Craving the Highlander's Touch Read Online Free PDF Page B

close. He’d offered her anything within his power to give. And when she’d caught him watching her, he looked upon her as if she were an angel. He wouldn’t understand the sinful thoughts running through her mind right now.
    Below stairs, she heard him talking to his brothers, and they armed themselves. No doubt they would pursue Sir Geoffrey and find the English camp. She didn’t know whether to be grateful for it or be even more afraid.
    Footsteps resounded upon the stone stairs, and Alys raised her head to find Finian approaching. She started to stand, but he motioned her down. Instead, he held back, one hand on the wall, the other upon the curving steps above him.
    “Did your husband hurt you, within your marriage bed?” he asked.
    “Sometimes.” She hid her face from him, turning toward the wall. “I was his possession. Never a wife that he cared about.”
    Finian moved closer, resting his hands upon the stair above her. With both arms surrounding her, she was caught in an embrace. “He was blind to what he had.”
    He leaned in, until his face was only a slight distance away. Though he did nothing more than look at her, Alys saw the unspoken desire in his eyes. He was studying her as if he wanted to remember her face.
    Just as she wanted to remember his. She understood that whatever silent bonds had formed, there could be no future between them. His dark hair hung down to his shoulders, his gray eyes burning into hers. She knew the feeling of his firm muscles from smoothing the salve upon his back. Even now, the faint scent of the healing herbs emanated from his skin.
    “Are you angry with me…for touching you?” he asked huskily.
    In answer, she raised her mouth to his and kissed him. Finian let out a shuddering breath and took her lips with his. He bent her back against the stairs, claiming the kiss like a man who had waited all his life for her.
    She held on to his shoulders, arching back against the stairs as he devoured her mouth. The heated desire flooded through her body, warming her skin and making her crave his bare skin upon hers.
    She needed this. Though she couldn’t understand why she wanted this wild, barbarian Scot, he made her feel…almost beloved. When his tongue swept against hers, she clung to him while he cradled her torso to protect her from the harsh stairs.
    When he drew back, her lips were swollen and tingling. She saw the fierce need within his expression, and it made her feel vulnerable. Before she could stop herself, a question blurted forth. “Did you love your wife?”
    “We were friends,” Finian said. “Gillian and I were companionable enough. Our fathers arranged the marriage between us. We were wed a year before she died giving birth to Iliana.” He reached out to draw her up. “For a time, I blamed myself for her death.”
    “There was nothing you could do, was there?”
    He shook his head. Alys rested against the wall, her knees feeling shaken by the encounter. When he gently touched her face, she admitted, “I don’t know why I kissed you.”
    “You’ve lost a great deal,” he answered. “And sometimes it helps to have human comfort.”
    Finian raised her hand to his face, pressing a kiss against her palm. “We’ll go now to find the soldier’s camp. But I’ll return to you, I promise.”
    She nodded, feeling the tendrils of fear snaking around her heart. “I’ll be waiting.”
    It was nearing sunset when Finian returned with his brother Brochain, after scouting the remainder of the English garrison. His mood was sober, for it was clear the soldiers hadn’t retreated far.
    “Do you think it’s safe to stay here one more night?” Brochain questioned.
    Finian nodded. “But no longer. They’re waiting for Lady Harkirk to bring the silver.”
    “I don’t trust them,” his brother said. “They might return.”
    “Possibly. We’ll patrol the gate tonight,” Finian said. “I’ll take the first watch and set the outer wall on fire again if they