Highlander's Embrace

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Elyn

1540 — August 29th

Elyn watched with amusement as Gavin led the horses down to their kneeling positions, even though she had promised to get the food ready. She couldn't keep her eyes off him, and found her guard lowering more and more every moment they were together.

She was curious if he thought the same thing, if he felt the same way. Would he ever admit it? Would it be proper for a highlander to go around having affairs with women that were below his status? At this point, did he even have a rank above her? If they made it back to the castle and found it destroyed, she thought they might be able to go make their own clan, gather like-minded stray scots out in the moors and highlands, band together and fight back against the creeping toxicity whose symptom was disloyalty.

At this point, what was the purpose of trying to hide herself from him anymore? He had seen her as rough as possible. When he looked to her, she felt herself melt a little inside, a warmth rise in her chest and between her thighs.

She shook the sensation away, pretending that she had a headache. She squeezed the bridge of her nose and held her eyes shut, fighting off the temptation to focus on him moving toward her, the sound of his nude calves brushing through the tall grass. The orange sky from the sunset was quickly being overtaken by the blue-black ink of the night, the twinkling of the brightest stars already showing up on the horizon to the east.

When she opened her eyes again, Gavin was next to her, sitting with his legs crossed. His sword was unbuckled from his back and laying prone in the grass. His eyes were on her, and she met his gaze for a long while. Or was it just a brief second? She turned away and unwrapped the food they had stolen from Iverlochy. Several loaves of bread and some apples were inside the folded cloth.

She doled it out, handing him a thick loaf with an apple to finish it down with. They ate in silence, watching the moon rise over the mountains and reflect off the loch. It was as still as a mirror, only the silent insects hovering over it disturbing the sheet of the blank sky reflected in its surface.

Gavin finished his meal and surprised Elyn when he threw the apple core into the loch, splashing with a gentle plop. The gentle waves brushed up against the shore, only noticeable because of how placid it had been before.

She felt his eyes on her, and she looked at her half-eaten food. While she was starving, her mind was too wrapped up in overcoming the feelings that were rising inside her, almost too strong to bear anymore. She felt confused. She still felt a twinge of anger and couldn't help but blame Gavin for the attacks. But she also couldn't help but smile when she met his eyes, when he touched her arm or back while they rode through the highlands.

He moved a bit closer to her, scooting across the grass. She kept her eyes focused on the apple in her hand, but she could feel his smile in the side of her vision, feel his warmth radiating from his body, that longing touch of his hand near hers. She was cross legged, but propping herself up by one hand braced against the earth. His finger grazed hers, and she felt a thick shiver move up her back to her neck. The chill of the air was suddenly noticeable.

"It's getting colder out..." she whispered, unsure why. It wouldn't have been absurd to speak in a normal voice, but she didn't want to dispel the mood. She didn't know how he could reply to what she said. She added, "should we make a fire?"

He shook his head. "No. We can't risk getting seen. We'll have to stay warm like we did before." He looked to the horses, who were already snuggled against each other, their heads resting atop each other's broad necks. The grass just barely struck their ears, hiding them from sight from the road. Gavin cast a smile at Elyn.