Page 12 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
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CHAPTERSEVEN
In that second, a loud grunting snore came from outside, cutting through the silence and shattering the heavy sexual tension that had built between them. A broad smile broke out on Skylar’s face, and together they laughed awkwardly, each of them taking a step back. The moment was gone, and silently, Maxwell cursed the noisy beggar for ruining it.
“I suppose I ought tae be going,” he said, throwing his small plaid around him. “I only came tae give ye another plaid. As it happens, ye got my shirt instead.” He smiled, then turned toward the entrance of the tent.
“Ye cannae go out intae the night naked, dressed in only that plaid!” Skylar protested vehemently. “Ye’ll surely freeze tae death. Stay in the tent,” she said, gesturing around her. “There’s room for the two o’ us.”
Maxwell struggled to hide his surprise, given all the fear and trauma she had experienced throughout that night so far, and yet, she did not need to ask him twice. Though he did not hesitate, he was entirely aware of his own lack of self-control when around her. He needed to be careful.
Skylar evoked something in him that he had not allowed himself to feel for some time. It wasn’t just her beauty. There was something else about her that he had not yet given himself time to fathom. Perhaps it was the fire and spirit that burned clearly within her. But he also knew a lot of it was the sensuality she did not even know she possessed. This woman could bring a man to his knees with little effort. She just did not yet realize it.
Skylar took the plaid she had been wrapped in and moved from the place she had evidently been lying earlier. Stopping on the other side of the tent, she lay down and readied herself to rest. She was making her desires clear without speaking a word and, respecting her wishes, Maxwell remained as far away from her as he was able. It was not a bad thing, given his body’s reactions to her. Under these circumstances, it was better they stayed as far away from each other as possible.
Maxwell often slept lightly. He had been in enough circumstances of danger to have become well used to nearly sleeping with one eye open. A strange noise pulled him from the relaxed state he had rested in, and lifting his head, he cocked an ear to try and ascertain what it might be. It did not take him long to decipher the sound of chattering teeth.
Leaving his position in the tent, he moved over to where Skylar lay and touched her body. She was shivering from the cold, her entire body shaking from head to foot. Whatever his thoughts had been earlier about staying away from her, he knew if he left her in such a state, she might not make it until the morning.
He drew the plaid from her body and draped it around himself after lying down beside her. He moved in as close as he could, slipping one arm beneath her body and pulling her into him, wrapping his strong arms tightly around her and covering them both with the plaid. Two bodies were better than one. He was only grateful it was such a beautiful body he lay close beside.
* * *
It was so very cold.
Skylar could not understand how the men were sleeping so soundly outside given how cold it was. She had already had a long night and was exhausted. Clearly, this, combined with the earlier downpour and all the eventsof the night, only exacerbated her state, making her feel the cold even more than she normally would have.
By his light breathing, the laird had fallen asleep rather quickly. Like his men, this sort of rugged existence evidently came easier to him. He was a warrior who had seen many battles. Skylar imagined he had spent many a night out under the stars in such dreadful conditions, for if Scotland was known for anything, it was its bitter and relentless weather.
She, on the other hand, had experienced a far more protected life. Never in all her days had she camped outside, and certainly not wearing so few clothes. No matter how tightly she wrapped the plaid around her, she simply could not get warm.
Perhaps she need not worry about what might happen to her in the future. Perhaps she would die that very night and join her mother and father in another life. Would that really be so bad? What was the point in this life if all she was going to do was run away in terror? She missed her mother and father dearly and would relish the chance to see them again, and yet, Skylar had to think of her sisters.
They too suffered the same fate. Like her, they had been hunted by Johnson for their gifts and were likely in danger too. Lana had taken a great chance sending her that warning, and Skylar had wondered what price she had been forced to pay. All her sisters looked up to Skylar; they always had. How would they cope if she was suddenly gone?
As tired, scared, cold, and hopeless as she currently felt, she had to push away such selfish thoughts and consider more than her own desires. She was not alone in this battle, even if at times it felt like she was. But as her whole body shook and her teeth chattered, she first needed to make it through this night.
Even after the laird lay beside her, her body continued to shake. Even though she couldn't express or show it, she was terrified that the desire she saw in his eyes earlier had taken him over.
She tried to push him away with the little energy she had left. She couldn't speak with her teeth chattering so loudly, but she needed him to know she didn't want to give him what he wished. Her efforts were futile, however, because instead of leaving her after wrapping them both in his large plaid, he only held her tighter.
“Please, Skylar,” he whispered. “Ye’re in nae danger from me. I promise I’ll do ye nae harm.” His arms held her close, and she already felt the heat from his body through the thin material of his shirt. “Ye’re freezing. I’m only here tae keep ye warm.”
In truth, if he had wanted to do anything to her, he could have done it long before now. There had been several opportunities for him to take advantage of her, not least of all when she had stood entirely naked in the tent, changing out of her ruined dress and into his shirt. He had turned and allowed her to change, giving her the privacy she needed. Surely, if he was going to do her any harm, he would not have shown her such consideration and respect.
With those thoughts in mind, Skylar relaxed a little, even pressing her body further into his to garner more of the wonderful heat that warmed her back. The shivering lessened more as the minutes passed, enabling her to feel a little more in control of her own body—something she had not felt she had earlier when her fingers had appeared to have a mind of their own and caressed Maxwell’s chest in utter wonder.
She had never seen a naked man before, and after the initial shock and embarrassment had passed, she eventually settled a little in his presence. It was only when she had checked the lump on his head that she had appeared to lose herself. Perhaps it had been because she was so very close to him. Perhaps it was the feeling that had begun to grow in the deepest parts of her, a feeling she was neither used to nor knew how to handle. Hardly able to help herself, her fingers had trailed down his neck and caressed his chest.
She had known he was strong when she had watched him battle Johnson’s men, but the great muscles that bulged from his chest nearly transfixed her. There were small scars across his skin, thin white lines like spider’s webs, crisscrossed in different places. As her gaze had moved even lower, she could not help but notice a defined, sculptured look to the muscles on his stomach, all of which were so very new to her. Lost in the moment, she knew she would have let him kiss her, had the grunting loud snore from beyond the thin walls of the tent not broken the moment.
As they lay wrapped up together in silence, those feelings reared within her again—the want of him and the invisible pull he had over her. It made her wonder what it would have been like had they kissed earlier. She had never felt a man’s lips on her mouth, and a strange fluttering sensation bloomed in her stomach at the imagining of it.
She heard Maxwell heave a heavy sigh and could not help but consider what he was thinking in that moment. She was not so innocent to be ignorant of his desire for her too, for he had hardly hidden it.
“I’m nae going tae lie. I’m struggling here,” Maxwell said, as though her wonderings had been spoken out loud. He sounded a little frustrated, and Skylar had to suppress a giggle as he continued. “Distract me a little. Tell me how ye ended up in a convent on the Isle of Iona, miles away from anywhere. I get a feeling ye were nae there by choice.”
