Page 40 of An English Rose for the Highlander
Despite the humor, Dominik could see the nerves in Rose’s eyes. She had been attempting to breach the silence with her joke, and it had worked—spectacularly.
“Ye would make a fine miner, I think. If ye were to learn the trade.” Steadying his breathing, Dominik stepped closer to his wife, offering a hand to help her stand. “I have seen what ye can do when ye put yer mind to it.”
There was a pregnant pause, a moment when Rose considered not taking his hand. He could see it all over her face, the emotion so readable in her large, beautiful eyes. She knew that she could rebuff him, leave him to know all the more that she was cross with him.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she took his hand, allowed him to help her back to her feet, and then slipped herself free of his hold without retreating. She was giving him a chance, and he would truly be the world’s worst fool if he did not take it.
“I apologize for nae saying anything before I left. For…for leaving like that at all.”
Rose’s eyes widened, then she gave Dominik a subtle nod. “Apology accepted. For now.”
Her cunning tongue got the best of him, and Dominik laughed again, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“Och, lass. I will say that I havenae laughed like that in ages. Nae since me friends graced the keep with their boisterous appearance.”
“And I will say that,” Rose swallowed, a light pink filling her cheeks, “it is good to hear you do it. A rare moment indeed and one to be enjoyed.”
Their stares held, and Dominik could understand immediately what Rose was saying. He did not let himself be like this. He didn’t open up to her about what went through his mind. She knew a bit about the past; about his mother and the strained relationship she had with his father and the clan. Still, in truth, no one, not Rose or Oskar or any of his close friends—knew how that strain had affected Dominik.
Rose stepped away from the drop-off, and Dominik guided her a few more feet back toward the horses. They stood as just the two of them, the workers well out of view or earshot, and the silence draped them once more. Stares holding and holding, Dominik could not bring himself to see anything more than the womanstanding before him and all she had done and proven about herself since her arrival.
It couldnae be all that terrible, could it? To give in to the sight of her? She is me wife, after all?
The thoughts were sharp and clear, these rationalizations for what he felt so intently in his bones. Rose was the most stunning sight he yet to behold in his thirty odd years on the earth, Highland coast be damned. Her being, the way about her, it all drew Dominik in, refusing to let him go from the moment he’d seen her.
And there they were, staring at each other on this scenic hilltop, wind blowing Rose’s fine hair around her face. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were a delicate pink from the way the chilled air circled them, her eyes dropped to his mouth before flicking back up again, and he could see from her the flutter of her pulse in her neck. He wanted her. He wished for nothing more than to repeat what they had done, to experience that again and not leave her so abruptly this time.
Leaning in closer, unable to stop himself, Dominik’s fingers found the soft skin of Rose’s face. She trembled slightly against him, the cold or the uncertainty of his actions he did not know.
It was unbearable to stand so near her and not act, and so he did.
Urgent and hungry, Dominik pressed his lips to Rose’s. He breathed in the scent of her, drank in her taste, and in thatmoment, nothing mattered more to him than the exquisite feeling ofhis wifeagainst him.
This was the heat of lust, the unyielding need that was spoken about in scripture and psalm. It was only desire, potent and all-consuming, but nothing more.
At least, that is what he would tell himself, what he would try to believe with all his might until the truth of his reality would no longer be contained.
But that was a problem for another day. For now, Dominik would kiss his Rose, and he would live in the moment for as long as the fates would let him.
20
The men returned to the carriage where Dominik stood with his wife after some time, excited to report that the land would indeed make a fine place to mine for copper. The good news bolstered the Laird’s mood all the more, and they all rode back to the castle with haste. All the while, sitting in the warm confines of the coach, Dominik could not keep himself from glancing at Rose, sly grins and thoughts spiraling around what they might get up to this evening.
Arriving home at the keep, Dominik again helped Rose to disembark from the carriage, and the two of them walked inside to the busy sounds of a castle bustling with life and activity. Much was being prepared for the evening’s meal, and there was still much care to give to the animals affected by the poison.
If only I could ken what they’d been given.
There had been limited development on that front, but as he walked in with Rose, the tension that had affected his people wassignificantly and obviously lessened. A fact he was astoundingly grateful for.
Moving in a seamless blend of updates and conversations about the potential of the copper mine, Dominik was blissfully unaware of the passage of time and found himself quite impressed by his wife’s keen insights into how the mine and the coast might benefit the clan. She learned quickly, offering a fresh perspective as he discussed the workforce required for such an endeavor with Oskar and Layton.
“Perhaps it might be wise to create a stable place for the men to reside during their work?” Rose suggested. “The travel time back and forth is tedious and keeps them from beginning their duties. Were they to establish a base of sorts near the site, the men would be able to start their work sooner, have more daylight hours in which to complete the necessary construction.”
Dominik grinned, nodding his head. “A fine idea, lass. I think that shall?—”
“Sincerest apologies, me laird, for interrupting,” Eilidh cut in, “but a woman has appeared at the keep. A Miss Mirren Wood. She says she has an urgent matter to discuss with ye.”
