Page 41 of To Claim His Highland Bride

Despite the languidness that had stolen over her body, she stiffened at the thought of finding the water had risen even higher towards their safe platform. She sat up and Marcus did the same, reaching no doubt for his sporran and the flint and steel inside.

In the next moment, light flared. At first it was so bright she had to turn away from it, until her eyes adjusted. Once they did, she turned back towards the edge of the platform and released her breath in a rush. The water was no higher than before. In fact, it looked like it had receded ever so slightly. “Are we safe?” she asked hopefully.

“Not until the water recedes fully, but that prospect is growing more favourable with every passing moment.” He turned to her and smiled. Her chest tightened at the tenderness in his gaze as it passed over her body. “You are truly beautiful, Rowena MacLeod.”

She swallowed roughly, wanting to correct him. She was in every sense of the law a MacDonald, but she held herself in check. “You, Marcus, are everything a woman could ever want in a man. You are strong, yet also tender and loving.” In the golden light she studied him, trying to memorise the curves and lines of his body. This might be her last chance to see him naked. She would make that moment count.

His smile slipped as he stared at her for a heartbeat, then turned back to the lantern. “I should blow this out. We still need to conserve what candle wax we have left in order to find our way out of here.”

The world around them faded into velvet blackness once more. He set the lantern aside and shuffled back towards her. To her surprise, he settled beside her once more and pulled her tight against the wall of his chest. “Try to rest. It will still be a while until the water recedes.”

Rowena tried to sleep, but that forgetful state would not come. She was drowsy and her body was replete with satisfaction. Even so, deep inside, a lingering fear refused to go away. How long would this moment with Marcus last—a few more hours, perhaps a few more days?

She stared into the darkness, embracing the man in her arms. The water was receding. For however long that took, the dream of a loving husband who wanted her by his side would be a reality. They had been given a gift in this cavern, beyond time and place, where they could be lovers. Where she could pretend that the long, slow caresses and rich drugging kisses Marcus offered meant more than they did.

It was much easier in the darkness to show Marcus how much she cared about him through lingering kisses and intimate caresses. To show him what he meant to her that was still difficult to articulate in the light of day. To ignore risk and future plans.

To simply love him.

She pressed a kiss to his chest and snuggled deeper into his arms. She closed her eyes as love welled and poured through her. Sated, replete, and deeply satisfied, she surrendered to the darkness even as her lips silently mouthed a prayer. They needed a miracle to happen, and soon, if they were to have any sort of future at all.

Chapter Seventeen

Marcus listened to the slow, even sound of Rowena’s breathing as he stared out into the suffocating darkness. If she weren’t by his side, he would be terrified of the nothingness that stretched all around them. He tightened his arms around Rowena until the beat of her heart could be felt against his own. Yearning and tenderness unlike anything he’d ever known filled him.

He should not have taken what Rowena offered him, but he could not have stopped himself. The discovery of what she meant to him had shattered his control and torn aside the veil he had used to mask the truth even from himself. And now that they had shared their love again, he knew he would never be able to let her go. The love he felt in her every touch was even more compelling an argument for them to stay together than his guilt.

He had to find a way to make things right with both Rowena and the families of his men. This treasure was supposed to help Rowena fund a life of her own, without him. But he no longer wanted such a thing. He wanted her beside him every day and every night from this moment forward.

Marcus stared unseeingly into the darkness, turning over in his mind every possible way for him to remain with Rowena and yet still fulfil his duty to the families of the men he’d lost. Perhaps they should end their hunt for the remaining treasure. What they’d already found would keep everyone in a state of comfort for the rest of their lives.

A frown tugged at Marcus’s lips. He’d also exposed the location of Jacob Thorne’s treasure to every man on The Cliodna, to Bryce, and to Rowena. Had Bryce already found the treasure in the tunnel he had chosen? If not, would any of them return to Uamh Oir to retrieve what they might have failed to fully find during this attempt? Did he care that Jacob’s treasure was now exposed?

Marcus pressed his lips together. He didn’t care about the treasure itself. He did care about the lives that might be lost if anyone alone tried to retrieve the treasure.

God’s blood. They had come this far. Perhaps he should see the entire search through to either prove that nothing else existed deep in these caves, or that it did.

Alternatives skittered through his thoughts. Don’t think, not of tomorrow. His fingers reached out to sculpt Rowena’s body, reverently, possessively, still not quite believing that she was his.

She moved beneath his caress, sensuously, taking her time to let the pleasure of their lovemaking sink into her core. She cried out with satisfaction as he moved over her, parted her legs with his hard muscled thighs and with one powerful thrust, filled her. She arched beneath him and cried out again as passion crested quickly, breaking over them both in a long, glorious wave of ecstasy.

Holding the moment and each other they settled against their soft cocoon. Marcus pulled Rowena close as they both sank into slumber. He would solve all his problems when next he woke. Until then, he would cherish the woman in his arms as if they were the only two people left in this world.

*

Rowena woke suddenly and stared into the darkness. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed. Had she been asleep only minutes or had hours gone by? Even if they lit the lantern one more time, they would not be able to tell. Yet she knew even without the light that something was different.

A sound echoed through the cave.

She sat up, listening, but only silence settled around her and Marcus. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking. With a sigh, she ran her fingers over their clothing, trying to locate her stays. It took a while but she finally located something both soft and stiff. Pulling the garment free from its position just under Marcus’s right elbow, she wrapped it around her chest and started the arduous process of lacing the garment up without the aid of sight.

The echo came to her again. This time it sounded closer.

“Marcus.” Rowena shook his shoulder, trying to wake him. She could feel him bolt upright beside her, as though he’d forgotten where they were. “I heard an unusual sound.”

They both remained silent, listening. After several long moments the sound came again.

Marcus fumbled around in the darkness for a heartbeat before she heard a scratching sound and light flooded the chamber. It took a moment before Rowena could see as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. When she could, she looked to Marcus. “What do you think it is?”