She saw the look of concern that crossed Jack’s face. It made his brows crease and his lips curved downward into a grim line. “Why is that?”
He dropped the scroll he held and got on his feet. Isla was once again reminded of how magnificent he looked each time he stood next to her. She raised her head a bit to meet his gaze, then shook her head. “I keep thinking about the fair in Birlet Shallows and how I need to get back to find that gypsy. You must know of any caves around, don’t you? Or any gypsies? I am sure they exist freely at a time like this.”
He walked over to where she stood and put his hands on her shoulder. “I dinnae ken of any caves,” he told her. “Or gypsies. The Highlands are not welcoming to any form of witch practices… gypsies dinnae roam the streets as they used to in the fourteenth century.”
Isla’s shoulders slumped forward, and she released another dejected smile. Jack dragged in a deep breath, then he moved away from her and walked to his desk again.
“What are you working on?” Isla walked behind him. She already missed the warmth of his touch, and that made her want to stay close to him again.
“Just tax reports,” he told her. She could tell that he was working so hard to provide for his people. Isla hadn’t even met the lot of them, and she already felt like they were lucky.
To have someone who cares to provide.
She wrapped her arms over her elbows and followed Jack to his desk. When he sat, she stood beside his chair, and put a hand on his shoulder. “I wish there was a way I could help you,” she said to him. “Back in my time my father left me an entire fortune before he passed away. I could have helped you and your Clan, but I must go back to be able to do that.”
Jack shook his head and gave her a tiny smile. “I will find a way,” he said. “Ye dinnae have to worry about a thin’.”
His gaze merged with hers now, and Isla felt the same tingle return. This time it raced up her spine. She forgot to breathe when his gaze darkened and became more intense.
Isla’s own drifted down to his full lips, and she imagined what it would feel like to have him kiss her. The thought lingered in her mind as it entered, and there was no pushing it out.
Since she first saw him, it was like her thoughts no longer belonged to her. She kept thinking about all the things he had said, and his plan to present her as his betrothed.
What if it goes wrong? Or someone finds out that I am not from here? What happens then?Could she trust Jack to protect her if anything happened?
I barely even know him.
“Ye need to stop worryin’,” Jack said, then pulled his gaze away first and cleared his throat. He got on his feet without warning, and that move brought him closer to her. The hard planes of his thighs and abdomen pressed into hers. There was no control for Isla who put her right hand on his chest and slid it down to his abdomen. Jack’s low groan was the proof she needed that he felt and enjoyed her light touch.
Isla gasped. Jack’s hands moved up her back to stop her from falling backward out of shock, and the feel of his warm hands on her caused everything else to fade into nothingness.
“Isla,” he murmured in a gruff voice just at the same time as she said.
“Jack—”
Their words were a mingle of low, seductive gasps that charged the air around them with electricity and made Jack’s head swoon.
How could she make him feel this way?The sensuous flow of heat tickling down his nerves was one he had never felt. The need to touch her, bring her close and taste her small lips was evident in the way his eyes raked over her face.
Jack could feel every tense muscle in his body snap as his nerves sprang alive and his desire surged higher. He had never wanted any woman this way.
Their attraction was sizzling… she could feel it to because his hand came to her back, and she gasped from the contact.
He slowly inched his head closer to hers until he could feel the heat of her breath, but just when his lips were about close over hers, his cousin’s voice interrupted.
“My Laird—”
They sprang apart immediately, and Isla staggered away from him with her cheeks flushing like the bright shade of flames in a fireplace.
Jack cleared his throat and he turned away to face his cousin while she scurried away from him to the settee and sat.
“What is it?” he asked while massaging the back of his neck to ease the tension there.
“Tax reports have arrived from the villages. They need yer attention immediately.”
“I will look into it,” Jack replied. “I would like to introduce you to my betrothed, Lady Isla Lambert.” His cousin bowed his head then walked away, then Jack faced Isla and saw that she was watching him closely.
“Ye should retire for the night,” he said, not ready to analyze the heated sensations coursing through him else he might lose every ounce of restraint he had left and take her right there on his settee.