Midnight's Seduction by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online

you,” he said, and held out something for her.
    Saffron smiled when she grasped the sunglasses. She let out a sigh when she slipped them on and was able to fully open her eyes. “Thank you.”
    “No need.”
    Now that Saffron was able to see, she raised her face to Camdyn. “Are you my keeper?”
    “Why would you ask that?”
    She shrugged, unsure herself. She liked having him around, but she wanted to know if he was there because he wanted to be, or because … he had to be. “I’m no longer blind, but I’m not a hundred percent yet. I’m a hindrance. You Warriors are experienced in battle, so it makes sense that someone would be assigned to stay with me so I don’t hamper things if we’re attacked.”
    His gaze never wavered from her, but she saw a muscle in his jaw tick. What was he thinking? She was dying to know, but she suspected that whatever it was, he wasn’t going to tell her.
    “Most of the others have wives. I’m just making sure that you have what you need. Until you are a hundred percent.”
    It was a great explanation, and a plausible one. Why then did it hurt that he wasn’t with her because he wanted to be? Saffron forced a smile and nodded.
    “As I assumed. Shall we join the others?”
    She began to walk away when his hand grasped her arm in a gentle, but ironclad, grip. Saffron looked at him, startled to find his brow furrowed.
    “I’ve upset you,” he said.
    How could he have known that? Saffron was an expert in hiding her emotions. There was no way he could have known she was anything other than happy with his response.
    But by the look he was giving her, he knew differently.
    “I don’t want to be a burden,” she admitted. “I want my life back, the way it was before. My eyes will adjust, and until they do, I’ll make sure I stay near the others so that I’m not a hindrance to anyone.”
    “You are no’,” he murmured.
    It was her turn to frown. “I’m not what?”
    “A hindrance.” He dropped his hand and took a deep breath, looking beyond her to where the others had gone. “I’m impressed with your courage.”
    This she hadn’t expected. Her mouth dropped open, but before she could respond, he started after the others.
    Saffron had no choice but to follow him. She lengthened her strides and hurriedly caught up with him as Reaghan walked southeast around a lone standing stone.
    With Saffron half running, half walking, they reached the group. And just when she thought no one had noticed their absence, Ramsey turned and looked at them.
    She gave him a smile, and then promptly ignored him and the grin that slowly turned up his lips. “Men,” she whispered.
    “What was that?” Camdyn asked.
    “Nothing.”
    The huge stone Reaghan walked around stood on a low oval platform with two stumps of stones rising from the ground, signaling that the stone hadn’t originally been alone.
    “This is the Comet Stone,” Reaghan said as she ran her hands over the monolith.
    Saffron turned back to the Ring of Brodgar and the entrance caught her eye. She then looked back at the Comet Stone and around it to see the Standing Stones o’Stenness.
    Reaghan smiled when she saw Saffron. “Aye,” she said. “The Comet Stone and its two sisters that are no longer here were a midpoint between the two stone rings.”
    “Is this the entrance?” Isla asked.
    Reaghan shook her head. “Nay, but I know how to find it.”
    “How?” Ramsey asked.
    Reaghan pointed to the sky. “The entire peninsula we’re on is aligned with the stars. Orion’s Belt to be exact. Orion’s Belt rises and sets in exactly the same place as the sun during the winter.”
    Camdyn, his arms crossed over his chest, chuckled as he nodded his head in understanding. “If you overlayed Orion’s Belt where the stones are, it matches, does it no’?”
    Saffron had studied and loved astronomy for as long as she could remember, and she didn’t expect anyone to know about overlaying the alignment of Orion’s Belt.
    She