Page 13 of Transporting a Ruthless Highlander
Once more, Struan was struggling back to consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy, his eyes gritty, and there was a strange light all around him. He blinked and saw that it was firelight flickering above him on a white canvas roof. Where had that come from? He rubbed his eyes, then moaned as he felt someone’s hands on the grazed skin of his ankles. The touch was not rough, but his skin was raw and sensitive and made him groan with pain.
Gavina looked up, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw that he was awake. “Thank God!” she breathed. “I thought ye were goin’ tae die.” She leaned forward and almost hugged him with relief. “How dae ye feel?”
Gavina’s eyes glowed with a luminous intensity in the firelight, and she reached out to hold his hands. Hers was cold, and for the first time, he realized that he was still freezing, and his teeth were chattering.
Struan moaned. “Did I pass out again?” he asked feebly, then realized that most of his body felt sore and bruised. He screwed his eyes up, wincing.“Why are my feet so sore?”
“Ye scratched them comin’ out o’ the rocks,” she informed him. “Dae ye no’ remember?”
“Yes, yes, I do,” he replied, as a hazy memory struggled to the surface of his mind. He rubbed his forehead and looked up at the canvas roof above him. “I am so thirsty and cold and can see that you have been busy making us safe while I have been lying here, unable to help you. I am sorry to be so useless, Captain.” His voice was hoarse.
“Dinnae be so stupid, Struan!” Gavina’s voice was irritable. “Ye are no’ well. We are both lucky tae be alive, an’ nobody is tae blame for anythin’, but we will have tae warm up.”
“But we have no blankets,” he protested, frowning. “How can we do that?”
“There is another way tae get warm,” she said awkwardly, avoiding his eyes.
“Tell me.” He was anxious now. This sounded painful.
Gavina swallowed. “We have tae lie against each other so that our skin touches. There is no other way.”
“Our skin?” he asked as realization dawned. “You mean we have to be…naked?”
Gavina nodded.
“No,” he said simply.
“It is life or death, Struan!” she cried angrily. “It is nae the time tae be worryin’ about yer modesty.”
“I am not worried about my modesty,” he said weakly. “You have tended to my wounds. I am sure you have seen most of me anyway.”
“Are ye scared I am goin’ tae molest ye?” she asked with a half-laugh. “Even if I wanted tae, Struan, I would rather live than satisfy my lust!”
Struan was not too weak to be shocked. He stared at her stupidly for a moment. Lust? He could not imagine that a beautiful woman like this would ever have been short of bedmates. Surely she could not be lusting after him?
“It’s not that, it’s…” He trailed off, not quite knowing what his objection to her plan was. He was too weak to be aroused by her, or at least he thought he was. What if he disgraced himself?
“Right, well, whatever yer complaint is, I suggest ye get over it,” she snapped. “I am no’ goin’ tae die because ye are actin’ like a wee lassie.” She was stripping off his wet shirt as she spoke, her face grim, then she removed his other clothes and averted her eyes from his nakedness. She set his wet clothes close to the fire to dry then began to strip off her own, glad that they had only the firelight to illuminate their shelter.
Then she took a deep breath. “Close yer eyes,” she ordered. He did so, and she peeled off the rest of her damp clothing down to her undershirt, then, when she was barely covered, she lay down beside him and pressed herself close against him.
“Put yer arms around me,” she ordered. “An’ hold me tight.” At once, she felt one of his arms go around her waist, the other around her shoulders, and despite their desperate situation, it was glorious. If she died tonight, Gavina thought, at least she would know what it felt like to sleep in a man’s arms, and she would not die alone. She tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes. Her back was still cold, but where his flesh clung to hers, she was as warm as she had been on a day under the tropical sun.
“Are ye feelin’ better?” she asked him drowsily.
Struan ground his body closer against her, seeking even more of her warmth. “Yes,” he sighed. Suddenly he wanted her more than any woman he had ever wanted in his entire life, despite still feeling dizzy and a little faint. He felt his shaft harden and wondered if he should move away from her, then he heard a tiny snore and the sound of soft, even breathing. She was asleep, and he realized that he did not have to do anything but hold her all night. He closed his eyes, and despite having been unconscious for the better part of the day, he fell asleep at once.
When Struan opened his eyes the next day, he found himself holding a soft warm body in his arms, and when he looked down, he saw Gavina’s sleeping face lying against his chest, her hands flat against it. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, but when he did, he felt a great wave of gratitude spread through him. He would not have survived without this wonderful woman.
He ran his hand over Gavina’s arm, shoulder, and back but restrained himself from touching any other part of her since he was aroused enough already, and she was so very vulnerable. He gazed at the long eyelashes shadowing her cheeks and her soft lips, wishing he could kiss them. However, he would not dishonor either of them by overstepping the bounds of propriety. He inhaled deeply of her scent—woodsmoke, the sea, and woman—and knew that he would never forget that fragrance as long as he lived.
Reluctantly, Struan peeled himself away from Gavina, trying not to look at her nakedness, although he did catch a glimpse of her soft round breasts through her almost transparent undershirt. He tiptoed over to the cold ashes of the fire, beside which their clothes lay. To his relief, they were completely dry. He fastened his kilt around him, then found Gavina’s shirt and draped it over her, covering her a little before he began to set the fire again.
Struan looked outside, glad to see that the wind had died down from a gale to a stiff breeze, and although the sky was gray, it did not look as if a storm was in the offing.
He felt guilty that Gavina had scavenged for their food the day before, so he went out and gathered an armful of seaweed, then brought it back to the tent, intending to go back out and look for shellfish afterward. However, when he crept up to the shelter, he heard her moving inside. “Gavina?” he asked softly. “Are you awake?”
“Aye, come, Struan,” she replied. When she saw him, she smiled. “Good mornin’. I am glad tae see ye are lookin’ better. Are ye warm enough?”
