Page 41 of Highland Spy

They both laughed at that, even if the outcome was not a funny situation.

“I didna ken ye felt that way about me, Bridget.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her atop her head.

“I was afraid to get close to ye at first, Caleb, even if ye were the kindest person I’d ever met. I feel safe bein’ around ye. Aye, ye took my interest, but when ye started watchin’ my every move and followin’ me around and askin’ all those questions, I got scared. I didna want to let ye too close to me for fear ye’d find out my faither’s secret.”

“Ye mean yer secret, since ye were the one writin’ the chronicles all along and no one kent it.”

“Aye, that’s part of it, but no’ all of it.”

“There’s more?” he asked, holding her at arm’s length and looking into her eyes. “Bridget, please be honest with me and tell me everythin’.”

“I will. I will because I ken that I can trust ye now, Caleb. My faither is no’ only goin’ blind and canna hold a quill properly to write, but lately he’s becomin’ forgetful, and seein’ things that are no’ there.”

“Does this have somethin’ to do with why Lady Wren and my sister were givin’ ye herbs?”

“Aye. I asked for their assistance in healin’ my faither. The herbs help him to sleep, and he doesna have the hallucinations all the time, but he’s unstable. I never ken when he’s goin’ to act up. If the king finds out that I’ve been writin’ the chronicles and my faither is goin’ mad, I canna even imagine what might happen.”

“Bridget, it’s too risky. Ye need to stop all this. Isna there a way for yer faither to give up the job of bein’ the king’s chronicler? If so, then King Robert doesna ever need to find out ye’ve deceived him, and yer faither’s madness can hopefully be kept a secret forever.”

“I dinna ken how,” she said, shaking her head. “Especially since the Leader of the Lairds Competition is in process. The king wants everythin’ recorded. I have no idea how I’m goin’ to do that, and try to hide my faither’s illness at the same time.”

“I’ll help ye,” offered Caleb. “I will do whatever possible to help ye with this one last task, and then we’ll figure out a way for yer faither to stop bein’ the king’s chronicler.”

“Ye’d do that?” she asked, feeling hope for the first time in a long while. “Even after how my words embarrassed ye in front of all the lairds and the king? Why would ye do somethin’ to help me?”

“I’d do it because I care about ye, Bridget.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. “I’ve been attracted to ye since the first time I saw ye, even with those baggy clothes and with the way ye wore yer hair in braids like a child.”

She smiled at him. “Ye’re sayin’ ye’re attracted to lassies who look young?”

“Nay. I’m sayin’ I saw somethin’ in ye that no one else did. And dinna forget, ye’re a year aulder than me, so I guess I like aulder women.”

“Oh, Caleb, I really like ye, too,” she said, standing on her toes and kissing him. He kissed her back and, before she knew it, his hands started to wander. He lowered her down to the soft grass beneath them, laying her back and covering her with his body.

“We’re out in the open,” she reminded him, doing nothing to stop him when his hand covered one breast and he squeezed gently.

“We’re behind the trees and no one can see us from the road. If anyone comes, we’ll hear their horse long before they get here.”

“I’ve never done anythin’ like this before,” she told him, feeling herself coming alive under his touch. He lowered his mouth to her chest, kissing the skin just beneath her neck. And when his kisses went lower and she felt the air on her breast, she realized he’d pulled back her bodice and dipped below her shift to expose her. Then his mouth came down over her nipple and his tongue shot out, licking her, making her squirm beneath him.

“Do ye like that, lass?” he asked, his hot breath on her wet nipple exciting her even more.

“I do,” she admitted through ragged breathing.

He took her into his mouth, holding her breast with two hands, fondling her and making her go taut. His erection pushed up against her belly, and she felt his hardness right through his plaid.

“I canna help myself when I’m around ye, Bridget. Ye drive me out of my mind.” He continued to kiss her on the mouth as he let one hand roam down her hip, gripping at her plaid and slipping beneath it.

“Mmm,” he said against her mouth as he slowly slid his hand upward, sneaking a finger under her braies, touching her between her legs. Then, she felt his finger slip inside her and her body vibrated as she gasped aloud.

“What is it?” he asked her. “Did I hurt ye?”

Her heart was pounding wildly, sounding like thunder in her ears. She wanted this more than anything, but felt as if they were moving too fast and it frightened her.

“I – I think we should slow down, Caleb.”

“Why?” he asked, burying his face in her cleavage. When she felt his tongue against her skin again, she arched up beneath him, wondering what it would feel like to make love with Caleb. “Dinna ye want me?”

“Aye, I do,” she admitted. “But I dinna think it is the right time for this. Please.”