“It’s always lovely out here,” she said as she raised her head and stared at the sky. Jack couldn’t hold himself back. He stroked her hair, and she turned back to look at him. Jack felt his pulse skip and he had to remind himself once again that he couldn’t let himself feel anything for her.
“Jack,” she whispered. Her soft tone made his pulse jump then quiver, and he became strongly aware of his own heartbeat.
Her voice soothed him and made him forget all that. Jack got lost in the moment. His gaze drifted to her lips, and he considered tasting her again. Heat flooded him, and he also craved to be touched by her.
If he did, then he knew for certain that he would lose his mind this time. Isla leaned forward first. Her hand came up to his chest and her face inched closer until he felt the heat of her breath.
The kiss was inevitable. Jack took her lips for the heated kiss and her taste engulfed him. He slid his hands into her hair and massaged her scalp while he pressed her against him.
Her response made it hotter for him, and Jack lost control. He caressed her back and pressed her tighter against him, so she felt the tension in his body.
“This is what ye do to me,” Jack whispered hoarsely when he pulled his lips from hers. She initiated the next kiss and this time, he switched positions, so she rested on the tree, then he slid his tongue into her mouth.
His hands grazed over her breasts as he pressed her against his chest, and hers flattened on his back to make sure he stayed close to her. Even though being this close to her was torture, he could endure it because it also brought him pleasure.
Their tongues danced around and heightened their pleasure. Jack tilted her chin higher so she couldn’t break free from him. His ferocious hunger overtook every fiber of his being and made him lose his balance.
“My Laird,” someone called, and he jerked away from her like he was burned.
Jack staggered backward, Isla lifted her right hand to touch her lips and the knots in the pit of his stomach tightened. There was no way he could stay away from her now. He knew it and felt it deep in his bones.
But what happens when it’s time for her to leave?
His nerves were raw with need. Jack was struggling to restrain himself because his man-at-arms was scowling at him.
“Jamie, what is it?” he asked when he finally found his voice. He combed his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat.
“We found the stable lad and his sister in the crypts.”
“The crypts?” Jack asked in an unsure voice. “What in the heavens were they doin’ in the crypts?”
Jamie’s frown stayed as he shook his head. “They were not doin’ anythin’ there, My Laird. Their bodies were found there. Someone murdered them and put their bodies in the crypts.”
“Oh my—” he heard Isla gasp and he turned to see the terror in her eyes.
16
Jack hurried into the Castle after he arrived. Jamie was telling him more about the dead stable lad and his sister as they hurried down the descending stairs that led past the dungeons to the treasury.
How did this happen? Who could have done this?
Jack had seen many villagers murdered during his father’s reign and he vowed to never let such happen under his rule. Whoever did this had to be an insider. He was certain of it.
On the far end was the crypts the Castle hadn’t used in years. Jack remembered his mother always told him that the space buried under the Castle’s study used to be where generations of Lairds were buried before the great plague.
The Highlanders had adopted burning their dead after that and not many went down to the crypts since then. Jack couldn’t even remember the last time he went in there.
“They were murdered. The sister’s throat was slit, and the lad has a burn under his foot. I think they must have followed someone down here. Whomever it was they followed; it definitely was not a stranger.”
“Take their bodies to the ground landin’,” he ordered Jamie, then he brushed a hand over his head and sighed. “I want them to have a proper funeral. Also interrogate every guard on watch last night. I want to ken how this happened under their watch.”
His cousin came into the crypt before Jack could leave and said to him, “I heard from Elliot that the stable lad and his sister were found down here. Do ye ken what happened yet?”
Jack shook his head. “I just found out from Jamie myself. Call a meeting with every guard. We need to tighten security around the Castle and the village too. The guards who were supposed to be here last night were nay on their post, so they will be punished.”
“Ye think they were murdered by someone close to us?’
“The sister’s throat was slit in our crypts. They wouldnae just come here except they were asked to or lured here. Or someone killed and brought their bodies here to hide,” Jack analyzed as he marched out of the crypt and jogged up the stairs with his cousin. When they got to the front of the Castle a small crowd of servants had gathered.