Untamed Highlander

TWENTY-TWO

Isla rolled onto her back and stretched, a smile on her lips. She was stunned to find the sun shining through her window. Had she slept, undisturbed those last few hours before dawn?

She turned her head and found Hayden gone. She swallowed past the lump of disappointment and sighed. His body might no longer be in the tower, but she could smell his woodsy spice scent on the linens.

Unable to help herself, Isla rolled onto his pillow and tucked it against her as she inhaled deeply. She wished he’d have been beside her when she awoke. It had been an amazing experience to caress him as he’d slept.

Isla had looked at him at her leisure. He was magnificent even in sleep, his power and strength evident despite his relaxed muscles. Her hands had stroked him from face to feet, had learned the feel of his lean, hard body.

She smiled as she recalled taking him in her mouth. He’d been surprised, to be sure, but it had soon turned to desire. Isla had never thought she would get enjoyment out of pleasuring a man. But then she had met Hayden.

Of all people, she should know how quickly life could change. Yet she had been unprepared for the passion Hayden stirred within her.

It would be so easy for her to allow herself to dream of a future with Hayden, but Isla had not lived five hundred years and not gained wisdom.

Her stomach rumbled as the smell of fresh-baked bread reached the tower. Though she could stay in bed all day and think of Hayden, there were things she needed to do.

She rose from the bed and glanced down at the ruined chemise. Thankfully she had another. Once she was dressed, she reached for her comb. Instead of leaving it free, she decided to braid her hair to help keep it out of her face while she worked.

Isla walked from the tower after she tied the thin strip of leather at the end of the braid. It felt odd not to have her hair around her, but it only got in the way.

When she reached the great hall, several Warriors were already there. In one glance she noticed Hayden wasn’t among them. The MacLeod brothers, however, were.

They nodded in greeting as she passed on her way to the kitchen. She felt a tickle in her mind, something strange and new. And she didn’t like it. It reminded her too much of Deirdre’s invasion of her mind.

Isla paused and lifted a hand to her temple as she squeezed her eyes shut as pain began to build. She used her magic to push whoever — or whatever — was trying to get into her head out.

“Are you all right?” Broc asked.

She opened her eyes to find the hall spinning. She reached out to steady herself and locked onto a strong arm.

“Whoa,” Broc said. “You need to sit.”

“Nay.” As quickly as the tickle had come, it was gone. Isla blinked her eyes open and released her hold on Broc’s arm. “I’m all right. Just a little dizzy.”

Fallon rose and walked to her. “Are you sure that’s all? Maybe Sonya could help.”

At the mention of the red-haired Druid, Isla saw Broc tense.

“I don’t need to see Sonya. This has occurred before,” she lied. “It’s nothing.”

She didn’t want any of them to know she was disturbed and worried about what had just happened. The less everyone knew the better. At least until she had some answers of her own.

Broc looked over her shoulder and frowned. His fingers bit into her upper arm. She hadn’t even realized he had hold of her until that moment.

She put her hand on his chest and smiled up at Broc. “Thank you. I need to help the others.”

Isla glanced behind her to find Hayden standing at the entrance to the castle. He glared at Broc, murder in his eyes. Beside him, Arran looked puzzled and more than a little curious.

She ignored them all and walked into the kitchen. All four women were busy readying the morning meal. Sonya was the first to glance up. She smiled in greeting before she turned and reached into the ovens.

“There you are,” Larena said. “We were worried you might not be feeling well.”

Isla grabbed the ewer from Marcail’s hand. “I slept.”

“I’m glad you got some rest,” Cara said as she cut into the bread.

Marcail tilted her head to the side, her braids falling into her face. “You do have the look of a woman well content.”

Every eye in the kitchen shifted to her then. Isla forced herself to stay still and not fidget. She finally shrugged and said, “Sleep can do that.”

Isla turned and retreated back into the great hall. At least no one there was eyeing her as if they knew she had been well pleasured last night.

The others followed her out of the kitchen, their hands filled with trenchers piled with food. She noticed Fallon, Camdyn, and Hayden missing, but didn’t think much about it. The way the women kept looking at her made Isla more than a little uncomfortable.

Isla grabbed some bread and cheese intending to go to the beach. She was about to make her excuses when she heard shouting from above that drew her gaze.

Hayden’s voice boomed above Fallon’s and Camdyn’s as he argued. Isla wasn’t sure what was going on, but by the way Hayden’s skin was turning red, she knew his rage was growing.

