by Bree Wolf
Nothing.
Her brother had delivered the devastating news, and her betrayal had not only cost Nathan the woman he loved but also Robert’s friendship. He’d seen it more than once in his old friend’s eyes, the sense of guilt, the regret, the shame. Of course, Robert had felt ashamed of the way his sister had treated Nathan and it had stood between the two friends from that day onward.
Her betrayal had cost Nathan everything and, now, here she was judging him for the only way he’d found to continue on. “What are you doing here?” Nathan growled, pouring all the frustration, all the pain and heartache of the last ten years into it. “Why did you come back?”
Her gaze dropped from his as though he’d hit a nerve, and she stumbled another step backwards. “‘Twas a mistake,” she mumbled before her eyes rose to meet his once more. “I shouldna have come. I know that now.”
“Then why did you?” Nathan snarled, still approaching with measured steps. He watched her gaze widen and her hands begin to tremble, and he could not help but delight in those small signs of unease she was betraying. After all he’d suffered, she deserved to feel at least a mild echo of the heartache he’d lived with for ten years. “Why did you return? To parade your happy life in front of me? Your perfect husband?”
Careful, a voice whispered deep inside, reminding him that if he didn’t watch out, she would no doubt see how much she’d hurt him, and she did not deserve that satisfaction after what she’d done.
Still, Nathan did not think he could pretend any longer. He had been pretending for ten years and, tonight, he was done.
Chapter Ten
Unattached
Maggie was certain her knees would give out at any second now. Her whole body was trembling, and she had to focus to draw breath into her lungs, to keep upright, to hear what Nathan was saying.
Nathan!
Every fibre of her being screamed out at his nearness. It terrified her because she longed for it. She longed for more. After everything that had happened, she still couldn’t hate him. Not the way he deserved. Not the way she ought to.
“My husband?” Maggie mumbled, not certain she’d heard him correctly.
“Yes, your husband,” Nathan snarled as he advanced.
Her breath lodged in her throat as he moved toward her like a hunter on the prowl, and she could not help but shrink back. It had been a long time since Maggie had portrayed such weakness. She barely recognised herself in the woman she saw tonight. Always had she stood tall with her chin raised and her shoulders back.
Only right here and now with Nathan, it seemed all her resolve had disappeared. She knew what she ought to do. What she ought to say. What she ought to make him believe.
Her body, however, would not comply, too caught up was it in the way her heart almost beat out of her chest and the way her soul cried out to the man who regarded her with utter hostility. How on earth dare he be angry with her?
“I dunno what ye mean,” Maggie replied as the marble column in her back stopped her retreat.
A muscle in Nathan’s jaw twitched as her words jarred him to a halt only a few steps from her. “Why would you lie?” he snarled. “I saw you with him, dancing, laughing.” His lips pressed together in disgust. “You looked happy. Was that what you wanted me to see? To see you happy with another? After ten years?” His voice rose, grew angrier and, for a second, Maggie feared he would slap her so much was he shaking with the effort to hold his emotions at bay.
It didn’t make any sense.
Maggie shook her head. “Why would ye speak to me in such a way? I did nothing to hurt ye. I−”
“Nothing!” he boomed, then surged toward her, his hands seizing her by the arms.
Maggie gasped. A part of her was terrified of the way he spoke to her, not recognising the man she’d once known in the one before her; another part, however, quivered at the feel of his hands on her bare arms. His skin was hot against hers and, for a moment, she feared his heat would burn her.
His eyes drilled into hers, and his breath was coming fast. “I never knew you, did I?” he all but whispered, confusion and regret coming to his features. “You were never the woman I thought you to be.” He shook his head. “You couldn’t have been or you would never have…”
“Release me!” Maggie snapped, unable to bear the feel of him any longer. “Ye have no right to speak to me thus, to suggest I did anything to hur−” Her lips clamped shut as Claudia’s voice once more echoed in her head, urging her to hold her head high. “Release me!”
Swallowing, Nathan complied, then took a step back, his arms hanging limply at his sides. “How could you?” Pain echoed in his voice, and Maggie felt it with the same force as she’d felt her own.
“I did nothing,” she stated fiercely, her gaze not veering from his. “I−”
“You came back,” Nathan accused, bitterness clinging to his features. “You came back with him.”
Maggie frowned. “Him?”
“Your husband!” Nathan snapped, anger once more lacing his voice. “How dare you pretend that−?”
“My husband is dead!”
Where the words came from or why she said them, Maggie did not know. However, they did not fail to hit their mark. Shock stood clear as day on his face, echoing how Maggie felt in her heart. She felt it reverberate within her bones, and she saw it in the way Nathan’s jaw dropped and his gaze widened. For a long while, they simply stared at one another, breathing the same air.
Then Nathan blinked. “He’s dead?”
Maggie dropped her gaze, cursing herself for speaking of Ian here and now.
“He’s dead?” Nathan demanded, taking a step toward her.
