Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

" A re ye honestly going tae sleep all the way over there?" Kaden sat on his blanket, pointing at the spot where Elara had chosen to make her bank.

She had chosen a place as far away as she could physically get from him in this clearing, with two large rocks between them.

"Aye, I am," she said, averting her gaze.

What are ye playing at, Elara?

Kaden kept this thought to himself, frustrated that after all that had happened between them, apparently, she still couldn't trust him enough to sleep beside him.

"I wouldnae hurt ye," he said sharply, watching as she froze in the way she was laying out the blanket. "Ever."

"I ken." Her words made the knot in his stomach loosen a little.

She does trust me.

Then she glanced back over her shoulder at him.

"That doesnae mean I have tae sleep beside ye, Kaden."

"It would be safer," he pointed out, "tae sleep side by side. There could be predators in these woods. Did we nae find a wolf trap earlier?"

"I thought ye said wolves had mostly been hunted out of these lands?"

"Aye, but what if there is still one lingering?" Kaden suggested. Her gaze shot to the trees warily. "Beside one another, we can keep each other safe." He gestured to the weapons in his belt. He had no intention of sleeping without it.

"I am fine where I am. If we need one another, we can just scream, cannae we?" She flashed him a smile then laid down on her blanket, dropping out of view behind the rock. "Ye may have many women lining up tae sleep beside ye, but I am nae one of them."

Kaden practically felt something purr in his chest at her words. It was like some great lion, ready to pounce, though he kept it deep at bay. If he ever took Elara to bed, he would ensure that she longed for it as much as he did.

He lay down on the blanket, locking his hands behind his head as he stared up at the sky. He could just about glimpse some stars between the tree branches. Nearby, the rhythmic snore of the horse was strangely comforting, enabling Kaden to close his eyes and forget the world.

In that darkness, his mind wandered. He was no longer alone as he slept. There was another with him.

It was Elara, though she was clearly in no mood to sleep. The dream took hold and Kaden gladly surrendered himself to it.

In the dream Elara was crawling over him, wearing nothing but that damp chemise. With such a deep neckline, he could glimpse the inside curve of her breasts, peeking out. As she moved to straddle him, her hips slid against his own. She set up a pace, rocking against him, her whole body an intoxicating show as her hands rested on his stomach, exploring him. Her head tipped back, a moan falling from her lips as his length slid inside of her, then…

Something landed against Kaden's side.

Kaden's eyes shot open, instantly alert as the dream vanished.

Someone was crawling to lay beside him. It took just a second to realize who it was. Elara was punching the bag she had carried to use as a pillow, laying it down beside his head in an effort to make it more comfortable, then she lay down beside him.

Kaden didn't say anything. He just stared at her through the darkness, not wanting to scare her away. At first, she didn't touch him. She maintained a small slither of distance between them.

In the distance, an owl hooted, then something moved. Kaden lifted his head, as did Elara. The way the bushes were moving, it wasn't just owls out in that woodland. There was something else too. The bushes settled down, signaling that whatever was hiding there had moved on.

As Kaden led his head back down, he saw Elara hiding her head.

She is frightened.

Kaden released his hands from behind his head and wordlessly, offered his arm open to her. In the moonlight, he could just about see her wide eyes. She seemed to consider this action for a second, then she sidled up to his side, laying her head down on the crook of his shoulder, allowing his arm to wrap around her, cocooning her against his side.

His gut raged with heat to be holding her so close, though he fought against it. This moment wasn't about the sexual tension that had been between them all evening. It was about letting her know that she was safe here tonight.

He would make sure she would always be safe in his arms.

"Ye didnae?" Elara asked with a giggle as she tried her best to keep her hands off Kaden's back.

"Oh, I did," he laughed, flicking the reins of the horse they were riding so the horse turned away from a main track road toward a mountain path. "I am told I was quite the terror when I was a child. I brought frogs in from the rivers, making me poor stepmaither jump out of her skin. I also put a tadpole in étaín's bath water once. She wasnae happy."

"How could ye dae that?" Elara tapped him around the back in reprimand, though she was smiling.

"I was nae more than ten years old. I'd hardly call those years me wisest moments. Did ye never dae something foolish when ye were a child?" he asked, glancing back at her with raised eyebrows. "Then again, ye tried tae drug a laird and stole yer way intae his bedchamber, so ye dinnae have tae be a child tae dae something foolish."

She struck him playfully again, their joint laughter filling the air.

They had spent another day riding. Though they had used up most of their food in the journey to Laird Finnian's castle, Elara wasn't worried about the ride ahead nor what supplies they had left.

It's a strange thing, but I have enjoyed me day.

