Page 8 of Surrendering to her Highland Captor
It looked entirely different, though no less appealing on his face.
“Ye are going to help me sneak back inside?” she asked incredulously.
“Of course. Ye can pretend ye fell asleep reading or something and did nae hear the calls for ye. I would hate to see ye in trouble and kept from visiting Laura. She loves it when ye come for a visit.”
Despite the kindness of his sentiment, Taryn’s heart still fell just a bit in knowing that James was only doing this for the sake of his sister.
“We all do,” he added under his breath.
It was said so quietly that Taryn didn’t think he would thank her for commenting on his remark, but it made her stomach flutter all the same.
The walk back felt so much faster than her journey out of the castle. Before she had thought of something clever to say, they were already halfway to the stables. She let her hands swing by her sides freely, hoping for the chance that her fingers would brush against his.
“How ye managed to charm Cook, I will never understand,” James told her with a smile and a shake of his head. “That old bat makes it clear to everyone how wee she cares for nearly all of us.”
“Well, I dinnae call her an ‘old bat’ for starters,” she said with a laugh. “Besides, there are few who can withstand my smile.”
It was a statement made in a fleeting moment of boldness. One that had her cheeks pink as she wished she could take the words back. The smell of hay and animals floated through the air, reminding her that her short time with James was about to end. It was the only thing that made her not regret her flirtatious comment.
She stepped under the stable roof, letting it block out what little remained of the sunlight. Her courage having bolstered again, she looked to find that James was now several steps behind her, unmoving and grinning, his green eyes wide. The sight of him, with his broad shoulders nearly taking up the width of the doorway, the golden sunlight coating him, and his tousled hair shifting in the breeze brought Taryn to a halt. She twisted on her feet and sent him a questioning look.
For that brief moment, neither of them moved. It was the kind of moment that Taryn could pretend she was a normal girl, not one whose entire life had been planned for her since the moment she was born. And James was a normal boy who was worthy of her attention, not someone her parents would claim was below her standing.
This was the rare kind of moment when Taryn nearly allowed herself to hope that her life could be different, that she might have a future with James, sisters and McGregor Clan business forgotten. The longer they watched each other, the more electric the moment became. Her stomach tightened, as if his hand were still there, pressing her into him.
James stepped toward her. It was the first time she had ever seen him timid. One step followed the next and with it, his jaw tensed decisively. The last steps he took to cover the distance between them were too fast for Taryn to stop. Before she knew it, his hand was on her face once more, brushing another stray tendril of her light blonde hair out of the way.
“Taryn, I?—”
The horse residing in the stall they were standing in front of let out a disgruntled whinny that made Taryn jump. James’ hand fell from her cheekbone and settled on the hilt of the sword he carried off his belt. She glanced at the rich brown coated horse with frustration at how quickly the moment between her and James could be ruined.
Opening her mouth to say something, though what she hadn’t figured out yet, Taryn looked back at James. He had moved once more until he was a respectable distance away and was no longer looking at her. Snapping her jaw shut, Taryn heard the voices James had picked up on.
“We can nae spare another second. Ye must go. Now.”
She desperately wanted to argue with him. To plead for a way out, the chance to spend her life with Laura and the rest oftheir family. She could work in the shop or live out on the road. She wanted to go anywhere but back inside her prison walls. But when he finally met her eyes, she saw the growing worry his held and said nothing. Her desires for freedom were not worth him losing his job over.
“I can go from here. Cook will let me in. I will take the servants’ passages back to my rooms. Dinnae fash. I will be fine.”
Taryn didn’t give James the chance to respond before she turned on her heel and walked inside.
The rich smell of spices and onions from the dinner Cook was preparing greeted her along with a worried look from Cook herself. Taryn offered no answers or placating reassurances. She simply kept going until she reached the darkened corner of the entrance to the servants’ hall.
“Oi! Ye cannae be in here, ye?—”
Cook’s shouts echoed off the stone walls, but Taryn paid them no mind. She knew it was nothing more than a wayward child looking to steal a roll or two. It wasn’t until a firm grip on her shoulder landed that she slowed to a stop.
“Dinnae be angry with me,” James whispered, his expression concealed by shadows. “It is nae that I wish to part from ye, only that I would nae like to see ye in trouble with the Laird. I think only of ye.”
Taryn nodded in a daze.
“Go now. I will see ye again soon.”
His order was softened by a kiss pressed to the cheek he had caressed twice already. Just as quickly as he had appeared, James left again, leaving her leaning against the wall for support as her fingers held the skin he had kissed.
The rest of the journey back to her rooms sent Taryn soaring. Her day had entirely turned around in a way she had never expected. Her mother’s earlier criticisms had disappeared the second Taryn had stepped foot outside. All she could think aboutnow was the way the trees whispered as they danced in the breeze, the way the bow had felt in her hands, James’ kindness, and his kiss.
Having completely forgotten herself, too distracted by the day, Taryn let the door to her room slam shut behind her. The noise reverberated through her empty chambers. She winced knowing exactly what was coming next.
