Gifts of Desire (30 page)

             
Th
e way she moved when she danced;
it was the most
tempting and
er
otic thing he had ever seen.  He could watch her forever. 

             
He felt a tug at his elbow and looked down to see Maggie there.  “Och, Maggie, do you need something?” he asked her.

             
“No, I’m fine
Ceann
.  She’s having a grand time, I’d say, Ella is.”  She nodded towards the fire.  “A lovely lass, and how well she fits at Tulloch, wouldn’t you agree?”

             
“Aye, she’s lovely.”

             
Maggie went on, “I think perhaps she cares for you Ceann.  Do you think…”

             
“No, Maggie… I… No.”

             
“Och, Ceann lad, do you not want a love of your own?  I know you’ve been hurt before, but don’t you remember the love between your mother and father
?  Do you not want the same for yourself?
”

             
“I don’t want to talk about it Maggie!” he said, more harshly than he meant.  Suddenly it seemed that everyone and everything was trying to throw Ella into his a
rms.  Hell, h
e was tired of fighting to keep his distance.  Tired of the insatiable lust that plagued him night and day, the wanting, the
needing
…
it was too much. 
He looked up again, in time to see he
r
twirled about and spun into the waiting arms of a man she had been dancing with.  The man did not waste the opportunity, but bent to kiss her before she could spin away again.  Ella laughed and playfully pushed him back.  Ceann gritted his teeth hard, his hands fisted at his sides.  A
low growl escaped his throat, barely
heard over the music.
  Maggie smiled.
  She loved Ceann like her own son, had practically raised him, and she could see as plain as day that the laird had finally found his lady.

             
It was quite late when
Ella
and Mairi, still laughing,
headed back to their tent.  Mairi, as usual, was asleep almost instantly, and would not waken until the dawn. 
Ella
did not sleep
right away, but
as was
her
custom,
closed her eyes and
thought through the events of the day.
  What a day it had been!
  What would have happened if Ceann had not won the fight for her?  Would she really have been forced to go with McInnes?  Would
Ceann
have let her go? 
She liked to think he wouldn’t have. 
She didn’t want to think about what might have happened
to her then
.  Instead, she listened to the drumbeats and music, still playing
so
late into the night.  The drumbeats were like the rhythm of a heart, pounding
and throbbing wildly in the darkness.  Then she thought of Ceann, the firelight dancing across his face as he watched her.
  He had stood there
, and watched.
  Just watched.
 

***

             
Ethan and Iona
sat together
at the edge of the
now dwindling
crowd
around the fire
, talking quietly. 

             
“This is more than I bargained for when I agreed to help”, Ethan complained.  “The man is as pig-headed as…
well…
he just is.  The woman of his dreams is right there for the taking, practically offered up on a silver platter, and what does he do?  He turns away from her, again!  He’s an imbecile!”

             
Iona smi
led ruefully.  “Aye, that he is…
sometimes.”  Her fac
e turned serious.  “But tonight…
tonight the time is finally right, I feel it.  Just one last
little shove
, Ethan, and it will
all
be
set in motion
.”

             
Ethan looked at her wearily. 
“
I have been
shoving
for weeks now. 
What do you suggest?”

             
Iona leaned in closer, her eyes glowing with mischief.  “I have a plan…
a wicked plan, but a plan nonetheless.”

             
Ethan heaved a sigh. 
“Tell me.
I grow
very
tired of
Ceann
’s foul moods.
  I’m not sure I can keep this up much longer without doing murder.
”

Chapter 12

             
Ella
looked up to see Ethan peering through the tent flap
, a troubled frown on his face.

She bolted upright. 
“Ethan?  What is it?”

             
“It’
s Fiona’s bairn”, he said in an urgent whisper.  “S
he left him asleep on a blanket and he must have w
oken and wandered off, she can’t
find him anywhere.
  I thought maybe he came here to you.
”

             
Ella
gasped, “God, l
ittle Ewan?  I’ll help look, he can’t have gone far.  Fiona must be beside herself with worry!”
  She scooted to the door of the
little
tent, glancing back at Mairi.  The girl was still sound asleep, and
Ella
decided not to try to wake her
unless the need arose
.

             
“He most likely went
that
way
, since no one seems to have seen him come past here
”.  Ethan gestured toward the trees at the edge of the
meadow
, and
Ella
followed after him.  They walked some distance into the woods, calling the child’s name, the moon
that had risen
overhead giving them plenty of light to see by.  She soon lost sight of Ethan, who was moving quickly off to the right.  Just as she entered a small clearing, she saw him walking back towards her with a
small
child in his arms. 