As they fell quiet, she smiled as she stared at Kaden's back. They'd spent the whole day talking about their home lives and growing up. It was clear Kaden had been very mischievous when he was young.

"Yer stepmaither," Elara whispered. "Many struggle when their parents marry again, but ye loved her?"

"Aye, I did." Kaden nodded, turning the horse up higher through the mountains. Here, the wind grew stronger, the chill brushing over Elara's body. She shivered, curling into Kaden's back to try and stay warm. It was with relief that when she gripped onto the sides of his waistcoat, he didn't refer to it. "I may have struggled with it at first, but I was still grieving me maither. Lilly arrived and I was terrified she wanted tae take me maither's place. Then everything changed one night."

"What happened?" Elara asked, leaning around him a little, trying to catch a glimpse of his expression. She saw a muscle twitch in his jaw as he held back his emotions, staring at the cairns leading up the mountain, far ahead of them.

"I ran away from the castle one night."

"How old were ye?"

"I think I was twelve," Kaden said, nodding slowly in thought. "I had argued with me faither and Lilly, and all I wanted tae dae was run. So, I did. Like any child though, I thought meself capable of more than I could." He laughed, just once, scoffing at himself. "It was snowing. I ended up trapped in the snow on the hills around Inverness. Lost, I couldnae find me way home, then I fell intae a cave."

Elara's hands tightened on his sides. She could just picture Kaden as that young boy, lost, terrified, in danger of being left to perish in that icy cave.

"Kaden," she whispered, the fear palpable in her body.

His hand moved from the reins and laid softly over her own. Stunned, she did not pull back from his touch. She just let that touch linger.

"Lilly was the one who found me." Kaden's voice had turned very gentle. "She was a remarkable woman, very athletic. Ye couldnae find a finer rider, and she showed a skill that day, I didnae ken she had. She could climb." Kaden angled his head around a little, catching Elara's eye.

"Ye mean… she climbed intae the cave tae get ye out?"

"She did." Kaden smiled. "I was so sorry fer what I had done, I just burst intae tears in that cave, terrified. She came down tae me, embraced me, coaxed me out of that cave with her help, climbing together. She climbed behind me, every step of the way, so that if I fell, she would be there tae catch me." He pulled the horse to a stop on the lip of the mountain, the hooves halting on a great boulder so that they had a view over distant clan lands. "After that, I kenned I could trust her. Who couldnae love her after that? She became another mother tae me, nae a replacement, but a new one."

Elara slipped one of her hands further around Kaden's waist and rested the side of her head on his back.

"Are ye embracing me, Fire?" he asked in a whisper.

"Just dinnae mention it again," she teased him. He drummed his fingers lightly against her own on his side. "Where are we?"

"Look ahead." He nodded.

Slowly, she lifted her head off his back and peered around his shoulder. They had climbed so high that some clouds hovered at their level over distant grounds. The wind was strong, buffeting her blonde hair so that it ended up slung across her face. She pushed the strands aside, peering at the land before them.

Some of it was lush and green, arable, other patches were peppered with crofts, and in the distance was a town.

"This is Laird Finnian's clan, the MacNaughton's," Kaden said slowly. "By tomorrow evening, we'll be there."

"Maybe we'll have some answers then."

"Maybe." He tapped her fingers lightly another time then turned the horse back off the stone and continued along on the path.

Kaden was struggling to stay still. He kept fidgeting as he sat in the circle of rocks, his back firmly against one of the tall standing stones. He rubbed his face, scratched the back of his neck, then peered around the stone into the distance.

His horse nearby snorted.

"What?" Kaden said in innocence, looking at the horse. "I said I wouldnae watch her as she bathed."

The horse snorted again and went back to munching on grass. Kaden couldn't help feeling that the horse strangely knew exactly what he was thinking.

They had found somewhere to make camp for the night, only it was more exposed than their last location. Kaden had opted for their sleeping position to be in a circle of standing stones. He had heard rumors of this place. Such superstition was attached to the stones that he doubted any villager would risk coming here in the middle of the night. Yet before they slept, Elara had wanted to bathe again. This time, she had insisted on them bathing separately in the small loch nearby. Kaden had bathed first, but Elara was taking much longer. The mere thought that she was just over the brow of the hill, completely naked in that water, was making him restless.

Dinnae go tae her. I promised I stayed here, and I will.

Yet his fidgeting had grown even worse now, his leg bobbing up and down as he waited impatiently for her to return.

Then she appeared, walking between the stones. Her white, blonde hair was still wet, loose about her shoulders, curling tantalizingly at the nape of her neck. She had pulled her chemise and corset back on again, but her gown was in her grasp. She was fussing with it, pulling dirt off, though Kaden was far too distracted staring at her as she wore so little. His jaw had even slackened as he stared at her.

