“No. There is no one missing me,” she said as she walked to the couch and sat. Keeping his eyes trained on her, he watched her cross her hands on her lap so elegantly that he could not help but wonder how her hands would feel on him.
“But ye still want to go back?” he said scrunching his eyebrows with a confused look as he moved to her side.
“What can I say? It is my home,” she answered. “Just as this room holds memories for you, each room in my father’s house holds memories for me. The sitting room in my father’s house has a painting of my mother. It is the only picture I have ever seen of her. Granted, I am not allowed in that room. But I’ve gone in from time to time. I’d like to think her ghost listens to me. Sometimes, I even feel a presence in the room, like she’s right there watching over me.”
Cleo’s lips twitched into a half smile as she slowly drew her eyes to meet Jude’s.
“I understand,” he said. “Loss is somethin’ that I am very familiar with.” Jude reached out and placed his hand on her knee. Air whistled through her lips as her eyes darted to his hand on her.
She’s nae recoilin’ from me touch. That’s a good sign. Perhaps there is somethin’ between us after all.
“Tell me,” Jude said. “Where do ye want to go? If ye could go anywhere in the world, nay matter the destination, where would ye run to?”
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I always loved the ruins near my father’s manor. It was the only place I felt free and safe.”
“Would ye consider stayin’ here, with me?” Jude asked finding himself gravitating closer to her.
“Is that what you want me to do? You want me to stay here and give up my home?”
“I would,” he confessed as he yearned to cup his hand around her face and stare into her eyes.
Cannae ye see what ye do to me? Ye have ignited a fire in me that I thought had been extinguished.
“At least for Hugh’s sake. Ye’ve done so much for him. He’s improved in his studies and that is all thanks to ye. I can offer ye a position here. A place where ye are wanted.”
Cleo’s lips parted a moment as if to say something, but then quickly closed them tight. She shook her head as Jude watched her struggle with the idea of staying.
“Ye daenae have to give me an answer now,” he said inching closer to her as he dared to run his fingers over her delicate cheek.
Cleopatra pulled in a sharp breath causing the air to whistle through her lips as she stared at him. She jumped to her feet and cleared her throat as her cheeks turned a dark red. Jude couldn’t hold back the desire that coursed through his body. Standing, he stepped to her filling the gap between them.
Pausing, he gazed at her searching her eyes for some sign of resistance from her. Feeling her ragged breath on his lips, Jude leaned down and crushed his lips to hers. A moan escaped from her that tormented the passion within him. Slowly, he parted her mouth with his tongue and stepped closer still causing her to move back.
Jude continued to steal each step he could until she bumped into something that he could use to pin her against. Cupping his hand to her face, he molded his lush lips to hers. Hungry for more, Jude ran his hand down the nap of her neck and found a strange delight in the way her body shivered against him.
“Laird,” Cleo gasped as she pulled away.
“Jude,” he said, “ye shouldnae be so formal with me.”
“But,” she started as Jude pressed his finger to her lips to silence her.
“Nay, I want ye here with me, cannae ye see that? Can ye nae feel that? Because I ken ye do. There is a spark between us. I’ve been tryin’ to deny it since I found ye in the tall grass, but ye were like a garden fairy, yer hair wild and free. I daenae want to tame ye, but I do want ye to say ye’re mine.”
Jude ran his fingers down the length of her neck letting her hair tickle her as he stared into her eyes. She didn’t recoil from him, nor did she speak. Her mouth parted for a moment and he half expected her to raise her hand and slap him. Bracing for the impact of her wrath, he found her caressing him.
“I do want to stay,” she whispered and for a moment Jude wasn’t sure he heard her clearly.
Am I hearin’ her? Or just what I want to hear? Do I dare ask her to say it again in fear of bein’ rejected?
She pulled away and slowly lifted her hand to him. Her fingers ran through his hair as she studied him. His heart pounded in his ears as every fiber of his being trembled under her touch. She was like a sea, wild and unpredictable as ever.
Jude kept his eyes on her as he felt her light touch drift down the nape of his neck and run over his broad shoulders. Her eyes followed the path of her fingers as if she was trying to memorize every curve and arch of his body. Cleo leaned closer to him and pressed her breasts against his chest. Jude sucked in a deep breath savoring her floral scent when a rap on the door startled him.
“Faither?”
Hugh’s voice rocked him to his core. Jude spun around to find his boy in the doorway with a smile stretching across his face.
“Hugh,” Cleo said gasping as she pushed Jude from her and brushed her hands on her skirt. “What brings you here?”
“I thought ye told me to come to
