CursedLaird by Tara Nina Page A

see he sought solace from the loch such as she,
she remained vigilant in her oath to help him find his way. She tried to look
away from the graceful litheness of his movements but couldn’t. He belonged as
if the water and he were one.
    A heavy, contented sigh escaped and she knew a little piece
of her heart had been lost to the hot, sexy laird swimming the loch. Caledonia
couldn’t move when he reached the dock. With a fluidity and style all his own,
Struan rose from the water and lifted to his feet in front of her as if it were
as natural as breathing. She swallowed against the sudden need to kiss his lips
and plow her hands through his wet hair. The fact he had a hard-on didn’t help
her resistance strategy any.
    Focus, she ordered. Focus on helping him understand his new
life. Thankfully, he dressed, helping her if only a smidgeon of an ounce to
maintain her dignity and not pounce on him and fuck him right there. The one
thing in her favor was the sound of fishermen around the loch, making ready to
set sail for the day, echoing on the early-morning breeze. Knowing the sun’s
rays would soon break helped keep her clothes on and her raging libido
controlled, if only for the moment. She definitely didn’t want the whole
fishing community to see her butt-arse naked, frolicking with a man on the
dock. In a small village such as this, it would be the talk of the century.
    “You like to swim?”
    Caledonia waited for his response to her question. Did he or
didn’t he?
    “Aye,” he finally replied, tugged on one of his boots and
slipped something she didn’t quite see well into it. A knife perhaps? “I love a
good swim every now and again. It refreshes the soul.”
    Refreshes the soul. Had she heard him right? Yeah, she did.
Caledonia smiled. A man who liked water, unlike Kip who only used it for the
hidden treasures he sold to line his pockets.
    “I noticed you dove under. How far can you go on a single
breath?” She tried not to let her excitement show in her voice, but she knew
from his partial smile he picked up on it.
    “Not as far as I would like,” he replied as he looked out
over the loch and slung his claymore in place. “The water calls to mi. I have
always enjoyed the pleasure it provides mi soul.”
    “Would you like to reach the bottom?”
    His brows bunched. “Not possible. It is endless.”
    “Nay.” Caledonia shook her head as she smiled. “It is not.
That is where I found you.” She pointed in the direction of his former grave.
“With the proper diving equipment and training, reaching the bottom of the loch
is possible.”
    His face grew solemn and his eyes held a lost appeal. “Ye
found mi on the bottom o’ Loch Tay?”
    Caledonia stood beside him and laid her hand upon his
shoulder in comfort. “Aye. It wasn’t how Mary meant for you to be hidden. I’m
guessing she knew of your love for the water. They built a special boat in the
shape of a floating crannog, chained it in the center of the standing remains
of four crannogs and set you to float in the safety of this sanctuary. No one
could reach you before being spotted by the castle’s watchtower guards. In
Mary’s words, it was the perfect hiding place.”
    She took a moment and let that sink in before she began
again. “The summer before Mary’s death, a storm of tremendous force ripped
through the area. It destroyed much of the surrounding village and caused the
weakened structures of the crannogs to sink. The weight of the crannogs dragged
your boat to the bottom. There was no saving you.”
    Cupping his chin, she turned his gaze to meet hers. An
unreadable look lingered in his eyes. Was he angry? Saddened? She couldn’t be
sure. “Mary never meant for you to sink to the bottom of Loch Tay. She simply
hid you where she thought you’d most want to be. Near the water.”
    “Aye,” he stated in a heavy, disheartened tone. “Nature
granted mi wish though mi eyes were cursed and could not enjoy the beauty o’
what lay deep