Free Loving A Highlander by Aileen Wells Page B

bed.  Trust me, Rowan won’t mind, but Eva is a different story.  She might be offended by my treatment of you.”
    Isabella’s flush darkened.  What would he think of her if she told him that she had thought of little else since they had arrived? She wouldn’t mind spending the night in the small tower room with him, riding the waves of pleasure until they both found their release.
    “Is that the real reason you brought me here?”
    Gerard hesitated and then sighed.  “No, lass, it isn’t.  I brought you here to save your pretty little hide.  I had serious doubts whether you would last the upcoming winter if I didn’t.”
    “Oh.” Isabella tried hard not to look crestfallen, but she was crushed all the same.  It would be nice if a man wanted to spend time in her company just because he wanted to and not out of some sense of misguided duty.
    A soft light entered Gerard’s eyes.  “Good night, Isabella,” he said as he turned once again to the door.  He didn’t wait for her response before exiting the room, shutting the door behind him with a firm click.
    “Lock the door, Bella,” his muffled voice called from the other side.
    Isabella hastened to do his bidding and pushed the bolt home.  She listened as his booted feet thumped down the stairs, becoming fainter and fainter until she was left with nothing but silence.
    For the first time, Isabella felt alone.  Truly alone.  She had been alone in the cottage after Owen had departed, but she had been surrounded by the familiar comforts of home.  Here, she was a stranger in a place she felt in her soul she didn’t belong.
    To find peace, she needed to return home.  She decided to do just that at first light.  No matter how much she was beginning to care about Gerard, and she was beginning to care about him even though she had only known him a short length of time, she didn’t belong in a castle.  With a heavy heart, she walked over to the window and looked out at the moon and stars.
    Far below her, she saw the figure of a man walk from the castle toward the stables.  With a start, she realized the figure was Gerard.  Halfway to his destination he turned and stared up at her window.
    Even from this distance Isabella could feel the weight of his gaze and she took a step back.  Her heart pounding.  She didn’t know what it was about the rugged man that appealed to her so, but memories of their kiss flooded her mind and if she closed her eyes, she could feel the weight of his lips against hers and the strength of his arms.
    “Get over it, you silly goose,” she whispered, as she sat back down on the bed.  “That man isn’t interested in you.”
    But, oh, how she wished her words weren’t true.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter
    Six
     

 
    Isabella awoke to freezing cold.  The fire had gone out sometime in the night and she hadn’t closed the shutters on the window.  An icy wind whipped through the small space swirling dust motes in its wake.
    She sat up in bed and placed her bare feet against the floor, wincing as she did so.  Hastily donning her thin soled shoes, she crossed to the window.  The sky was beginning to lighten.  Before long, the sun would peak over the horizon, heralding the start of a new day.  In the courtyard below, she could see stable hands tossing the straw from the mucked out stalls into a pile. 
    She briefly wondered if Gerard had returned, and where he had gone in the first place, but then decided it didn’t matter.  More than likely, he had gone to the nearest village and found a woman willing to share his bed.  Not that he would have much difficulty.  She had seen the way women looked at him.  He was a handsome man and no doubt had women lining up to please him.
    Isabella sighed.  She didn’t belong here with him and the sooner she realized it the better it would be for the both of them.  He could get on with his life without feeling obligated to her and she could get on with hers.
    She was a strong