Page 28 of Beguiled By the Highlander
“He won’t be persuaded otherwise.” She couldn’t help the frustration in her voice. It didn’t matter how often they spoke of it. He would not change his mind. “It’s a foolhardy mission, don’t ye agree?”
“He should stay here, with ye.”
Isolde gave a faint smile at her sister’s impassioned response. So different to Freyja, who thought Njord had set himself a noble undertaking. “Aye. ’Tis a pity his honor is such he won’t contemplate doing that.”
Although, in truth, that wasn’t quite fair. She admired his honor. If only he hadn’t decided to tie it so irrevocably with his need to leave Eigg and discover his identity.
“I’m convinced ye’re meant to be together, Izzie. If he leaves Eigg, he will return, I just know it.”
She wished she had Roisin’s faith.
“I’m sure ye’re right. But I cannot help but fear...” her voice trailed away, and she shook her head. If, God forbid, he discovered something unsavory about himself, she feared he wouldn’t come back to tell her of it. He’d disappear, and she would be left forever wondering.
Roisin grasped her hand. “There’s no need to fear.” She sounded so sure. “He’s yer destiny, and yer key to escaping the Campbell forever.”
Chapter Nine
He was rinsinghis hands when Isolde came into the stables and shut the door behind her. She carried a lantern, which she hung on a hook, before making her way to him, her faithful dog at her heels. In the flickering light, her hair was a mesmeric reddish-gold glow, and a burning pain stabbed through him at the knowledge of how easily she could slip through his fingers.
“There’s no need to be working in the stables.” She smiled, but there was a note of censure, too.
He shrugged and dried his hands. “I like to make myself useful. Besides, it’s a balm to my soul, being with the horses.”
She glanced around, as though ensuring they were alone. He took her hands and pulled her close, savoring her elusive scent of lavender, and with a barely repressed groan, captured her lips.
Her arms locked around his shoulders and her sigh vibrated inside his mouth. She tasted of the forbidden, of a prize out of reach, but he couldn’t release her. He could never release her in the scarce moments when they found themselves alone.
He plunged his fingers through her glorious hair, holding her head as he trailed hot kisses along the delicate line of her jaw. She tipped her head back, and he grazed her throat with his teeth, and her shudders of pleasure sent bolts of fire arrowing straight to his cock.
“Christ, Isolde.” For a fleeting moment, sanity returned, and he buried his face in the sweet curve between her neck and shoulder. Lust roared through him like a ravenous beast, andhe squeezed his eyes shut, grasping for control, but with every frantic thud of his heart, restraint slid further from his reach. “Ye’ve bewitched me. I cannot get ye out of my mind.”
“Then ye’ve bewitched me too.” Her teasing smile faded, and he braced himself for what he knew was to come. “Please, Njord, don’t leave. Stay a little longer. Yer memories will return. There’s no need to leave to find them.”
He pressed his forehead against hers, as his hand slid beneath her surcoat and hugged her waist. “I must.” His throat was raw. Surely, she knew he had no choice but to leave. “I want to know who I am, Isolde. I want to hear ye call me by my God-given name when I finally make ye mine.”
The vivid image of her lying on his bed, her hair spread across his pillows, filled his mind, and it was so real, so visceral, the breath stalled in his throat.
“Then let me come with ye,” she whispered, and he frowned, trying to process her words. Had lust caused him to hear things?
“To the mainland?” He gazed into her beautiful green eyes and all but forgot why he’d asked the question. What else could possibly matter, when Isolde was in his arms, begging him to stay? God, if only things could be that simple.
“We could travel in the spring,” she said, her hands cupping his face as though she feared he might pull back. But even though he had to leave, in this moment, he was powerless beneath her spell. “And take a small contingent with us. Patric will come, I’m certain of it. And then ye’ll not be alone while ye search for yer kin.”
It was tempting. Too damn tempting. But spring was months away. And in the meantime, he’d endure the ceaseless gnaw deep in his chest of not knowing his own worth. The irresistible vision of Isolde would haunt him whether he stayed or not, but at least if he left Eigg the danger of one day losing what littlecontrol he retained when they were alone together would no longer hang over his head like a poisoned fog.
He wound his arm around her waist, securing her, and silently cursed at the twist of fate that had brought him to a woman he couldn’t imagine living the rest of his life without—and yet the very circumstances under which they had met was why he had to leave her.
“I must do this without yer help, mo chridhe.”
She gave a choked gasp at his endearment, and her fingers tangled in his hair. The words had slipped out, unintended, but he meant them.
She was his heart. He hoped he might one day deserve hers.
The stable door creaked, and they sprung apart as though the fire that scorched his blood had burst into flame between them. Frustration roared through him, and he sucked in a shuddering breath before grabbing the lantern he’d brought with him earlier and handing it to her.
He’d be damned if their clandestine kisses caused her reputation to be tarnished. No one would conclude he had taken advantage of her if she held a lantern.
A stable lad entered, and after a quick glance in their direction, hastened to his tasks. Isolde stepped back, but her gaze never wavered from him, and her smile told him she knew exactly what was on his mind and found it amusing.
