Lured to the Night (The Brotherhood 4)

He felt the force of her declaration like a hard punch to his gut. Disappointment surfaced. It tasted bitter, a little sour in his mouth. “I hear Nikolai was extremely persuasive.”

Her desperate gaze searched his face, her eyes swimming with an emotion he struggled to define. “I don’t love him, Lachlan. I never have.”

Invisible hands squeezed his chest, tighter, tighter, forcing all the air from his lungs. Resentment bubbled away inside. He wanted to lash out at nothing, punch at the wind as it whistled through the trees, a virulent assault on fate, on coincidence, on whatever mystical force had seen fit to rob him of the only thing he’d ever wanted. It took every effort not to roar fiercely at the heavens: a warrior’s battle cry, something aggressive, inarticulate.

“You don’t love him, yet you married him.” He tried to suppress the venom in his tone. “It does not make any sense.”

“It doesn’t make much sense to me either.” Isla glanced down, slid her booted foot back and forth over the dead leaves. “It’s complicated. There is much you do not understand.”

He touched her then. He could not help himself.

Taking her chin between his finger and thumb, he forced her to look at him. Her skin felt warm and soft despite the crisp chill in the air. While the perfume of pine swirled around them, his head was filled with the unique womanly scent that clung to her hair, clothes and skin: a smell so potent he inhaled deeply.

“Tell me you had no choice.” His gaze settled on her mouth and he brushed the pad of his thumb once over her bottom lip. “Tell me there was nothing I could have done to prevent him from marrying you.”

She visibly shivered as he dropped his hand. “There is nothing either of us could have done.” She sighed; her deep, sorrowful exhale mimicked his thoughts. “Douglas said he remembered Nikolai coming here years ago when I was just a girl. He came with another man, a scholar. While Nikolai was not suffering from the blood affliction, the older man explained how his skin was sensitive to the sun. They persuaded my father to grant them access to the mine and to the chambered cairn on the ancient Pictish site that borders our land.”

Curiosity flared. “Do you know what they were looking for?”

“Douglas said he remembered the scholar carrying an old leather book. He mentioned that his ancestors were from these parts. Apparently, the proof lay in a carved symbol.” She rubbed her hip as she spoke. “They took samples from the well near the cairn and a selection of rocks from the mine.”

Lachlan struggled to understand how all the events were connected. “If Nikolai came back to gain access to the mine, that still does not explain why he married you. Or why he left here less than a week later.”

Isla shook her head. “All I know is I felt an overwhelming desire to protect the mine. I would often venture out in the dead of night to check that nothing had been disturbed. Then one night, two years ago, my mind became free of the burden. Suddenly it became unimportant, and I’ve not thought about it since.”

“Perhaps we should go down into the mine and see if we can discover what was so appealing.” Lachlan knew if he could understand Nikolai’s motives then it would help him to make more sense of it all. “I think we should visit the cairn too.”

Isla took a step closer. She put a trembling hand to his cheek. “Why? It will not change anything. No matter what we find, I will still be the wife of another man. I will still be the woman who made false promises.”

Lachlan closed his eyes, relishing her touch. Her comments were insightful, as though she had the power to slip into his mind and access his innermost thoughts. “We could have been happy together.” He had spoken before he opened his eyes. “I don’t believe he loved you and the thought makes the fiery flames of anger burn brightly in my chest.”

“Let go of the past, Lachlan.” Her hand slipped from his cheek with a soft caress. She stood on the tips of her toes and brushed her lips against the place still warm from the imprint of her fingers, lingered there for far too long just to torture him. “Let us try and salvage something of our friendship.”

Lust, pure and hot, raced through his veins. He wanted her, and he didn’t know how to suppress it. Edinburgh was not far away enough for him to forget about her this time. His mind was torn between taking her in his arms to plunder her sweet mouth, and jumping on his horse and galloping away as fast as the stallion’s legs could manage.

“I don’t know if that is possible,” he said honestly as he took a few steps back. He was as physically strong as three men. His mental agility and skill for strategy were renowned. Yet this woman, this beguiling enchantress, made him feel weak, dare he say, vulnerable. “I don’t know if I can remain in your company, pass pleasantries, drink wine, knowing what we could have been to each other.”

She blinked, batted her long lashes. “I understand.”

He wanted her to shout at him — to berate him for falling short of her expectations, too. He wanted her to drop to her knees, clasp his hands and beg him to reconsider, to tell him he was mistaken and that their friendship could be rich and beautiful, equally as fulfilling.

Hell and damnation. He didn’t know what he wanted.

A tense silence enveloped them, a shroud of doubt and uncertainty. She opened her mouth but snapped it shut. He cleared his throat but said nothing.

“I don’t blame you for feeling that way,” she eventually said. But he became aware of the restless movements in the field to his left: tails swishing, a couple of animals jumping to their feet.

“Shush.” He pointed to the meadow and then put his finger to his lips as the agitated snorts filled the air. “Something has scared the cattle.”

He saw a black figure creep out of the forest on the far left of the meadow. Walking on two legs, it was clearly a man not an animal or beast. Intent on mischief, the blackguard stopped and scanned his surroundings.

Isla shuffled towards Lachlan, their arms almost touching as she followed his narrowed gaze. Her eyes grew large and round and she sucked in a breath. “I doubt he’s come reiving. Do you think he intends to slaughter a cow?”

“We must assume so. Shall we go and find out?”

He turned to her and offered his hand. She stared at it before sliding her dainty hand into his. He gripped it tight as the warmth radiating from her palm spread through his body. The intimate gesture served purely as a means of keeping her safely by his side, he told himself. It was wrong to treat another man’s wife so affectionately. But touching Isla Maclean brought an element of calm to his chaotic thoughts. Touching Isla Maclean always soothed his soul.

Chapter 5