"That water is freezing," she said with a shiver.

"We could find a way tae warm up?" he teased her.

"Dinnae tempt me." She shot him a dark glare, though there was mischief in those bright blue eyes. "Ye may have had many lovers in yer life, but who says ye could handle a lover like me, Kaden?"

He laughed deeply as she turned her back on him and moved to the other side of the circle, sitting down on the blanket she had placed out for herself on the grassy ground.

Aye, she is a natural at flirtation.

Kaden knew he couldn't risk standing. Her words and her appearance had made his length harden rigidly beneath his trews. He would never hear the end of it if she realized what she had done to him, again…

"Ye dinnae have tae sleep so far away from me," he reminded her. "Ye were safe in me arms last night, were ye nae?"

"If anyone ever asks, I didnae sleep in yer arms."

"Strange, it's what it felt like, and if memory serves correct, when I woke up this morning, ye were the one with yer arms around me."

"I must have been dreaming of another in me sleep," she said with a rather dazed and dreamy smile on her face.

"Ah, ye drive me mad, Fire." He rubbed his hands across his face as she giggled and lay down on the blanket.

"I'll be fine here." Yet as she spoke, she wriggled.

"Well, ye look fine."

"I'm just nervous about tomorrow," she whispered. "We could be about tae get answers at last."

The sexual tension in the air dissipated as the mention of their parents' murder resurfaced. Kaden hung his head.

I need answers too.

"Nae long now," he whispered hoarsely. He laid down on his own blanket, but he was all too aware of the absence beside him. He stared up at the sky, unable to sleep at all. He looked at the stars instead, tracing the shapes of the constellations together.

"Damn it," Elara muttered nearby.

"Ye all right?" Kaden called, lifting his head off the pack he was using as a pillow.

She slumped toward him with her blanket, then laid it down beside him. Kaden couldn't stop the smile spreading across his cheeks as she laid down next to him. This time, she didn't even hesitate, but curled into his side as he brought his arm up around her.

"Dinnae say anything," she pleaded in the softest of voices.

"I willnae." Though he couldn't hide his smile, fortunately she didn't see it as she closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. He pulled her more tightly into his side, wrapping both of his arms around her waist.

Her soft scent filled his nostrils, tempting him with burying his face in his wild blonde hair. He held himself back, sighing as he tipped his head back to look at the stars again.

This time, it was all too easy to fall asleep with Elara beside him.

"Look at it," Elara whispered, pulling on the back of Kaden's waistcoat as the horse rode through a busy town. "It's so grand. The buildings…"

"Aye, Laird Finnian always had a lot of money." Kaden's voice had significantly darkened since they had reached the town.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Elara asked, pulling on his waistcoat once again as she turned in the saddle, looking at those they passed in the streets and all the fine buildings.

"Look closer," he whispered to her. "Aye, the buildings are grand, but they all need investment."

Elara did as he asked, looking closer. Some of the buildings were falling down, the walls cracking extensively. There were windows missing too, and chamber pots which had been thrown out of the windows were just discarded in the streets. Some of the people walking past them in the street were happy enough, but others wore rags, their bodies were as thin as skeletons, their cheeks gaunt and white as bone.

"Many need money," she murmured.

"Aye, they dae." Kaden shook his head. "I dinnae understand. I thought Laird Finnian was a wealthy laird. He wouldnae let his people fall intae such disrepair."

"Maybe he isnae quite the man ye thought he was," Elara reminded him. "Remember, it was his name signed on the wedding invitation sent tae our parents."

Kaden looked at her over his shoulder, his brow marred with a very deep frown.

"It's all I'm thinking about," he said somberly.

This serious Kaden was a far cry from the Kaden she slept beside at night. That man was soft, gentle, even heated with tension and flirtatious words, but this man before her had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She ran a hand up and down his spine, in an attempt to comfort him. A slow breath escaped him at her touch.

He turned the horse toward the castle which dominated the skyline. Set high on yellow stones, the castle made of grey and white bricks was alarming in its grandeur. Such turrets reached into the sky that they practically touched the clouds. The front gate, set between two such turrets, was barred by a heavy black portcullis and two guards, each decked in red and gold livery, as if a king lived within those walls.

"Good day," Kaden called to the guards as he rode the horse toward them and halted a few strides away. "I am Laird Kaden Stuart, here tae see Laird Finnian MacNaughton."

Elara did her best to peer around his shoulder, watching as the two guards laid their pikes down on the walls behind them, then exchanged uncertain looks.

"What's wrong?" Kaden said, marking their expressions. "What is it I dinnae ken?"

"We are confused, me laird." One of the guards stepped forward, offering a quick stumbling bow as he did so. "Laird Finnian MacNaughton has been dead fer three years."