“Ach, lass. Ye’ve got a hard head. Do ye see any of my teeth lying around? I think ye might have rattled some loose.”
He removed his left hand from my lower back and reached up to rub his chin. I laughed and bent my head in shame, my forehead delicately touching his chest. He surprised me by pulling me closer to him and wrapping both arms around me. He gently kissed the top of my head, right on the spot I’d whacked against his chin.
“But, I’m sure my chin wasna so pleasant a feeling on the top of yer head, now was it? Come, lass. Crawl out onto the wall with me.”
He raised a wooden panel at the top of the landing, revealing a small window-like space through which he crawled. Once on the other side, he reached his hand through the opening to assist me. I grabbed his hand and, with my free one, hiked up the back of my dress and rather ungracefully made my way out onto the wall.
“Come and sit out on the ledge, I willna let ye fall.” I watched as he made his way over to the edge of the wall that surrounded the back side of the castle. Deftly, he jumped up onto the stone wall and sat, letting his legs hang freely off the edge.
Seeing that his eyes were turned away as he stared out at the ocean, I quickly hiked up the bottom of my dress so that I could leap up onto the edge, and sit down beside him before he turned back to see how unladylike I really was.
“Well, I’d meant for ye to see the stars, lass, but as ye can see, there’s no so much to look at tonight. Looks like a storm’s headed this way.”
The sky was black, and there were storm clouds rolling, as if following the waves that crashed up onto the shore below us.
The wind was blowing hard, and the sound of the wind mixed with the harsh sound of water smashing against the rocks was oddly beautiful.
We sat there silently for some time. The wind chilled me so that I shivered beneath the thick dress that covered all of my body, but I was unwilling to say anything, not wanting to shatter the moment. A closeness between us hung heavy as we shared the long silence, listening to the water crash on the rocks and the distant sound of thunder over the horizon. I felt as if I’d known him for a long time, rather than the few short weeks I’d spent here at the castle.
The touch of his fingers as he laced his own with mine caused me to cautiously glance toward him out of the corner of my eye. He held my hand gently, drawing small circles along the base of my thumb with his, but he didn’t look in my direction as he kept his gaze straight ahead, seemingly distracted by the water down below.
I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled the cold wet air, savoring the sensation of his rough fingers against my hand. A loud boom of thunder brought large drops of water, soaking us both in seconds.
I cringed inwardly as the rain hit my hair. I was having enough trouble keeping my mane tamed without the use of a straightener.
Eoin swung off the ledge, extending both hands out to me. “Come, lass. Ye will catch a cold, standing out in this rain. Let’s go inside.”
He stood back, allowing me to crawl through the window-space first. As I stood in the dark stairwell once more, I brushed the wet strands of hair out of my face, swinging drops of water in every direction.
I knew Eoin had made his way back into the stairwell, but the candle in our lantern had burned out while we’d been out on the ledge. Once he closed the hatch that covered the window, the stairwell descended into pitch darkness.
“Doona worry, lass. I know my way down these stairs well. We will make our way down them together, aye?”
Blindly I reached forward, palming the air, expecting to make contact with his hand. Instead, my palm rested on his chest as he stepped closer. Slowly, he backed me into the wall and my breathing accelerated as the evening whiskers from his cheek scratched against the side of my face.
His hands moved so that he held onto both of mine as he gently placed his lips against my own.
It was surprisingly gentle and sweet, and it was over far too quickly as he moved his lips right next to my ear and whispered, “Ach, lass, if tis alright with ye, I doona think I can stay angry at ye any longer.”
And with that, he turned and led me down the dark stairwell, the heavy thumping of my heart beating in my ears.
Chapter 17
Eoin stroked the mare’s mane as he worked to prepare her for their ride into the village. His own horse sat ready, tied at the end of the stables, glancing impatiently in Eoin’s direction.
Eoin smiled at the old, gray stallion, his trusted horse and companion since childhood. “Ah, Griffin, doona look at me so. We will be leaving soon enough. But ye see, Sheila will be joining us today. Blaire will be riding her, and I expect ye to be on yer very best behavior. Do ye understand?”