Before Mairi spotted him, Ronan unwrapped the still grumbling pup and held him up to the cold rain. The snarling puff of gray black fur melted down into a shivering rain-slicked creature. Ronan chuckled. “Yer a sight now, wee bastard. Ye look t’be more rat than dog.”
The puppy flattened its tiny ears against its bobble head, bared his teeth, and growled even louder.
“Mind yer manners now. Yer about t’meet a verra special woman. Ye must win her heart for me.” Ronan reached down, raked his fingers through the wet grass, then smeared bits of dried leaves and debris all over the little dog. There. Now the wee beastie truly looked to be a stray.
“Mistress Mairi.” Ronan hurried to catch up with Mairi before she wormed her way between the slick gray trunks of a cluster of knotted saplings.
Mairi turned. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she slicked the back of her hand across her forehead and pushed back her rain-soaked curls. “You followed me?”
Ronan sucked in a deep breath and sent up a silent prayer. He’d never been good at the telling of tales. Máthair was proud he couldna lie, but Ronan was none too sure the ability would no’ be a bit handy to have once in a while. “Mistress Eliza told me about yer lost animal. Yer wolf.” There, that part was no’ a lie. “I wish t’help ye.” He held out the bedraggled puppy toward her. “I found this wee mite. He’s no’ a wolf, but he looks t’be needed.” Ronan held his breath and silently begged the vicious wee bugger to turn on whatever charm he possessed in his scrawny body.
The shivering puppy obliged with a pitiful whine.
Mairi’s lower lip quivered as she rushed forward and scooped the whimpering bit of wet dog out of Ronan’s hands. “Poor thing. He’s soaked to the skin.” She cuddled him against the curve of her throat and cupped her hands over him. “I know you’re cold. It’s gonna be all right. I promise.” Mairi gently held the pup close as she yanked the hemline of her shirt up over his shivering little body. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the motion exposed a tempting expanse of her creamy stomach above her low-riding jeans.
Ronan nearly groaned aloud. By the gods, he needed this woman. “Here.” Ronan shook out his plaid and cocooned it around Mairi and the little dog. He breathed in her warm sweetness as he hugged the wrap around her, pausing to enjoy her closeness as long as she allowed. “I dinna wish either of ye to take chill.” His spirit soared as Mairi barely leaned into him and nodded.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She pecked a quick kiss atop the puppy’s head. “That’s much better, isn’t it?”
Ronan wasna sure if Mairi was speaking to him or the dog. He best stay silent. If he spoke, he risked breaking the fragile spell keeping Mairi in his arms.
The puppy made happy grunting sounds as he rooted tighter into the curve of Mairi’s neck. Mairi smiled up at Ronan. “Thank you.”
Her smile quivered at the corners then disappeared. Ronan’s heart sank as her red-rimmed eyes blinked hard against fast-forming tears. “But what am I going to do? I can’t find my dog. I’ve already called the authorities and they swear they don’t have him—yet.” The tears spilled over, rolling crystal drops of sorrow down her pale cheeks. She hiccupped a pitiful squeaking sound and ducked her head. “I can’t find my dog and I’m afraid what might happen to him if I don’t get him back home.”
May the gods forgive me for causing her this pain. Ronan gently pulled her closer, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek atop Mairi’s bowed head. “There now.” Ronan smoothed his fingers across her wet curls. Damnation, I am such a fool. Why the hell had he no’ stayed hidden until he’d resumed his human form? “Perhaps yer dog wasna meant t’stay longer.” Ronan struggled, searching for the right words to bring her comfort. “Souls come and go in our lives. They stay ’til they’ve served their purpose. Then they move on.”
Mairi sniffed and gently pulled away as she looked up at him. “What purpose could he have served in the short time he was with me? I was just beginning to get to know him…to get attached to him.” Her voice echoed with bitterness, warning Ronan he best choose his answer carefully.
Moving ever so slowly, Ronan slid a crooked finger under Mairi’s chin and eased his arm back around her. “Perhaps the dog was sent to tell ye ’tis no’ such a bad thing to open yer heart to another. Perhaps he was a messenger of sorts…to tell ye that yer no’ meant to be alone.”
