Page 21 of Taming the Highland Beauty

And even without playing his mandolin right now, he could feel himself softening towards the woman in his arms. Gille had changed not only his attitude about fairies, but she also made him long for things he had never thought he wanted. He wanted to befriend her. He wanted to see her happy. He wanted to protect her from anyone who thought they could extort her magic. He wanted to save her from Oberon’s fate for her in six days. And, as desire blossomed in his loins, he realised he also wanted her in every way a man could want a woman.

The question was, did she want the same thing? Or did she see him only as a means to breaking her curse?

Chapter Nine

Gille found herself pulled from sleep by a soothing melody that whispered through her chamber. The sound was soft, yet evocative as the strings of a mandolin were plucked with a gentle touch. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were still too heavy. She had heard the melody Callum played before. But where?

She concentrated on the sound, letting the music move around her, through her as she tried to remember. A snippet of memory came to her. The darker seals in Loch Dunvegan had sung that song. As she and Callum had moved across the rear courtyard of Dunvegan, the sound had become fainter. Perhaps Callum had heard the song as well, which was why he played it now.

The music ended abruptly, and she heard Callum sigh. “Why can I not remember?” he whispered from somewhere near the right side of her bed. Disappointment laced his words.

She wanted to tell him that she did not recall the entire melody either, but what her mind wanted and what her body was capable of in that moment were two different things. So, instead, she relaxed into the sheets beneath her and let her thoughts return to what she and Callum had to do next to help Lottie, Lady Janet, and herself.

She and Callum had gained valuable information when Gille had connected with Lady Janet’s essence. They would have to begin their quest in the forest to find Lottie’s hidden sealskin. And once it was returned to her, perhaps Lottie could assist her and Callum in asking the selkies for help in remembering that song, because Gille could not shake the feeling that the song was somehow important to breaking her curse and helping Callum’s mother move into her afterlife.

When Gille had regained her strength, she and Callum would begin. She tried once more to open her eyes and failed. Instead of fighting, she surrendered to the powerful urge to sleep for a few moments more.

*

Gille woke feeling a sense of peace so vast she thought it was a dream. Yet the warmth that surrounded her and the arm that draped across her chest told her it was not. She smiled and stretched as she opened her eyes, then frowned when Callum’s hand cupped her breast. It was not the spiral of heat that shot through her that caused her alarm, or the masculine body that held her so close. It was the yellow-gold sunlight streaming through the window. Had she slept the night through?

Callum’s soft, light breathing told her he was asleep. She gently lifted Callum’s hand, placing it at his side. Yet when she tried to rise, his hand came around her again, pulling her tightly against him.

“Where are you going?” he said, sleepily.

She tensed as the light coming through the shutter intensified. “I have slept through another day.”

“You needed time to heal.” He opened his eyes and smiled down at her, only increasing the warmth that pooled in her belly. “Is your head still aching?”

“Only a little, but I feel as though my strength has returned.”

Callum’s hand slid down her arm. “Lottie gave you a tonic last evening. I am pleased it worked to ease your pain.”

Gille had no memory of that, but an odd taste lingered on her tongue. “Was that what tasted so bitter?”

He laughed. “Lottie mixed in honey.”

Gille shuddered. “Not nearly enough.” She sobered. “We have lost another day. Only five days left before I—”

“You will not turn into a tree,” Callum said with a fearsome scowl. “Not now, not ever.”

Her breath caught as his gaze dipped from her eyes to her lips. Time seemed to slow as his face descended. His kiss was a storm, violent and unfamiliar. Panic flared in her chest before dissolving into something deeper, something primal. His body pressed into hers, hard and insistent. She wanted to flee, but her hands moved up his chest instead. She liked the feel of him beneath her hand. Close. Intimate. And there was something else, something even more fragile building between them: trust. She realised with a sense of awe that she trusted Callum and received trust in return. He was the first person aside from Aria and Pearl with whom she could simply be herself—the woman and the fairy.

Abruptly, he pulled away. His eyes, wide and filled with a strange turmoil, met hers. “I—I did not mean to do that,” he stammered.

Disorientated, she blinked, her mind reeling. “Neither did I,” she managed, her voice tight. A fierce longing pulled at her, a desire to reclaim the stolen moment. But sanity prevailed. This was no time for weakness. With an effort, she detached her hands and sat up, creating distance between them. “We have a mission.”

He nodded, his gaze avoiding hers as he moved to the edge of the bed. His hands raked through his hair, and a deep breath shuddered through him. “I should have said . . . I will not let anything happen to you, Gille. We will find Lottie’s pelt and break your curse. Nothing will stop us.”

A warmth spread through her, a flicker of hope ignited by his words. She believed him. For his mother, if not for her. With renewed strength, she swung her legs over the bed and stood. The air crackled with tension as his eyes roamed her, assessing. She met his gaze, and what she saw there made her pause. “We should start our search.”

His scrutiny continued, intense and unwavering. Finally, his eyes met hers. “You change every day, Gille. A different woman, yet I cannot quite place what is different.”

Gille swallowed, the question echoing in her mind. Every day was a transformation, a shedding of the beast Oberon had made her. But who was she beneath the layers? Would she like the woman emerging, or would the curse claim her before she discovered who she was meant to be?

She shoved the terrifying thought aside, focusing on the practical. Her wrinkled dress demanded attention. “Grant me a moment to change,” she told Callum.

He started for the door. “I will gather supplies and ready the horses.”