Page 84 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
Her eyes flicked to the door beside him, shoulders slumping a little in defeat, but she gave a quick nod as she stepped back from him again.
Lord, give me strength to keep away from this woman.
Gripping the handle hard enough to wrench the thing out completely, he entered his room, closing it silently behind him.
Resting his forehead against the wood, he fought with his inner desires, every part of him clamoring to go out and drag her inside with him.
He pushed off the door, stripped off his léine, and went to bed.
CHAPTER 23
Lydia couldn’t sleep.She had been tossing and turning for hours, her mind a whirl with thoughts and possibilities.
Despite what Callum had told her, every sound from the corridor made her jump, her mind convinced that at any moment one of the men who had attacked them would break down the door and slice through the curtains surrounding her bed.
Setting her jaw, she got out of bed and padded to the adjoining door to Callum’s bedroom.
She was not sure why, but she was certain he was awake. He had vowed to protect her, and no laird would sleep soundly when his family had been threatened.
It was torture to remain in her room alone when she knew that the one man who could keep her safe was only a few feet away.
Throwing aside her doubts and worries, she opened the door, padding down the short passage between the rooms.
Bursting inside, she watched Callum’s rippling torso rise in bed, staring at her in astonishment as she closed the door behind her.
“What are ye doin’ in me room, woman?” he murmured, his voice hoarse. Lydia crossed her arms over her chest.
Callum raised his eyebrows, running his eye over her appreciatively, and Lydia became painfully aware that she was only in her thin nightdress.
The room was chilly, and she frowned at him, fidgeting in place.
“Don’t flatter yourself,My Laird,I just cannot sleep.”
“Close yer eyes and ye will soon be dreamin’,” he murmured, but he did not lie back down.
The single candle beside the bed illuminated his wide chest, and Lydia’s eyes were drawn to his navel, where a trail of hair ran down beneath the covers.
I have seen him this way before, but he was not my husband then.
Raising her chin, she made her way to the other side of the bed to where he was lying and climbed under the covers.
Callum watched her, looking deeply unimpressed.
“And what makes ye think ye have an invitation into me bed?” he asked.
“I am your wife, am I not? And I am frightened. Some men tried to kill me today.”
“They werenae tryin’ to killye. They came for the girls.”
Lydia stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he fell silent.
“And who is ‘they’?” she asked and then yelped as he rolled on top of her.
She gasped, letting out a low moan as his heavy body weighed her down into the mattress.
“Why are ye askin’ me questions before dawn, woman? Ye have forgotten yer place, is that it? Dae I need to remind ye where it lies?”
“And where is that?”
