Page 26 of Scot of Deception
She imagined him leaning closer and pressing his lips to her neck, sliding his hand up to cup the swell of her breast. She imagined him moving in, embracing her, kissing her, grasping the fabric of her skirts to pull it up her thighs?—
Suddenly, Blaine stepped back and a rush of chill took his place, sending a shiver down Kathleen’s spine. When she turned to look at him, he was already several paces away from her, his brows knitted into a frown. Kathleen’s heart threatened to burst with how fast it was beating, and an apologywas already trying to worm its way past her lips—though for what, she could not tell.
“Attack me,” Blaine said suddenly, and the spell that had fallen over her was broken. She gave him a frown of her own, confused by the request.
“What?”
“Attack me,” he repeated. “Let us see what ye can dae.”
A surprised laugh escaped Kathleen, but when she saw just how serious Blaine was, she schooled her expression into a neutral one and prepared to attack him. Tightening her grip on the knife and holding it the way he had shown her, she charged at him with the knowledge that she would never win, but giving it her best effort regardless.
She slashed at him fearlessly and just as she had expected, Blaine dodged the blade once, then twice before finally grabbing her forearm and disarming her with ease. The movement brought them close together once more, only this time they were face to face, staring into each other’s eyes and sharing the same air as they breathed. All it would take for their lips to press together into a kiss would be the slightest of movements and the courage either of them could muster.
Blaine released her, reaching for the knife only to hold it out to her once more.
“Again,” he said, and a grin broke over Kathleen’s lips.
CHAPTER TWELVE
In their little camp, the fire burned bright and the trees sheltered Kathleen and Blaine from the wind, but the temperature had dropped significantly in the evening, leaving Kathleen bundled up in Blaine’s cloak and sitting as close to the fire as she could.
And then there were the sounds. Blaine seemed to be perfectly at ease, never once worried about all the ruckus. In fact, he had told Kathleen what she was hearing was not aruckus, as she had put it, but rather the natural sounds of the forest—the rustling of leaves, the bubbling creek, the critters that came out at night to hunt or scavenge.
She was only annoyed by the sounds at first. But when the howl of a wolf rang clear in the air around her, her irritation quickly morphed into fear and she shot upright, her head swiveling wildly around as she tried to look for any sign of the wolf among the trees.
“I’m nae sleepin’ here,” she decided.
“As ye wish,” said Blaine, not moving a muscle. “Ye’re free tae look fer an inn. It should only take ye until dawn.”
Kathleen looked down at his supine form with an unimpressed expression that he didn’t seem to notice at all. “There’s a wolf out there.”
“Och aye,” said Blaine. “I’m sure there’s many.”
“An’ ye expect me tae sleep among the wolves?” Kathleen hissed, refraining from raising her voice too much in case she attracted a whole pack of them. “How can ye simply lie there?”
“Lass… they’re nowhere near us,” Blaine said, finally turning to face her. “Dinnae fash. It’s perfectly safe.”
“Safe!” Kathleen scoffed. “Och aye, I’m sure ye’ll be sayin’ the same when ye wake up in the morn an’ I’m torn tae shreds!”
Blaine chuckled, amused, and that only served to annoy her even further. She truly couldn’t understand how Blaine was so calm when there were all sorts of dangers in the dark.
“I’ll protect ye,” Blaine said. “I promise. Come here.”
Narrowing her eyes, Kathleen regarded him in silence for a few moments, refusing to move. She only approached when Blaine rolled his eyes and beckoned her closer, his hand closing around her arm to pull her into his embrace.
Suddenly, Kathleen found herself cradled against him, his chest curving around her back and his arm lying heavily over her. Despite everything, she felt safe. She was still exposed, of course—to the elements, to the animals, to anything and anyone who could harm her. And yet being in Blaine’s arms filled her with a sense of safety that not even four walls could provide, and she found herself getting calmer and calmer.
The only problem was that with Blaine so close, she couldn’t help but think about certain things that shouldn’t have been thinking about.
What would me faither say if he kent I was here with Blaine, like this? What would Maither dae?
The thought of her parents unsettled her. If they saw her like this, even if Blaine had done nothing untoward, they were bound to put all the blame on him and then also lock her up for good measure until she was married off to whatever man pleased them the most. She couldn’t help but cringe at thethought; the mere notion of marriage scared her more than anything else, more than the woods, more than the pack of wolves that she was convinced was nearby, more than the possibility of brigands or Campbell men attacking her.
Fenella’s despair had been palpable even through her letter, and Kathleen didn’t know in what state she would find her friend once she was at Castle Stalker. All she knew was that she didn’t want to meet the same fate.
“Ye’re tremblin’, lass,” Blaine said, his voice soft in her ear. He must have been on the verge of sleep, though Kathleen had only seen him sleep once in the time they had spent together. “Are ye cold or are ye that scared?”
“I’m nae scared,” Kathleen lied rather unconvincingly. “I’m just… ach, I dinnae ken! I dinnae like sleepin’ in the woods!”
