Page 43 of Journey to the Scottish Highlands

Chapter Nine

The Ramblings was lit up inside with the sun spilling in through its mullioned windows.

Its golden kaleidoscope rays criss-crossed the tiled floor and staircase.

I shuffled inside with Evan at my back.

‘Mum? Dad?’ he called, his deep voice echoing around the space.

‘Your parents have gone out,’ replied Louise from somewhere around the corner. ‘Helping with a charity auction at the residential home.’

I could hear her shoes tapping on the tiles as she approached. ‘How are things? Oh!’ She saw me waggle my booted foot and wince. ‘What happened?’

‘I went for a woodland walk with Dane and ended up twisting my ankle on a rock.’

Louise clicked her tongue and crossed her arms over her aproned chest. ‘Och no! Was it up by that pine forest? With the picnic area? I overheard Dane asking you to go out for a walk earlier.’

At Louise’s words, I felt Evan stiffen beside me.

I nodded. ‘Yes. That’s the place.’

Louise indicated to my foot. ‘How is it now? Can I get you anything?’

‘No, thanks. It’s a lot better than it was.’

‘Well, just shout if you do need anything.’ She bustled off.

‘I still think you should pop a frozen bag of peas on it,’ insisted Evan. ‘It won’t do any harm.’

We’d reached the bottom of the staircase.

I put my right foot on the first step and slowly edged onto the next.

Evan folded his big arms behind me. ‘It’s going to take you about three hours to get up there at this rate.’

‘Well, what do you want me to do? Jump on a hovercraft?’

‘Very droll.’

Before I could say anything else, I felt the ground move away from me. Evan had swept me off my feet and into his arms. ‘What on earth…?!’ I gasped, finding myself staring up into his serious face. Part of me wanted to insist that he put me down right away. I could bloody well make it up those stairs by myself, thank you very much!

But the other half of me was savouring every moment of being held by this sexy, strong man. I wanted him to hold me like this. I wanted to breathe him in; feel his muscles around me; be protected by him; feel the thud of his heart against me. I wasn’t used to being protected or sheltered. I was used to being the independent one; self-reliant. Embarrassment flooded me as I found I liked it very much, especially as Evan was the one doing the looking after.

He held me as though I weighed nothing, gazing down at me for the longest time. His flickering, black lashes; the arch of his brows. Slowly, he proceeded to thud up each step of the ornate staircase in his walking boots, holding me in his arms.

Neither of us said anything. It was as though the only noise reverberating around the great hall was our breathing and the crashing of my heart.

My fingers located Evan’s neck, and I laced them around him as he continued to transport me upstairs. Common sense was screaming at me, but I refused to listen.

Evan’s black hair bounced against his forehead. I wanted to raise my hand and brush that irresistible flop of hair back from his face.

‘I’ll take you to your room,’ he murmured. His attention travelled to my mouth.

My insides turned to water. I couldn’t think properly. My head was lost.

This was wrong. I should’ve stumbled up the stairs by myself. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be in this position. I was making myself vulnerable. But despite the protests racing through me, my fingers tightened around Evan’s neck.

We reached my bedroom door, and Evan raised one booted foot and pushed against it. It swung open.