Awoken: A Medieval Scottish Romance (The Sisters of Kilbride Book 2) by Jayne Castel

Author:Jayne Castel [Castel, Jayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winter Mist Press
Published: 2020-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

17

What Do Ye Stand For?

“AND WHAT DO ye stand for, Ross Campbell?”

The question was bold, and yet Leanna felt compelled to ask it. This conversation had changed things between them. Until now, she’d merely seen him as MacKinnon’s henchman. She hadn’t given even a passing thought to the events that had made Campbell into the man he was, hadn’t cared. But now she did.

And try as she might to deny it, Ross Campbell fascinated her. He had from their first meeting in that clearing. There were layers to him that made her want to dig deeper.

His mouth lifted at the corners. “I’m not rightly sure … all I know is that from the moment I agreed to ride to Kilbride and abduct ye, my conscience has not given me an instant of peace. With each passing day, as MacKinnon’s behavior worsened, I have felt as if I am traveling into a land that I have no wish to explore. I knew that if I journeyed much farther into it, I’d be lost forever.”

He took a few steps closer, and suddenly he was towering over her. Leanna didn’t shrink back though. Even when she’d been a captive at Dunan, Ross Campbell’s presence had never intimidated her.

“I owe ye an apology, Lady Leanna. Because of me, ye did not attend yer father’s burial, and have been frightened and abused.”

The directness of his admission threw Leanna. She tilted her chin up, something that was necessary to meet his eye. Heat flowered out from the center of her chest as the moment drew out.

She didn’t know how to respond. Warmth crept up her neck now, and she realized that his proximity, and the fierceness upon his face, flustered her. She’d had little to do with men of late and was suddenly aware of him in a way she hadn’t been before.

Likewise, he seemed to be affected by the moment. His eyes darkened, and his throat bobbed. He looked like he wanted to speak, and yet he didn’t.

Instead, slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out, the back of his hand brushing her cheek. Leanna caught her breath, yet didn’t step out of his reach, didn’t shrink away. That feather-light touch set her pulse racing.

After MacKinnon’s brutal treatment the night before, she’d flinched away from contact with Campbell during their escape. Yet as the soft light of dawn filtered over them, and a sky lark warbled above, something shifted within her.

Honesty had a way of shattering reserve.

“Ye are lovely, Leanna MacDonald,” he said, his voice turning husky. “Lovelier than men like MacKinnon, or myself, deserve. Ye were meant to be treasured. I vow I shall get ye to safety, no matter what it costs me.”

His knuckles feathered across Leanna’s cheek once more, before he dropped his hand and stepped back from her.

Cold air rushed in between them, and for an instant disappointment lanced through Leanna. She wasn’t sure exactly why her heart suddenly felt as if it was shrinking.

Surely, she hadn’t expected him to kiss her? After everything that had transpired between them, that would have been an enormous breach of trust.

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