Highlander's Embrace

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Gavin

1540 — August 28th

Gavin sighed, finally glad that she got to sleep. He knew she was too exhausted to keep going for the last couple of hours, but felt a fire burn in his chest for her spirit in trying to stay awake. When he was sure she was asleep, the gentle rise of her chest a sure sign, he folded his arms and looked over the horizon. The sun was warm, indeed, a welcome respite from the hell that was the previous night. The days felt long and twisted to Gavin.

He glanced at his gauntlet and saw blood staining it. He wiped it on the grass and tried to decide how close they were to Castle Iverlochy. If they kept riding after she woke up, he was sure they could get there by the end of the day. They had made good time, especially for only traveling at night.

Gavin figured staying off the roads helped. They were full of peddlers and mercenaries, and were suited for carriages with long travel times. Cutting straight through the highlands was definitely a wise choice. Maybe the only wise choice he had made on the whole trip, he lamented.

The highlander looked back at Elyn and wondered where she came from. She was definitely a different breed than the women he was used to back at the castle, a lot of submissive harlots in his opinion. There was something about Elyn that stirred him deeply. He wanted to tell her that just before he spied her in the markets, he had decided to turn back and tell his father he would marry Katrine Maxwell after all. But after his heart tugged at him and threatened to break at the very sight of Elyn, he knew he couldn't be with anyone else.

He rubbed his forehead, pushing the thought away. It wasn't very dutiful of him to be thinking such impure thoughts of a woman, no matter how feisty and frisky she was.

But he did appreciate it. More than she could have known. He watched her sleep a little longer before heading down to the loch to see if he might be able to catch more food for them.

There wasn't any fallen timber nearby this time, which meant he'd have to try and catch the fish with his hands again. He sighed in disgust at the thought, wishing she was awake to perhaps help him. She seemed nimble, quick, sharp. He flushed at the thought of not being able to take his mind off the woman sleeping only hundreds of yards behind him. His cloak on her skin.

When he had taken it back the other night, her scent had lingered on it for several hours. He didn't dare show it, but he would get a brief whiff of it every once in a while, when the wind kicked up just right, and it would send his heart racing and soaring. He daresay her smell made his blood rush. He took off his gauntlets and threw them ashore, letting them clank and clatter against each other.

He leaned down and coiled up his kilt again, making sure it was just high enough to give him mobility and not get wet. He waded into the loch and let the ice-cold water seep into his skin and bones. It was almost soothing, he mused. He spotted some fish darting around under the surface, and waited patiently for them to get used to his presence again.

He dove his hands down and tried to grab one, feeling its scales slip between his fingers. He cursed God for not letting him get just this one, this one chance to impress her before she woke up.

He did see it though, that look of affection before he hugged her. Didn't he? It was masked, hidden behind her fury. The fury only a woman could hold for a man she adored. At least, that was the impression he got. His mind turned toward Eilean Donan Castle, and if Alec was running things smoothly. His guts knotted at the thought that the Maxwells might be interrogating the Macraes for information about his whereabouts. Just because he wouldn't marry their daughter?

It didn't sit right with Gavin. He rolled the thought around some more while he peered down into the water again. Another fish wandered close, and he dove for it.