no. I dinna hate you.”
I slumped against him, unable to resist the comfort he offered. Resting my head on his strong chest, I sobbed. “I’m so sorry, Jamie. I’m sorry, for everything.”
“Shh … shh. Luv, stop,” he whispered as he stroked my hair, resting his cheek against my head. I wanted to stay there in his arms forever. After a long moment, he guided me over to the sofa. “Here, sit.”
I curled up with my feet under me, trying to regain control as Jamie gently wiped the tears that continued to stream from my eyes away with the pad of this thumb. The sweet, familiar gesture made my stomach tighten.
“Hush now, lass. I believe that ye didna purposefully seek to harm us.”
“What about the warning dreams?”
His smile gone, he wiped my cheeks again, staring into my eyes. “Perhaps since I stopped ye from leaving, the danger has been averted.”
But the true danger hadn’t been averted—it was tucked under me in the sofa at that very moment. I hadn’t yet completed my mission to get the journal out of Doon.
Jamie lowered his face toward mine. But as desperately as I wanted him to kiss me, I didn’t know if I could survive the repercussions. “I thought you said to leave you alone?”
His face stopped a hairsbreadth away. “Tha’ I did.” His husky voice slid through me like hot, spiced cider on a crisp autumn day. I licked my lips, tasting salt, and watched in fascination as Jamie’s pupils darkened, his gaze shifting to my mouth. “But I canna hold myself to the same standard.”
The kiss was soft at first, his lips warm and firm on mine. Then his hand cupped my head and he increased the pressure, opening my mouth with his. Sparks shot from the base of my spine, setting all my nerve endings on fire. I lifted my hand to his face, the stubble on his cheek alluringly rough against my fingers. As the kiss deepened, his other hand caressed my neck, his thumb sweeping along my jawline.
I’d been kissed before, but never like this. Any illusions I still held of him as a picture-perfect fairy tale prince vanished in that moment. This boy knew exactly what he was doing.
When he slowly pulled his lips from mine, he was breathing hard. I stared up into his dark eyes knowing my emotions were written all over my face but unable to look away.
“Verranica, did ye dream about me?”
Did he know the power he held over me at that moment? That I would have done anything he asked?
Except tell him the truth. His dreams had warned him for good reason; I’d brought the witch’s evil into his kingdom. I couldn’t let him get too close. I still had to leave—get the journal out of Doon and make sure Jamie ended up with the right girl. So I told him a half-truth. “I had some visions, but they weren’t really significant.” I straightened, moving slightly away from the magnetic heat of his body.
“Indeed.” His brows lowered over his eyes.
I turned away and swallowed the lump in my throat. Could I really do this? Push him away for his own good? Follow my head and not my heart?
“Vee, look at me.” It was the first time he’d shortened my name, but it sounded so right on his lips. I turned back to face him. “Why are ye lying to me about the dreams?”
Staring into his impossibly beautiful face, I knew what I had to do. No matter how much it killed me. “Because I know you need to choose Sofia … not me.”
He jerked back as if I’d slapped him.
I rushed to explain. “It’s okay though. I know she’s the right one for you. But it still … hurts.” I stared down at my hands, wishing I could take back the last part.
“What makes ye think you know what’s best for me?”
The king’s words were perfectly clear. I wasn’t meant to be with Jamie and I knew Sofia would make an outstanding queen. “I wasn’t called—”
“Nay, let me finish. My whole life my father has told me what to do. My mother always wanted to shelter me. Everyone in the kingdom has tried to protect me. Do they fail to notice that I’m no longer a child?”
I certainly hadn’t failed to notice, but I remained silent.
“Verranica, I’ve verra few choices that are mine. But this”—he grabbed my arm, his eyes drilling into mine as he crushed my body against his—“is still one of them!”
CHAPTER 24
Veronica
As if to prove he could take whatever he wanted, Jamie surrounded me, his mouth crushing my swollen lips. A powerful rush of longing swept away the last threads of my self-control when the slant of his lips crossed mine, compelling me to return his kiss with all the love I felt for him. I wrapped my arms around him and moved my fingers into the silky hair at the base of his broad neck as I pushed closer to the solid heat of his body.
Our mouths broke apart, and a growl came from deep within his throat. “Mine.”
He pushed me back on the sofa, following with his upper body, hesitating for a fraction of a second before his eyes glazed over and he lowered his head. His lips possessing mine again.
Out of nowhere, thoughts of Sofia in his arms and the king’s final words swirled in my mind, warring with the need coursing through my veins. I really had to stop. But if I could have this one moment with the boy I loved, shouldn’t I take it?
I closed off my conflicted conscience, melting into the glorious feel of his lips on mine.
With a start, I realized his fingers were moving against the buttons on my shirt. His rough knuckles brushed urgently against the flesh below my throat. The tug and slide of the first button was amplified against my hypersensitive skin. When he arched back to reach the rest, a warning bell began to sound, growing louder by the second. With effort, I stilled his hand with mine.
“Please,” I said against his mouth. “Stop.”
“Did I hurt ye?” he whispered.
I shook my head silently, afraid if I spoke again I might beg him to keep going. Our eyes locked in a soul- piercing gaze as his warm, intoxicating breath mingled with mine. Then his jaw tightened and he squeezed his lids shut.
In the next instant, he was gone.
With a deep, steadying breath, I sat up and adjusted my clothes while Jamie moved to the other side of the room. His fisted hands braced against the window casing as he rested his forehead against the icy windowpane and stared at the wintery landscape. The tension in his posture caused reality to infiltrate my fuzzy brain, and shame washed through me. I was supposed to convince him to be with Sofia. Not make this harder on both of us.
“Jamie?” I whispered as I rebuttoned my shirt.
“Just give me a moment,” he ground out through clenched teeth.
Was he struggling to gain control? Or was he angry that he’d let it happen at all?
He began to pace, running his fingers through the top layers of his hair, causing it to fall in a tangle over his forehead. Even distraught and rumpled, he resembled a Greek statue come to life.
Forcefully ignoring the ache of longing the sight of him stirred within me, I focused on restarting the necessary, but painful, conversation I’d begun earlier. “Jamie—”
I stood, clutching the ridiculously large pants before they fell down around my knees. “I’m not trying to make any decisions for you, but it’s obvious you have feelings for Sofia and have for some time. You’ve only known me a few days.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what the king had said to me; it would only make him feel as if his father were controlling his destiny from the grave.
He stopped pacing and stared down at me like I imagined Heathcliff had with Catherine. And look how their romance turned out.
“You’ve known her your whole life. The people of Doon trust and care for her.” Then, before I lost the courage, I rushed on. “How could anything you feel for me compete with that?”
