Then Laird Gunn would answer for what he had set in motion, and Cormac would personally return the lass to her father's care.
He sat with that thought for a while, staring at the candle as he turned over the plan.
He heard her before he saw what was wrong.A small sound first.Then the soft chattering of teeth and shivering.The bothy was cold even with the banked fire.
Cormac watched her for a moment.
Then he got up.
He came to the pallet and lowered himself onto the edge carefully.
She stirred."Cormac?"
"Aye, love," he whispered."Go back to sleep."
She drifted back but continued to shiver.Cormac decided she needed more warmth, so he settled behind her, drew his plaid from his shoulder, laid it over them both, and pulled her closer against his chest.He felt the shivering ease, then slow, then stop.
She made a small sound in her sleep and turned, her cheek finding his shoulder.One hand curled against the front of his leine.Her braid lay across his arm and smelled faintly of the lavender soap.
Cormac lay still.
Despite his experience with women, he had never spent an entire night with one in his arms.He had never wanted to.But for the life of him, he did not want to be anywhere else but right where he was.
Cormac drew her slightly closer.She came without waking, tucking into the crook of his neck.He exhaled slowly and looked at the ceiling.
He had a signal to send in a few hours.A camp to take at dawn.A mission to complete and a lass to return safely home.He knew all of that.Usually, he would find trouble sleeping when so much was at stake.
But he closed his eyes anyway.
And for the first time in his life, he fell asleep with a woman in his arms.
***
Chapter 10
The Camp – Before Dawn
