And could a woman ever be with a man like me? Even if she wasn’t here temporarily, I’m the head of the Cowen Clan, and I can’t offer her what a woman like her needs.
Islan joins us in the house, and I call Mum to tell her we’ve got Paisley, and she’s fine. She’s at my place because she wanted to spend some time with Cairstina. It seemed to work, though I’m not sure Mum buys it.
Still, she doesn’t ask questions.
The girls clean Paisley up and help her get dressed. Islan has some staff members bring us dinner, and we eat at the small table in my kitchen. Cairstina, as usual, eats a huge bowl of stew and several large, hearty rolls topped with butter. Paisley seems better, as she joins us for dinner and tells us more about what happened.
Islan’s furious. “Why didn’t you kill him, Leith? Why?”
I blow out a breath. “Our way isn’t to murder for retribution, Islan. A man like him deserves a far worse punishment than that.”
Cairstina’s eyes widen, but she only dollops more stew in her bowl.
“Agreed,” Islan says. “But then eventually you must make sure he pays the ultimate price.”
I look sharply to Cairstina, who’s intently focused on eating her roll.
The girls finally go back to the house. I’ll have a chat with Mum later, but Dad doesn’t need to know what happened tonight. I don’t like making the decision for him, but I don’t trust him with his heart condition. There was a reason he stepped down as the Captain of our Clan. Paisley’s safe now, and we’ll see to it that ex of hers gives her no more trouble.
The girls go back at night, Islan planning on telling Mum Paisley’s tired and needs some rest. We’ll deal with this all another day.
When the girls have gone, I build a fire in the fireplace and beckon Cairstina over to me. She looks at me shyly. She’s discarded the wig and changed into a pair of lounge pants and a soft sweatshirt, wearing fluffy socks instead of those heels she shed in the field earlier.
“Come here.”
She comes to me and sits beside me, and gives a sharp intake of breath when I tug her onto my lap.
“Thank you for today,” I tell her, grateful for her help.
She nods, and pulls out her mobile.
I’m glad we found her. The poor girl was traumatized.
I nod. “Aye, she was, and I’m so grateful, I can’t even tell you.”
She smiles. I know.
I laugh. “When you took off like that, I had no idea where you were going or why.”
Well, I was afraid we didn’t have much time, that if I’d taken the time to text you, we’d miss our chance to find her or something. And it seemed more important to find her than tell you why I was running. It was probably silly, though, I mean we could’ve driven. You trusted me, though.
“Aye, lass, of course I did.”
She cradles my face between her hands, holding my gaze for long seconds before she kisses me. I sigh. This feels like a reunion, like a part of who I am reignites when we’re together.
“You’re such a brave lass. Such a brave, brave lass. You know that?”
She nods and texts again. Thank you. But it isn’t true. I was so afraid when we went into town today, I could hardly breathe the right way. I almost lost my mind when I heard my brother’s shouting.
“He won’t hurt you again.”
If I have to spend the rest of my life doing nothing but keeping the people I care about safe, I’ll die a happy man.
She nods, but I’m not quite sure she believes me.
What happens to me next?
She tips her head to the side, curious.
I bend my mouth to hers. “What happens to you next is that I fuck you until you come so hard you forget your name, then tuck you into bed for a good night’s sleep. Sound good to you?”
She wraps her arms around my neck, eagerly kissing me, her answer loud and clear.
* * *
Chapter Fourteen
Cairstina
We make love until the sun rises, and I fall asleep sprawled across his chest. It feels safe here. Secure. He holds me to him like I bring him comfort. I hope I do.
The next day, he wakes before me, but I don’t let him out of bed. I’m feeling more courageous now, more powerful, as I lift myself up on his chest and kiss him. He weaves his fingers through my hair, rolls me over onto my back, and the familiar sensation of arousal threads through me. My legs tremble, and my belly convulses, the nearness of him making me eager to feel him inside me again.
I never dreamed I’d be with any man, let alone a man like him, but when I think about it, it’s fitting. Sometimes I imagine I’m just misplaced, like I’ve been taken from another time and transplanted in the present. And if some omnipotent power could only find where I truly belong, I might slide into place like the last puzzle piece, completing the picture. But I’m an alien creature. Outcast from the modern world, unable to communicate with this species, so deeply entrenched in the rich internal life I’ve cultivated that socializing and mingling with others is almost completely foreign to me.