next to her and scratched Trean’s ears. “Yer watch finished a half hour ago.” His voice was calm, but laced with concern.
“I am not sleepy.”
Silence. A small nocturnal animal rustled nearby in the leaves.
“Do ye want to talk about tonight?”
Did she? What was there to say?
“I saw the faraway look in yer eyes when we talked of our youth. Then I saw the despair. Sometimes I forget how much ye have lost.”
More silence. Exhaling her lingering self-pity, she finally said, “There is nothing to be done about it.”
Duncan cupped her cheek with his palm. “Nae, we cannae change the past, but we can do something about the future. Ye think ye have no place in this world, but I would make a place for ye, if ye would allow it.”
Anna closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. His words soothed her ragged sense of sorrow like a balm.
“I know ye are not ready, but when ye are, I will be here. Know I willnae be able to sleep until ye return to the fire.”
As he walked away, her thoughts wove into a tangled mess once again. The old doubts crept in, but she refused to allow them sway. His presence, no matter how brief, proved her undoing. She felt safer, at peace by his side. She did not know what the future held for them, but right now she longed to be near Duncan. Gathering Trean, she made her way back to the fire.
Anna caught the relief on his face as he watched her approach.
Returning his smile, she grabbed the edge of her pallet and dragged it next to his. The surprise on his face became something else. Anna lay down next to him, pulling the plaide over her. She shifted her back toward him until flush against him. Trean curled against her stomach with a sigh.
“That was bold,” Duncan whispered into her neck.
“Am I to belong with you, Duncan MacGregor?” she whispered in return.
He stiffened slightly. “Aye. There is naught in this life I want more.” He lightly kissed her cheek, put an arm around her waist and drew her tighter. She responded with a contented sigh and gave in to sleep.
She woke the next morning before dawn. Duncan lay on his back with an arm around her. She curled into his side, her cheek on his chest and an arm across his middle, Trean at her feet. She didn’t want to move and disrupt the warm serenity, but thought to rouse before the men noticed them. Smiling, she realized she didn’t care if they saw.
She watched Duncan as he slept. The brooding look he often wore had fled, making him look much younger, almost boyish. Anna leaned up and placed light kisses along the stubble of his chin. His breathing hitched and he squeezed her shoulders as he woke.
“Is this what you had in mind when you said you would make a place for me?” she whispered, her voice raspy with sleep and passion. She gazed at him with teasing eyes. He rewarded her with a look of raw desire.
“Aye, though what I had in mind included fewer clothes and a softer bed.”
The image made her involuntarily clutch his chest, causing her to move closer. Her breathing accelerated. Only the thought of the men across the fire from them kept her from demanding the kiss she longed for. She had to settle for the knowledge he twisted as much with longing as she.
Chapter 15
Anna rose from Duncan’s side. After adding more wood to the banked fire, she boiled water for a quick breakfast of chamomile tea and oatcakes, passing out the simple breakfast as the men finished their morning tasks.
“Many thanks, milady.” Iain said.
Malcolm’s brow bunched after his first bite.
“What’s the matter, Malcolm? Does it not suit your taste?” Anna asked playfully. She had eaten enough of their bland version to expect a reaction to her variation.
He glanced at her as if caught stealing sweets from the kitchen. “Not at all, Lady Anna, ’tis just I have never eaten bannocks like this before. They are usually less…tasty.”
She smiled and kicked at the apple cores on the ground. “I added apple and a bit of the honey we carry to market. I did not think they would be missed.”
Hearty agreements came from bannock-filled mouths, along with muffled suggestions she make breakfast each day. Listening to the men’s comments, she thought to address something on her mind.
“Gentlemen, as much as I appreciate the respect, I would request you not