Page 33 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“Thank ye, Hilda,” Aurora said, meaning each word more than she could ever possibly convey. She finished the last of the liquid, and she carefully placed the china back on its cup before standing. “The tea was wonderful.”

“Then I will gladly make it for ye whenever ye are havin’ trouble sleepin’,” Hilda promised as she crossed the room, offering Aurora her hand to walk her to bed.

After Hilda tucked Aurora comfortably into bed, she slipped out of the room. Alone once again, she finally felt the edges of her exhaustion creeping in. Her final thought as she drifted off to sleep was of that deer.

She was almost certain that there was a man on the animal’s back. It was not a deer. It was a horse. And part of her believed that the man atop it was Hendry.

* * *

Hendry did not bring his horse’s canter to a stop until he was at the bank of the loch. The crescent moon reflected off the surface of the water, a little ring of bright light against the inky depths. Ringlets of ripples that seemed to originate from a fish breaking through spread from the center all the way to the shore.

“Get yerself a drink,” he told his mare, patting her neck. His hand lingered on her strong, muscular neck. “And graze. The grass is sweet here.”

She snorted her thanks as if she were a human, dipping her head down to pull at the blades just beneath her. He had long suspected she understood every word he said to her, and this was just further proof. The animal was smarter than any other he had owned.

Pulling his doublet over his head, he walked toward the shore as the cool night air blew over his chest. After he dropped the garment in the dirt, he leaned down and unlaced his boots, sliding his finger beneath the leather thread that held them in place. Then, after removing his kilt, he waded into the cool water, letting it wrap around his body like a second skin.

When the memory of her lips against his came back once more, he growled before diving below the surface in a desperate attempt to banish the image and the sensation from his mind. He stayed under as long as he could, letting his lungs burn as he kicked his way through the water. He kept his eyes closed, feeling the drag of each stroke he took.

Coming up for air again, he leaned back, letting himself be held by the loch. He floated with his face turned to the sky, his arms stretched out at his sides. The stars twinkled, painting the sky with dots of yellow, orange, and blue.

As he traced the outlines of the constellations he knew, new ones began to form. He could not make them out, blinking as if it would rearrange the stars above. The shape of Aurora in the cloak came to him first when he forced himself to focus once more. Then, her face framed by the soft, bouncy ringlets of her hair. It was as if the curl of red stars in the sky were put there as a tribute to her, a portrait of the most ethereal woman that he had ever met. Even when he closed his eyes, she was still there.

She was always there.

“Ach, I cannae get her out of me head,” he growled, rolling himself over in the water, submerging his face once more as if it would banish the thoughts from his mind.

He swam a lap, pushing himself harder than entirely necessary. It was an attempt to exhaust his mind, to make it so he could think of nothing but the burning in his lungs and the pull of his hands in the water. Each time he kicked, it was with all of the power he could muster. But that proved fruitless as well.

As if his psyche was playing some sort of cosmic joke on him, the solidness of the water sluicing over his palm reminded him of the feel of her wrist. When he swam back to the shallow water, he stood and pushed his wet hair out of his face. Liquid slid down over his muscular chest and down the solid expanse of his abdomen.

Now that he had stopped moving, the energy in his body started to curl in his gut. It coiled between his legs, his cock twitching as the images of Aurora’s body came back full force, even worse now. He saw the swell of her breasts beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown.

Nay… I shouldnae.

Even as he thought it, his hands were trailing down the length of his torso. When the tips of his fingertips brushed against the base of his member, he pictured that they were Aurora’s graceful fingers. He went slow, trying to mimic the way that she would likely touch him.

His breath hitched when he finally wrapped his hand around himself. The relief was heady, though. The pressure that had been building ever since he saw Aurora walking through his herb garden was finally being released.

Slowly, as he thought of the softness of her skin and the warmth that seemed to radiate off her, his wrist began to move. It was unlike other times he had done this. Instead of the fast, desperate movements he usually defaulted to when he needed release, he went slow, the way he imagined she would if she were here.

A groan escaped his lips as he turned his face to the sky. The night air swirled around him, doing nothing to cool the fire that burned in his chest and seeped out of his pores. If anything, he only became hotter as he felt the ghost of her body pressed against his.

“Ach, Aurora,” he groaned, the coil in his belly getting tighter as his thumb ran over the tip of his length.

As he closed his eyes against the onslaught of pleasure, he saw that beautiful hair, the brilliant green of her irises. It was all he needed to send him over the edge. His breath hitched as her name fell from his lips, and his length kicked once in his hand. He spilled into the water, a low groan vibrating in his chest.

For a few minutes, it was as if the entire world had gone silent around him. His breath came in long, ragged pulls. Slowly, the sound of insects filtered back in. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees surrounding the loch.

Even now that he had purged himself of the desire, he could not shake the emptiness that had settled in his stomach. It was like he had a gaping hole in his soul, and Aurora was the only thing that would fill.

“Comin’ out here was a waste of me time,” he grumbled before diving below the surface of the water once more.

Taking one last lap around the area, he washed away the phantom touch of Aurora. Then, when he stepped out, he dressed once more. He waited for his mare to finish drinking before he threw himself back in the saddle and began his ride back to Castle Anderson.

I daenae ken how I am meant to handle her, nae when she twists me mind up like this.

Chapter Sixteen