Page 20 of The Highlander's Virgin Nun
“I have kenned real monsters. Ye arenae one of them.”
Her words took his breath away.
Immediately, he recalled her last night asleep in her bed, tossing and turning, trapped in a nightmare. He recalled the word that had left her mouth—monster. He had not consciously intended to label himself as such, but perhaps his mind had been working against him. While she had remained asleep, unaware of his presence, he might have kept the label for himself.
Sadly, this confirmed that she had suffered worse than him before. He wanted to know more, to coax the information he was missing out of her. Who had been so cruel to her, what had she been through, and how could he right that wrong?
But he could see from her eyes and posture that what she had given him would have to do. She did not trust him enough to divulge any more. He had to respect that.
“Ye’ve seen me kill people,” he said instead.
He felt that the violence she had witnessed had to be spoken aloud. Otherwise, it would hang between them and blur their view of one another.
“Defendin’ oneself doesnae make ye a monster.”
Her words soothed him. He appreciated her and her view of him.
The sincerity of her words stirred his desire for her. His body, still hot from the kiss, ached for more, so his hands reached out once more and curled around her waist. His fingers traced the hem where her skirt met her bodice, and he pulled her back towards him, slowly this time.
With her body pressed up against his once more, she softened. She did not resist him at all, allowing his warmth to seep into her, her eyes still locked onto his.
“Ye’re wrong,” he whispered, his words now trickling across her cheek and directly into her ear. “I am a monster., and I intend to have ye.”
CHAPTERTEN
He turned map after map over, unfolding, shifting perspective, and searching his memory for any semblance of a clue. He had visited so many clans that he surely could remember a fair few faces of the strongest men from each.
It had been a total mystery to him that all of the men who had crawled out of the forest, over a mound, or even out of the water to battle him, he had never seen before.
Caelan had been at it for days and had gotten no further, so he found himself quite grateful for the interruption. A knock on the door allowed him to finally lift his eyes from the papers and speak for the first time in a few hours.
“Come in.”
His sister poked her head around the door, her long red curls swinging in before her body. Their difference in coloring had always made people question how related they truly were—playfully, of course, as his parents were deeply devoted to one another.
“Alexandra.” He beckoned her over.
“Ye’ve been at it for hours, Caelan. Ye’ll drive yerself mad.”
“Being attacked at every corner is drivin’ me mad, nae tryin’ to stop it.”
She breathed a sigh of understanding and came to sit on the chair opposite his desk.
“Everythin’ all right?”
While he and Alexandra were close, she tended to get more chatty at dinners, rather than in his study in the middle of the day.
“It’s Rosaline.”
His head snapped up. He had not seen much of her for the past couple of days. Had she gotten ill, run away, gone mad?
Alexandra saw his mind start to fill in the gaps and jumped in to stop him from coming to incorrect conclusions.
“Nothin’ too serious. She’s fine.”
“Then what is it?”
“Dinnae ye think we should get the girl some dresses?”
