Chapter Twenty

 

When she woke some hours later, she found herself in Kieran’s bed. She was now wearing another woman’s white nightdress. She didn’t have to guess who put her there, or who changed her clothes. The question was why, because she didn’t remember a thing after falling asleep in front of the fire.

She tried sitting up but her body wasn’t quick to respond. She was warm and slightly dizzy, but not so dizzy she didn’t notice Kieran sleeping in a stuffed chair in the corner of the room. His legs were propped up on the foot of the old iron bed and crossed at the ankle. His head tilted boyishly to one side as he dozed, and his hands were clasped across the flat of his belly.

She smiled at his sleeping form. He was really very handsome with his auburn waves falling roguishly over one eye, his dark brows relaxed and his remarkable lips slightly parted. He looked like he was smiling in his sleep and she wondered what he was dreaming of.

A lamp had been left on in the opposite corner and cast a pale amber glow about the room. She relaxed against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, at the underside of the thick thatching covering the roof. Sturdy beams supported the great weight of the reed.

Even through her dozy thoughts, she was startled by the room’s feminine décor — the iron bed with its polished brass finials, the white lace-edged sheets, yet another of the colorful handmade quilts.

The curtains had been drawn. Could it be dark already? They’d only arrived around noon. If it was after dark, it meant it was nearing midnight. The sun didn’t set in the summer until around half past ten.

With great effort, she pulled back the quilt and swung her legs over the side of the mattress. It was then she noticed just how high off the floor she was. Her head swam. She tried catching herself before she fell off the bed, but couldn’t stop the momentum once she was moving forward. Kieran was at her side instantly. She felt her skin suddenly flame where he touched her.

“Easy now, love,” he soothed, holding her heated body against his. She was weak and let him help her back into bed.

“I—I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never been dizzy like that before.” She finger-combed a strand of hair from her forehead and felt the bumps there. Without looking she knew she was living in full blown Chickenpoxland and groaned audibly. She rolled away from him.

“Hey now, where are you going?” His voice was full of concern and compassion.

“Don’t look at me. I’m hideous.”

“Too late. Who do you think has been taking care of you the last couple of days?”

She flashed a look over her shoulder. “What do you mean ‘the last couple of days’? How long have I been asleep?”

He looked at his watch. “About forty hours now, give or take. You woke about eighteen hours ago. I guess you don’t remember being sick.”

“I was sick?” She sank into the pillows, disgusted with herself. How could she have been sick in front of him? Worse still, how could she not remember? Maybe it was a blessing she couldn’t.

She heard him moving beside her. His hand on her shoulder rolled her over to face him once more. “Come now,” he said and dabbed a cool compress to her forehead and cheeks.

“Mmmm,” Eilis muttered, closing her eyes. “That feels good. It smells like—”

“Oatmeal?” he finished. “It is. An oatmeal bath is the best thing for chickenpox, followed by a liberal dousing of calamine lotion.”

Then it hit her. “Forty hours? I’ve been sleeping for forty hours?”

He nodded. “I expected you’d get a fever, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. You were probably fighting this for a couple days. You must have been exhausted. When I couldn’t wake you for dinner, I found you had a fever and your spots had worsened since this morning. I put you to bed and have tried keeping you comfortable until you woke.”

“I wasn’t sick . . . on you, was I?” She would be mortified if she had.

“Nothing that couldn’t be washed out.” He winked.

“Oh, God,” she moaned. God, strike me down now, she thought. She couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing.

“Relax. I’m teasing. You made it to the loo in time. Just.”

He was going to be the death of her. Or she’d kill him. She wasn’t sure which.

“Don’t tease me like that, Kieran Vaughan. That’s an incredibly mean thing to do to a woman in my condition.” Somehow she didn’t think scolding him would do any good. He was a rogue and he knew it.

She relaxed again under his hands. Rogue or not, he was really very sweet to take care of her like this. She should be more grateful.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this. I’m sorry to have put you through it.”

