Gifts of Desire (24 page)

             
When he saw her coming towards them, the smile slid from his face, and he looked at her with something akin to warine
ss.  She cringed
a bit.
That
was not
exactly
the sort of reaction a woman wanted t
o
receive
from a handsome man. 
He waved his men on
though,
and
at least
let her
approach him, though he kept his face carefully blank
.

             
“Is there something
you
need, lass?” 

             
“Aye
, I want to go out for a ride.  The day is
far
too lovely to stay within the castle walls.”

             
“No
.”

             
Her face fell.  “No
?  Why not?  Surely there’s no harm in a short ride.  I’ll go mad if I’m stuck in here mu
ch longer!
  I need to see trees, and flowers, and the
horizon
…
”

             
He regarded her coolly, “No
, it’s too dangerous
.”

             
She narrowed her eyes.  “And
you
don’t
trust me.”

             
“Aye.  And I
don’t
trust
you
.”

             
“You still thi
nk I’m a spy?  Has no one come
to claim me yet?
  Have you received any letters?
”

             
He regarded her
impassively
.  “I don’t know who or what you are.  And no, I haven’t had word from your kin, so you will not be leaving yet.
  But don’t worry, it’s only a matter of time before I discover the truth.
”

             
“I only want to go out for a ride.”

             
“I said no; you’ll go nowhere alone.”

             
She would not give up so easily.  She smiled as she saw Ethan approaching.  “
Never mind,
I
’ll ask Ethan to go with me.”  Turning from
Ceann
, s
he gave Ethan her bri
ghtest smile.  “Ethan, would
you
take me for a ride outside the ca
stle walls, and see that I
don’t
get into trouble?”

             
Ethan grinned and took her hand, making a big
show of putting it to his lips.  “Aye
lovely
lass, of course,
your
wish is my command.  I wo
uld like nothing better than
your
company this fine day.”

             
Ceann
would have rolled his eyes at Ethan’s typical roguish behavior, but he
was too busy seeing red.  An increasingly
familiar stabbing pain hit him in the chest when
Ella
gave her smile to Ethan, when he kissed her hand…
It was ridiculous, he told himself.  He had no claim on her
. 
He did not even want her.
  No, he was fine on his
own;
he didn’t need a woman,
any woman
, to complicate his life.
  But t
hen why did every nerve in his body clamor to rip her away from Etha
n?  He was fighting for control of his temper,
but held onto it
only
by a thin thread.

             
Ethan, who knew
Ceann
all
too well, turned away from him and winked at
Ella
, giving her a conspiratorial smile.  The
n
he put his arm around her.  “Oh a
ye lass, I’ll take
you
for a ride.  As hard and as fast as
you
like.  In fact, it will b
e a ride
you
’ll not soon forget…
one that
you
can compare all other rides to
for years to come.
”

             
Ella, trying to keep herself from laughing, played along.  “Oh Eth
an, that would be so nice of
you
.  Perhaps
you
could give me some
lessons
as well
; I’m su
re I’m not as experienced as
you
must be.
”  She leaned in to murmur
loudly enough for Ceann to hear
, “
I have heard
from the maids that
you
are one of the best.”

             
“Oh, aye, lass,
one of the best. 
If not
the
best. 
I’ll show
you
…”

             
Ethan was ready when
Ceann
pulled him away from
Ella
and
ducked
just
in time to miss the well-aimed blow.

             
Any other man would have been terrified by the murderous glower on
Ceann
’s face, but Ethan was not.  He looked
at
him
smugly
and raised an eyebrow in
silent
question. 
Ceann
ignored him.

Instead he turned
grudgingly to
Ella
. 

             
“Perhaps I’d better escort
you
on
your
ride after all, lass.  It seems
at least one
of my
clans
men has
forgotten
his
honor.”  He took her arm
roughly
, still glaring at Ethan,
and turned her toward the stables.  It was only moments later when some of the haze of anger cleared that he re
ali
zed Ethan had
baited him
yet again
. 
His stomach
dropped and he cursed under his breath.
 
Damn him
!  He would pay for this,
and pay big.
  Now
he had no choice but to take the lass out for her ride. 
He couldn’t go back on his word now without looking like the fool that he was. 
She was right,
though, he
tried to console
himself;
i
t was a beautiful day for it, and he could use some time outside of the castle walls himself. 
The winter would be upon them all too soon
.  And
Ella
might even be gone by then…
the thought ripped through him like pain.  He had been making careful inquiries since she had come to Tulloch, but was no closer to knowing her true identity.  He had even given up asking her, as if it no longer really mattered. 
Because if she ever answered him, she would be gone from Tulloch. 
Still, an answer could arrive at any time.  Any day a messenger could come through the gates and take her away from him.  He couldn’t think of that now.  She wasn’t supposed to mean anything to him. 
“Come on then,” he mumbled gruffly, heading for the stables and leaving her to follow.

