showed me where the cooks make up soap and they had some spare for me.”
He pulled her back to look at him and slowly bent down and kissed her. Just like a flower, she blossomed in his arms, and opened for him.
Their kiss turned hot, heady, and desperate. All day he’d thought of her in an array of secret locations, his to seduce and enjoy. His body burned, wanted her with a need that didn’t seem to abate, but only increased in its ferocity.
She kissed him back, her urgency matching his. A knock at the door sounded and he broke the kiss, saying a silent prayer that she’d locked the door after all.
“You must go,” she whispered, pushing him away.
He didn’t move. “I dinna want to.”
She bit her lip, her eyes darting to the door and back again. “It could be your sister or a maid and if anyone sees you in here with me they’ll have us married before you can put your clothes back on.”
Now that Abigail mentioned it, he was naked. She wiggled out of his hold and this time he let her go.
“Who is it?” she called, his sister’s muffled voice sounding outside to let her in.
Aedan sighed, swiped up his clothes from the floor, and kissed Abigail good night, lingering over her lips, savoring her as much as he could, before she laughed and shooed him from the room.
He left through the tapestry and made his way back to his chamber. Normally, his quarters were welcoming, a place he could relax, to think, but tonight it seemed barren, empty, and cold. Unlike the woman next door, who was warm, as bright as sunlight, and as refreshing as a northern wind in this damp, ancient castle.
Groaning, he lay on his bed and stared up at the wooden rafters on his roof, wondering how long his sister would take to leave. And what on God’s good earth was she still doing up? She had a knack for turning up at the wrong time. He settled in for a long wait.
Chapter 13
Aedan never came back that night, even when Gwen left after a visit that had no purpose at all. Abby had waited patiently, even pushed back the tapestry and looked to see how he’d entered her room, but the dark passageway that probably had too many spider webs to count, had been too scary to contemplate and she’d gone back to bed.
And had failed miserably to sleep. She’d tossed and turned all night, her mind longing for what their earlier kiss had promised and yet never delivered. It wasn’t right to stir up a woman to such a point and then leave her hanging unsatisfied. She wanted more…
She went downstairs for breakfast and noted Aedan seated next to Aline. She ground her teeth and went to sit beside Gwen. As soon as she sat she could feel the tension radiating from her friend. Normally, Gwen and Braxton were a lovable pair, spent more time gazing into each other’s eyes than talking, but this morning, there was tension that thrummed between them that didn’t seem right.
Abby leaned close to Gwen and whispered, “Have you had an argument?”
Gwen shook her head, frowning. “No. ’Tis my brother. He’s being foolish.”
For a moment, she wondered if someone knew about them. Had someone seen him try to enter her room last night? She’d heard his attempt and had ignored it, but what if a servant or guest had watched him? Abby poured herself a mug of mead and took a large sip. “How so?”
“There is talk that he’s going to declare war with the O’Cains for the slight against our family and Jinny.” Gwen ripped a piece of bread in two and bit into it with little etiquette. “I cannot believe it.”
Abby looked up and met Aedan’s gaze. His lazy smile did odd things to her insides. She smiled back, wondering how much she should say about what she knew of the family and their history.
She had, after all, been staying in the area, reading up on the history of the castle before being brought back in time. It wasn’t until now that she realized what a profound moment in history she’d landed dead center in.
And she wasn’t sure she should say anything. Wasn’t there an unwritten time travel law that travellers touch nothing, kill nothing, talk no one out of wars, decisions, or anything that could possibly change the future? She dipped a piece of bread into her porridge. The butterfly