Page 109 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

He had faced blades and stood before men who wanted him dead in the past. Gordon knew what danger was… he thought he understood fear.

But this… this was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He had spent weeks telling himself he could let her go. That he did not need her here, and he could not want her.

And perhaps all of that was true. Now more than ever, he knew it was. She was not safe with him.

But the thought of losing her terrified him more than any of that, and he did not think he could survive it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ailis had long since stopped pretending she knew where she was going. She did not even know how she had gotten here. Somehow, she had wandered too far from the main village and had lost track of the path she had taken.

Her feet ached with every step, the pain shooting through her soles whenever she put her weight on them. Her skirts were damp at the hem, and the evening chill had seeped through the thin fabric until she could feel it in her bones.

She had walked too far. Farther than she had intended. And every turning had only carried her deeper into unfamiliar lanes.

“I should have stayed with Mistress Harriet,” she whispered miserably, her feet aching, and eyes too tired to stay fully open.

The words vanished into the cold evening air.

She hugged her arms around herself and kept walking.

I need water, or I might die.

Her tongue felt dry against the roof of her mouth, and each breath scraped her throat. She swallowed repeatedly, but it did nothing to ease the desperate dryness.

Her mind, exhausted and frightened, betrayed her.

For a fleeting moment, she imagined Gordon appearing over the rise.

He would see her. He would know immediately that something was wrong. Then he would stride toward her with that fierce look in his eyes, sweep her into his arms as though she weighed nothing, and carry her back without a word.

The image was so vivid that her chest tightened.

Will he look for me, or will he assume I ran away?

Sorcha and Marion would worry about her, she was certain, if only she could find a way to locate the castle… She had wandered for hours through vast lands and had not even seen a single soul.

Where am I?

She finally approached a clearing and spotted the first store she had seen after walking for hours.

Ahead, through the darkness, a small orange glow appeared.

A fire.

Relief flickered through her as she realized she had finally found the main village. Perhaps there were villagers there. Someone who could tell her the way back.

She quickened her steps despite the ache in her feet. As she drew closer, she saw a man beside the fire watching her.

At first, Ailis thought he might help. Then he smiled, and there was something wrong with the expression.

“Ye lost, lass?”

Ailis stopped several paces away from him. “I am tryin’ to find the village seamstress or the path that leads to the castle.”

The man’s gaze traveled over her clothes. The sneer of a smile on his face widened.