face of what he’s done.”
“He would have killed Ian for her.” Fallon kissed Larena’s forehead. “I’ve fought beside Hayden. I’ve seen how deadly he can be, but today? That was something different.”
“Like it was his woman’s life at stake,” Quinn said. “I would kill for Marcail, especially if I thought she was in peril.”
Lucan met Fallon’s gaze. “We all would for our women.”
Fallon glanced at the door again. He wished there was a way to help Hayden and Isla. “Who do we assign to watch her?”
“Guard her,” Larena corrected. “We’re guarding a dear friend, Fallon.”
He smiled into her smoky blue eyes. “Who do we ask to guard her, love?”
“Ian,” Marcail suddenly said.
Fallon jerked his gaze to his sister-in-law. “Have you lost your mind, Marcail? After he and Hayden nearly killed each other?”
Cara laughed then. “Ah, but Fallon, that’s the point.”
Fallon looked from Lucan to Quinn as the realization came to him. “Ian it is then. This should prove interesting to say the least.”
“Very interesting,” Quinn said.
*
Isla kept to the shadows of the bailey. Warriors guarded the castle at all times. That hadn’t changed even with her shield in place.
She hadn’t wanted to spend the night in the tower with her memories of Hayden. It had been hard enough the few hours she had stayed during the day.
But on the off chance Hayden did come to her again, she couldn’t be there. She wouldn’t be able to turn him away, and for her sanity she had to do just that. She longed to feel his touch and taste his kisses. He was her greatest weakness, a weakness she could ill afford.
She also couldn’t handle another night in his tender arms and then feel his distance and contempt in the light of day. It was destroying her as nothing else had. Hayden had more power over her than Deirdre had ever thought to have.
It terrified Isla, but it also made her realize just how her feelings for Hayden had grown. It was a dangerous game they played. Hayden had said it the first time, but only Isla knew just how true those words were.
She made it to the village without being detected. She walked from cottage to cottage, using the shadows, until she found one set away from the others. It was just what she was looking for.
It was where she would stay for the night. Alone with her memories. And her dreams.
TWENTY-SIX
Hayden fought against venturing to the tower for as long as he could. He told himself he was just going to wander the castle as he did many nights. He liked to scale the outside, to get different vantage points than others.
Somehow he wasn’t surprised when he reached Isla’s tower that he found himself at her window. He tried not to look inside, and yet, he did just that.
Hayden expected to see Isla in bed, or maybe combing her hair. What he didn’t foresee was an empty tower. He frowned, wondering where she was, wondering if she was safe.
His gaze swept the round chamber before he jumped from the window. He shouldn’t be in there, but he couldn’t help himself. And with Isla gone, it gave him the excuse he needed to be in her domain.
Her snow and wild pansy scent teased his senses. He glanced at the large bed, remembering taking her, making her his.
His cock thickened just recalling Isla with her black hair spread around her and her lovely lips parted on a scream as she peaked.
He recalled her small waist, the flare of her hips, her trim thighs parted so he could see her black curls that hid her sex. She had been stunning, one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.
Hayden ran his hand over the pillow. He sank onto the bed and laid back. It was folly, but he would stay until he heard her on the stairs. She’d never know he was there, but he would know that she was all right.
He hadn’t asked if she was injured from earlier. He’d been so enraged at Ian that his only thought had been to kill. It had come upon him quickly, consuming him.
The bloodlust had been the most severe he had ever felt. After the first time when his family had been killed, he’d made sure to keep himself under tight control. Normally that wasn’t a problem. Why it should be now didn’t make sense to him.
In the deepest recesses of his soul, he knew it had to do with Isla, yet he wasn’t ready to admit that even to himself.
He threw an arm over his eyes and let himself doze. His superior hearing would alert him to Isla’s approach.
Isla nestled herself in a corner of the cottage. For hours she stared into the darkness trying to think of nothing and failing. Her thoughts returned to Hayden time and again, of the passion he brought out in her, of the desire his presence caused her.
She had kept herself alone, not befriending anyone in Cairn Toul. Now, she was surrounded by those who wanted to be her companion. It would — had been — so easy to let down her guard and allow herself to be friends.
But more had happened. Hayden had happened, and Isla hadn’t been prepared for what he did to her body much less her heart. He touched a part of her no one else had, and her heart and soul trembled because of it.
Her chest still ached at seeing him so close to the edge while he had been fighting Ian. What she had witnessed that day she was sure is what had occurred with the original Warriors who had fought the Romans.
If Hayden went over the edge, he’d never be able to pull himself back to the man he was. Hayden was needed by the MacLeods. He was a warrior whose loyalty would never waiver, a warrior who would fight to the death. A warrior who would give his own life so that others would survive.
Isla’s mind was full of Hayden. She couldn’t get him out of her thoughts no matter what she did, just as her body couldn’t forget what it felt like to have his hands on her. She rubbed the heel of her hands into her eyes and gritted her teeth.
It felt so good to close her eyes. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was to sleep. Not the naps she gave into, but a deep, dreamless sleep that would permit her to feel refreshed and ready to face anything.
She dropped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. The sun would be up in just a few hours. Time enough for her to have one of her short naps, just enough to regain her strength, but not long enough for the nightmares to take hold.
Hayden came awake with a start, jerking upright in the bed and glancing around him. Dawn streaked the sky pink and purple and brought him to awareness.
He’d fallen asleep in Isla’s bed, slept better than he had in weeks. More disturbing than that was that Isla had never returned to her chamber.
Hayden leapt from the bed. In three strides he was at the window. With barely a thought he jumped up, his hands on either side of the windowsill. His gaze scanned the castle surroundings. Everything seemed normal.
He knew Isla’s shield was still in place since he could feel her magic. It wasn’t as strong as when she herself wielded it, but there was a distinct feel to the shield’s magic. So much so that Hayden would know her magic anywhere.
His thoughts turned to finding her. He vaulted from the window. The wind howled around him as he held his arms out to his side and waited to alight on the battlements below.
