Page 24 of Saved By the Highland Beast
Dean felt himself warming up to her again as she spoke. She had a very gentle way about her that made everything brighter, but there was something else about her that had piqued his interest. Dean had found himself dreaming of her after their night in the kitchen. He’d dreamt he’d been with her in a way that wasn’t quite befitting of a laird and his son’s tutor.
“I’ll just start cleaning up then,” she eventually said when he didn’t respond at all.
“I’ll give ye a hand.” He jumped at the chance to put everything back in its place.
“You really don’t have to.” She seemed hesitant as she spoke. “I know that cleaning is probably something that you don’t do on a regular basis.” She quickly corrected herself when she noticed the scowl on his face. “All I meant was that you have maids and hall boys to do the cleaning. With you being the laird, it’s not part of running the castle.”
“Every little chore is part of runnin’ the castle,” he said as he began to pick up the swords, placing them in one hand. “A millwright will ensure that every cog is workin’ in his design if he kens his job well enough.”
Sophia began to pick up the rest of the swords and shields as he spoke, taking his lead and listening to what he had to say. “I never thought of it that way,” she said, looking down at the carpet and reaching for a sword. “I suppose it does make sense to ensure that everything is functioning as it should. It would make running things far easier if you didn’t have to check up on everything.”
Dean kept his eyes on the swords in his hand and didn’t seem to notice when they both reached out at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” she quickly said and retracted her hand when his had brushed hers for a fraction of a second.
Her skin was soft and warm to the touch. He wanted to run his fingers over her wrist and feel the delicate skin of her hands. He quickly shook off the thoughts when he realized where his mind was going. It definitely wasn’t the time to be revisiting his dream of the previous night, not when they were alone in a room with a closed door.
“I guess I should find a place to put all of these swords,” she said with the slightest tinge of a blush on her cheeks. The moment had obviously affected her as much as it had him.
“I think a good place would be the cane stand by the door.” He gestured toward the empty basket. “It’s big enough to hold all of the equipment, an’ naebody ever uses it. Duncan keeps all of the canes in his room.”
“I think that would be a great idea.” She walked ahead of him to the door. Her thin arms were struggling to keep the swords from falling.
Dean watched her hips swaying as she walked. The gentle way that the fabric moved around her skin drove him wild in a way that set his core on fire. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and cleared his throat with a cough.
“I suppose we could just shove them all in,” she said as she bent over and tried to put everything in the basket at the same time.
He was about to speak up and say that she shouldn’t be doing that when he saw that her foot had hooked on the strap of a shield. “Sophia be careful…” he began, but it was already too late.
She let out a tiny yelp and began to fall, stepping on one side of the strap and causing her other foot to be pulled to the ground.
Dean quickly dropped all of the props he was holding and rushed forward to her aid, gripping her wrist in his hand and catching her waist with the other before she was even halfway to the ground.
Sophia hung in his arms as if he were dipping her in a dance, staring up at him with wide eyes. “I… I’m not sure what happened,” she breathed as her chest rose and fell.
“Yer foot caught on the strap of the shield,” he explained as he looked at her foot and then slowly back up her shapely legs and at her breasts. He could feel the heat rising in his body as he stared down at her.
“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered almost inaudibly.
The breathy way she spoke as he held her in his arms did nothing to ease the tension that was building between them.
“Yer welcome,” Dean breathed as he slowly pulled her back up, locking his eyes with hers. The depths of her beautiful green gaze drew him in and caused an insatiable hunger within his body and soul.
Her eyes were almost level with his when he leaned in closer to her lips, unable to stop himself from quenching the desire that coursed through his veins.
Panicked filled Sophia’s eyes, and she took a step back once he’d released her from his grip.
He saw the hesitation in her eyes as well as a hint of desire.
She wants this too; she is just afraid.
He took a step forward, backing her up against the door.
I’ll remedy that fear…
He could see the outline of her undergarments through the sheer fabric of her shirt as she breathed. The little exploit with the swords had left the fabric slightly damp and clinging to her skin. He could smell her natural musk mingling with her perfume. She smelled of flowers and soap.
“My laird…” she whispered.