Mairi hitched in a quick intake of breath as Ronan leaned closer. He must taste her, must seal this tenuous connection with a kiss. He bit back a groan as Mairi ducked her head and rolled out of his embrace.
Keeping her head tucked against the tiny dog cuddled to the crook of her neck, Mairi turned back toward the drenched rolling green of the park dotted with benches, statues, and carefully tended shrubs. “I haven’t covered half the garden. I could still find him. Princes Street Gardens is huge and has lots of hidey-holes he could find.”
Frustration pricked at Ronan, heating him against the cold, freezing rain. How the hell could he convince the woman she’d no’ find the wolf because he stood before her as a man? ’Twas no’ the time to confess all. That certainty settled like a stone in the center of Ronan’s gut. He had no choice. At least while he helped her search for the wolf she’d never find, she might grow a bit closer to him.
Ronan scanned their surroundings then pointed to a bedraggled grove of trees bent low with the freezing rain. If he were still the wolf, he’d take shelter there. “In weather such as this, there be but two reasons an animal would no’ be hunkered down within a shelter such as those trees or perhaps a cave.”
Mairi wrapped the plaid tighter about her shoulders and pulled the hood of her jacket farther over her face. “Food or a mate. I know. I get that.” She squinted against the rain as she turned and scanned the park. “See, that’s just it. I know he’s hungry. I saw it in his eyes. That’s why I left him alone. I went to the market to get him some food.”
I wasna hungry for food. Ronan motioned her forward toward the narrow path winding through the park. “Come. We’ll walk this place through and see if we can find yer wee dog searching for a meal.” A comforting warmth spread through him as Mairi rewarded him with a grateful smile.
“I really appreciate your help.” She glanced up at the dreary sky, blinking against the sleeting rain, then frowned as her gaze returned to him. “You’re getting soaked to the skin. I can’t believe Eliza didn’t give you one of her umbrellas.” She shrugged the plaid away from her shoulders and held it out to him. “Here. You need this more than I do. My jacket will keep us dry.” The bedraggled wet pup poked its glistening black nose out of Mairi’s shirt, looked at Ronan, and growled.
Ronan took the plaid, shook it out, and draped it back around Mairi’s shoulders. “Nay. The wool of m’colors will keep ye a far sight warmer than yer wee jacket.” How could she think he’d take back his plaid and leave her to the likes of some sort of waistcoat that looked to be thin as a monk’s parchment?
The damning furrow between Mairi’s dark brows deepened. “You’re going to end up with pneumonia.” With one hand, she yanked the plaid away from her body and held it out to him. “Put this on…please. I don’t want to be responsible for your getting sick and ending up in the hospital.” She shoved the plaid toward him again. “I’m already in enough hot water with Eliza. If you get sick, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Ronan stopped walking. Damn, the woman was stubborn. He knew how to end this. “Look. Over there. Is that yer missing dog?” He pointed to a dense cluster of beech trees.
Plaid and weather forgotten, Mairi whirled to look. “Where?”
“I’m certain I saw movement beside yon hedge upon the hill.” Ronan left the path, hurrying toward the indicated spot with long, ground-eating strides. He dare no’ look her in the eye. She’d ken for certain he was telling tales.
Plaid bunched under one arm and the other arm holding the pup tight inside her jacket, Mairi scurried past him. When she reached the hedge, she bent low with a bobbing up-and-d
own weave, searching the shadows beneath the drooping branches of the bush. “Are you sure? I don’t see anything.” She straightened and looked back at Ronan, frustration and worry etched across her pale features.
Guilt thumped him dead center of his chest. This farce was madness. He couldna keep toying with the lass. ’Twas not honorable. “Perhaps no.” He stole a glance up at the ever-darkening sky. “The day grows short and the weather grows worse. Come. Let us go. We’ll no’ find the lad today.” He reached out his hand, silently praying she’d take it. “Come, lass.”
As if to add credence to his words, a harsh gust of wind shoved against them and the sleeting rain increased to a stinging deluge. Ronan held his hand higher and eased a step closer to the steep incline. “Come, mistress.”
Mairi shuddered with a heavy sigh; her sad gaze focused on Ronan’s outstretched hand. “I guess you’re right.” She carefully picked her way forward and slid her cold pale fingers into his palm.
