Page 87 of Enchantment of a Highlander

“And you’ve been here too long.” There was no pity in his tone.

Moments later, the cell door screamed open and the guard shoved Fiona’s battered form into the cell. Celia caught her and eased her to the floor, a feat easily done with the woman weighing so little now.

Fiona’s gaze met hers and watered with tears Celia had never seen and she immediately knew without having to be told—Fiona had broken.

For her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Celia lay with her eyes closed despite the sunlight on her face. Sleep would come no longer, but savoring it, savoring Alec, still brought great comfort. She rubbed her cheek against the heat of his chest, savoring the intimacy, the comfort of him.

His hand trailed a lazy path down her spine before resting on the curve of her bottom, eliciting an excited shiver from her.

“Are ye awake?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

She opened her eyes to the brilliance of a new day and nodded. “The sun has been up for a while,” she said.

“Ach, I know.” He rubbed her bottom with his palm before giving it an affectionate pat. “I canna remember being so exhausted.”

She turned her face into his chest, as if she could press away the memories of the middle of the night and her confession of her ridiculous fear of the dark.

“Last night, I was foolish.” Her face went hot. She glanced around the room to where countless pools of expensive wax flickered with struggling flames. The bath sat before the blackened hearth, cold and still in the daylight.

“I disagree. I dinna know what ye’d been through, I dinna know—”

“That I’m afraid of the dark, like a child?”

His hand caressed her jaw. “Ye were a wee thing, too wee to be in prison.”

“You used a fine number of candles on my fears,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.

“If ye fear the dark and I can make it light for ye, I will.” His gaze narrowed. “I’ll always protect ye.”

A knot tightened in her chest and welled high in her throat. She’d always known this. Even when they first met, she knew this.

It was why she’d never told him her story. She didn’t want his fierce protection.

She didn’t want him in danger.

Alec propped himself on his elbow and gazed down at her. His fingertip skimmed over her shoulder and around the curve of her breast.

Her heart pattered faster, much to her chagrin. For all her regrets, she did not wish to give in to her body’s desires.

Not now.

His hand dipped lower and brushed across her stomach.

She sucked in a breath in anticipation, but he did not go any farther. Instead, he spread his hand over her belly and held it there.

She glanced up at him and found a slight smile tugging the corners of his lips upward.

“What are you doing?” she asked, curious.

He did not take his eyes from her stomach. “Imagining ye swollen with our child.” His gaze dragged to her face. “Ye’d be verra lovely.”

The hair on her arms prickled. She would be no less shocked if he had plunged her into the cold remnants of their bath. “You’d have me be pregnant with your bastard?”

His face pulled down in a frown. “I’d have ye as my wife, Celia.”