The Ranger (Highland Guard #3)(118)

She saw the flash of hurt before her father’s gaze hardened. “I’ll hear no more of this. Make your choice. But do not be mistaken. Go to him, and I will never see you again. You will be dead to me.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, burning her throat. “You don’t mean that.”

But he did. “Choose,” he demanded angrily.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Anna started to walk to the boat where her brother waited for her.

Arthur turned away, unable to watch her leave.

He’d listened to every painful word of her conversation with her father. Damn Lorn for doing this to her! For making her choose between them. It didn’t have to be this way. Arthur had tried to give him a way out, but the bastard wouldn’t take it.

He almost wished he’d killed him. Almost. But when he’d heard Anna say that she loved him, he knew he’d done the right thing. Even if it meant he had to let her go.

Unfortunately, the pain of parting wasn’t any easier the second time around. His chest burned. Every muscle in his body felt teased on a razor’s edge, reverberating with tension and restraint.

He wanted to stop her from getting on that damned boat. To tell her she belonged with him. To tell her he loved her.

To ask her to choose him.

But he wouldn’t make it harder on her than it already was. He wouldn’t tear her apart even further. One look at her stricken face when her father had given her his ultimatum was enough to see the terrible toll it was taking on her.

“I’m sorry, Ewen. Tell Mother—” Her voice broke. “Tell her I’m sorry. But I belong with him.”

He jolted still, clearing his ears, refusing to believe he’d heard her right. Slowly, he turned and saw her hugging her brother.

Hugging him goodbye.

Arthur couldn’t breathe.

Stepping away from her brother’s embrace, she turned and ventured a look in his direction. The uncertainty in her gaze sent a hard twinge through his chest that broke every last thread of his restraint.

He was at her side in a few long strides. His voice rumbled with the effort to constrain the emotion surging in his chest. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this. I’ll protect you and your family as best I can, even if you go.”

She smiled, tears shimmering in her eyes. “The fact that you would do that is exactly why I am sure. I love you. If you still want me, I’m yours.”

Oh God, did he want her. Forgetting the dirt and grime that clung to him—not to mention the stench of the battlefield—Arthur pulled her in his arms with a sigh of relief that tore from the deepest part of him. From the place he’d never thought to open again. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, absorbed the golden, silky warmth and fragrance of her hair, and held her tightly against him, too moved to speak.

But he didn’t need to say anything. The way she slid her arms around him and rested her cheek against his cotun said it all.

She’d chosen him. He couldn’t believe it. He’d never thought to feel like this. Never thought that this kind of happiness was meant for him.

But his joy was tempered by the knowledge of how difficult this must be for her.

Reluctantly, he released her. She gazed up at him, the sunlight caressing her beautiful features in a soft, golden light. Light that spread through him like a warm embrace. He felt a fierce tightening inside him. He was a lucky man.

Realizing he still hadn’t answered, he lifted one corner of his mouth. “If you didn’t guess, that was a yes.”

Her smile made his heart catch.

He’d thought he was meant to be alone, but now he knew he’d only been waiting for her. Together they would face whatever challenges and obstacles life threw at them.

Including her father. Arthur held her against his side as Lorn strode down to the jetty to take his place among his men.

He could feel Anna wobble as her father walked past where they stood without giving her another glance.

Arthur squeezed her to him tighter, wanting to protect her from this. The bastard was breaking her heart.

“Father,” she cried softly.

Lorn turned to look at her with an icy glare. But he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted to be. There was real pain in the older man’s eyes. “There is nothing more to be said. You made your choice.”

She shook her head. “I choose to love you both. But my future is with Arthur.”

Lorn gave her a long look, and for a moment Arthur thought he might relent. But he flattened his mouth and turned to leave without another word, pride dooming him once again. He was only hurting himself, cutting her off like this. Anna was the light—the glue—that had held everyone around her together. Without her, their life would be a little darker. Arthur ought to know; he’d been there.

He wished he could save her from the pain or take it for himself, but all he could do was stay by her side as her father and clansmen sailed away from her.

When they disappeared from sight around the bend in the loch, Arthur tipped her chin to look into her eyes. “I swear I will make sure that you never regret this.”

Through the shimmer of tears, she gave him a wobbly smile. “I won’t. It’s the only decision I could make. I love you.”

He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. Her mouth was even sweeter and softer than he remembered. “And I love you.”