Debbie Mazzuca - Lord of the Isles

tion, Aileanna. What is it yer doin’ down here on yer own?”

She shrugged. “It was noisy and hot, and I wanted to go somewhere quiet.” Realizing she had invaded his privacy, she grimaced. “I’m sorry, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?

And now I’ve disturbed you. I’l just—”

“Nay, ’tis al right. And I did promise to bring you here, but as I remember it was to be after yer feet healed.” He raised a brow.

“They’re as good as new.” She lifted her foot and smiled at him.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and his gaze soft

ened. “The stones are not as smooth here. Why doona’ you let me carry you? ’Tis just beyond the bend where I mean to take you.”

Moonlight shimmering over the loch and the man of her dreams were a lethal combination. Afraid if he took her in his arms she’d never be able to let him go, Ali shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Give me yer hand at least,” he said quietly. Ali hesitated, then slid her hand into the warmth of his. She drew her gaze from their entwined fingers and met his.

“I’m glad you came, Aileanna. There’s somethin’ I wanted to talk to you aboot.”

“Oh no,” she groaned. “Can’t we cal a truce, just for one night? You won’t yel at me, and I won’t yel at you.”

Rory laughed and squeezed her hand. “Aye, a truce, but first you must let me apologize to you fer this afternoon. Sit here,” he said, leading her to a big, smooth-faced rock. 162

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“Thank you.” She smiled at him as he sat down beside her.

“To tel you the truth, I real y couldn’t understand how you expected me to apologize to that woman in the first place. I know you’re going to marry her, but after what she did—”

Ali shook her head. “It surprised me, it real y did. You always seemed fair, but this time . . .” At his silence she looked at him. “What?” she asked when she spied his incredulous ex

pression.

“Aileanna, ’twas no’ what I was apologizin’ fer. ’Twas fer later, when I—” He cleared his throat. “Interrupted yer bath.”

Ali felt the heat rise to her face at the memory. He looked down at his hands and shrugged his broad shoulders. “I ken there’s no excuse, but you took my breath away, and I’m thinkin’ my brains as wel . Yer a verra bonny woman, Aileanna, and I canna’ deny I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you.”

“Only because I remind you of your wife.” She forced the words past the lump in her throat.

“Mayhap in the beginning, but no longer.”

“Why are you tel ing me this now? Nothing can come of it.” Her heart hammered in her chest. Could it? What if he told her he loved her, that he wanted her to be his wife and not Moira? Would she agree? No matter how hard she’d tried not to fal in love with this man, she had. He was everything she wanted. But could she stay here, in a time where she didn’t belong? Yes, yes, yes, the little voice in her head shouted. Lifting her eyes to his, seeing the ten derness there, she knew she had to try. To give them a chance. If she didn’t, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. He ran his knuckles along her cheek. “I ken that, but I need you to ken that I wish things were different. I have to do this fer the clan, Aileanna. Too many lives depend on the union.”

Ali felt like crawling under the rock. How could she have been so foolish as to al ow herself a glimmer of LORD OF THE ISLES

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hope? Rory was too loyal, too honorable to do anything other than what he had decided to do, and it was one of the reasons she loved him. She struggled to keep her emotions in check and looked away so he would not see how painful his words were for her to hear.

It was a cruel twist of fate that had brought her into his life. If only she had been born in this time, in this place, then his clan would accept her. And maybe she would have had family connections that would have made her as much an asset to him as Moira.

With a gentle touch of his fingers to her cheek, he forced her to look at him. “The last thing I want is to hurt you, Aileanna. I wish there was a way I didna’ have to.” He looked deep in her eyes. “Mayhap it would be best if we went back.”

She placed her hand over his fingers. “Not yet. Please.”

If this was to be their only time together, she needed to make it last. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped her in his powerful arms. “Al right. This night wil be ours, but only tonight. You understand I canna’ put it off any longer, Aileanna. On the morrow I must sign the papers.”

She wanted to rage at him, to cry out at the unfairness of it, but she couldn’t. In her heart, she knew it was what he had to do. She wouldn’t want him to risk the lives of his clan because of her, to have him live with that on his con science for the rest of his life. He would never forgive her, and she would never forgive herself. Ali snuggled into the warmth of his embrace and nodded, unable to speak, to control the hot tears that slid down her cheeks.

Rory groaned. “Nay, Aileanna, yel at me, anythin’ but yer tears, lass.”

“I’m not crying,” she said, her words muffled against his chest. “I’m tough, Rory MacLeod. I don’t cry.”

He tilted her head back and captured a teardrop on his 164

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fingertip. “Be strong, mo chridhe, fer me. I canna’ bear yer tears.”

Ali gave him a watery smile and wiped her eyes. “I’l try.” There was so much more she wanted to say to him, but the words wouldn’t come. Her heart ached, and she needed to put some distance between them if only to gain a semblance of her self-control. She lifted his arm from her chest and pressed a kiss to his palm.

“Where are you goin’?” he asked when she stood up.

“Over here,” Ali said as she walked to the water’s edge. She removed her slippers and dipped her toes into the foam that rol ed onto the pebble-lined shore. Lifting the hem of her gown, she trailed her foot through the froth in a circular pattern.

Rory embraced her from behind, pressing her back to his chest. “That’s how I’l remember you, Aileanna. Playin’ in the loch with moonbeams in yer hair. I’l no’ forget you, lass. Til the day I die, you’l hold a piece of my heart.”

Chapter 14

As they neared the edge of the clearing and Dunvegan loomed before them, Rory stopped. They could go no farther without being seen and he needed to touch her, look into her eyes one more time before he said good-bye. It had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, not to kiss her lips, to find a soft place to lay her down and love her like he wanted to. But he knew if he did, he’d never be able to let her go, and he would not dishonor Moira, or Aileanna, by lying with her He brought their entwined hands to his lips, and kissed her palm. She looked up at him, moisture gathered in her eyes, and he framed her face. “You promised.”

She attempted a smile, but her bottom lip quivered and she caught it between her perfect white teeth. “I didn’t . . . didn’t think it would be this hard.”

He groaned, and pul ed her against him, burying his face in her silky hair, breathing her in as though to keep some part of her with him. “Doona’ be angry, lass, but I pray Angus sends word soon. I canna’ bear to think you suffer because of what I must do.”

She tipped her head back and placed two fingers on his lips. “Don’t worry, Rory, I won’t be here much longer. And 166

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if this is to be our good-bye, there’s something I have to ask you to do for me. I need you to make me a promise.”

“What is it, Aileanna? I would give you whatever you want, you must ken that.”