Page 4 of Scot of Deception
No one had ever touched her like that before. No man had ever gone so close, and to have a stranger displaying such intimate tenderness towards her now brought her mind to a complete halt.
When Blaine spoke again, it took Kathleen a few seconds to understand what he was saying.
“What’s a lass like ye daein’ alone in the woods?” Blaine asked.
“I’m… travelin’,” she said, a little hesitantly. She didn’t know just how much she should tell this man when she knew nothing about him at all. “I’m goin’ tae a weddin’.”
“A weddin’, is it?” Blaine asked. “Alone?”
Kathleen looked around her as if searching for someone else.
“Are me guards nae here?”
It seemed to take Blaine a few moments to realize she was joking, but once he did, he chuckled softly. Before they could say anything else, though, a grunt came from the ground near them and one of the men began to stir. There was no time for talking. They had to get out of there as soon as possible.
“We must go,” he said. “Can ye get on yer horse or dae ye need help?”
Kathleen’s only answer was an amused smirk as she ran to her horse and jumped on with ease and the kind of grace that came from a lifetime of practice. Behind her, Blaine chuckled again, shaking his head as he headed to his own horse, the two of them rushing down the path.
After a few minutes of riding, she called out over the wind, “Kathleen.”
“What?” Blaine called back.
“Me name,” she said, “is Kathleen.”
Blaine smiled. “Pleased tae make yer acquaintance, Kathleen.”
CHAPTER THREE
They had been riding fast for about half an hour when Blaine decided they could stop. It was a plausible amount of time. Now, he only had to work on gaining some of her trust—just enough to make her feel comfortable in his presence and urge her to desire his help. At the sight of a small lake, he turned from the main road down the overgrown path that led there, Kathleen following close behind on her own horse.
“Let us rest here fer a while,” he called to her and saw her nod before she dismounted her horse. Blaine did the same, leading both creatures to the water, where they could drink and rest. Then, he rummaged through his bag, producing a small jar of ointment. “This should help with yer cut.”
Kathleen still eyed him and the jar warily, but she said nothing as Blaine approached her, where she stood under the shade of a large oak. The dappled light seemed to set herauburn hair on fire, the strands glittering under the sun, her eyes following his every move as though she expected an attack.
Instead of an attack, Blaine dealt a gentle caress to a strand of hair that had fallen over her cheek, where the man’s fist had cut her. He pushed it behind her ear and he could have sworn that her cheeks were suddenly painted with the subtlest shade of pink, so soft that he would have missed it had it not been for the light.
Blaine dipped the pad of his finger into the ointment and applied a thin layer over the cut. At the first touch, Kathleen drew in a sharp breath, the pungent ointment undoubtedly stinging her. Blaine knew the sensation well—he had used the ointment many times, and so he knew the sting. But it was well worth it, none of his cuts had ever been infected.
Blaine could have stayed a few steps back. He could have kept some distance between them, but instead he had chosen to stand close to Kathleen; close enough for them to share the same air, for him to look into her eyes and see the gold flecks in the pools of blue.
From the gap in her cloak, Blaine could see her chest rise and fall with every breath. The pale expanse of skin over the neckline of her dress drew his gaze no matter how much he tried to fight it, his eyes straying back to it time and time again. There was something irresistible about her—not only her looks, but her aura, or something Blaine couldn’t name.
His heart beat faster in his chest. His skin suddenly felt hot, restrictive, as though it could hardly contain him. When Kathleen’s gaze met his, those blue eyes staring right through him, he felt as though he would burst right out of it.
What am I thinkin’?
A man like him couldneverhave a woman like her. Not only that, but he most certainly couldn’t have this specific woman. He should never even dare think about falling into the temptation.
Abruptly, he pulled back from her, leaving a small smear of ointment on her skin. He didn’t mention it; sooner or later, it would be absorbed, so he didn’t have to touch her again. He didn’t even need to be so close to her. He turned on his heel, heading back to the horses to place the ointment jar back in his bag, just so he had something to do.
“Should I take ye back tae the castle?” he asked her, without even turning around to glance at her. Instead, he focused on fiddling with the clasp as an excuse to not turn around just yet. The exchange, short as it had been, had excited him far more than it should have.
“How dae ye ken I’m from the castle?” Kathleen asked, a hint of tremor in her voice.
Damn it tae hell.
He had done so well up until then. If Kathleen was going to start asking questions, he had to be careful about what he revealed to her.
