A Stranger at Castonbury(41)

There were a few couples walking and whispering together, yet Catalina felt almost alone as she made her way along one of the winding paths. The solitude revived her, and she felt her headache easing as she came to the low fence at the back of the garden.

She leaned on the gate and stared up into the night sky. It was black and soft as a length of velvet, dotted with a few sparkling, diamond-like stars. The moon was creeping higher above the horizon, a few wisps of cloud lying over its glow like dark blue lace. The smell of flowers and fresh, green growing things hung in the air, banishing the scent of too many perfumes and too much sweet punch. And Catalina saw that it was a truly lovely night.

Even lovelier, knowing Jamie was alive and under this same sky. No matter what had happened between them, she couldn’t help caring about him.

There was a sudden sharp rustle from the field beyond the fence, and her heart leapt, startled. She held on to the top of the gate and peered out into the night. She had thought she was alone back here. Who would be creeping about there so late? A couple sneaking out of the dance? Someone from the town stumbling home drunk?

Or perhaps a thief?

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she thought she saw someone further down the narrow lane. It was a tall, thin man hovering near a wall, too far away for her to see him well. Yet somehow she sensed he was watching her. Watching—and waiting for something.

Catalina took a deep breath and stiffened her shoulders. ‘Who is there?’ she called out. ‘Do I know you?’

The man suddenly spun around and ran away. For an instant, Catalina saw the moonlight catch on some kind of bright-coloured hair and then he was gone.

She knew she should go back inside, but her heart was still pounding. She didn’t like the feeling seeing that figure left behind.

‘Talking to someone, Catalina?’ a man said, and she whirled around with her fists raised—only to see that it was Jamie who stood behind her.

‘You startled me,’ she gasped. ‘You move far too quietly.’

He gave her a wry smile. ‘My apologies. I will be sure to beat my stick against the trees next time. Are you alone out here?’

Catalina glanced back down the lane. The spot where the man had been was quite empty.

Feeling foolish, she hurried around the nearest tree and leaned back to let its solid trunk hold her up. It had been such a strange, dizzying time, she hardly knew what to say or think, how to behave. Her confusion only grew when Jamie followed her and stood close to her in the night.

She reached up, compelled to touch his face, to ease the tense lines on his brow with her fingertips. How well she remembered the feel of him under her touch! The skin smooth as taut satin over his sharp cheekbones, the roughness of the evening whiskers over his hard jaw. The new scar that arced along his cheek. He was close to her now, so close she could drown in the grey sky of his eyes.

She curled her fingers around his face and just looked and looked at him. Jamie, Jamie.

He, too, seemed enchanted by this moment out of time, woven out of the past and the magical attraction that still bound them together. Jamie caught her hand in his and turned his face to press a kiss in the cup of her palm. His lips were so soft and firm at the same time, so gentle where they touched her skin.

‘Catalina,’ he said hoarsely. His voice echoed against her hand and seemed to move through her whole body, right to her very heart. ‘I’ve missed you.’

His other hand slid around the nape of her neck, just under the loose knot of her hair, and he drew her even closer. So very close.

Catalina knew she should pull away from him, that this should not be happening. But she could no more leave him than she could cease to breathe. She craved Jamie’s kiss—she needed it. She had been so long without him.

Jamie’s movements were slow and gentle, giving her time to draw back from him—or to learn him again. As her eyes closed and she leaned into him, she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheeks, the heat of his body against hers, the clean, wondrously familiar scent of him. She twined her arms around his neck to bring him even closer to her. She felt the short, soft strands of his hair cling to her gloves and she went up on tiptoe as she held on to him.

Their lips met softly once, twice, as if they were slowly finding their way back to each other. Then temptation and heat rose between them as memories burst free, and Catalina couldn’t resist another second. Their mouths melded in a blurry, hot rush, and she felt his tongue seeking hers, tracing the soft seam of her lips before sliding inside.