“Nothing to apologize for, love. I’m glad I was here.” He wrung out the cloth again, then applied it to her arms and the opening of her nightdress.

Eilis moaned before she could stop it. It felt so good to have the cool cloth on her inflamed skin.

“Does this mean we can leave sooner?”

“No. Now who’s the chancer?”

When she tried turning away from him, he pressed her back against the pillows then lowered the blankets to expose her legs. She could only watch, wide-eyed, as he lifted the nightdress hem and gently dabbed the cloth on her skin.

He began with one ankle and worked his way up. Her breath caught at the sensation when the cool cloth touched her inner thigh. Suddenly the heat of the lesions cooled as another fire, deep inside her, ignited.

Kieran never lifted his gaze from his work, the expression on his face didn’t waver, but he seemed to take an exorbitantly long time applying the lotion.

She nearly protested when he finally lowered her hem and pulled the covers over her once more.

“Hungry?” His voice was thick, but he did gaze at her. His eyes were full of the same urgency he’d had the day on her porch.

“No.” Her voice was little more than a whisper. He put the cloth beside the bowl of water then moved to sit beside her on the bed. She couldn’t meet his gaze. She was repulsive, more so now with the bumps pinching her skin. Her body was on fire. Much of it now, she noted, didn’t have anything to do with chickenpox.

“Hey,” he whispered. There was concern in his voice. She didn’t want his concern though. She wanted to be left alone to wallow in her misery.

His cool fingers on her chin turned her to face him. She tried to protest but, frankly, she just didn’t have the strength. She wouldn’t look at him though. She couldn’t.

“What’s the matter, Eilis?” he asked, his voice full of quiet sincerity.

“That’s probably the single stupidest question I’ve heard in my life.” She flashed a glare in his direction.

“OK. Aside from looking like someone used you for target practice with darts, what’s wrong?” To her surprise, that was actually funny. It hurt to laugh. “Sorry, love,” he said when she finally looked at him.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked. Curiosity was getting the best of her now.

“Doing what?”

“Bringing me here, watching after me like a mother hen, and basically—” she couldn’t finish, so she averted her eyes again. Her fingers nervously toyed with the edge of the quilt.

“Basically what, Eilis?”

“Being nice to me,” she finally said, spinning her gaze back at him.

“Is it a sin being nice to someone and taking care of them when they’re in need?”

“No, but after what I said to you last night . . . I mean the other night, I’m surprised you came for me at the B&B.”

His fingers on her chin once more, so gentle, he turned her to face him again, holding her firmly, yet so softly.

“Just because you don’t believe how I feel about you, Eilis, doesn’t mean I’m going to stop caring, or stop trying to convince you. I’m hoping by the time you’re well enough to go home you’ll have come to understand what I’ve told you is the truth, and realize you feel the same about me.” His gaze never left hers as he spoke, nor when he was finished.

After a moment, Eilis squeaked out, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Kieran grinned. “Lovesick I hope.”

“No, sick. Get me to the loo, quickly.”

♥ ♥ ♥

Kieran had left the bedroom door ajar so he could hear Eilis if she called, and put her soiled nightdress to the wash while she changed and went back to bed.

Now he was in the kitchen. He stood over the sink sipping his morning tea and watching the sun creep through the forest. The blue haze of the night sky was giving way to a lavender and pink morning. It was six a.m.

He wished Eilis was standing beside him, nestled in his arms, the scent of her hair and skin filling his nostrils. He wanted to feel her back against his chest, wanted to feel her heart beat with his as the morning awakened. He glanced down. The mug of tea he cradled in his palms was no comparison. With a sigh, he returned to the living room. He was beyond tired.

He was supposed to sleep on the pullout sofa. But he wanted to stay at her side in case she needed him. His gaze had hardly left her once he’d put her to bed. He watched her sleep until fitful sleep claimed him too.

