Page 100 of Laird of Lust

“We’ll need provisions, scouts, and fresh horses. Michael, ye’ll see tae the maps.”

Aidan didn’t turn. His mind was already on the stretch of land eastward, the forests that hid Campbell’s men, the loch where he would have to corner him. He was calculating routes, weighing risks, thinking like the soldier he was.

He looked once more toward the horizon, the mist rolling like pale breath over the ridges. Somewhere beyond that, Alyson was waiting. And Campbell was still breathing.

That wouldn’t last long.

He felt Catherine’s gaze on him, soft and steady, and turned toward her once more.

“Go inside,” he said quietly. “There’s work tae be done.”

She hesitated. “Then promise ye’ll come back.”

He met her eyes, and for a moment, the façade of the laird slipped. “I always come back.”

He kissed her once, brief but burning, before turning away.

As he crossed the yard, the wind shifted, carrying with it the distant echo of thunder, faint but unmistakable. He paused at the edge of the gate, his hand brushing the scarred wood, his eyes fixed eastward.

It wasn’t over. Not yet.

Return for one final heart-melting moment—Aidan, Catherine, and the surprise that changes their future forever…