Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

" O f course, I dinnae want tae join ye." Elara stepped back from Kaden in alarm. She moved so fast that she tripped on a rock and fell down to the earth.

"Nay more falling tonight, please," he called to her with a laugh, reaching for the fastening of his trews. "I am nae following ye down intae any more holes."

"What are ye doing?" she asked, adjusting her skirts so she could stand on the rocky shingle again.

"What does it look like?" Kaden called to her. "I'm bathing in the loch, and as ye have already stolen a peek at me, I see nay reason tae hide meself."

"I didnae say I had seen all of ye. Kaden!" she snapped, but it was too late.

He pushed his trews all the way down his legs and kicked them off along with his boots.

His toned calves and thighs were on show, leaving her equally breathless and listless. She stared in awe, her eyes tarrying with curiosity just beneath the flaming tattoo at the sharp v in his skin, leading down to his length.

What she saw made such heat rise in her gut that she stepped back and nearly tripped on another rock. Fortunately, this time, Kaden didn't notice. He had turned his back to her and was striding straight into the loch.

"Ye're a mad man," she muttered.

"I heard that."

"Then, tell me what ye are doing?" she called to him. The horse whinnied beside her, as if in agreement.

"It's called bathing." He dropped down under the water. He was gone so long that she stepped forward, a little concerned. When he reappeared, urging her to breathe easily again, he was a distance across the loch. "Ye can bathe too, Fire. I promise nae tae look."

"Ye already did!" she shouted back, reminding him of the confession he had made.

"In this darkness, could I really see anything anyway if I'm far enough away?" He swam increasingly away across the loch.

Elara shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She did have soil in all sorts of places. After fearing for her life closed in on that darkness with such a cold sweat spreading across her body, the idea of washing it away in the clear water of the loch was very appealing.

Yet that would mean I would be naked in the same stretch of water where Kaden is.

"Ye promise nae tae look?" she called to him again.

"I just told ye that." He was even more at a distance now.

Elara chewed her lip, thinking of the way he had kissed her cheek down in that hole. In that moment, all she had wanted was for him to give her a real kiss, but it was a reminder of something growing in her mind.

He is a good man. A man of his word.

Slowly, she reached for the ties at the front of her gown and undid the kirtle. Slipping the gown down her shoulders, she reached for the corset next, unthreading it as quickly as she had done the dress and laying that down beside her too. Lastly, she reached for the chemise, checking where Kaden was.

Seeing he was just a bobbing dot across the water, she pulled the chemise over her head.

"I take it ye are coming in then?" his voice called from across the loch.

"Ye said ye wouldnae look!" she called wildly, spinning around to face the water again, only to see at this great distance in the dusk that he was facing the other way.

"I am keeping me word, Fire," his voice had deepened.

She released a shuddery breath, feeling her skin rise in goosebumps as the wind shot across her body, cooling her bones. Slowly, she tiptoed toward the water, her toes slipping in the shingle, before she slid her body into the water. It was so cold, she felt her breath was taken by ice. She bobbed for a second, the water just reaching her waist, as she feared going any further. Wrapping her arms across her breasts she held her breath, then sank down beneath the water.

With her eyes firmly closed, she felt her hair hover in the water, the loose strands caressing her face like reeds. She shook her head, doing her best to get the water through the strands before she stood, stumbling a little on the silt beneath the water.

As she opened her eyes, what she saw next made her move back.

It was Kaden, much closer than he had been before. He swam about five feet away from her, a smirk visible on his cheeks in the moonlight.

"Ye said ye wouldnae look!"

"Ye are hidden by the water." He nodded to where her breasts sat just beneath the water. "And giving how prone ye are tae accidents tonight, I have tae keep a close eye on ye."

"I'm nay child, Kaden."

"Oh believe me, I ken that." His voice had deepened once more. She felt a shudder pass over her skin, though this time, it had nothing to do with the cold of the wind, and everything to do with the way that Kaden was looking at her. His eyes dropped down, hungry, as if he would like nothing better than to glimpse beneath the inky water.

He shook his head, muttering something that sounded a lot like a curse, then turned his back on her.

"What?" she said, so curious that she found herself trying to swim after him in the water. "What was that fer?"

"That was because I cannae believe nay man has touched ye," he muttered under his breath. "Look at ye," he tossed the words over his shoulder, apparently quite intent on putting distance between them again.

"Why are ye swimming away?"

"Because if I am tae keep me word and come nae come anywhere near ye, I need tae put that distance there."

