Page 108 of The Splendor of Fire
She pushed him away.No. We can’t be done.
Looking at her bruised face, battered lips, and the desperation in her eyes, he felt as if she were speaking about what they shared. Trying a different tack, praying he could find a way to keep his little bird, he came close to her and took her face in his palms. His thumbs traced the purple shadows under her eyes, the cut at the top of her cheek, her swollen bottom lip.
“Look at you, mon amour. You have done so much, have given so much. How can I ask you to give more? Please, I’m begging you, understand that I only want you to follow Hector’s wishes, and my own, that you not risk your life. Not over this.”
He ran the curl at her temple through his fingers and kissed her nose. “Don’t you know how much I love you?” He pulled her ear beside his mouth so he could whisper into it as he had their last day together in Cràdh. Bumps rose along her neck. “I loved Théa, I will always love her. But you are the fire in my heart, the blood in my veins. You consume me. Please, mon amour,my love—I cannot let you risk yourself over this.”
A shiver passed over him. He’d meant to undo her, but her nearness, her scent, was affecting him like good wine. He pulled the leather from her hair and ran his hands into the satin curls, loving their wildness. Spirited aquamarine eyes pinned his own—searching him, challenging him, and his soul burned for her. His heart skipped as her breath came in and out near his mouth, igniting his lips.
“Embrasse-moi.” His voice was rough.
She searched his expression. His fingers came to her jaw and her hands caressed the muscles in his chest, traveling over his racing heart. He angled his mouth over hers and begged. “Kiss me. Please, I’ve waited so long.”
Stepping onto her toes, she hovered her lips over his own, her eyes holding his. He nodded. And then, at long last, Moira Allen kissed him.
Flint struck and the kiss he’d yearned for since Cràdh started theincendiary of his heart, shooting him toward the heavens like a flaming arrow. His hands moved through her hair. Her mouth opened his, deepening the kiss, angling away and into the deepest places of his heart. His hands cradled the silky angles of her face, and her arms came around his neck, pulling him closer.
Remembering the pain she’d endured, his lips moved over her bruises, and to the cut on her cheek. His mouth found the scented place beneath her ear, breathing her in, brushing over the satin skin of her neck.
Her hands came to his chest and for a moment he thought she would push him away as she’d done in the prison, but instead she tightened her hands in his doublet, pulling him back into her lips, her hands moving to his hair. Her mouth plunged over his, again and again like swift moving rapids. After long minutes, he pulled himself away in between her kisses, begging her in short bursts.
“Please, Moira… follow me… come with me… I need you… Gabriel needs you…marry me.”
Resting her forehead on his, she broke their kisses, a tear trickling down her cheek. She took a step back.What about the king? About the Isles? Our clan? Our team? What about God?
Running his hands through his hair, he wanted to scream in frustration. “God needs you to give your life for this?”
Hurt pricked at her eyes.I know you don’t want me to put myself at risk, but Léo, I know what I’m doing and what I’m risking. I must stay.
His heart cleaved in two. “There’s nothing left to be gleaned. We need to go now.”
The catapult on Scalpay and the century of soldiers. We should go tonight and make sure it is taken care of. It will need to be disabled before the attack.
He growled in frustration. She could think only of the wretched mission and not his heart. “You and I aren’t taking on one hundred soldiers by ourselves. Especially when Niall is on high alert.””
You said Eoghan and Angus were in Breacais. We can get them if it will make you feel better.
Truly terrified at the way she was talking, he grippedher shoulders. “If we had the whole team I wouldn’t feel better. One hundred caterans. Do you understand?”
I’ve done it before. By myself. With three times that many caterans.
“Iain and Calum had to get you out. And you burned down the Aird of Sleat in the process.”
She took a deep breath and made a sharp whistle. Finally, she looked back to him.This won’t work, will it?
Knees weak, he shook his head. “What do you mean?”
You are always going to tell me not to go, and I cannot give it up.
Her eyes searched his and his throat burned with emotion, not wanting to lose her. “I’ll never want you to be in danger. No. I love you, Moira.”
Her eyes closed, and she shook her head. Another tear escaped over her cheek.You didn’t find my letter?
“What letter?”
She shook her head again.It doesn’t matter. Perhaps it’s best it’s gone.
He thought of her father’s dying words and the secret he was keeping from her, and nodded. Sometimes, it was a greater mercy to leave things alone.
