Page 101 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“Me laird?”
“Ye once called me Noah,” he said, his voice rumbling between them, “will ye do so again?”
“Nay,” she said, taking a small step back. “I dinnae think so.”
“And if I asked ye to?”
“What is it ye want,me laird? Because ye have made it clear, it isnae me.”
* * *
Noah groaned inwardly at the harsh quality of her beautiful voice. Her hair was falling behind her, and all he wanted to do was run his finger through it. She was wearing one of the dresses he had bought her, the black one he loved so much.
She looked so beautiful. Untouchable and perfect.
“Maybe I do need that tea,” he said softly, her eyes narrowed at him. “Me heart has been achin’ since ye left, like there’s a space where it used to be.” Unable to resist anymore, he raised his hand and tucked a wayward strand of that raven hair behind her ear. The familiar spark shot through his fingers as his skin touched hers. “It’s as though,” he whispered, “ye took me heart with ye when ye left. I have come to get it back.”
She swayed away from him as though she might faint, and his hands shot out to support her on instinct. She was leaning back, suspended in his grip, her eyes closed.
Eventually, they fluttered open again, and she stared at him in confusion.
“Ye told me we couldnae be together, that I wouldnae be happy.”
“I ken what I said. I’ve come here to beg yer forgiveness and to ask if ye’ll be mine, because I cannae be without ye. Nae for another day or night.”
Her hands came to rest on his forearms as he slowly drew her into him, that glorious hair hanging loose behind her as she examined his expression.
“Ye hurt me, Noah,” she whispered. “I told ye I wanted more from ye, and ye said it could never be. What changed?”
Noah smiled ruefully. “Me mind,” he said gently. “I believe it plays tricks on me and causes pain when it shouldnae, just as ye said. Me head kept tellin’ me I couldnae have ye, that ye’d be better off without me, and when ye left I realized that the only way I can be happy is with ye by me side.”
Keira gasped as he pulled her closed, raising her up as he lifted her from the ground, searching her face to see what she might feel.
“Tell me I am nae too late, lass. I was so afraid I dinnae deserve ye that I lost ye. I take it back, everythin’ I said. Ye belong in me arms, and I’ll never let ye leave again if ye just say ye forgive me.”
“And yer faither? All yer fears?”
“I love ye,” Noah said simply as Keira’s eyes widened even further. “And nothin’ is ever goin’ to change that. That’s all that matters.”
He lowered her down to the floor, and now her eyes were banked with tears again. He brushed them away as they started to fall and waited patiently for her to reply.
“I love ye too,” she said solemnly, “ye great fool.”
Noah’s heart was beating a staccato rhythm in his chest as he finally lowered his head to hers and claimed her lips with his own.
“Keira,” he whispered, kissing along her jaw and down her neck as she shuddered against him. “Keira.”
He pulled back as she panted against him, their eyes locked together as he looked at her. He spun her round, pressing her against the kitchen table.
“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d not gone into the forest that day,” he said, “what I would have lost if I hadnae chosen to protect ye. I think I knew, even then, that ye would change me life.”
Keira smiled. “I think about that too. I was lucky to have yer help, or I might nae have survived.”
He narrowed his eyes as she giggled that wonderful giggle of hers.
“So that’s it, is it? Ye are lucky to havesurvived,” he said, with mock fury in his tone.
“Aye, I am usin’ ye for yer castle, and yer protection, nothin’ more, just as ye asked.”
