Page 22 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
“Aye,” Kenneth replied, not taking his eyes off her.
“Tell me what is wrong with him,” she murmured as she slowly moved the bone needle from one point to another.
Kenneth didn’t even seem to be bothered by it.
“Hunter was born sick. The healer gave him a short time to live, but he’s managed to live ten years,” he said proudly.
This time, his lips curled into a different smile. Sweet, fond. The first of its kind that Leana had seen from him.
“He’s yer braither, so nay wonder,” she replied.
Kenneth gave her a look she couldn’t decipher.
“Aye. But his illness hasnae let him lead a quiet life. Sometimes he’s fine for days, even weeks, and then suddenly he comes down with a fever and starts coughin’.”
“Does he suffer from anythin’ other than coughin’ fits?” Leana asked in a calm voice, trying to form a picture of the situation.
Her hands, moving slowly over the Laird's wound. After disinfecting the wound, she began to stitch it with smooth, precise stitches. She had learned to sew at a very early age, and she was able to do it with ease.
“Sometimes he has difficulty breathin’ and is very weak. There are days when he cannae even get out of bed.”
“It must be hard for him…”
“Ye have to heal him,” Kenneth insisted.
Leana sighed as she tightened the final stitch. Then, she straightened up and bandaged his shoulder, looking at him earnestly.
“I’ll do me best,” she promised.
“And ye have to do it without talkin’ to him again. I daenae want him to get close to anyone who’ll nae stay in the castle permanently,” Kenneth added.
Leana shook her head.“Nay. Remember what we talked about—me treatments, me rules. I’m goin’ to talk to Hunter as much as I need to because that’s the only way I’m goin’ to diagnose his illness. I need to ken what he’s doin’ without yer knowledge. Only then will I really ken what is affectin’ him and what will make him better.”
“Isnae there another way?” Kenneth furrowed his brow.
For a moment, Leana was reminded of a petulant child.
“Nae if ye want me to cure him.”
“Fine.” Kenneth took her wrist again. “But remember yer end of the bargain—I will stay out of yer way, and ye will obey me when other people are present.”
“Agreed.” Leana smiled. “But only if I can disobey ye in private.”
She had meant it as a joke, but Kenneth seemed to take it seriously. He squeezed her wrist and pulled her to him.
Leana yelped as she fell into his lap. She braced her free hand on his warm, muscular chest, feeling his heart beating fast, just like hers.
Of course, Kenneth looked calm and in control, while she felt like she was going to freak out at any moment.
“If ye disobey me, I’ll have to punish ye.”
“How?” she whispered, frowning slightly.
Kenneth smiled, almost as if he had expected the question. “I have me ways, lass.”
He didn’t need to say anything else, because she understood the innuendo perfectly, and so she watched him, feeling all the instincts and all the urges rising inside her body.
She thought of pulling back, but her body had a will of its own—it burned as if she were an ember only he could ignite.
