Page 23 of Duncan

“Naught, brother. She must decide for herself.” Shaw reached out and rested his hand on her bright apricot hair for a moment. “I shall come if you need help calming her. The beast’s half in love with her.” After that astonishing statement he left, and then the voices in the hall dwindled as the others departed as well.

Duncan finished dressing Nicole’s back and went to his work table to prepare a tincture for a brew that would ease her pain when she woke.

I’ve never seen anyone calm an animal so quickly.

The beast’s half in love with her.

What the diver and the chieftain had said about Nicole made him think of the gulls that had surrounded him and Nicole in the dunes. She had attracted birds, calmed a terrified horse, and even charmed the murderous Pritani spirit inside Shaw. Her effect on Merrick’s messenger might be something similar, for the aquatics had come to the mortal realm thousands of years in the past from another world. For centuries they had bred with mortal females they transformed to live underwater with them, yet they were still not human.

Could her boon be this control over non-human beings? If that were so, then why had she acquired the ability to take the wounds and emotions from any living thing she touched?

“I lied about my name because I thought I’d been kidnapped,” Nicole said from behind him, her voice low. “I wanted you and the others to think you’d grabbed the wrong girl. Being abducted has always been a danger for me because my father is worth billions. But I don’t believe you brought me here to hold me for ransom, at least, not anymore.”

Duncan went on working. “You feign swooning so you may eavesdrop on others.”

“Of course I do. I have to protect myself, and no one here seems particularly guarded about what they say.” She sighed. “Where did Shaw go?”

“Out.” He recalled what the chieftain had said about his beast and Nicole. “’Tis something I should warn you; Shaw cannae lose his temper. Such a thing, ’twould permit the beast overtake him.”

“I’ll remember that.” She closed her eyes. “By the way, my back doesn’t hurt at all now, and I’ve gotten over the shaking, too. Thank you for taking care of me.”

He set a kettle of water on the hearth crane hook to boil before he went to her, and saw some color had returned to her pale cheeks. “’Tis my duty, Mistress Fairley.”

“It’s Fairburn.” Nicole sounded regretful now as she looked at him. “I told you my real name when we spoke through my aunt’s pendant. Why didn’t you tell everyone that I was lying?”

“When you called yourself Fairley, I reckoned I’d misheard you.” Duncan couldn’t resist reaching to touch her hair, and then saw her give an odd wriggle. “If you’re in pain, I’m making a brew that shall help.”

“Honestly, my back doesn’t hurt, but it is starting to itch.” She tried to reach back with one hand, and then looked up at him. “I think the dressing is irritating my skin.”

He eased back the collar of the lined vest, but all he saw by her nape was a fresh pink scar. He eased the material away, watching for fresh bleeding, but all he exposed was more scarring and some loosened scabs.

“Your wounds, they’ve healed.” He realized something else. “I never took on your pain, either, lass. I think touching you removes my own mortal weakness.”

“That seems unlikely.” She sat up, catching and holding the front of her bodice against her breasts. “Maybe you were so distracted by what happened that you didn’t notice it this time.”

“With her touch, every lady from your time ousts the mortal weakness from the MacMar that finds her.” He couldn’t judge if she believed him. “Your boon, ’tis more than absorbing the wounds of others. I reckon within an hour you heal yourself as well.”

“How nice for me.” She climbed off the table and turned away as she eased her arms into her sleeves. “Could you find something you can use to fasten the back of my gown?”

Chapter Six

The clan’s healer was proving far more perceptive than Nicole thought, and Duncan’s sudden interest in her promised even more trouble for her. Since he obviously only wanted to use her ability to eliminate his own weakness, she could manage him, but she would have to keep her distance as well. She didn’t understand why that depressed her; it wasn’t as if she wanted to be around the handsome healer.

Why do I want to touch him every time he’s near me?

He took a braided length of thin leather from a box and brought it over to her. “This shall do, I think. With your permission, my lady?” When she nodded he stepped behind her, and started weaving something through the two back panels, drawing them together as he did. “’Tis soon time for the evening meal. Shall I bid a maid bring you a tray?”

The brush of his fingertips on the skin of her back sent bright shafts of heat and a river of deep, aching desire through her body.

“I’m not very hungry, thank you.” She tried not to shiver, but with him touching her it was becoming almost impossible. “While we were talking, Caroline suggested that all the women who came to the island from my time needed to heal and be healed by the clansman they first met. I don’t think that applies to you and me.”

His hands stilled for a moment, and then he asked, “Why say you such?”

“Other than the attempt on my life, I haven’t suffered betrayal or heartbreak in my past. I have only one friend, a cousin, and our relationship is mostly superficial. Since I graduated from college I’ve been working to help others, but otherwise I don’t get involved with people.” She waited for him to agree, and when he didn’t she prompted, “Are you any different?”

“Other than outliving a few mortal lovers, none of whom I loved, I’ve no tragedies in my past. My brother Nyall and I oft agree on matters, but we’re no’ close. With my work I’ve no time for friends. It seems we’re much the same.” He finished lacing up her gown, and turned her around to inspect the front of her bodice. “You’re a maiden, then?”

It took her a moment to realize what he meant.