             
“I found the little rascal!” he called. 
Ella
breathed a sigh of relief,
just as Ethan broke into a jog, leaving her behind again.
  “I’d best get him right back to his mother
”, he called over his shoulder,
“
lest she perish with worry!”  With that he ran off, leaving her standing
alone
in the clearing. 
She looked around
, taking in her surroundings for the first time now that the child was safe. 
It was beautiful
here in the soft moonlight.  She went a little further and was rewarded with a view of a valley stretched out before her, all softly rolling meadows flanked by mountains rising up in the distance. 
It did not look real in the ethereal light. 
The hills looked deceptively close, as if she could reach out and touch them. 
Beyond the trees
,
she could still hear
the drums still beat, and shouts and laughter
rose up now and again, though
softer and
fewer than earlier in the night, as more
and more
exhausted revelers found their beds
, or slept where they fell
.
  But here, all was peaceful,
almost magical.
  She closed her eyes
and lifted her face to the breeze.

             
Ceann
emerged from his tent just in time to see Ethan hurry by with a child in his arms and deposit it into Fiona’s waiting arms.  The two exchanged a grin, and
Ceann
narrowed his eyes, wondering what mischief was afoot.  But then as they spoke, Ethan looked worried, and looked around as if searching for someone.  Nodding at Fiona, Ethan hurried back to where
Ceann
still stood, watching the scene unfold.

             
“
Ceann
!  Have
you
seen
Ella
?  Fiona said she went off into the woods to loo
k for little Ewan some time ago, and she hasn’t
come back
.”  Ethan tried his best to look duly concerned, but it wasn’t easy
, not when he wanted to burst out laughing
at his own antics
.

             
Ceann
was trying equally hard to look unconcerned, but in truth he wanted nothing more than to dash into the woods after her, and make sure she was safe.  He barely managed to keep his voice steady.

             
“Which way did she go?”

             
“She went towards the clearing, the one that overlooks the valley.  I was with her at first, but we got separated when I found the bairn.  But…
on second thought, she’s probably fine.
  Maybe she just stopped to pick flowers or something.
”

             
Ethan walked away, leaving
Ceann
gaping at him as if he were a madman.  Joining
a
group of
men
still lagging
before the fire, he glanced back in time to see
Ceann
striding
swiftly
toward the trees
, fists clenched at his sides
. 
Grinning
, he watched him go before slipping away again.

             
Ceann
could think of nothing but finding
Ella
.  He cursed Ethan for leaving her on her own like this.  Did the man not know what could happen to a lass alone and unprotected?  Especially when the night was full of drunken revelers; men who might forget
themselves if they came upon a lass far from where someone might hear her screams. 
And then there was McInnes;
the man had no honor.  If he came upon
Ella
alone…
The thought spurred him into a run. 
Damn Ethan!
  How could he be so careless with the only woman that had ever made him
…
feel
?
 

             
He
stopped short
at that thought, startled by the realization
that had only now come into focus
.  H
e
had come to a
clearing, and
looking up, he
saw
Ella
standing there on the other side,
gazing
down at the
moonlit
valley below.  His relief at seeing her safe was so great that he almost rushed toward her. 
Without a doubt
, his need to touch her, to hold her, was an almost palpable thing.  He felt his heart speed up as he watched her, and his breath came short, though not from the running.
  She was all he had ever wanted, yet she was not his to take.  Still, his desire for her was something he couldn’t
deny;
in fact it
had become
almost more than he could bear.
  If only he could quench it, just once, he was sure he would be alright again.
  Aye, perhaps if he took her, got it out of his system, then he could go on with his life as if nothing had changed.  What harm could it do, to take her just once?  He could hardly breathe now, with the thought of it.  He watched her like a predator from the shadows, his desire as elemental as the very earth beneath his feet.
  A man stalking his mate
.

             
Ella
had never felt more alive.  H
ere in the forest in the
moonlight
, everything: every breath, every sound
,
felt more intense.  Even the trees seemed
to be
watching
…
listening.  She had
a
peculiar s
ense of rightness;
that she was supposed to be here in this place,
at
this time.  She smiled to herself and breathed deeply, taking in the piney, musky scent of the forest, then reached up to take the tie from her hair, loosening it to drift around her face in the
breeze.  She heard a
sound
behind her, and turned
to see
Ceann
watching her from several
yards
away.
  His eyes looked dark,
dangerous, and she
knew instantly that he was thinking, because she was having the same thoughts
.