingertips. She craved this. She wanted to touch him, to feel him under her hands, to explore every inch of his body. But at the same time, she could hardly bear it. She needed some sort of distraction, anything that would take her mind off the task.
"Why havenae ye married?" she asked suddenly, the question slipping out before she could stop it.
Torrin tensed beneath her hands, his muscles going rigid for a short moment. “I never wished tae wed,” he said then, and the admission only slightly loosened him up.
"But ye must ken that marriage is expected o’ ye," she pressed gently. "Tae secure alliances, tae produce heirs."
He sighed, the sound heavy with unspoken thoughts. "I ken. But I've never been interested in takin’ a bride. It's a duty, nae a desire."
Valora paused, her hands resting on his shoulders. "Then why choose me?”
She didn’t know where this almost petulant question had come from. Torrin didn’t really owe her an explanation, she supposed, especially when he had been so accommodating with everything else. But she was eager to know; she was curious and she wanted to know the truth.
Silence stretched between them, long and uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet and hesitant.
"There was somethin’ about ye," he admitted. “Somethin’ that made me pay more attention. I didnae expect tae feel this, an’ yet…”
His words trailed off, but that was more than enough of an explanation for Valora. Her heart fluttered at his words, but she remained composed—at least as much as she could, given what she had just heard.
“An’ then I wanted tae enrage Laird Keith,” he admitted finally, and it was then that the tension left his body, letting Valora doher job with more ease. “When I saw what he did tae ye. He’s a despicable man. I wanted tae save ye from him an’ I wanted tae enrage him in any way I could.”
With a sigh, Valora pulled back from Torrin, but he made no attempt to move even when she was done. For a moment, she sat there next to him, kneeling on the mattress in silence, but then she laughed softly, giving him a gentle nudge.
“Ye can move now,” she told him. “I’m done.”
Another silence stretched between them and Valora caught Torrin watching her awkwardly. “Actually, I think I’ll stay like this fer a while.”
It took Valora a few moments to understand why. Then, she noticed the slight flush of his cheeks, the way he kept his hips firmly against the bed as though afraid of revealing something he shouldn’t.
And reveal he would, she realized, if he moved at all.
Dear God, is he ha— Nae! I shouldnae think about this.
Her own cheeks heated at the thought of his body reacting like this to her, but only part of it was because of embarrassment. The other part was because of that deeply-rooted desire, that need that kept growing and growing inside of her.
Torrin turned his head slightly, his face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice strained.
Valora smiled softly, trying to fight her embarrassment as much as she could for his sake, her eyes meeting his with understanding. "It's natural," she assured him. “We are only human."
She stood and moved to the other side of the bed, her back to him as she prepared for sleep. The room was thick with the unspoken, the air heavy with the weight of their shared desire, but neither of them dared say anything more. Valora couldn’t bear it; she couldn’t utter a single word, and she didn’t think she would be able to even under the threat of a blade.
But after a long silence, she spoke again, her voice barely audible. "Torrin?"
"Yes?"
"Will ye stay with me taenight? In bed?”
He didn't answer immediately, and Valora feared she had overstepped. But then he gave a small nod, though he refrained from moving otherwise.
“O’ course," he said softly. “If that’s what ye want.”
Equally satisfied and relieved by his answer, Valora settled on the mattress next to him, slipping under the covers. They laytogether, the furs a barrier between them, yet their bodies seemed to seek each other out, turning towards one another like a sunflower turns to the sun. Valora's heart raced, her thoughts a whirlwind. She wanted him, wanted to feel his touch, to lose herself in this new reality that was beginning to form between them.
But Torrin remained still, his breathing steady. He didn't push, didn't demand. He simply lay beside her, offering his presence, his comfort.