He hadn’t really slept. Each time she’d shifted in the bed, he’d bolted awake to see if she needed him. By the time he’d settled her, his exhaustion had quickly returned him to his fitful sleep in the cramped chair.

Sighing, he turned and left the kitchen to check on Eilis again. He stopped at the door. She was resting comfortably. Before she’d returned to bed earlier, she’d changed into her own pajamas and put her hair up. He smiled at her pigtails sprawled across the pillow.

Even through the spots marring her skin, her beauty was unmistakable. Her brows arched over thick lashes. Her full lips were pouting and very kissable.

He stiffened remembering the kiss in front of the pub in Killarney and had a difficult time pulling himself away from the doorway. He remembered how she’d responded to his kiss, and how her body against his and their kiss had enflamed his.

That flame was still alive. While he’d undressed her and put her into the nightdress, he’d fantasized about the things he’d do to her once she was well and agreeable. He took his time applying the oatmeal bath and lotion so he could memorize every curve of her exposed skin.

He still felt her soft inner thigh in the palm of his hand. He knew he’d taken too long to rub the lotion into her skin, but he couldn’t pull himself away once he’d begun. In the last forty hours, he had memorized her curves. And now that he had, he wanted little more than to touch her at every opportunity.

He berated himself over what his behavior must have looked like from Eilis’s perspective. She could accuse him of any number of improprieties — stalking, kidnap and assault among them.

But the look on Eilis’s face as he had rubbed in the lotion moments ago, gazing at him as desire filled her — and there was no mistaking it as desire — told him she enjoyed his touch. She had agreed to stay here with him until she was well. And she couldn’t deny how he made her feel. Even if her words denied her feelings—and they had—her lips and body proved her wrong. If their kiss was any indication, Kieran had a feeling Eilis was not only hiding secrets from her past, but a passion so deep it scared her.

While they were here in the cottage, he hoped she would learn to trust him. With that trust, he could build a relationship with her. He felt it in his gut. She had feelings for him too, and he fully intended to explore them.

He hadn’t been joking when he had said he had wood to chop. He’d put it off so he did not disturb her. Now he threw on a light jacket and went out the back door. A chopping session was just what he needed to work out his tension. The concentration on the task would occupy his thoughts.

♥ ♥ ♥

Eilis didn’t waken again until mid-afternoon. Kieran heard her rustling and instantly went to her side. He’d been in the kitchen preparing an early dinner. He would insist she eat something whether she wanted it or not. She hadn’t eaten since her breakfast at the B&B nearly three days ago. That is, if she’d had breakfast.

Entering the bedroom, he found her sitting up in bed scratching at her arms, her face contorted in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Here now, love.” He moved to sit beside her on the bed. He had to force her to stop scratching. That would only make it worse. He dampened a clean cloth in the bowl of oatmeal bath still sitting on the bedside table. He touched it to her forehead and cheeks, and followed the curve of her neck down to the opening of her pajama top.

When he tried to unbutton her top, she pushed his hands away, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m trying to loosen the collar so I can get this compress on your shoulders. You’re hot and the spots are festering.” She pushed his hands away again when he tried to continue bathing her shoulders.

“I’ll do it myself. Just leave and I’ll do it.”

“All right. I’ll be right outside the door. Call if you need me.” Reluctantly, he left her to the task. He went into the kitchen and got himself a beer from the fridge, then went to sit on the sofa before the fire.

He was out of shape and chopping wood was something he should have eased himself into again, not gone at with a vengeance like he had. Instead of feeling some relief, he only felt pain. Every muscle in his body ached, but no amount of pain would take his mind off the ache Eilis gave him.

He heard the rustling from the bedroom. She groaned and whimpered, but he forced himself to stay where he was. He had to let her call to him if she needed him.

He turned to glance at the door, anticipating her coming to it to enlist his help, but she didn’t. What he saw almost did him in though.

