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“We are doing this for Gillian,” she said as if reminding herself.
Fin nodded. “Aye. We’re doin’ this for Gillian.”
Ivy clenched her jaw and tried to quiet the voices in her mind that continued to whisper to her about loyalty to her family. Protecting her family. It was something her father had drilled into them as children - no matter what happens or what they do, always protect the family. The family always comes first.
But Gillian is family too, is she not? I love her as I would love a sister. And if Castor tried to harm her, it is my duty to see that justice is done upon him.
“Are ye all right?”
She looked up at the big Scotsman and smiled warmly. “Yes. I am just trying to reconcile all of this in my own mind,” she said softly. “It is a lot to take in.”
He nodded. “Aye. I understand. If somebody asked me tae spy on Col, I reckon I’d be feelin’ the same way ye are right now.”
She nodded. “Yes. It is difficult,” she replied. “But it is the right thing to do. Gillian is a sister to me.”
Fin pursed his lips and nodded, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he just continued staring down at her, those rich, dark eyes of his filling her with a growing warmth and a flutter in places that made her blush. She tried to banish those thoughts, knowing how improper and inappropriate they were.
“Also, there is the possibility that you will find nothing,” she said, trying to muster some cheer. “It is possible that Castor had nothing to do with the assassination attempts.”
Fin put on a smile that, to her eyes, looked wooden and false. “Aye. Tis a possibility.”
Ivy looked up to the sky and watched the clouds overhead as they grew thicker and darker. What was left of the afternoon sunlight was already starting to grow dim, and a chill wind suddenly swept through the abandoned village, carrying with it the whispered promise of rain.
“We do not have much time left before I must return,” she said. “I do not wish to be caught in the rain.”
Fin nodded. “Aye. I daenae want ye tae be caught in the rain either,” he said. “But, I hope that two days from now ye’ll meet me here again.”
Ivy’s face flushed, and she looked down at the ground, her heart thumping wildly inside of her. She knew it would be scandalous if she were caught out here with Fin. She knew her brother would come unhinged and would no doubt seek to punish her harshly for behaving so improperly and in such an unladylike way. He would be incensed by his perception that she tarnished the family name. That she behaved like a common harlot.
There were a thousand different reasons Ivy knew she should not agree to meet Fin again. And yet, as she looked into his eyes, those reasons all fell away, and all she could see was his face and those dark sultry eyes. Her body longed for his touch, longed to know what he felt like beneath hers. It was improper, but Ivy was drawn to him physically, every bit as strongly as her heart called out for him.
“I - I would like to see you again,” she asked.
He nodded. “Aye. I’d like tae spend more time with ye.”
“I just — I am worried, Castor…”
She did not finish the sentence, but she could see by the expression on Fin’s face that she didn’t need to. He understood without her spelling it out for him.
“Tell ye what,” he said. “I’ll be here by midday at the latest. And if ye can come, I’d like tae see ye. But nay pressure. If you cannae get away, I understand.”
Ivy smiled. He had given her a way out if she chose to take it. Everything inside of her wanted to say yes, but her mind could not quite make the turn just yet. She still worried about being found out by Castor and what he might do.
“Daenae do anythin’ rash. If ye cannae get away without bein’ found out, I’ll come back tae Elix on me own and we can talk about - what we need to talk about,” he said. “And we can spend some quiet time together since I doubt yer braither will want tae be ‘round me much.”
Ivy nodded and laughed softly. “No, I do not think spending time with you is at the top of his list of things he would like to do.”
“Tae be fair, spendin’ time with him’s nae at the top of ma list either.”
She laughed as Fin took her by the hand and led her back to her horse. He put his hands on her waist and stepped closer to her, their gazes locked, the air between them crackling with a sense of anticipation. Perhaps a sense of expectation. Whatever it was, Ivy felt as if her skin was on fire. She licked her lips, which were suddenly dry and swallowed hard.
His eyes smoldered, and there was a tension in his body that matched her own. A shudder passed through her that made her knees feel weak. If Fin hadn’t been holding onto her, Ivy was not sure she could have stood upright on her own. The space that surrounded them was charged and felt like the air right before a lightning strike. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and sent goosebumps marching across her flesh.
Ivy’s mind swirled with a hundred different competing thoughts and emotions. She was filled with a longing and desire she’d never felt before, and it made her heart flutter wildly. She knew this was wrong and that she should not yearn for Fin’s touch. For his kiss. For more. Those things should be reserved for her husband. But Ivy could not deny that she wanted those things with Fin. Wanted them with everything in her, the desire so powerful, it nearly took her breath away.
Slowly, as if drawn by some inexorable force, Fin leaned down, moving closer to her, and Ivy felt her breath quicken as her heart beat harder and faster than it ever had before. She felt as if it would explode inside of her, and she trembled wildly.
“Wh - what are you doing?” she whispered.
