pile of rocks. Smiling in spite of herself, she ran forward and knelt at the opening to the cave. It was much smaller than she remembered, but she felt inexplicably relieved that it was actually here. She had had a life here once, innocent of all that was to come. Her roots were here, as were some fond memories of childhood. Until her mother had died, and she had been sent, still mourning, to a new world. If she gave it time, would everything be all right again? After all, it had only been a couple of days…
Allia heard a sound like the scuff of a boot from somewhere behind her, and she froze. Oh, god, had the guards found her already? Couldn’t she have even an hour alone? With a resigned sigh, she looked back over her shoulder, expecting to see a couple of burly highland men sent to drag her back to the castle, or even Leon himself, looking regal in his dress tartan, frowning down on her in disapproval.
She froze again at what she saw, only this time her heart stopped completely before kicking to a sudden start again and pounding heavily and erratically in her chest.
It was him . A giddy, tingling feeling of anticipation washed over her whole body before she could stop it, and she quickly checked her rising excitement. Oh no, no Allia, stop that right now! You do not need trouble like him right now. They don’t call them heartbreakers for nothing. You have more than enough on your plate already without adding that kind of mayhem to the rest of it… Damn voice of reason!
He casually walked the rest of the distance to where she still knelt by the cave entrance, the weight of his gaze practically holding her captive. He smiled at her, and she almost smiled back. She just couldn’t help it. He was very good at the whole charisma and charm thing, and he hadn’t even spoken yet. No doubt if she were a whole lot more naïve, she’d be falling at his feet right about now like the rest of the women she had seen. He moved toward her with a sensual, animal grace that held her rapt attention despite her best intentions otherwise. As he drew closer, she slowly stood up and faced him, reaching down nonchalantly to brush the bits of grass and heather from her skirt. He came to a stop just a little too close, and she would have automatically backed up if there weren’t a boulder directly behind her. She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge to his invasion of her space. He ignored it.
“Och lass”, he said in a voice that felt like warm honey over her skin. “What are ye doing up here all alone?”
She bristled at that. She did not need constant guarding, for god’s sake! She’d been living completely on her own for more than two years now. “What I do is certainly no business of yours”, she said, irritated by more than just his question.
He seemed briefly taken aback by her tone, but his seductive smile didn’t falter. And as luck would have it, as she noticed his perfect smile, she also noticed his broad, masculine mouth, twin dimples, and very kissable looking lips. This close, he was nearly irresistible. Damn, she would have definitely kissed him, if only she could have whatever she wanted, with no undesirable consequences… Life was just not fair.
He motioned behind her with his chin. “Is that the entrance to a cave there? I’m looking for one that’s supposed to be near the top of this hill.”
Allia shrugged, not bothering to look at the cave she of course knew was there. “Looks like one to me.” Oh God, was it possible for someone’s heart to beat right out of their chest? The electricity that seemed to be jumping between them was… damned unnerving. You’ve just never been so close to a man who’s that