Ronan gently eased her down the hillside, steadying her as she carefully picked her way down the slope made all the slicker by the frozen rain building up on the grass.
“Shit!” Mairi jerked sideways in an awkward sliding dance and skittered forward.
Ronan caught her up against his chest with a solid thump. “I’ve got ye, lass. I’ll no’ let ye fall.”
Arms pinned between them, Mairi hitched a quick intake of breath, looked up at him, and smiled. “Thank you.” Her gaze faltered lower, shifting to his mouth.
Now. Instinct urged Ronan on. He must have a wee taste of her or die in the tryin’. “Yer quite welcome, lass,” he whispered. With the barest touch of his thumb, he smoothed a wet curl from her cheek and eased in closer. Mairi’s lips parted, waiting, tempting, filling him with hope. Aye. I canna stop now.
Mairi didn’t lean in, but Ronan thanked the gods when she didn’t repeat what she’d done earlier and roll free of his arms. He tightened his embrace lest she change her mind. Moving with painstaking care, he brushed the gentlest of kisses across the seam of her barely parted lips. Such softness. Such sweetness. Divine pleasure in a touch.
Her tensed body relaxed in his arms. With a heart-hammering moment’s hesitation, she leaned into him. Ronan’s hopes soared. He deepened the kiss, opened her mouth wider, and delved deeper. Mine. Ronan stroked a thumb along her cheekbone as he tenderly nibbled at her bottom lip, savoring the taste of her. Mine forevermore.
Mairi’s hand fluttered against his chest and she finally pushed away. She ran the tip of her tongue along her reddened lips as she gripped the plaid bunched in her arms with a trembling hand. “Who are you? Really.”
Ronan swallowed hard then sucked in a deep breath. “I am a lost soul, searching for the other half of my heart.” Lore, dinna let her cast me away.
Mairi’s dark brows knotted over her troubled eyes. “That’s no answer. Who are you and where did you come from?” Her voice quivered as she took another step back.
Ronan sensed now was not the best time to reveal all. The connection with Mairi was still too tenuous. Damn, he wished ’twas an easier way to win her. He’d never been good at charming women. He’d never known what the hell to say. Ronan lifted a hand and waved it in a slow arc around him. “I am from here. This land gave birth t’me. I have always been…here.” He hastened to continue as Mairi’s eyes narrowed. “I tire of being alone. Are ye no’ weary of loneliness yerself?”
“I have my family…my sisters. And Eliza.”
“Ah but that’s no’ the loneliness I mean. Ye know of what I speak.” Ronan missed the soft warmth of her against his chest. He’d give anything to hold her again.
“I’ve always been alone—in the way you mean.” Mairi shrugged as she hugged the puppy now sleeping against her chest and kept her gaze trained toward the ground. “I’m pretty much used to it.”
“Ye can change it.” Ronan eased a step toward her, keeping his voice gentle and low. “Give me a chance, Mairi. All I ask is that ye give me a chance.” Ronan took another step toward her and snugged the plaid better around her shoulders. “Ye felt the connection when first we met. Do ye no’ wish it to be so—wish it to become stronger?” He held his breath as Mairi looked up at him, studying him as though trying to see inside his soul.
“You felt it too?”
“Aye, lass. I felt it.” Ronan eased her back into his embrace, grateful to his core when she didna pull away. “And I swear t’ye, I’ll no’ be letting ye go.”
Mairi shivered as she glanced up at him then gently turned herself out of his arms. “We need to get home.” She sniffed as she cast one last forlorn look around the drenched chilly landscape. “I hope wherever my dog is…he’s not suffering.” A heavy sigh escaped her as she turned and headed toward the road. “We need to go home,” she repeated. “Come on. We’ll get everyone dried off and fed.”
Ronan slowly blew out the breath he’d been holding. ’Twas no’ exactly the response he’d hoped for but ’twas a start.
Chapter 7
Mairi stole a glance at Ronan sitting at the kitchen table. He was scowling into a ceramic mug clutched against his chest, tamping down bits of dried dog food into puppy-size pieces with the thick handle of a wooden spoon. One painstaking nugget at a time, Ronan added more kibble to the mash of meaty canned dog food in the bottom of the cup and crushed it.
