inclined his head, saying nothing more. He needed to seize control of his thoughts, to force the past back into the shadows.
‘Some of the women have agreed to return,’ Nairna told him. ‘Not everyone, but it’s a start.’ Twisting her hands together, she added, ‘Grizel isn’t among them, if that’s what you’re wondering.’
‘I wasn’t.’ He knew his mother had made her choice and nothing would soften her heart. He didn’t care what she thought of him, but it irritated him that she would also cut off Dougal.
The rain started to pour down at that moment and Nairna reached for him again. This time, her hand closed over his, and she pleaded, ‘Come inside. Take shelter with me.’
The sky had turned the colour of a dark bruise, while the rain intensified. It spattered upon her flesh and gown, giving him little choice but to follow her
As they entered the keep, he imagined peeling off her gown from her body, tasting the droplets of rain from her skin. He wanted to drink from her, to satiate the thirst that grew within him.
They crossed over to the spiral staircase, avoiding the crowd of women and children. He let Nairna lead him above stairs, and as she walked, he stared at her slender figure and the way her body moved with grace.
When they reached the bedchamber, he closed the door behind them and lowered the bar. Outside, the rain poured down upon the roof, the sound strangely comforting.
Nairna was saying something about Lord Locharr and the women, but damned if he had any idea what words had just come out of her mouth. He stared at her, mutely aware that she’d unfastened her hair and the wet strands rested upon her shoulders. She backed up to him, pulling her hair over one shoulder while she continued talking.
‘Will you help me with this?’ she asked.
Bram stared at her bared neck, and the urge to kiss the exposed skin grew stronger. Nairna struggled to lift away the sodden surcoat.
The damp silk was like a fire to his arousal, burning away his defences as he unlaced her. Beneath her gown, the wet shift revealed the dusky rose of her nipples. Lust speared him—God above, he wanted her. But he was afraid that if he dared to touch her, he would forget himself and behave like an animal.
Nairna went to search among her belongings and withdrew the smooth stone he’d given her before. ‘I kept this with me when you left to go after Callum. Like a charm to bring you back to me.’
She pressed it into his hand to hold, then unfolded something else. It was a faded crimson ribbon, ragged at the edges. She reached up to her wet hair and tied it back with the ribbon. ‘And you gave this to me when we were young.’
‘You kept it.’ He never imagined she would, after all these years.
‘It was the only thing I had left of you.’
Within her voice, he heard the unspoken longing and it fired his desire. He took the stone, bringing its smooth surface down the column of her throat. Wet from the rain upon her skin, he slid it further, until it rested upon her heart. ‘I remember when you used to bring me water, while I was training.’
Nairna covered his palm with hers and he slid the stone lower, beneath the curve of her breast, tracing around it. His wife’s breath sharpened, but she didn’t stop him.
‘I remember that I slept alone on my wedding night, when you should have been there beside me.’
‘I was sixteen and thoughtless.’ He brought the stone over her wet shift, using the gentle pressure to arouse her. Her nipple grew taut, straining through the fabric for his touch. He used the flat stone to caress her, before he brought her to sit upon a chair.
Kneeling before her, he remembered how sensitive her legs were. He touched her ankles and brought his mouth to her knees. He kissed the rounded skin as he caressed her calves. Immediately, tingles swept through her in response.
Her breathing grew unsteady, and her knuckles tightened upon the arms of the chair. He flicked his tongue behind her knee and she exhaled, reaching for his hair.
But he wouldn’t let her go. His hands moved over the softness of her legs while his mouth moved between her thighs.
Her womanhood lay bared before him, and when he spread her legs apart he could see the moist rose flesh. Though he was tempted to touch her there, he waited, letting the anticipation fill her as he kissed the soft skin leading towards it.
She closed her eyes, lifting up her face as if she couldn’t bear the intensity of his touch. Her cheeks were flushed, her body trembling.
His own hands began to shake and the room suddenly blurred before his eyes. Hell’s teeth, not this. Not now. He blinked, trying to clear away the dizziness.
‘Bram, what is it?’
He took a deep breath, but the chamber shifted again, the floor seeming to move beneath his feet. He couldn’t seem to regain control of his vision.
‘I need a moment.’ He turned away from her, striding to the window. He rested his hands against the stones, as if he could gain steadiness from them. The exhaustion of being without sleep for so long was making it harder for him to stand upright. The weakness infuriated him.
Behind him, he heard Nairna’s soft footsteps. She touched his arm, but he didn’t turn around. His hands dug into the limestone, trying to reclaim his hold upon the moment between them. But his body wouldn’t co-operate with the desires of his mind.
For a long moment Nairna said nothing, but merely rested her hand upon him. When he continued his silence, at last, he heard her retreating towards the bed.
‘It’s all right,’ he heard Nairna say. ‘Come and rest beside me. I won’t ask anything of you.’
Hearing the sadness in her voice made him even angrier at himself. He wanted to touch her, to satiate this reckless craving inside him. But he didn’t trust himself, not when his vision and senses were failing him.
‘Wait for me in the bed and I’ll join you later.’ Leaning against the hard back of the chair, he closed his eyes. The darkness enfolded him in its suffocating arms and he struggled to find control over his body and mind.
The rainstorm raged outside, but Nairna felt as if she might as well be caught in it. The shelter didn’t seem to matter, for her husband was slumped in a chair, his posture awkward.
What had gone wrong? One moment, he’d treated her like a desirable woman, while the next, he’d seemed unaware of his surroundings. Now, his eyes were closed, as if he were suffering in some way.
The wind battered the wooden shutters; the eerie sound seemed to disturb Bram within his sleep. He was mumbling something she couldn’t understand.
Nairna didn’t know what was happening, but she couldn’t simply remain in bed and wait. Bram’s eyes remained closed, but he sat up when another howl of the wind penetrated the space.
The shutter rattled against the window, grinding wood against stone. Bram’s eyes flew open at the sound.
‘It’s nothing,’ she reassured him. ‘Just the storm.’
But
