ROMANCE: Romantic Comedy: Love in 30 Days - The Best Plans Don't Always Work! (Plus 19 FREE Books Book 13) (21 page)

Susan’s mind was her sanctuary, the one place her husband could never touch. His lack of emotion meant that he had never been able to connect with hers, corrupting them as he had her body. She didn’t let the bruises reach deep within her, glad that he could only damage her on the surface.

Aidan saw the damage which she did not realise was there as she closed herself off. Her resistance to harm was effective, but almost too effective. She put up walls, and he felt their strength now. They were good for protection, but he wondered when the last time she’d trusted someone was. They were made for assault, not for kindness or understanding. Of course, he could hardly speak of emotions. He did the same as her, resisting any change so that he could not be hurt. His walls were just as well reinforced as hers.

But as they continued to talk, he felt a softening. It came from both of them, each with an understanding of the other’s situation. He recognised her, seeing her in a different light to the vulnerable woman on the ground, thrown in the mud. She had not met a man like him before. Reserved yet open, he listened to the words that were beginning to tumble from her mouth, faster and faster. The day stretched out before them as the sun climbed higher and higher, the hours seeming to lengthen as they filled them with words and feelings.

A quickening of the wind was the only warning sign they noticed before the sky opened up. Rain pelted them from above, the cold water piercing through clothing as they stood exposed by the river bank. Already drenched, they walked into the shelter of the trees laughing. When they began to shiver, the seriousness of the situation hit them. The river was rising quickly, and they would need to find shelter before the rain began to come through the trees. “I know somewhere we can shelter,” Aidan said. She let him lead her to an abandoned hut in the woods. Hunters had used the cabin, before the crofts had been set up. His grandfather had shown him it, and it was useful to shelter or rest on a long hunting trip. Sometimes, he would just go there to think. He told her all this, the cabin awakening a kind of nostalgia he hadn’t shown before. He had his escapes too, she realised. Her life had been tumultuous, but never boring. There was always something which she could focus on to get her through. It must be difficult to have nothing like that.

The inside of the hut was warm and dry. The smell of wood and dust came to her nose, a homely scent which allowed her to relax. In that way that smells so often did, it brought her back to her childhood home and her family. The sound of rain burst and popped but it was distant, removed from their sanctuary in this hut. Aidan suddenly seemed shy, as if welcoming her into his home. He set out a chair for her and found a dry cloak to drape around her shoulders. It was simple and calm inside the hut, none of the hurry the rain had brought outside.

He smiled at her, seating himself on the bed – there was only one chair, which she now occupied. The dull light from the sun was only now coming around to midday, illuminating the rain as it fell in sheets. Their meeting had been rushed and strange, but it fell into place perfectly. Like a piece of him had been missing, and was now present, in her. It was right, and he felt this now as he looked at her across the room. Her red hair was curled and damp from the rain, and her pale eyes were invigorated with an energy that he felt channelling into him. As she spoke her lips moved precisely and with a great amount of care, thinking about everything she said before it came out of his mouth. This was a skill he had never mastered, but it did not matter here – the things he should not say only made her talk more. When she was excited her hands moved through the air, drawing shapes and places and things, showing him what she was talking about as well as telling him.

At times in the conversation she was somewhere else, her mind wandering to the past or the future, not here. This came naturally to her, used to escaping as she was. She wished for the ability to remain in the present for a little longer now that it was a place she wanted to be. A place like this had been cultivated in her mind for such a long time that she could hardly accept it –or him – as real. It was as if she had been waiting for him, and he for her. Talking and laughing with him like this felt like coming home.

As they watched they other, the knowledge they found through their conversation made it natural to see the other person in much closer detail. Leaning forward across the small space inside the hut, they did not realise how close together they were getting. Eyes shining with excitement, each discovered that a new life lay hidden deep in the other’s gaze. Their faces almost touching, Aidan broke off with a laugh. He had not talked to someone like this ever in his life. It hadn’t bothered him; he just hadn’t realised it was something he needed. At ease, he was not thinking of anything but this moment.

The change in mood hit him when she leaned back. Her eyes were sad, their happy reverie broken. Everything that stood between them flooded his mind, making the space across the small room seem miles long. He longed to reach towards her, to pull her face to his and make that smile and the light in her eyes come back. He shut his eyes, pulling a hand through his tangled and damp hair. She watched him secretly, memorising the action as he moved. Erasing the tension from his face in her mind, she stored away this picture as one of a happy moment, visualising his crooked smile creasing his eyes, his nose twitching as a laugh began. All of this was a preparation for what she must tell him. She took in a breath, and began to speak. His eyes were still closed. “It’s stopped raining.”

Eyes flicking open, he nodded regretfully. Pushing himself up from the bed seemed to take considerable effort, though his muscles were not strained. Internally, he was fighting a battle he knew he should not be considering. Her radiant eyes were all he could think of. He reached down a hand to help her up from the chair. She took it without hesitation, but neither of them had expected the rush it would bring. An energy passed between them, leaving both of them reeling as they stopped moving, held still by their touch and the meeting of their eyes. The lingering grip seemed to last forever as they held each other’s gaze. Her eyes were wells of emotion, full of everything she knew she should not say to him. Storing these thoughts secretly away had been futile, she realised as his eyes found hers. His gaze dug them all to the surface, recognising that they matched his.

