Despite everything, a smile stretched across her face. She looked up then and met Alasdair’s gaze. Passion sparked between them and she inhaled his strong, masculine scent.
Then he kissed her. She stretched up onto her bare feet and kissed him back.
His mouth moved against hers. His hand found the back of her head and tilted it, and she let him.
She forgot the cold, the ground, the dark, the two hours, the stone, and everything else. Only the warmth of him, his hands, the certainty of his mouth, and the way he held her remained—like she was something he had been searching for and was not going to let go.
When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard. She kept her forehead against his. He pressed his lips to her temple. She felt him breathe slowly against her hair, and she closed her eyes.
“What happened to Hamish?” he mused and Isobel’s eyes fluttered open.
“Hamish? Was he supposed to be here?” She sent a dubious glance around the woodlands.
“I was sure he’d find ye before I did.”
Just then, as if Hamish was reacting to being summoned by his Laird and Lady, the Highlander ran toward them. He panted heavily.
“I…Ye’ve found her?”
“Aye.” Alasdair nodded. “As ye can see.”
“And ye’re not hurt, me Lady?” Hamish’s eyes flicked up and down.
“I am fine, Hamish.” Isobel smiled at him sweetly. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
Alasdair snorted dryly. “If Hamish was half as fast as he likes to think he is, he would’ve been the one to rescue ye.”
Hamish ducked his head and grumbled, “I will not fail ye again, me Lady…me Laird.”
“Ye did not fail us,” Alasdair said softly. “Ye have always been me most loyal…most trustworthy companion.”
Isobel was quiet for a moment. She watched the two warriors nod at one another, then she pressed her face into Alasdair’s shoulder and felt his arms tighten. He held her. She let herself be held.
“Let’s go home,” she said, after a while.
“Aye,” he said. “Let’s go home.”
He swept her up off the ground entirely, and she gripped his shoulders. Hamish laughed loudly as he fell into step beside them. As a trio, they returned to Castle Dunalasdair where over the course of just a few days, everything had changed drastically.
Chapter Twenty-Three
She slept for four hours and woke to Jane sitting on the edge of her bed with a cup of tea and a bruise along her cheekbone that had darkened overnight into something spectacular.
“Before ye say anythin’,” Jane said. “I’ve been told twice already that I look terrible and I daenae need a third opinion.”
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Isobel said. “I was going to say thank you.”
Jane looked at her. “For the bruise?”
“For everything before the bruise.” Isobel sat up, took the tea, and held it with both hands. “You tried to get up.”
“I did get up,” Jane said. “Eventually.”
“Eventually counts.”
Jane made a face that was not quite a smile, which was, Isobel had come to understand Jane’s version of being moved. “There are things happenin’ downstairs,” she said. “The Laird summoned the council before breakfast. Lady Branwen says ye daenae have to attend.”
“Lady Branwen says I don’t have to, or Lady Branwen says she would rather I didn’t.”