It was love so fierce, so absolute and unyielding that she could not be mistaken about it. It surrounded her so completely she struggled to separate where Kaelan’s feelings ended and her own began. She felt how deeply he needed her near him, how instinctively his thoughts remained fixed upon her no matter what else surrounded him. How she mattered to him above all else.
The strength of it shook her and she understood why.
Somehow… she had become part of him.
The realization left her trembling. Then something else came, an ache so deep and raw it tightened painfully inside her chest.
The feeling of separation.
The emptiness he experienced whenever distance stretched between them, as though some essential part of himself had been pulled away.
Bria’s breath caught sharply. She knew that feeling. She had felt it herself every time they were separated since meeting him, though until now she had lacked words to explain it.
Her hand pressed harder against his chest instinctively, drawn deeper into the powerful emotions surrounding her.
Kaelan was aware of the chance he had taken to let her in, to let her explore, to let her feel. He had to be careful. He could not let her go too deep and she was dangerously close to getting there.
His entire body tightened. She felt too much already. If she went any deeper…
Kaelan closed his hand firmly over hers, halting the warmth still flowing between them.
“Bria.” His voice came low and rough, a warning hidden inside it.
But Bria barely heard him. She remained caught within the overwhelming force of what he felt for her.
“You…” Her voice trembled softly. “How can you possibly feel that much for me?”
Kaelan’s jaw tightened. He could not be completely honest without revealing far more than he was prepared for her to know. And more dangerously still, part of him no longer cared if the truth came out.
“We barely know each other,” she said as he moved her hand off his chest to entwine his fingers with hers, understanding she was to look no further.
“It doesn’t always take time to come to know one another. Sometimes it simply happens.”
Bria thought about couples in Willowmere and other villages she had been called to. Women enjoyed sharing stories. Thestory most shared was how they knew their husband was the one, the one they would wed. Some did say that as soon as they laid eyes upon him, they knew. For others, it took a while. So, his explanation did make sense. But still, there was something else, something she had been beginning to feel when he moved her hand off his chest, something he did not want her to know… to feel.
She could not hold her tongue. “There is something you are not telling me.”
Kaelan held her gaze for several long moments unsure of what to do. He expected her to understand, but she wasn’t part of his tribe, so how could she?
Finally, a decision made, he gave a slight nod. “Aye, there is.”
Bria’s pulse quickened.
“Come and sit with me,” Kaelan said, keeping her hand firmly entwined with his as he guided her toward the bed near the hearth.
The fire burned brightly, keeping the cottage comfortably warm while the rain had begun to fall heavily against the window.
Bria sank down beside him upon the edge of the bed, their joined hands resting on his thigh that leaned against hers. An intimate scene one would see between a husband and wife, yet they were not. And yet… it felt as though they were.
Kaelan remained silent for a moment, more than just comfort stirring in him as he sat with the light touch of her leg against his. He cautioned himself to be careful. He had told her in time, but the realization that she wasn’t like him, did not understand the way of his tribe, did not understand what was happening to her, was not fair to her. She had to at least understand it and come to her own decision.
“I suppose it is time I told you more about myself.”
Bria studied him carefully, patience replacing some of the uncertainty inside her.
“I am listening,” she said, her heart thumping a little too rapidly as she wondered what she would learn.
A faint smile touched his mouth briefly before fading once more. “I come from the Thornek Tribe. We live in the southern reaches of Northland.”