“If you want someone watching her, you do it,” Hayden shouted. “I’ve got other things to do than spy on her.”

Fallon glanced over the railing to the great hall below, his gaze landing on her. “Hayden,” he warned.

Isla knew in an instant they were talking about her. Her skin turned clammy with fury and embarrassment. She couldn’t take her eyes off Hayden’s back as she willed him to look at her.

“It’s not what you think,” Lucan’s voice reached her.

But Isla knew it was. They didn’t trust her. She could understand that. Yet they had gone behind her back to have her watched.

She squared her shoulders and turned to the castle door. “I’m going for a walk.”

“I’ll come with you,” Marcail said.

Isla speared her with a glance. “I’d rather be alone.”

Marcail slowly sank back onto the bench, hurt in her turquoise eyes, but Isla didn’t care. She had never felt such humiliation before in her life. Deirdre had done many things, but she had never made Isla feel as unwanted as a flea.

Isla walked into the bailey, then beneath the gatehouse. She wanted to keep on walking and never look back at MacLeod Castle, but she had given her word to keep the shield up. She would not break that vow.

She turned and headed toward the village. There she would find her solace and something to take her mind off what Hayden had done and said.

*

Hayden knew Isla was in the hall even before Fallon looked down. He hadn’t meant to let things get out of control. He had thought speaking with Fallon about it would solve everything. But Fallon had wanted him to continue watching Isla.

What Fallon didn’t know was that Hayden couldn’t chance it. Nothing Hayden said could change Fallon’s mind. Finally, Hayden’s control had broken and he’d let his ire get the better of him.

He hadn’t wanted Isla to know. He certainly hadn’t wanted her to hear him. Despite his good intentions, she had seen and heard all of it.

Hayden watched her walk from the hall, anger in every step. Her back rigid, her hands fisted, crushing the bread and cheese held there.

He almost went to her, almost took her in his arms and apologized.

“That wasn’t well done, Hayden,” Broc said from below.

Hayden sighed and leaned his hands on the railing. Camdyn walked away, but Fallon stayed.

“What is going on?” Fallon asked. “Did something happen between you and Isla?”

Aye. “Nay. I just doona want to be around her. I can’t.”

Fallon blew out a breath and clasped him on the shoulder. “I’ll have another watch her, then.”

Hayden should have felt relieved. He should have been overjoyed. Instead, he felt worse than a slug. How had his life gotten so messed up? When had things gotten complicated?

He used to be in control, used to make decisions easily and not change his mind or wonder if he was right. Now, all he did was second guess himself. Ever since he’d first seen Isla, dying on that cold mountainside, his life had been irrevocably altered.

And not for the best.

Hayden’s appetite was gone, and the thought of sitting in the hall with some looking at him as if he was addled and others looking at him as if he were the bringer of doom, left him cold inside. He turned on his heel and looked for a window to climb out of.

There was only one place he could go where he knew he wouldn’t be disturbed — one of the many caves.

Hayden easily reached the inaccessible holes in the cliffs thanks to his god. He stalked inside one of the shallow caves and ran a hand down his face. It was dark and clammy, just like his mood.

He’d gotten no rest after leaving Isla’s bed. He had paced his chamber trying to find a way out of the situation he’d put himself in. The first step was to distance himself from Isla as much as he could. Which meant no longer watching her as the MacLeods had requested.

He’d gotten what he wanted, but he didn’t like the empty feeling inside him now. He should feel relieved, happy not to have Isla as his responsibility anymore.

Why then did he have the insane urge to go and find her, to try and make her understand why he had said the things he had?

Hayden lowered himself to the floor at the cave’s entrance and stared out at the sea. Waves rolled in, clashing with the boulders and sending spray shooting toward the sky. It was a constant battle the sea and land were in, and no matter how strong the land stood, the water eventually won.

If only Isla had been anyone but who she was. He could have enjoyed the passion they shared and not felt as if he dishonored his family. He wouldn’t feel the need to push her away when all he wanted to do was pull her close and kiss her again.

Why did it have to be so difficult? It had been many decades since he had found a woman who intrigued him as Isla did. Why couldn’t she have just been a normal woman?

Hayden knew part of Isla’s appeal was her magic and how it affected him. He wanted to overlook it, overlook her, but he feared he wasn’t strong enough.

Holding Isla in his arms, kissing her, caressing her … loving her had felt so right. As if his entire life had been building toward her, toward finding her and the moment he first kissed her.

He hated that something so right could be so wrong.