It was with their eyes and not their lips that this first kiss occurred. A mutual understanding, a give and take exchange of emotion which already meant so much to them before that first meeting of lips. Still it was bliss, and they were lost for many more moments in the sweet support of each other’s arms. Their mouths moulded to one another, changing for the better with this new exploration. His mouth on hers was hot and strong, yet still gentle. He was careful with her, and she could feel his hesitance as his tongue met hers. She pulled him closer, letting him know that she was more content now than she had been in a very long time. Her lips melted into his, moulding and changing with his every movement. They responded and diverged, just as in conversation, their connection not lost to any set movement or formality. Shivers ran down her spine as he rested his hand in the small of her back. Their words seemed insufficient and pointless next to the million things that they said now with their lips, with their arms, and with their hearts. Bittersweet longing and the weight of their forbidden love flavoured these moments, tainting them with sadness. Wrapped in each others arms, they knew they had to return. She sighed heavily as this burden returned to her shoulders, and he felt the weight too.

They rose slowly, reluctant to leave the warmth of the cabin. Walking out into the midday sun, they were different people to the ones who had entered. Together they had undergone a transformation, knocked down barriers and healed deep wounds. She rested her head against his shoulder as they looked at the world they emerged into. It seemed a different place too, the forest cleansed by the rain and now full of a bright, illuminating light. The shadows of the trees surrounding the cabin were welcoming and full of promise. He helped her mount her horse and gave one longing kiss of goodbye. Neither knew how they would meet again, only a faint hope of another encounter allowed in their minds.

***

The Laird was furious. Susan looked around the room for anywhere else to turn, but there was nowhere. The walls were bursting with his hulking figure, balled muscles tensed and ready to strike her. He did not like that she had been out half the day in the woods. Her independence frustrated him, and he did not understand why she could not be content with embroidery or other such menial tasks, as the wives of his brothers were. She had nothing to say to him. His brothers’ wives were content in their marriages because they were not tied to a monster, an inhumane giant with brute strength and a grimacing face. Twisted into a grimace, his beady eyes looked at her with disgust.

If he wished to accuse her of adultery, call her a whore and denounce her in front of his men, he could. She cared little. It was nothing he hadn’t done many times before, and he would not realise that this time had more reason to it than any other.  

Aidan and his lips were at the forefront of her mind. He had been so gentle and kind, understanding of her situation even before she had told him of her life with the Laird. He had seen her and set out to help her. She believed this with all her heart – Aidan was the saviour she had dreamed of, and thought about now to escape her harsh reality of pain and confinement. Steadying herself for the hard fists she knew would begin to hit her, she conjured the hut in the woods with her thoughts. Here she would reside until the pain was over, far away from the real world. Aidan was there too, helping her forget the present and stay in her imagination. He held her as she began to feel what she knew would soon form a bruise.

Defiance bubbled inside her as it had not in a long time. With her saviour no longer a mere dream, she had something to fight for. Rising from the ground, she stood to face her husband. The surprise was evident on his face – never had she done this before. He seemed afraid as she stared him down, the power of her anger evident in her glare. Walking out of the room, she decided she would sleep in the servant’s quarters tonight. Tomorrow she would have a choice to make. For the first time, she felt as though she had an option other than staying with the Laird and his brutal rages.

Aidan could not sleep. How had he let her return to the Laird? He could not bear the thought of her spending another night with that dark giant of a man. As he tossed and turned, Susan slept soundly. Her resolve was strong, but he knew nothing of her decision, as much as it involved him. He was energised and restless, and decided to go for a run. The night was cold and dark, and the air burned through his chest as he ran, filling his blood with a feeling of urgency. Faint moonlight was all that guided him as his feet pounded the ground, which seemed to shift with his feet.

The more his thoughts swirled inside his mind the greater his despair became. There was no way he could see to force the Laird to give up his wife. They were lawfully married, and to break that would be frowned upon, not to mention an impossible task. Aidan doubted very much that their new Laird was likely to let Susan go without a fight. As far as he knew, the last person on their croft to ever win a fight had been his grandfather’s age. They were farmers, not fighters.

Eventually the run, and his thoughts, became exhausting and he turned back to his home. Lying in bed again, he decided he would visit the castle tomorrow on some pretence. Somehow, he would talk to Susan and they would figure this out, together.

***

As Aidan rose in the morning, he was surprised to find a crowd of people outside their home. Looking at the sun in the sky, he saw that he was up late, the midnight run having drained his energy. Dressing quickly, he stepped outside and was greeted with cheers from many of the crofters. Susan stood in the middle of the crowd, her hand waving as she told them how she’d left the Laird for Aidan.

He saw the bruises as she turned to him. It felt as though a spear wrenched inside him to see the marks on her fair skin. But her strength shone through, and she had escaped. Two horses stood near her, her own one and one he had not seen before.

She walked towards him, confident in her plan. “Aidan, I can’t stand it any more. Come with me.” Throwing herself  into his arms, she was relieved to find that he gave her no less affection than she had received in the hut in the woods, even before his family and the other crofters. He was not ashamed of her.

“Of course I will – but, Susan, where would we go? I don’t have much.” He gestured around him at the field and the sheep. It wasn’t much, she knew that. She shrugged. They would get by, somehow. They had their skills, and they had each other.

“I don’t care. If I’m with you, and away from him, it doesn’t matter.” She clung to him, finally able to admit her feelings out loud. It was freeing, and she immediately felt better for this admission. Looking around, she was surprised to see the crofters smiling.