She halted, watching him swim away a little, her heart thundering in her chest. She couldn't help wishing that he wouldn't swim away now, despite her earlier thought. Would it be so wrong to know what Kaden would do if she lowered her walls? Would it be so bad to ask him to introduce her to pleasures that clearly, he knew very well indeed?

"How many women have ye been with?" The question tumbled from her lips before she could think to stop it.

At once, Kaden stopped swimming. He turned in the water and must have found a shallower section, for he stood, most of his chest emerging from it, so that she could just glimpse the tattoo emblazoned across his stomach. Her mouth was suddenly dry as she tried her best to keep her eyes on his face and far away from his chest.

"Ye really want tae ken the answer tae that question?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Nay." She decided against it. For some reason, she was sure to hear how many women Kaden had been with would make her feel worse, especially when she had no true experience. She could flirt well enough, she'd seen it could have an effect on men, especially Kaden it seemed, but she had never shared her bed with any man.

"What is it that makes ye nervous about kenning the answer?" Kaden was walking back toward her. She kept screaming in her own mind to move back away from him, but her body didn't listen. She stayed put. "Is it the fact ye dinnae like the idea of an experienced man?"

"I didnae say that."

"Good." He stopped, this time just a foot in front of her. If she wanted to, she could reach out and touch him. She purposefully wrapped her arms across her breasts, pinning them to her sides to stop herself from reaching out to him. "Because there is a lot of good that can come from having an experienced man in yer bed, Elara."

"Ha! Ye couldnae be prouder."

"Nae proud." He shook his head. "Just confident. What's wrong with kenning how tae make a woman writhe in pleasure?"

"I am nae having this conversation with ye." She'd lost her patience. She splashed him with water and turned away. "I am going tae bathe and ye arenae tae follow me."

"As ye wish," he said, his words half muffled by the laughter tumbling from his lips.

They both chose isolated sections of the loch. Elara spent a long time trying to wash the dirt from her hair, though she repeatedly glanced toward Kaden as he bathed too. It didn't escape her notice that he was sneaking as many glances back at her.

"Stop looking," she called to him.

"I didnae look… nae properly, anyway."

She snorted, earning another deep rumbling laugh from him. She kept looking at the distance between them, biting her lip as she wondered what it would be like to give in and ask what an experienced lover could be like.

Kaden was the first to step out of the water. He toweled off with a shirt he had buried in a pack tied to their saddle. Elara kidded herself that she wasn't looking, though her eyes often darted back toward him. He kept his back to her, and when he pulled his trews on, she found she could at least breathe a little easier.

"Ye have tae look away now. I'm going tae get out," she called.

He sighed heavily, then turned to face the horse, petting him comfortingly. She took the opportunity and stole her way out of the loch, scampering a little, her damp feet patting through the shingle loudly. She dried herself off with the shirt he had discarded down on a rock, then hunted for her chemise, pulling it over her head. Then, she glanced toward him.

At this angle, she could just see there was something at the top of his arm, a dark mark.

"Kaden… ye're hurt."

"What?" He jerked his head around to look at her.

"I said, dinnae look, Kaden!"

"Ah, relax, I've seen more of a lady before than ye have on show right now." He waved a hand dismissively at her, turning his head back and forth as he sought out the injury.

She grunted, for some reason feeling anger again at the mention of his other lovers.

"Stop moving," she said, walking toward him. She took hold of his arm and urged him to lean down a little. There was a gash on the top of his shoulder, stretching near to his collarbone. "That needs attention."

"I've had worse wounds in battle, Fire. It will be fine."

"Nae if ye dinnae see tae it. Quick, sit, I think we can make something fer that." Elara quite forgot she was just in her chemise as she reached for things in her bag. It took a while to find, but buried deep at the bottom was the healer's kit Lydia had given her. She unraveled the leather binding and laid it out on a boulder beside the loch. "Kaden, ye arenae sitting." She turned to face him, her eyes wide.

"I'm just wondering what it is ye are going tae dae tae me." Slowly he sat down, eyeing the leather pack in her hands. "What is that?"

"A healer's kit." She kneeled on the rock beside him, pulling out swabs of linen and cotton. "Lydia gave it tae me in case of emergencies. Ye should see her pack, it's twice the size."

"Lydia is a healer?"

"Aye, she is." Elara uncorked a small vial and dabbed the linen balls against the mouth of the bottle. With just a little of the cleaner on the linen, she reached toward Kaden. The first touch of the linen on his skin made him jump ever so slightly. He gritted his teeth against what had to be stinging pain, and looked away, far across the loch. "Ye dinnae like tae show pain, dae ye?" she whispered.

