“Wake up and be well, please, Edan. I beg ye. Wake up and be well,” she whispered repeatedly as if it were a magic charm, even though she knew he could not hear her.
The candles burned down, and the fire burned low. On the edge of dawn, when the birds were beginning their chorus to herald the new day, Olivia was stroking his hair when he opened his eyes.
A wave of relief washed over her as she looked into them. “Thank God ye’re awake at last. Are ye all right?” she asked, still absently stroking hair.
He frowned, looking at her in confusion. “What happened?” he asked huskily.
“I’m nae sure. Ye suddenly became dizzy and almost passed out. We brought ye here. Ye’ve been asleep for hours,” she told him.
“I feel so tired, and me head hurts. ’Tis hard to think,” he murmured, raising a hand to his forehead and finding her hand. He grasped her fingers. “Have ye been here all the time?”
“Aye, of course. I’ve been very worried about ye. I didnae ken what was wrong. I was afraid ye fell ill,” she explained.
“Ach, this is embarrassin’. Ye should have just left me to sleep it off,” he said, his cheeks flushing red.
“There ye go again with yer embarrassment. I dinnae understand ye. How could I leave ye when I didnae ken what made ye like this? Everyone thought ye’d had too much ale, but ye said ye’d only had two tankards. And Zander said ye can hold yer drink better than this. Can ye nae see why I’ve been so worried about ye?”
“Aye, all right, I see what ye mean. Thank ye for takin’ care of me.”
He groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his face and hair vigorously.
“Ach, me head’s throbbin’,” he added with a grimace. “And me throat’s as dry as a bone.”
“Here, have some water.” She poured him a cup and handed it to him. He downed it in one swallow.
“That’s better.”
“What do ye think caused this if it wasnae the ale?”
“I’ve got a good idea,” he told her. “I reckon someone spiked me ale last night.”
Olivia recoiled in shock. “What?! Someone drugged ye?”
“Aye, I reckon that’s the only explanation for it.”
A mixture of fear and fury gripped Olivia as something occurred to her. “Edan, do ye think…”
“Nurkirk. Aye.”
As they gazed at each other, a heavy silence fell between them, full of things unspoken, filling Olivia with a growing sense of trepidation.
Edan broke the spell, his voice low and soft but full of conviction. “Olivia, I ken I promised nae to leave ye again, and I hate to break me word. But I cannae put it off any longer. I must go after Nurkirk. I have to kill him and put a stop to all of this.”
Olivia nodded sadly. “Aye, I understand.”
“But I promise I’ll nae leave until we’ve had our last outing, all right?”
“Aye, all right. Thank ye, Edan. That means a lot to me.”
She looked deeply into his eyes and realized she was in love with him. Compelled by that love, she bent her head and kissed his lips.
The kiss was tentative at first, but all of Olivia’s fears and doubts immediately melted away at the feel of Edan’s warm, firm mouth on hers. As if in awe of what they had started, they briefly pulled back, their faces barely an inch apart, and stared into each other’s eyes for a few intense moments.
“Edan,” Olivia murmured, trailing her fingertips down the strong column of his throat, where his shirt lay open to reveal the dark, springy hairs covering his chest.
She felt her insides turning into water at the feel of his skin and the naked hunger she could now see in his dark eyes. Her heart began racing, her chest rising and falling rapidly as the breath fled her lungs beneath the intensity of his gaze.
“Olivia, yer lips are so soft,” he murmured, his voice low and hoarse as he leaned forward and closed the gap between them, his lips seeking hers once more.