Lifting her chin, Maggie steeled herself. “Aye, he’s dead. Is this what ye wanted? Is this what ye needed to hear?”
Nathan blinked. “The man I saw you with…? The dark-haired man…?” His gaze held hers, and Maggie felt a hint of unease crawl up her spine at what she saw there for it was neither anger nor bitterness.
It was…
“He’s a friend,” she replied without thought, reacting to the almost desperate need that reverberated in his voice. “He’s of my clan.”
“Your husband’s dead?” Nathan asked yet again. “How long?”
“I hardly think−”
“How long?” he demanded and his hands seized her once again, bringing her closer against him.
Maggie felt her jaw quiver as his breath drifted over her skin, his eyes holding hers trapped. “Why do ye−?”
“How long?” His hands tensed on her arms.
Maggie gasped. “Two years,” she snapped, trying to free herself, but he held her tight. “What is it to ye?”
His gaze drilled into hers, intense and searching, as his hands remained on her arms, holding her to him, refusing to release her. “You’re not married,” he whispered then, and a touch of awe lingered on those words.
Staring up at him, Maggie could barely breathe. Her heart ached with such longing that she had trouble remembering where she was and what she was supposed to do. Like that day at the lake long ago, she longed to throw herself into his arms. She wanted him to hold her, to feel him, to forget all that had happened and live in the moment.
Here and now.
At the same time, that thought terrified her for she knew it was not to be. It could not. He’d only break her heart all over again, and she’d be left behind to pick up the pieces alone.
“You’re not married,” Nathan whispered yet again as his gaze swept over her.
Maggie’s knees almost buckled when she no longer saw anger in his blue gaze, but something entirely different. His grip softened, and she felt him urge her closer, drawing her toward him. Panic seized her then, and she tried to push him away.
Instantly, his grip tightened. His gaze held hers as he lowered his head as though needing to look closer. “You’re not married.” A small puff of air followed these words, filled with incredulity as though he ought to have known, as though i
t would have made a difference if he had.
And then his gaze dropped from hers and touched upon her lips.
Chapter Eleven
A New Chance
Staring at the woman in his arms, Nathan knew he ought to be furious. He ought to resent her for all she’d put him through. He ought to feel nothing but pain and regret and grief when looking upon her. He ought to send her away. He ought to tell her to return to Scotland and leave him be. That much, at least, she owed him. He ought to turn around and walk away. He ought to…forget about her.
He knew he ought to do all of these things.
In that moment, however, he could not for he did not feel sadness. There was no anger in his heart, no regret. Despite all that had happened, Nathan could not help but think that after all these years she was right here back in his arms…
…and she was free.
Unattached.
Without a husband.
A desperate need to claim her surged through Nathan. He did not even consider the notion that she might not want him−she had chosen another ten years ago, after all. Still, nothing mattered but the feel of her in his arms, the way her eyes looked into his, the way his heart finally−finally!−after all this time felt alive once more.
He could not let her go.
He simply couldn’t.
“Please, release me,” she pleaded, her breath coming fast as she looked up at him, a touch of fear in her blue eyes. Her hands had balled into fists and now rested on his chest, a mild pressure against him as though she wanted to push him away, but couldn’t quite make up her mind to do so. “Let go of me.”
Nathan swallowed as he remembered the last time she’d slipped through his fingers. “I’ve done so once,” he whispered and his hands tightened on her as the sense of loss he’d felt then came surging back. “I’ll not make that mistake again.”
Her eyes widened as his words sank in, and she drew in a sharp breath as his hands brought her closer still. “Ye canna−”
“I’ll not let you walk away again,” Nathan gritted out as he pushed her back against the marble column, cutting off her escape. “Not like this. Not ever.”
Her jaw tensed as steel came to her eyes. “Ye have no choice. ‘Tis not yer decision. I’ll−”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Nathan growled as the world fell away and nothing else mattered but her. He grasped her chin, barely noticed the dawning realisation that came to her eyes before his mouth claimed hers in a possessive kiss.
For a moment, her body went rigid and he could feel her small fists digging into his chest. He knew he ought to release her. He ought to do as she asked, but he could not. He held on to her. Kissed her. Ran his hands up and down her arms and into her hair. Traced his fingers over the soft skin of her neck. Felt her heartbeat against his own.
And then she surrendered, and Nathan was lost.
Over the span of ten lonely years, Nathan had shared many kisses with many women. He’d enjoyed them and himself and, every now and then, he’d thought or rather hoped that one day they would make him forget the young girl who’d stolen his heart long ago. He’d hoped that one day he’d no longer compare each and every kiss to the only one he’d ever stolen from Margaret.
To the only one they’d ever shared.
After all, it had been only once.
One single moment.
Nothing compared to the years of his life.
Still, as she lay in his arms now after ten years of loneliness and longing, Nathan knew that no one would ever compare. This was his little daisy, unique in the world. No one knew him the way she did. No one could upend his world the way she had. No one had ever made him feel alive the way she could with a single look.