A full length mirror sat just inside the door and gave him a perfect reflection of Eilis standing beside the bed. She was as naked as the day she was born. The pounding in his chest caught in his throat, forcing the breath out of him.

He really should look away but he couldn’t bring himself to move. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. Her figure was a perfect hourglass shape, with full breasts tapering to a narrow waist which flared to full hips. Her legs were long and shapely. On more than one occasion he’d imagined them wrapped around his waist while he pleasured her.

She had the cloth in her hand and bent over slowly to dab the skin on her calves, then her knees, then thighs. The curve of her bottom drew an audible groan from him and he threw his head back on the sofa, squeezing his eyes shut.

Why him? How could he put himself into a situation like this? He was done for. He knew with absolute belief he’d never be the same.

His head lolled towards the door again and he opened his eyes. Eilis had turned around. He groaned as his erection surged to life. The sight of her perfect full breasts as she gently stroked her belly with the cloth, was almost too much for him to bear.

He shot off the sofa like a ball being fired from a cannon and stormed into the kitchen. He shouldn’t watch her like that. It wasn’t right. No matter what he felt for her, she was still a guest in his home. An ill guest at that. She deserved some respect.

Damn it! Hadn’t he promised her privacy in that room?

Kieran slammed his foot against a box of spuds on the floor and cursed aloud, shaking his fists.

“Feckin’ hell!”

He turned a circle in the tiny kitchen, running his fingers through his hair, looking for some direction to turn. His heart pounded in his chest. He felt like he was on the edge of a coronary moment.

“Bloody feckin’ hell!” he spat. He spun, flipped off the oven, then stomped out of the kitchen and into the back garden. He needed to walk off his frustration. He felt like he had a boner the size of Carrantuohill, Ireland’s tallest mountain.

♥ ♥ ♥

Eilis heard a loud noise and wondered what had happened. She quickly put her pajamas back on then walked through the cottage into the kitchen. She expected to find Kieran there. He wasn’t, but the scent of cooking was. It filled her nostrils and her stomach squeezed. She didn’t think she was hungry, but whatever Kieran was making had her salivating.

She looked out the window into the back garden but didn’t seem him there either. She hadn’t heard his motorbike, and with a meal in the oven, she knew he was still around. That feeling inside her confirmed it.

Maybe he’d gone for a walk. She knew he’d been cooped up in the cottage looking after her. A walk would be good for him. She’d love one too if she hadn’t felt so weak.

Turning to return to the bedroom, she spotted a box of spuds on the floor and wondered where they’d come from. More so, she wondered about the boot-shaped hole in the side of it.

She couldn’t resist peeking in the oven to see what smelled so good and found a succulent roast surrounded by colorful vegetables. She inhaled deeply before closing the door. The thought of Kieran cooking for her made her smile. She wasn’t much of a cook herself but she loved to eat. She figured it was a fare trade-off if she ever found someone who enjoyed cooking.

Fatigue came quickly and she found her way back through the living room. She stopped dead in her tracks near the sofa when she looked through the bedroom door and saw the mirror. It was angled to where she’d stood moments before. Had Kieran been watching her? Her brows creased together angrily at the intrusion. Well, she hoped he’d got an eyeful because that was all he was getting from her.

She stalked into the room and turned the glass backwards.

“Let him look at this!” she said aloud, then went into the bathroom.

Her reflection didn’t look as bad as she felt. Her body felt ravished with spots, but really there were only a handful of them. OK, two handfuls. And they itched like she’d rolled in a nettle bush. Her pajamas only made the itch worse.

The calamine lotion was sitting on her bedside table and she went to retrieve it. Making sure the door was good and closed this time, she removed her pajamas and dabbed the spots with the lotion. When she was done, she looked at her pajamas lying across the bed. She couldn’t bring herself to put them on again. But she couldn’t stand there naked either, so decided to crawl back into bed. The cool sheets on her heated skin were just what she needed. She’d worry about washing the lotion stains from the sheets later.