Page 22 of The Cruel Highlander's Healer
The Councilman gaped like a fish as he stared at Conall. Conall only glared back. His chest puffed up, and he made a show of flexing his biceps as he crossed his arms.
I will nae be ordered around.
“Councilman,” Eliot interrupted, gesturing toward the other man and then toward the door. “This way.”
Aulds stared for a moment longer, and Conall could tell that he wanted to argue back, but Conall wouldn’t let him.
“Follow Eliot,” he commanded, placing a little bite in his words, letting the councilman know that he would find no kindness or wavering within this room.
Conall watched as Auld sized him up, but he did not waiver. Flexing again, he stared him down.
Finally, Auld exhaled a deep sigh, some of the fight going out of him.
“We will wait for yer word,” he said, before turning on his heel and following Eliot out of the room.
Conall waited until he heard the footsteps of the two men fully fade into the distance before finally turning his focus back on Eliza.
“Ye created the tonic?” he asked, immediately cursing himself internally when he heard how much hope had leached into his voice.
“Aye,” Eliza nodded. “I taught Kate, too. I’ll stay ‘til the mornin’ to make sure nothin’ goes amiss.”
At her words, a sinking feeling had filled his stomach. He stared down at her beautiful, lovely face.
“Only ‘til the mornin’?” he asked, stilling himself internally.
“Ye said ye needed me to heal the bairns,” Eliza explained, her lovely eyes never once leaving his face. “I have helped the bairns.”
Conall stared at her for a moment, the air between them growing thick. He imagined what it would be like in the morning, placing her back on the horse and riding into the forest. Dropping her off at the cottage where he’d nabbed her from, and then likely never seeing her again.
It was that thought more than anything else that drove him forward.
“Ye havenae helped nothin’, yet,” he said, his voice a low growl.
“Ye’ll keep me forever if I daenae go now,” she answered.
Conall’s gaze flicked down to her chest, quickly noting how rapidly her breaths were coming. He took a step closer to her.
Eliza didn’t flinch, she didn’t so much as take a step back, allowing him to close some of the distance between them.
“Why would I keep ye, when ye’ve been such a pain in me arse?”
The corner of her mouth ticked up in a smile.
“There’s already more people fallin’ sick,” she said. “But ye already ken what it is. Kate will ken well enough how to solve it come mornin’. I daenae need to stay.”
“Are ye sure about that?” Conall watched, taking another step forward and closing the distance between almost entirely.
* * *
Eliza looked up at the Laird’s face, heat rushing through her at their proximity. She had been this close to him before, but only when she was sitting on a horse with her back facing him. Now, she was able to take in his full glory.
Beastly, but beautiful.
“What else would there be?” she asked.
The tips of her fingers tingled with the need to reach up and touch him. Now that he was closer, she could see that the eyes she had once thought were black had small rings of gold around the irises.
The scar on his face, while brutal, gave him a ragged appearance that made her heart race. She wanted to run her finger along it.
