Page 43 of Highland Guard
When Kieran went back inside, he experienced a newfound calm. The freezing scrub in the loch brought him back to reality. However, a compelling wave of heat washed over him, almost causing him to stumble and kneel. There, by the fire’s light, Naomi was preparing food over the fireplace. Her hair was let loose to dry and not in its usual braids. She wore a long tunic with soft untanned shoes on her feet.
Kieran felt a surge of longing for her, for this scene to be played out every day of his life. He imagined for the first time what it would be like to come home each night to this vision and then have Naomi in his bed for eternity. He felt a pang in his chest at the thought.
Naomi turned at that moment and smiled at him. “Kieran, come and warm yourself by the fire. I have made a warm broth for us. I just need to take Dermid his share.” She ladled the steaming soup into a bowl and added a thick chunk of bread, but before she could take Dermid his share, Kieran took the bowl and went back out into the icy rain. There was no way he was allowing Dermid to look at Naomi in her current state. If Naomi went to the stable, he just knew Dermid would try his hardest to have Naomi bedding in the hayloft with him. Kieran gritted his teeth at the thought as he sprinted between the bothy and stable.
“Dermid!” he roared up into the loft.
“Aye?” Dermid replied from above. The stable was warm and well lit.
“Naomi made you supper. I’ll leave it here for you.”
“Tis all right, I’ll come to the bothy and share a meal with you both—”
“There’s no room. You’re not needed for the rest of the evening.” With that, Kieran turned back around and stomped back to the bothy.
Dermid just grinned, then climbed down to eat his soup.
“Is Dermid going to join us?” Naomi asked when Kieran returned.
“No, he’s tired and prefers to sleep.”
“Oh... ah all right, then come get dry and share a meal with me.”
Kieran realized then he was still soaking wet and scowling at her from the doorway. Naomi handed him a drying cloth and went back to the pot to ladle soup into their bowls.
Kieran shuffled about, changing into dry clothes while Naomi’s back was to him. Then he joined her by the fire to a bowl of soup. He took one mouthful and moaned with delight. It was delicious and so hearty; he felt it hit an empty point in his belly and fill it instantly.
“Lass, this is the best food I’ve ever tasted.”
Naomi blushed. “Tis nothing that a few spices cannot improve.”
They settled into a companionable silence as they devoured their meal. When it was over, they shared a cup of mead. Naomi was about to take some to Dermid when Kieran pulled her back to her seat. “He is fine, love. The stables are warm and dry, and he has provisions.
Naomi nodded and sat back down. In the fire’s warm glow, she relaxed despite being so close to Kieran. They drank their mead and sat mostly in silence. Kieran’s fresh scent combined with leather and fire left her wondering why he had held back from kissing her months ago. The thought emerged from the most ridiculous place. Did he not find her attractive?
“I did not kiss you lass, because if I did, I kenned I would not be able to stop. And you are innocent. I dinnae dally with innocents.”
Naomi inhaled a harsh breath, realizing she had spoken her thoughts out loud.
“I ... I did not mean to ask you that. I was ah ... wait. What do you mean you would not have been able to stop?”
“I mean, you’re a bonnie woman, Naomi, and my blood burns for want of you. But you deserve your first kiss to be with someone other than me. With a man who would be honored to be your husband and make a life with you.”
Naomi replied, “That is a plain faced lie, and you know it. You dinnae find me attractive, and you didn’t want to place your lips on mine. That’s the truth of the matter.”
“No, tis not the truth. Stop twisting things to suit your own ends.”
“Kieran, I wanted you to be my first kiss because you seemed experienced, and I wanted to practice with someone who would be gentle with me. So, when I found a man I could love, I could please him because I had a fine teacher. I was not expecting a marriage proposal at the end of it,” she huffed.
“Are you daft? You dinnae go offering your lips to just any man who comes along. You could find yourself in grave danger if a man wanted more than just taking your first kiss.”
“I know that. I am not a dunce. I just wanted to feel something, experience something I hadn’t experienced before and likely never would within the abbey walls. Tis not wrong to want to feel something more.”
Kieran stared at her for the longest moment, then changed the subject. “So, tell me about this relic? Why is theBrotherhoodafter it?”
“I dinnae ken the full story of it, except my father gave it to me when I was a child. When I arrived at the abbey, the nuns took it and kept it safe. It is said to have special powers and I suppose it is fitting that the king hold on to it.”
“Naomi, I’ve been meaning to ask, how is it you ken how to fight so well? I thought women in abbeys were gentle creatures.”
