Page 41 of Bound to a Highland Beast
It was not a question he had expected to hear that afternoon. He had thought his and Isabeau’s performances had been more than adequate and convincing.
What was he supposed to say now? Did Constantine suspect the truth or did he think he and Isabeau were there for a different reason entirely?
“I dinnae ken what ye mean,” Tiernan said, doing his best to appear as composed as he did confused. It was better to play dumb, he thought, to pretend he was too naive to even know what Constantine was insinuating.
“I mean, why are ye here when ye’ve already delivered the weapons?” Constantine said, though it sounded like he wanted to ask more.
“I told ye I’d come an’ spar with ye, did I nae?” Tiernan reminded him. “So, I came.”
“An’ ye brought yer lovely wife with ye once again,” said Constantine with a soft, questioning hum. “Dinnae ye have anythin’ better tae dae?”
“I’m… in between missions right the now,” said Tiernan. “If we’re imposin’, we can leave.”
As he spoke, he made to stand but Constantine was quick to place a hand on his shoulder and push him back down. Though the gesture wasn’t particularly forceful, it still made Tiernan’s heart sink to his stomach for a moment, thinking he had been caught.
“Nay,” said Constantine. “Stay. Ye killed the deer, after all. Ye deserve the prime cut.”
Tiernan sat back down reluctantly; he didn’t really have any other choice. When Isabeau came out of the hut with a basket full of vegetables in her arms, setting it next to him before she took her seat by his side and began to peel and chop it all while making idle conversation with Constantine, he allowed himself a moment of relief. She was much better at this than he was; he only knew how to talk about things like a fight or a sword. Isabeau could keep up with Constantine, not only keeping him occupied but also asking him questions that revealed more about him—his origins, which he cleverly avoided revealing, his allies, whom he kept secret for the most part, but let some familiar names slip, his next moves, which he discussed onlybriefly. In the end, she didn’t manage to get much information out of him, but what they did get could prove useful.
It was only at the end of the afternoon, when the first burst of orange sunset bled into the horizon and Tiernan and Isabeau were on their way back to the inn that he could breathe again with ease. The distance he put between them and Constantine was the only thing that kept him calm, that kept his hands from trembling.
There was no more time. The following day, he would have to kill Constantine.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“On the morrow? Are ye certain?” Isabeau asked as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She didn’t like the sound of it. Hadn’t Tiernan said that they had to find out more about Constantine? Had he already figured out how to get him alone? Would he risk killing him near his men?
“There’s nae more time,” Tiernan said as he pulled their horse to a stop at a ridge at the top of the hill. “I fear Constantine may be gettin’ suspicious.”
Isabeau looked at Tiernan as he dismounted the horse, following him soon after, her heart racing in her chest. “What dae ye mean? How dae ye ken?”
“He asked me why I was there,” said Tiernan. “Why I was really there. An’… I dinnae ken. There was somethin’ about him that made me think he may suspect us.”
Isabeau reached out to steady herself on the edge of the saddle, holding tightly onto it as though she feared she would collapse the moment she would let go. Beag was a dangerous man; there was no doubt in her mind about that. But Constantine seemed much more dangerous to her; he seemed like the man they should fear.
“Then, dae ye think ye can kill him?”
“Aye,” said Tiernan, and though he spoke immediately, Isabeau couldn’t say it was without hesitation. She could see it in the strain around his eyes; she could hear it in the tone of his voice. He didn’t want her to know the truth, but he doubted himself. “Dinnae fash. Everythin’ will be fine.”
But how could she not? Danger lurked everywhere around them, behind every corner. They were caught between Beag and Constantine, and there was only one way out.
For a while, Isabeau remained silent, gazing at the idyllic scene before her without really seeing it. The golden setting sun seemed to rest over the valley below them, which stretched as far as the eye could see. Time seemed to slow there, an absolute stillness permeating everything. Even the trees in the valley were still, undisturbed by the breeze. The rustle of leaves, the soft twittering of birds, the bubbling of a small creek nearby blended into the silence as though they were a part of it, no other sounds reaching them.
“Why did we stop?” Isabeau asked with a small frown.
“Tae watch,” said Tiernan, his own gaze sweeping over the valley. “One must appreciate bonnie things.”
It was only then that Isabeau truly looked at the view, taking in the magnificence of it. A day like this, with the clouds parted and sparse on the sky, the last of the sun shining so brilliantly over the land, was rare, and she took a moment to breathe in the crisp air, to feel the breeze on her skin.
“It makes ye feel like everythin’ will be alright, daes it nae?” Tiernan asked with a small smile as he turned to look at her.
Isabeau couldn’t disagree. In that moment, at least, she thought herself lucky to be there with Tiernan by her side.
When he reached for her, pulling her close for a kiss, Isabeau sighed softly against his lips, parting hers to deepen it. It stunned her, how one kiss was enough to light such a burning desire within her, how it was all it took for her to forget about everything else and surrender herself to the fact that even if she had wanted to put an end to this, to act responsibly and remember her station, it would be impossible. She and Tiernan were now intertwined; nothing and no one could pull them apart in her eyes.
Tiernan’s grip on her waist soon turned more insistent, drawing a gasp out of her. Her cheeks heated immediately, blood rushing to her head at the thought that they were out in the wilderness, just a little off the main path, without the safety of the walls of a room. Anyone could pass by, she thought. Anyone could stop toadmire the view just as they had, and if they did, then they were bound to see them, too.
But that wasn’t enough to stop her. In the back of her mind, where logic still prevailed, she couldn’t help but think that she should pull back. She needed to put some distance between her and Tiernan before they both forgot themselves, giving in to pleasure. But the more Tiernan kissed her, the more she felt his soft, dry lips on hers, then down her jaw, down her neck, the more the words died on her tongue before she could speak them.
