Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels Book Five) by Catherine Bybee

Author:Catherine Bybee [Bybee, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Catherine Bybee
Published: 2013-11-18T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Amber couldn’t bring herself to be embarrassed. Gavin clearly knew what he was doing, knew her body better than she did.

He pulled her from the cooling water and carefully dried her with a ready towel.

Without covering himself with clothing of any kind, he lifted her into the bed in the other room and tucked her into his side. He didn’t reach for her, nor did he take any more liberties with her.

“You’re a gifted teacher, Gavin.”

He stroked her damp hair as he spoke. “You’re a beautiful student.”

“I feel the need to thank you.”

She heard his soft laugh. “My pleasure.”

“Oh?” She twisted to see his face. “I don’t believe you took your pleasure at all.”

“One thing at a time.”

We’re running out of time.

“Would bonding with me be so awful?” he asked once she settled again.

She thought of the stream, hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts. “We don’t know if bonding will make your shield hold me without a physical link.” He was whole and didn’t need her ending his life if their bond wasn’t strong enough. The danger for Gavin was too great for her to risk it.

“We don’t know it won’t either.”

“’Tis not something we can try for a short time. If it doesn’t work, we cannot undo it. You know this.”

“We should try.”

His hand squeezed around her, holding her tight, and pulled her closer.

She couldn’t. “Tomorrow will be here soon enough,” she told him. Hoping her delay would pacify him.

She felt part of him relax with her words. Amber took his unspoken words as acceptance and closed her eyes…pretending to sleep.

Gavin fought exhaustion for several hours until finally he slept. His breathing became steady, and the stream she’d place in his head drifted to his own dreams. They weren’t clear to her, but she knew they were a sign his conscious self was deaf to the world.

She closed her eyes and lowered her own barriers to feel him. Like all warriors, he was deeply convicted…and in Gavin’s case, dedicated to seeing her safe, dedicated to a higher purpose than his own life, his own desires. A glimpse of hope touched her heart. Desire for her outside his need to protect her was there, but it wasn’t enough to convince her that they needed to bond. Though she knew before she searched his feelings he couldn’t possibly want to be bound to a woman he hardly knew, she couldn’t help but wish for a different outcome.

An underlying desire for him to act rose to the surface of his dreams. He slept now from need, not desire. He wanted to stay alert to keep her at his side…to protect her. That thought brought tears to her eyes.

Sleep, she told him in her head.

He sighed deeply, and she repeated herself many times until most of his thoughts were a jumbled mess of dreams, none of it making sense, none of it meaning anything.

She rolled over onto her back, putting space between them but not letting him go.

Gavin didn’t stir.

At the foot of the bed lay the cloak she’d worn nonstop before Gavin appeared in her life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.