"Nay. Fer me, it is weakness." He relaxed a little the more she worked with the ball.

Elara's hand had started to tremble though, for from her position, she was all too aware of how close her fingers were to his bare chest, to exploring him completely. She had a wild idea of leaning forward, kissing him, running her hands down his exposed chest. Would he take control if she did? Would he lay her down to this riverbank atop their strewn clothes and show her what could happen if she removed her chemise?

"Yer sister, she matters tae ye a lot, doesnae she?" Kaden asked.

The sudden serious question made Elara look away, feeling guilty for what she had imagined. She laid a clean strip of linen over his wound, clearing her throat.

"She daes. I love her deeply, and Cassian. They are me only family in this world." She smiled at the thought of them. "I couldnae ask fer better siblings."

"Good." Kaden lifted his chin a little, looking at the sky. "It's the way it should be with family."

"Are ye nae close with yer sisters?"

"Oh, I am." Kaden nodded. "Close in bond." He tapped the center of his own chest. It was another distraction that Elara had to fight as she worked. "But nae close in location anymore. They are married. They have lives of their own, children, families of their own."

"I dinnae believe it." Elara leaned back a little. "Is the laird, who boasts about having many lovers in his life, interested in having a family of his own too?"

"Maybe someday." He offered a mischievous smile. "Perhaps I'm just trying tae get in good practice before I marry me wife."

"Ha! Ye think yer wife would be thankful fer yer practice?"

"Wouldnae ye be happy tae have a husband who kenned how tae pleasure ye, Fire?" He looked up at her, with such a heated look in her eyes that she felt tongue tied. She scrunched her nose, narrowing her eyes at him, prompting him to chuckle. "I'll take that as an ‘aye' then."

"That's nae what I said."

"It's what ye were thinking."

She pressed down harder on the bandage, retracting her hand as fast as she could so she didn't have to think about her fingers trailing across his skin.

"There, it's done." She moved away from him, putting the healing pack away and searching for her gown. She had a feeling it was wise to put her gown back on as soon as possible. She and Kaden had spoken far too much about the pleasures of the bed the last few minutes for her to feel comfortable in her shirt.

She found her corset first and wrapped it around her body, tying the laces at the front, keeping her back to Kaden for as long as she could.

"What are we going tae dae about sleeping tonight?" she said, trying her best to change the subject.

"Ye mean…"

"I mean, where are we going tae sleep," she said sharply, reading his mind without him having to say anymore. His laugh echoed behind her as she heard the sounds of him pulling his shirt back over his body.

"I think it best we make camp here fer the night. It's very dark now, and I dinnae want tae risk the horse or ye out on that dark road at this time."

"Me?" she muttered in surprise, turning to face him. He looked at her too, with his shirt loose about his chest. "Why are ye trying tae protect me?"

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Still think I'm that demon, dae ye?"

"Nay, of course, nae."

He shook his head a little and turned away, reaching for his waistcoat and slinging it over his shoulder.

"I'll protect ye," he said quietly. "Even if ye dinnae want me tae. I think it best we make camp a little away from the water. The loch will draw animals in the middle of the night and we dinnae want tae be discovered." He took the reins of the horse and steered him away from the water, heading into the forest.

Elara hastened to follow him, snapping up her shoes and her gown to race after him. She followed him closely, not wishing to risk falling into another wolf trap.

They stopped when they reached a small clearing, naturally defended on one side by high rocks. Kaden laden out a blanket from his pack by the base of the rocks then made a small fire as Elara pulled on her gown. What food they had, they shared over the flames, scarcely uttering a single word to one another, though Elara was all too aware of the way they kept looking at each other, sneaking glances.

"Are we nae going tae have any conversation at all?" Elara asked in the end, tired of the silence.

"Ye and I seem tae only be talking of one thing tonight whenever we dae try tae talk," he pointed out with a smile. "I thought ye might want a break from such conversation."

She grunted in frustration, pulling another smile from him. Elara shook her head and stared down at the last of her food in her lap.

Well, if we cannae stop talking about one thing, then what is the point in avoiding it?

"What's it like?" she whispered.

"What?"

"Ye ken what." She lifted her gaze and looked him in the eye. "What's it like tae share yerself with another? Tae be so wrapped up in their arms and…" She offered the smallest of smiles.

"God's blood, ye are a natural at flirting," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm asking ye a genuine question here."

"It's the most intense feeling of yer life," he answered suddenly, making her sit up straight, paying attention to every word he uttered. "That's all ye need tae ken." Then he pulled the twigs in their fire apart, watching as the flames died out.