Page 65 of Loched in Love

My vision blurs, a hot and heavy tear spills over my cheek, followed by another. I bury my face in my hands against the steering wheel and start sobbing, unable to keep my emotions to myself as I crumble.

“I’m sorry,” I sob, my shoulders shaking. “I ruined it. I crashed the car and now we’re stranded, and everyone is going to try to flirt with me again and I can’t even drive on the right side of the road.” I lose it.

“Elena, my flower. Look at me.”

A big warm hand gently takes my wrists pulling my hands away from my face. I look through my tears at Lachlan. He’s still absurdly large and crumpled in the passenger seat, but the panic is entirely gone from his face.

His expression is incredibly soft, his green eyes melting with pure, unadulterated tenderness.

Before I can spiral further, the heavy snap of the seatbelt echoes in the tiny cabin as Lachlan exits the vehicle and makes his way over to me, throwing my driver’s side door open to the misty elements, and unbuckling my seatbelt in one swift movement.

With effortless strength he lifts me entirely out of the driver’s seat and pulls me straight out of the car, hauling me onto the soft damp grass of the roadside bank. He sits back against the low stone wall and gathers me securely in his arms, wrapping his big body around me like a living shield against the cold Scottish air.

He buries his face in my hair, inhaling deeply, completely unbothered by the smoking engine or ruined bumper.

“You see it’s fine, Elena,” he murmurs, his deep voice a soothing rich purr against my ear as he rocks me. He gently wipes a tear from my cheek with his broad thumb holding me so close I can feel the steady powerful hum of his heartbeat. “Look over my shoulder. See there? See past the road and look down the hill.” He says, rubbing one big hand down my back, his body feeling very much like a security blanket.

I sniffle, resting my chin on his broad shoulder as I look past the steaming hood of the car.

The long road brought us right to the crest of a large hill, and there stretched out as far as the eye can see under a thick blanket of mystical Scottish mist, is a massive and breathtakingly dark expanse of water. The Loch Ness.

“We’ve reached the loch,” Lachlan whispers, a beautiful and proud smile lighting up his face as he tightens his hold on me. “We’re home, my bonnie wee flower. You got us home, lass.”

Chapter 25

LACHLAN MACBETH

“Shh,” I croon, hoping to soothe her fears as I kiss at her temple and rub at her back gently.

The rancid panic in her scent begins to fade, replaced by a sweet, lingering relief. A sense of rightness strikes my insides at how perfect she is in my arms, and how joyful I feel that she will lean into me when she needs.

A warm sensation fills my chest as she lets out a shaky, wet breath, and her posture finally softens against me as she stares at the water.

Now that she isn’t crying, my mind immediately flashes back to the absolute chaos inside the car right before the crash. A wicked smirk plays on my lips as amusement flares in my chest and I can’t help the low chuckle that shakes deep in my sternum.

“So,” I murmur, leaning my chin on her head as I look down at her wee hands in mine. “Into scaled tails, are we?”

Elena freezes against me, her entire neck turning a fantastic shade of red as she blushes.

“Oh god. Lachlan, please don’t,” she groans, burying her face right back into my jacket to hide her mortification.

“And luminous eyes?” I tease, my Scottish lilt dripping with pure amusement. I gently nudge her shoulder tilting my head down so I can peek at her hidden face. “I must say, flower, it’s incredibly charming, I had no idea you fancied monsters with dark wings and lairs so much.”

“It’s just a book,” she squeaks, though she slowly peeks up at me through her eyelashes with a small and bold little smile on her mouth.

She reaches out her small fingers to trail up my neck, sliding right under the collar of my plaid shirt and finding the patch of skin where my hidden green and blue scales appear when I’m relaxed. She strokes them gently, her gaze softening. “Besides, I think your scales are the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen, and my monster books have nothing on the real thing.”

Her touch sends goose pimples spreading across my arms and back, and I sigh happily. She’s my perfect match.

“Alright love, up we get,” I say, rubbing at her arms lightly as I set her on her feet.

After gathering the luggage from the car, I bring her back into my arms, not giving her a chance to argue. She squeaks in surprise and instinctively wraps her arms around my neck.

Turning my back on the wreckage, I head straight down the steep and untamed hill.

The descent is treacherous. The earth is slick from the mist with mud and dead bracken from the trees threatening to trip anyone without supernatural balance. I can barely sense the incline with my legs taking long and heavy strides down the slope.

Elena, however, tenses in my arms, her small fingers clutching at the lapels of my plaid shirt and jacket as the wind howls around us.