Page 19 of Tempted By a Highland Beast
She’s nae the first woman ye see man, dinnae be a fool…
“I knocked and heard nay answer...”
“I was sleeping,” she said, stating the obvious. Her eyes were wide, whether from confusion or something else, he couldn’t tell.
“I didnae mean tae… I came tae build up the fire tae keep ye through the night,” he said, already moving toward the hearth. “The room will turn cold if it quench.”
She nodded.
He busied himself with the fire, grateful for something to do with his hands. Behind him, he heard the rustle of fabric as Rowena moved on the bed, and he forced himself not to turn around. His imagination was already providing far too vivid a picture of how she might look, sitting there in that thin shift with her hair tumbling around her shoulders.
And I am a single step from returning tae her side, from feeling the softness of her skin. It would be a mistake, sure… One I’m nae sure I’d regret.
The fire caught, flames leaping higher and casting more warmth into the room. Constantine stood slowly, brushing the soot from his hands, and finally turned back to face her.
Rowena was already watching him, with an expression he couldn’t read, her arms wrapped around her knees in a gesture that was both protective and unconsciously alluring. The improved firelight revealed the flush on her cheeks, the way her lips were slightly parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.
“Better,” his voice came out rougher than he intended.
“Thank ye,” she whispered, and there was something in her tone that made his chest tighten.
Constantine nodded with a ghost of a smile. The silence stretched between them, filling the air with an awareness that made the air feel thick and charged. He was acutely conscious of how alone they were, how intimate this moment felt despite the innocence of his intentions.
“I should go,” he said, though his feet seemed reluctant to carry him toward the door.
“Constantine…”
He turned back to look at her.
“Did ye want tae speak some more?”
“Tomorrow,” he said, perhaps too quickly. “We’ll speak more of everything tomorrow. Rest now.”
He moved toward the door, his hand already on the handle.
“Ye should’ve dried yer hair properly. Ye’ll catch a cold if ye sleep like this,” he managed, and fled the room before he could do something they might both regret.
The door closed behind Constantine with a soft click, leaving Rowena alone with her racing heart and the lingering scent of smoke and leather that seemed to follow him wherever he went. She pressed her hands to her burning cheeks, trying to process what had just happened.
He had seen her half-dressed, vulnerable, completely unprepared for company. The embarrassment should have been overwhelming, and yet what she felt was something far more complicated. There had been something in his eyes when he had looked at her, something that had made her skin warm and her pulse quicken.
She was not completely oblivious to men’s company, of course. There had been some mild courting but nothing had prepared her for the way her body had responded to Constantine.
The shift felt suddenly too thin, too revealing, and she pulled the furs up around her shoulders. But even wrapped in the warm bedding, she could still feel the phantom touch of his eyes on her skin.
Rowena was still lost in these thoughts when a soft knock came at her door. She tensed, wondering if Constantine had returned, but the voice that called out was distinctly feminine.
“Rowena? ‘Tis Lilias. May I come in?”
Rowena quickly arranged the furs around herself more modestly. “Please.”
Lilias entered with a tray in her hands, her face bright with the kind of cheerful energy that seemed to be her natural state. She wore a simple gown of deep blue wool, her dark hair braided back in a style that was both practical and elegant.
“I brought ye something,” she said, setting the tray on the small table by the window. “I helped the cook make these earlier, and I thought ye might be hungry.”
The tray held a small meat pie that smelled divine, along with a cup of what appeared to be warm milk sweetened with honey. Rowena’s stomach growled in response, reminding her that she had barely touched her food at dinner.
“How sweet of ye,” Rowena said, genuinely touched by the gesture. “Ye didnae have tae go through such trouble.”
