Joanna's Highlander (Highland Protector #2)(45)
He pulled in a deep breath. Damnation—this is worse than plannin’ any battle. He leaned around her and balanced the lantern on one of the steps above her. Maybe it was time. Time to reveal his heart before he showed her his past.
“I ha’ been alone a long time, ye ken?”
Joanna didn’t respond, just shifted in place and hooked her thumbs in the straps at her shoulders.
Grant swallowed hard. The light of the lantern on the steps behind her made it even harder to read her face. The shadows concealed the nuances of her emotions, hid all hints to her thoughts. Grant shuffled his feet and pressed his hands on the walls on either side of him. “I’m no’ sayin’ I’ve been celibate. I already admitted such to ye. But…”
Joanna still didn’t speak, even though Grant silently wished she’d do her usual prompting to help him force the words free.
“…but when I…when the two of us…when yer by my side…” Grant fisted his hands against the walls, grinding his knuckles into the stones until he felt the rocks biting into his flesh. “When I finally found the courage t’move forward with officially wooin’ ye—spendin’ all m’time with ye—I felt…”
“Wooin’ me?” The firm, soft weight of Joanna’s hand touching the center of his chest urged him on. The soft, teasing tone of her voice gave him the courage he needed.
“Loneliness is a cruel, heavy burden, lass.” He covered her hand with his and pressed her palm tighter to his heart. “But ye took it away,” he whispered, “and I canna bear for that burden to return.”
The only sound in the cavern was the soft humming of the LED bulb inside the lantern and the faraway shush of the waves on the shore. Joanna slid free of his grasp and cradled his face between her hands, her palms cool and soft, soothing against his skin. She leaned closer, searching his face in the shadows as though trying to recognize him for the man he said he was. “Tell me, Grant. I need to hear you say it. Plain and simple. You have no idea just how much I need to hear you say exactly what you mean so there are absolutely no doubts between us. I can’t do doubts again. Not with anybody. Especially not with you.”
“I love ye, Joanna. I dinna ken how much plainer I can say it.”
“That’s plain enough,” Joanna whispered as she slid her arms around him. She snuggled against his chest, tucking her head up under his chin. “And for the record, I’m pretty positive I’m in love with you too.”
“Pretty positive?” Grant tightened his arms around her and laced his fingers in her hair. “I dinna like the sound of ‘pretty positive.’ Yer no’ certain? Ye dinna ken in yer heart if ye love me?” If she wasna certain now, how would she feel when he took her to the hidden chamber and revealed the MacDara legacy?
“I’m ‘pretty sure’ because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” Then her soft giggle bubbled up between them. “I do ‘ken’ it in my heart, you silly man. I love you—for sure. I can’t imagine life without you.”
“Much better.” Grant lifted her face to his, gently brushing his mouth across hers as he did his damnedest to maintain control even though all he wanted to do right now was sweep Joanna up into his arms and carry her away where no one could ever find the two of them. “And I am a stubborn man. Especially when it comes to those I love, aye?”
“Aye.” Joanna giggled and pulled his head down for a proper kiss.
Chapter 15
The winding stone staircase went on forever but Joanna had to admit, after their enlightening chat at what seemed like at least a hundred stair steps ago, the climb wasn’t all that bad.
He loves me. She replayed Grant saying those words over and over in her mind. A ripple of contentment washed across her. And he’d meant it. She’d felt the sincerity of every syllable. So many people played fast and loose with the word love. But not Grant. He’d struggled to tell her, prying his feelings free as though revealing some deep, dark secret.
Maybe that’s what this mysterious hike was all about. Maybe he was just taking her to some private grotto that he’d never shared with anyone before because it was so difficult for him to express his feelings. Joanna relaxed with every step. That had to be it. Her overactive sense of self-preservation fueled by the town’s silly rumors about some sort of strange MacDara family secret had kicked her paranoia into overdrive. This little outing was just Grant’s way of finding out if she felt the same about him and if they had a future together. I have got to stop being so paranoid.
“The platform is just after this turn. Mind the loose rocks on the grating.” Grant held the lantern overhead slightly in front of her, lighting the last few feet of the staircase.
A steel platform, about three feet deep and six feet wide, was chained and bolted to the cave walls. It was partially embedded in the limestone, creating a landing at the top of the stone staircase. The platform led to a set of metal doors that reminded Joanna of elevator doors, but there were no buttons or panels of any kind.
“There’s an elevator here?” Joanna stepped gingerly onto the steel grating, swallowing hard when the metal shifted just a bit with her weight. She latched hold of one of the support chains and held on for dear life. They’d climbed a long way up to get to this point. She didn’t want to slip and take the express route down. “Where does it go and how do you open it? There’s no control panel.”