             
Ceann
selected a mount for
Ella
, a stately grey mare,
and waited while the stable
lad
saddled their horses
and led them out
.  He moved to help her into the saddle, but she grinned at him and swung herself up as if she were born on a horse.  He found himself
begrudgingly
impressed.  Not many women had that kind of strength, or
spirit
for that matter.  He swung up into his own saddle and they rode off.  As soon as they were outside the gates,
Ella
spurred her horse to a full gallop, reveling in the feeling of freedom, and the wind in her hair
, as it streamed out behind her
.  For a moment,
Ceann
thought she was trying to escape him, and his heart did a little flip in panic.  But when she looked back, smiling in challenge, he
knew she was only teasing him
.
  She had a wild streak, this lass.  One he would have admired at one time
, one he would have
in fact
found very attractive
, a challenge
.
 

             
They raced until the horses grew tired, and finally slowed to a walk, doubling back so they would not be too far from the protection of the castle walls.
  He had let her win.  Fallon could
easily
outrun any othe
r
horse in the stable
.
  Ella found herself wondering if perhaps her own stallion, Sindal was a match for the black.  What a race that would
be, if
ever
it was
possible.

             
Ceann
pulled his horse up alongside hers, and he couldn’t help admiring the rosy glow in her cheeks, or the
way her hair was swept back in a
tangled
disarray
of honey-gold
by the wind, coming loose from its binding
at her nape
.
 
“Are
you
happy now that
you
’ve had
your
ride lass?”
he asked, putting what he hoped was just the right amount of irritation in his tone.

             
She smiled at him, and he felt his heart melt
just
a little.
  “Aye
, thank
you
Ceann
.
” She said.
 
“
B
ut
now, if
you
don’t
mind, I’d like to stop at the stream up ahead for a moment.”  She
urged her horse forward
before he could say no, and by the time he reached her again she was already dismounting.
  She ran like a child to the edge of the water, and took off her shoes and stockings. 
Ceann
could do nothing but stare as she hiked up her skirts and waded into the shallow edge of the stream.  She turned back to him. 
“
Mmmmm… y
ou
should come in, the water feels good
.” 

             
He shook his head.  “No
, I’ll wait here.
  But be quick, we have to get back,
”
he added
firmly.
  He watched her, fascinated, as s
he waded in the stream
.  He had never
met
a
nother woman like her, and was certain he never would again
; she was surely some fae cre
ature come to haunt him, day and night.
  In truth he spent most nights now lying awake, his body burning and restless
, aching for release, for completion
.
 
For Ella, who ever she was. 
She turned back to him again with a
wide smile, her perfect white teeth shining, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

             
“
You
know
, if I were here alone, I do believe I would take off all my clothes and go for a swim.  It’s been so long since I’ve done t
hat, it seems like ages.  Do
you
swim
Ceann
?”

             
“Aye”, he grit out. 
Wonderful, now h
e couldn’t
help but
think about watching her take off all her clothes, and wondering
what she would look like naked in the daylight.  He had seen her naked in the moonlight
, over a month ago, when she had only just arrived at Tulloch
…
but if he thought of that now…
T
oo late, the memory rushed back to him full force.
 
Her lithe body and ripe curves were more than evident even through her gown.
  And his i
magination was proving plenty
adequate to rouse his body to a painful
ly throbbing
state.
 
But it wasn’t just her body that drew his interest. 
It was
her
. 
She had so many sides to her; playful one moment, as she was now, she could also be serious or demure, or as angry and fierce as a banshee.  And the way she was with the village bairns…
she would make a remarkable mother.  He sensed something
very
different about her, but he couldn’t name what it was.  She was just…
more.  And right now, he
again found himself wanting
her like he’d never wanted anything before.
  So much that it was all he could do not to slide off of his horse and go to her.
 
His hand gripped the saddle, his knuckles turning white with the effort to stay where he was. 
The memory of their one brief kiss
tormented him.  Did he imagine the intensity of that kiss, or
had
it
been
real?  More than likely he had built it up in his mind to be more than it was, especially since he had deprived himself for so long.  Still, he could have sworn it burned him to his very soul.
  Would it be the same if he kissed her again?