Just then Isla appeared at the top of the stairs with Moira and her servant. He hadn’t seen her look this beautiful before. Her hair was let down to her shoulders, it had gained length since he first saw her, and her cheeks glowed as she laughed.
She raised the hem of her earasaid and began descending the stairs once she saw him. Her eyes were pinned to his, and all his cousin and brother spoke of had faded into the background.
Aideen cleared his throat by Jack’s side, and that dragged him back to reality. “My Laird.”
“Nay now, Aideen,” Jack said in a tone that didn’t hide his irritation.
“Of course.” Aideen walked away, leaving him with Elliot, and Isla curtsied once she got to him. Even her curtsy was perfect now.
His heart started a slow dance in his chest, and she made his pulse skitter.
“My Laird,” Moira greeted and so did Faye as they curtsied and left.
“Do ye mind?” Jack said to his brother who grinned at Isla and was about to speak to her.
“Of course,” Elliot answered with a knowing smile, then bowed and walked away from Jack.
Alone with Isla now, Jack took her hand and kissed the front of her palms. “My Lady,” he said with an arched brow.
Isla smiled and her cheeks gained a lovely shade of crimson. Images of their last night flashed in his head. He hadn’t taken her last night because he had wanted her to experience pleasure first.
Jack’s entire body had begged for release, but his control surprised him. Never would he have imagined he would have a naked lass in his bed and not take her.
Her pleasure had come first no matter the hunger.
“What are ye doin’?” he asked while holding her hand in his.
“Nothing of importance,” Isla replied. “I would have loved to stroll the garden and have some tea, but then I remembered you don’t have tea around here.”
“We do have tea,” he told her, and she shook her head.
“I know you do, but it’s not the same kind. I craved something with biscuits and maybe some apple pie.”
Jack understood she was talking about her English foods again, so he simply tucked her hand in his arm, turned and walked with her to the garden.
“The kitchen can make ye some pie,” he suggested.
“It does not taste the same,” she replied with a soft smile. “Let us walk though… I enjoy walking with you.”
“A walk in the garden wouldnae be bad,” he said, then led her out of the Castle.
They had walked in silence for some time before he stopped close to the center oak tree in the middle of the wide garden and faced her.
“I ken ye miss yer home and yer time, Isla,” he began when he looked at her. “I cannae begin to imagine how hard it must have been for ye all this time, and I am also thankful for helpin’ me. The treasure ye found in the cave under the hill, and yer support by pretendin’ to be my betrothed… all of it.”
He realized there was so much he could thank her for, and not many ways he could do it. “There is nae many ways I can thank ye, Isla.”
“You do not need to,” she quickly replied. Isla simply smiled at him and shook her head. “It is my first time carin’ about anyone,” she replied. “I do care for you, Jack, and I am glad I could help. Ye asked me some time back who I really was… I didn’t know that then, but I do know who I want to be now.”
Jack smiled as he listened to her, his eyes did not leave hers for a second and he loved the way she searched his gaze as she spoke.
“I want to be a woman who helps others. When I helped save Penelope, it made me feel great, and whenever I'm around you or Moira, I feel like I’m seen for the first time. It used to be about my history books, my journeys, and fairs, my balls, and performances, but it was never about me as a person and that’s different here.”
Jack kissed her before she could say anything else. It felt like his heart would explode if it didn’t. It wasn’t a passionate kiss that made sparks fly. It was a gentle brush of his lips on hers that showed the tenderness in his heart.
“There is still a lot to learn,” he told her. “When ye return to yer time, ye will have enough stories for yer friends.”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked and slanted her brow.