As I stared into his expressive eyes, the emotions warring across his face convinced me I’d made my point. I may be the shiny new toy that’d momentarily attracted his attention, but his relationship with Sofia had history and substance. And a future …
He took my hand and led me to the hearth, where we sat facing each other. Jamie searched my face. “Will ye deny the Calling then?”
I pulled my hand from his, realizing with a sinking heart that the more we touched, the harder our ultimate separation would become. “Considering the direction your dreams took, I don’t know if we can ever be sure it was a real Calling.”
I broke eye contact, unable to bear the expectation burning in his gaze. “Besides, you would always be watching me, waiting for me to prove your nightmares true. There wouldn’t be any trust between us.”
“I admit it would be much easier if I could put the dreams out of my mind … put you out of my mind.” He cupped my cheek, urging me to return his tortured stare. “But I canna. Can you?”
Ignoring his question, I turned away from him and unwound my damp hair. The mundane task of fanning the strands out in front of the fire helped to distract me from the temptation sitting way too close.
“Has anyone ever told you that yer so beautiful you glow?”
Chills raised the hair on the back of my neck. Trying to act as if his words didn’t affect me, I shrugged. “No.”
I felt him close the distance between us and stifled a groan of frustration.
“Let me do that for ye, love.”
My arms dropped into my lap as if they had a will of their own. Jamie pulled his fingers smoothly through the strands of my hair, and I wondered if this was part of his strategy to win me over. But as he repeated the motion, his fingers brushing the nape of my neck and massaging my scalp, I forgot to care. Melting into a puddle of spineless goo, I was ready to curl up on his lap and purr like a contented kitten.
Seriously, how much more could a girl take?
“Do ye not care for me, Verranica? If no’, then tell me to leave ye be.” His deep voice was hypnotic. And calculating … and controlling. At least that’s what I tried to believe as I steeled myself to say the words that would turn him away from me forever: I don’t care for you a bit, Jamie MacCrae … I could never love you.
But when I opened my eyes to his beautifully noble face only inches from mine—looking as if I were the only thing that mattered in his world—the lie died on my lips.
His mouth shifted into a lazy grin. The hand that’d been stroking my hair cupped my jaw. His thumb rested on my chin as he tilted my face and lowered his mouth toward mine, his tempestuous scent weaving its spell around me.
He watched me under heavy lids as the pad of his thumb swept over my bottom lip. “I canna resist you.”
Oh no! I turned into a mindless lemming when he kissed me. I could not let it happen again. My mission repeated in my head. It was my only defense. Get the journal out of Doon and make sure Jamie ends up with the right girl—which, heart-breakingly, wasn’t me.
“No!” I practically yelled the word as I jumped up, my exhausted body betraying me when I stumbled back several steps.
Jamie was up in a heartbeat, his powerful arms steadying me.
“Please don’t,” I whispered, trying to twist away from him. He loosened his hold but didn’t let me go. Afraid if I met his eyes he would try to kiss me again—and this time, I wouldn’t have the strength to resist—I stared at the spot where the edge of his sweater met his neck. It was such a nice neck: smooth, tan skin, the slightest bit of stubble leading up to his square jaw, and—the delectable dimple in his chin. Then my hand was on his face, my thumb sweeping across the indentation that’d fascinated me from the first moment I saw him.
Apparently, I had no willpower whatsoever.
I lifted my eyes to his and felt dizzy, like gazing into an endless midnight sky sprinkled with stars. Gently, he took my hand away from his face and held it between us, his expression becoming uncertain.
“I’m not myself around you, Verranica. When you look at me with those captivating sea-green eyes, I canna even think straight.” He swallowed, hard. “I canna fight what I feel for you any longer … I dinna want to.”
My voice stuck in my throat. As I searched his face, a gust of wind blew down the chimney, fanning the flames and causing sparks to sputter onto the hearth. I couldn’t let him say any more; I had to find a way to convince him I wasn’t the right choice for him or his kingdom.
Pulling out of his arms, I pursed my lips. “Do you want to know what I think?” Before he could respond, I continued, “I think the Divine Protector of Doon would be gravely disappointed that his new king was being so selfish. If your faith was strong, you would know the warning dreams were for good reason.” I watched him turn steely, but I rushed on.
“We aren’t meant to be together, Jamie.” I swiped at my tears. Now was not a time for crying. There would be time enough for that later. “You asked me if I care for you, but my feelings are irrelevant. So are yours. Don’t you see? It’s not about us. It’s about what’s best for the people of Doon. Your people.”
“Don’t I get a say in what’s best for my people?” he asked as he stalked toward me. I held up my hands to warn him off, as I could see by the hardening of his expression his patience had come to an end.
“You don’t even know me, Jamie. How could you know if I’m good for the kingdom or not? You know nothing about my life before I came here.” On shaky legs, I slumped down on the couch, and cleared my throat before continuing. “I’m just a momentary distraction. You’ll forget about me once I cross over the bridge.”
“Never.” His jaw was set in rigid determination, but it was his dark, imploring eyes that sucked the fight right out of me. “Vee, you dinna—”
“Just stop.” I shook my head. This conversation was getting us nowhere. “Can we talk about this later? I’m so tired.” It wasn’t a lie. As I curled my legs beneath me, I yawned and my eyelids fluttered closed for several seconds. Emotionally and physically drained, I didn’t have the strength left to argue.
Despite my best efforts to stay upright, my head lowered to the arm of the couch, and exhaustion washed over me like a corporeal force.
Several moments later, I blinked to discover Jamie as he squatted down in front of me, concern shining from his face. He reached out and tenderly brushed my hair off my cheek.
“Do the right thing …” I wasn’t sure if I spoke the words aloud or said them in my head. “Make Sofia your queen.”
“Dinna worry, I will … Sleep now, love. We have the morrow.”
I think I smiled at him—my beautiful prince, I thought dreamily, before sleep swept me away.
I awoke to the harsh light of day and the knowledge I had a little over forty-eight hours left in Doon. I just prayed that the Covenant would protect all of us from the witch’s malice until I could get the journal out of the kingdom. Now that I knew I couldn’t leave until the portal opened at the Centennial, each minute felt like a ticking time bomb.
In vain, I searched for a clock. How much time had I wasted sleeping?
Jamie must have covered me during the night because I was buried under a mountain of thick wool blankets. Rolling over and sitting up, I became aware that the sun was high in the sky, filling the cozy room with early afternoon light.
Make that less than forty-eight hours left in Doon.
With a sigh of resignation, I pushed off the covers and stood with a yawn. A sleepy-eyed Jamie emerged from the other room in the pants he’d been wearing the night before—and no shirt.
His broad shoulders and perfectly sculpted torso would’ve put the models on the giant Abercrombie and Fitch posters to shame. He was all bronze skin and smooth muscle.
“Good mornin’.” His voice sounded rough from sleep. Rubbing his open hand against his eight-pack abs, his eyes crinkled against the sun and a languid grin spread across his face. He’d never looked hotter—correction, I’d never seen anyone look hotter. As my pulse skyrocketed out of control, I acknowledged that I’d made a huge mistake. I should’ve demanded he take me back to the castle the night before, no matter how exhausted I’d been.
“Good morning,” I mumbled as I self-consciously smoothed my hair and straightened the huge shirt he’d loaned me.
