Page 96 of The Cruel Highlander's Bride
“Thank ye. Thank ye for savin’ me,” she whispered.
“Always, lass. Always,” he vowed.
They surged forward at the same moment, their lips meeting passionately, heatedly. Magnus groaned against her mouth before his tongue dived back in.
Ciara took all her fear out on his lips, kissing and biting them. He took everything she offered him and gave it right back to her.
Such a maelstrom of emotions had ripped through her tonight, and she poured them all into Magnus. The kiss was a release of everything that had been building inside her all night, all the fear and uncertainty.
It was only when she laid her hand on his chest that she remembered the other hand that had been there tonight, and she pulled away sharply.
Magnus may have saved her, but she was no fool—at least not anymore. She couldn’t let him keep pretending, not when her heart was already so invested…
* * *
Ciara pulled away from their kiss with a sharp inhale, and Magnus waited for her to explain, but she turned away from him.
She is probably in shock, ye dobber.
He was so relieved to have her back in his arms that he wasn’t thinking right. She’d been kidnapped, and all he’d done was push his tongue into her mouth.
With a sigh, he stepped back a little to give her space. His breathing was heavy from their moment of passion, and he used that time to catch his breath a little and stare at his wife.
She was a wonder.
The relief he’d felt upon seeing her again was indescribable. He had had no idea what state she’d be in when he found her, and the sight of her had almost brought him to his knees.
He tried not to let himself think too long about his dead man-at-arms just outside the carriage, but the sight of Ciara pressed to the farthest corner of the compartment, her eyes squeezed shut in fear, had him wishing he could kill the man all over again.
After this was all settled, he would need to figure out how the hell this had happened. How he’d been deceived for so long by someone so close to him. How he hadn’t noticed when his man-at-arms lied to his face.
For now, though, he just needed to get Ciara home.
She interrupted his musings with a sigh. “We need to go back to Gunn Castle. I need… I need to ken if me faither is all right.”
“I saw him and yer braither on me way to ye, and he was… breathin’…” Magnus trailed off, realizing the uselessness of his statement.
When his wife’s eyes filled with tears again, he knew the night was long from over.
“All right, stay back here, I can drive the carriage,” he told her.
“Nay!” Ciara exclaimed harshly, before flushing slightly. “Nay, sorry, I dinnae want to sit in the carriage alone again,” she mumbled.
Magnus’s heart sank at the fear in her eyes, and he silently cursed Ewan again.
He nodded. “Of course, lass, whatever ye need. Ye can sit with me.”
As he moved to round the carriage, he remembered the sight that he’d left behind. Ciara did not need to see Ewan’s body lying in the dirt and the wound that Magnus had left behind.
“Just… just close yer eyes until we get a ways away,” Magnus said quietly, and she didn’t protest.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Ciara took his hand in hers and let him lead her to the front of the carriage.
“Keep ‘em shut, lass,” Magnus said as he helped her up to the driver’s seat.
He climbed up after her and took note of where they were. He would need to send someone back for his horse and to deal with the body.
Maybe someone from Clan Gunn could help.