He’s…different. The carefully erected wall Mairi kept around her heart weakened with every crunch of the spoon handle. Ronan’s kiss had already done major damage to the wall—shaking it down to its freaking foundation. Mairi brushed her fingertips across her mouth. She’d never been kissed like that before. It had felt like…Like what? Mairi pressed her lips together hard with the memory. A claiming. That’s exactly what the kiss had transmitted. Ronan had laid claim to her and that kiss was the first of his markers.
Ronan’s wet shirt clung to his broad shoulders, shimmering dark and powerful in the black silk stretched taut across his chest. They were both still soaked to the bone and cold as hell, but Ronan hadn’t even blinked when Mairi had said the puppy had to be dried off and fed before they tended to themselves. He’d definitely gained major points for that one and demolished a few more bricks in the wall around her heart. The piercing shriek of the teakettle interrupted the tallying of Ronan’s infiltrate-her-heart score.
Ronan stood so fast that the kitchen chair tipped backward and rattled to the floor. In one smooth motion, he slid a dagger free of his boot and stepped in front of Mairi. “What demon wails so?” He stared at the sputtering teakettle as though expecting it to unleash a monster at any minute.
Mairi tucked the towel-wrapped puppy closer and pushed her way back around Ronan. “It’s the steam whistling out of the kettle. It lets you know when the water’s ready.”
Was he serious? Mairi glanced at him as she scooped up the hot pad, wrapped it about the black handle of the kettle, and moved it to a back burner. She flicked the knob to the off position and the blue flames disappeared. When she turned with the kettle in one hand, she nearly dropped it. Ronan was staring at the kettle and stove as though Mairi had just performed the greatest trick on earth.
“Ye control the flame too.”
“Have you never seen a gas cooktop before?” Mairi poured a bit of the steaming water into a shallow bowl. How could a chieftain of a clan be unfamiliar with something as simple as a gas stove? The most likely answer nudged at the back of her mind then sank like a weight to the pit of her stomach. Mairi returned the kettle to the stove and ignored the worrisome voice whispering what she didn’t want to acknowledge. He’s from the past. You know he is. Mairi shook away the thought. He couldn’t be from the past. Unless…Mairi paused as the sacred creed of the time runners clicked through her mind.
Bloodline holds the gift to dance across the ages.
From mother to daughter the gift shall pass.
The eldest daughter of each generation shall control the most power.
A loyal familiar, a guardian, shall join t
he eldest daughter at birth.
Males shall only travel the web when chosen or sent forth by a runner.
A male chosen or sent forth by a runner. Mairi studied Ronan closely. Eliza couldn’t have pulled him from the past, but Granny, Trulie, or Kenna damn sure could’ve sent him forward to twenty-first-century Edinburgh.
Ronan cleared his throat as he straightened and slid the dagger back inside his boot. “There is no’ such stove in the kitchens of Draegonmare.” He fidgeted beside the kitchen chair as though angry with himself for his reaction.
“Is that the name of your keep?” She’d give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. At least until he either confirmed or condemned her suspicions. She stole another glance at him. Maybe she was being too lenient. Right now, he looked guilty as hell.
“Aye. Draegonmare is m’keep.”
Mairi took the cup of crushed kibble and mashed dog food from him and added it to the shallow saucer of warm water. She stirred it about with one finger until the gruel warmed and blended. She lowered the puppy to the table, where he promptly splatted both front paws into the middle of the mushy pile of dog food then buried his nose in the softened food and started gobbling. When she looked up, Ronan was staring at her with a pained expression. “Are you all right?”
“Aye.” He quickly nodded as he appeared to force himself to stand in a more relaxed form of readiness. With legs widespread, chest thrust out and the muscles of his arms bulging, he clasped his hands behind his back. Ronan looked about as relaxed as a caged panther.
An impatient yip followed by a warning clatter pulled Mairi’s attention back to the puppy currently bouncing the now empty china saucer across the table with stiff-legged bounces against the plate’s rim. Mairi scooped the dog up and fluffed her fingers through his much drier fur. “No. You’ve had enough for now. You can have more later.”
My Tempting Highlander (Highland Hearts #3) Page 7
