Fire Maidens Scotland (Billionaires & Bodyguards #6) - Anna Lowe Page 0,44
the sparkles faded from the loch’s surface. At the same time, Holly’s body stiffened, and her mind switched back on.
Whoa. Wait. What was she doing?
Loving our mate, her dragon pointed out.
Risking my heart, she countered.
Lachlan’s lips moved over hers, and his hands slid over her body. A touch she welcomed. Still, warning lights flashed through her mind.
She tapped his shoulders, trying to awaken the part of his mind wired for logical thinking.
“Everything okay?” Lachlan asked in a mix of kiss and mumble.
She gulped, easing away. Honestly, she wasn’t sure. Slowly, she forced herself to put a hand on his chest and think. “What about tomorrow?”
Lachlan’s eyes swirled with lust and confusion. “Tomorrow? We drive to Gleninnis.”
“I mean after that. I mean the future. Our future.”
His nostrils flared, and she could see his human and dragon sides warring. Slowly, he focused, and his throat bobbed.
“I don’t know.”
She bit her lip. Frankly, she didn’t either, and that was okay. But only if Lachlan was ready to give love a chance.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” she murmured, wiggling free.
His eyes glowed red with dragon stubbornness, but he clenched his teeth, wresting back enough control to give her space.
She spoke quickly, before she lost her resolve. “I want this. I want you. So much. But I need to know this will be different from before. I’m not asking for a promise. Just a chance. To give us a try. To make space for something other than work in your life.”
Lachlan nodded through every word, but even if he promised her the world now, would it be the man promising or his inner beast? What would happen in the morning when that overpowering logic of his set back in?
She cupped his cheek. “I didn’t mean to…to get so carried away, I guess. And I don’t want to hurt you. But I don’t want to add another regret to my list.”
Her voice went all raspy, and her chest ached with unbearable yearning. But dammit, she’d learned a few things over the years — mostly the hard way. No matter how good one night promised to be, how much had things truly changed between her and him?
He’s changed, her dragon insisted.
Yes, he had. But had he changed enough?
Lachlan took hold of her shoulders, and for a moment, she thought he might finally say, I will do anything to make this work. Please, please, give me one more chance.
“I love you,” he said, making her soul soar. But then he went on, making it crash again. “But I have to protect you. I have to see you to the island and back safely.”
She waited. Was there nothing else on his list?
“And after that?” she tried. “What if I stayed in Scotland longer?”
His pause was all the answer she needed.
“I’d like that, but…”
She stuck out her arm, levering him away. “There will always be a but, Lachlan. We just have to turn it around, so it’s more like But we’ll find a way.”
“I want to find a way,” he insisted.
She held his hands tightly. “So, show me.”
His lips moved, but his eyes went blank, and she nearly snorted. The man was so damn smart, yet so stupid at the same time.
“Do you not trust me?” he finally whispered.
“I don’t trust myself.” She held on to his arms tightly, fighting her dragon side that still clamored for sex. God, was she really going to turn down the man she’d been dreaming about for years?
Yes. She owed it to herself, no matter how much it pained her — or him.
He clasped her hands, trembling with the struggle to hold back. A long, iffy moment later, he tipped his head and rested it on hers. “Then we wait.”
She exhaled slowly, then cupped his cheeks. A glimmer of hope. A thin ray of light in a long tunnel of darkness. Yes. They had to wait. But that was only part of it. Time alone wasn’t going to convince her. Did he understand that?
She stroked his skin softly with her thumbs. “If you really want to find a way, I need you to show me.” I beg you to show me, she nearly said. This has to be a two-way street.
She stepped back, letting cool air carve a wide space between them, and whispered, “Show me.”
Lachlan stared, then nodded slowly. “I swear I will.”
Every muscle in his body tensed, and his eyes glowed, sealing the deal. But still, she wasn’t sure. Would he live up to his promise? Wouldn’t he?