A single touch.
And she was touching him.
Despite her initial reluctance, he could feel the tips of her fingers against the line of his jaw. She was no longer trying to escape him, but was holding onto him with an almost desperate need that felt so achingly familiar. His kiss had become theirs, and Nathan lost himself in the moment.
All of a sudden, he was a young man again, untroubled by his past, his heart hopeful as he contemplated a future with the girl in his arms. The dark cloud that had overshadowed his life was no longer there, no longer followed him wherever he went and, for one precious moment, it seemed everything was possible.
It seemed all would be well.
It seemed happiness was within his grasp.
“You’re mine,” he growled against her lips, needing to say the words before his mouth reclaimed hers yet again. He did not wish to talk, to return to reality, to look at the lives they’d lived, to sort through the mess they would no doubt have to face after tonight. After all, he knew all but nothing about her today. He knew her husband was dead, and that was all that mattered. What mattered was that she was free again, free for him to claim, but−
“No!” Wrenching her mouth away, Margaret stared at him, shock widening her eyes. Then her jaw hardened and her hands once more balled into fists. “Let go of me!” she ordered, and this time Nathan knew she meant it.
Reluctantly, he complied, stepping away and willing his hands to release their hold on her. “We need to talk.”
Swallowing, she shook her head, then backed away. “There’s nothing to say. I shouldna…I…” With her head still shaking from side to side, she spun around and fled the pavilion, the sound of her dainty footsteps drifting to his ears as she made her escape along the gravel path.
Nathan wanted nothing more but to pursue her; however, his legs suddenly felt weak as he sank down onto the stone bench beside him. His breath came fast, and his heart beat with such speed that he feared it would soon outdo itself and cease its activity altogether.
Closing his eyes, Nathan let his head fall backwards until it collided almost painfully with the marble column at his back. Then he simply sat there in silence, not certain if he’d merely dreamt all that had happened or if Margaret had truly been in his arms only a moment ago.
Everything seemed surreal, and he feared to believe what would no doubt bring him more pain. What if he lost her again? What if it did not matter that her husband had passed? What if she did not want him as she had not wanted him then?
Still, Nathan knew he could not simply walk away. Even ten years ago, he hadn’t been able to. Even when he’d known she was married to another, he hadn’t been able to free himself of her. No, he needed to speak to her. He needed to find out what had happened and how she felt about him today.
If there was any chance she could love him now.
A small smile teased his lips as he remembered how she’d kissed him only a moment ago. She’d been shocked, certainly. But she’d not been unwilling. She’d kissed him back. She’d felt something. He had touched her as she had touched him. She’d not been immune to their reunion.
He’d seen it in her eyes.
Perhaps it would be enough.
Perhaps.
If it wasn’t, Nathan knew he would never recover from it.
Chapter Twelve
A Simple Truth
Brushing the tears from her eyes, Maggie slipped in the side door. Instantly, the loud hum of the ball assaulted her senses and, for a moment, she felt as though she’d break down in a heap of nerves. Her body was trembling from the rush of emotions, the confusion, the fear of what she’d done, of what it would do to her while her thoughts bounced wildly in her head, jerking her in all kinds of directions that she knew not where to turn.
“What happened?”
Blinking, Maggie felt her head snap up and she found herself looking into Claudia’s concerned face. Bless her friend for her watchful eyes! No doubt she’d been observing the side door ever since Maggie had slipped out for a breath of fresh air.
“Are you all right?” Claudia demanded as her hands shot out and grasped Maggie’s. “You look the fright. What happened?”
Staring at her friend, Maggie felt her mouth open and close, her eyes wide and he
r heart and mind a hopeless mess.
Seeing Maggie at a loss, Claudia nodded. “Come with me,” she ordered, then pulled Maggie’s arm through hers and all but dragged her along.
Almost blind, Maggie followed her friend through the crowd, voices drifting to her ears, her arms brushing against others on their way, until the noise slowly died down and moved far away. The bright lights vanished as well, and the soft dimness of the corridor felt heavenly to Maggie’s battered senses. She heard a door open and then close and then found herself in a darkened sitting room, the soft glow of the rising moon reaching in through the tall windows.
“There,” Claudia said as she stepped toward her, her hands once more reaching for Maggie’s. “Better now?”
Maggie nodded. “Thank ye. I…I…” Her head kept moving from side to side as she waited for her thoughts to clear, to make any kind of sense.
But they wouldn’t.
“What happened?” Claudia asked gently. “It was him, wasn’t it? He found you.”
Grateful for such a simple question, Maggie nodded. “He did.” Oh, God, he had! Panic swept through her as the memory of their kiss resurfaced. What had she done?
“Tell me what happened,” Claudia ordered, her voice laced with anger. “What did he do?”
Maggie knew not where to begin, and so she simply said the first thing that came to her mind. “He kissed me.”
Claudia’s eyes opened wide. “He did what?” Then her lips curled into a snarl. “I’ll send Garrett after him. He−”