Highland Defiance - By Sky Purington Page 0,51
became a warm, protective wall. “Aye.”
“I knew you were wearing a tartan when we met,” she remarked. Not because she was uncomfortable but because she simply wanted all truths freed with him.
She heard the smile in his voice. “Oh, I much preferred the term skirt.”
“Why?”
“It broke the tension.”
Mildred smiled but grew serious quickly, nuzzling in close. “Were you really so tense when I arrived?”
His thumb rolled lazily over her inner arm, a surprisingly tender spot. “More than even I would’ve imagined, lass.”
About to ask why, she stopped. She’d heard what he’d said to her family about how he felt. Did she really need him to repeat it? No. Mildred knew as any woman did when a man loved them and this one did her. And even though he’d said as much, what he’d said, how he’d acted when with her family, drove home the fact.
The very thought made the air in her chest catch.
Images of when they first met inundated her mind. The way she’d felt when confronted with his castle. The courage it’d required.
“What did you feel the first time you approached my castle in Cowal?”
She answered automatically. “Driven.”
“Why?”
“Because I had to move forward, turning back wasn’t an option.”
“Why?”
Mildred paused. Why? “Because I didn’t want to let you down.”
“Do you think what you did took courage?”
“Absolutely.” She frowned. “Adlin?”
“Aye.”
“Were you reading my mind again?”
“Aye.”
Though she frowned, she smiled inside. “You don’t like reading my thoughts, do you?”
“Nay.”
“They why do it?”
Adlin sighed. “Because I’m selfish.”
“Selfish?”
On his side, chin perched on his fist, he looked down. “I want every moment with you, Mildred. Every last one.” He shook his head. “I promised myself when you came back to me that I wouldn’t look inside your mind, that it wasn’t a place for me or anyone else. But…” His eyes searched hers. “I find you irresistible.”
How could she say no to that?
Regardless.
“No more,” she whispered. “There needs to be some mystery.”
His lips brushed hers. “Does there?”
“Yes, Adlin.” She cuddled up against him. “It’s the glue that holds us together.”
Why had she said that?
Adlin stared at her for several long seconds before he lay down again. “Mystery is overrated.”
She wrapped her arm over his chest and cushioned her cheek on his warm shoulder. Time to steer the conversation where she desired. Mildred wasn’t the type to let answers find her, but the other way around. “I want to know why we went to my home today. I want to know why you went with me.”
“I wanted to meet your siblings.”
“Pft. You wanted to let everyone who mattered most to me know how you felt.”
Adlin grinned. “Aye. And Jim.”
“What?”
“He loves you, Mildred. Surely you know that.”
She hesitated, her heart uncomfortable. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.”
“Why, Adlin?”
He hesitated. “Because love should never be ignored.”
Now her heart was afire. “What are you saying?”
“I wanted to meet all the people who mattered most in your life and I did.”
“I don’t love, Jim.”
“I know.”
Mildred propped up on an elbow and looked down. “Why bring him up? Love riddles aside.”
His eyes met hers. “I’m jealous.”
“No,” she whispered then her voice grew surer as her heart skipped a few beats. “You really are, aren’t you?”
He touched her cheek. “Am I not allowed?”
“Adlin… you,” she whispered. “Don’t you know?”
As soon as she said it, Mildred lay down again and stared up at the stars, avoiding what she’d been about to say. They were going down a path that scared her. Instead she switched topics and said, “My brother is more than I thought he was.”
“Aye. He is, Mildred.”
She meant what she said. Watching Jonathan interact with Adlin had shown her something it seemed she’d been unable to see before. Long minutes passed before she spoke again. “At some point he grew up. How did I miss it?”
“You didn’t miss it. You just didn’t want to see it.”
Mildred crossed her arms over her chest. “He’ll fight well.”
Adlin nodded. “He’ll fight very well.”
Though the thought chilled her to the bone she understood that Jonathan had become a man and she was still treating him otherwise. “I’ve acted like a child.”
“Aye.”
She arched a brow at Adlin. “You didn’t need to agree so fast.”
He arched both brows. “Yes, I did.”
“You aggravate me.”
“Always will.”
“Will I ever find it endearing?”
Adlin grinned. “You already do.”
“No.” She looked away. “You dance around subjects and always have a motive. Trust me, I’ll never find that admirable.”
Adlin nuzzled her neck and whispered. “You’ll always find everything about me admirable no matter what. The way I think, the way I challenge