The chapter
opens with Heather lying in bed, debating about finding Tim's bed
again. She's not sure if he didn't say he loved her because he did
and couldn't make himself say it, or if it's because he didn't and
wouldn't lie to her about it. So, she doesn't want to have sex with
him again because then he might think he has a chance of wearing her
down, but also because she might get pregnant. If there were a baby
on the way, he might be able to marry her without any declarations of
love and then she'd never know for sure why he wanted to marry her.
So, she falls asleep alone and is unhappy about it.
Tim, meanwhile,
eventually realizes that Heather isn't coming to see him and debates
about going to see her. Fortunately, he realizes that this would be
a bad idea, and stays put. I'm glad he didn't because that could get
bad quickly if she says no and he says yes, but Tim doesn't go
because then she might know how much he needs her. Le sigh. Oh,
also, Tim never thinks about the possibility of getting Heather
pregnant.
The next day,
Heather is mad because she didn't sleep well and it's all Tim's
fault. Or something. Fortunately, Catriona gives her an errand to
run. Heather goes with Lucilla and Marcus to take a basket of stuff
to a mother with a two-month old baby. If the baby seems sick,
they're to report back to Catriona. So, the trio go to collect the
basket and as soon as they leave the room, Tim asks Richard how far
away their destination is. It's about a mile and a half, all within
the Vale which is safe, but Tim feels the need to go anyway. So, he
goes to stand in the shadows and watch Heather and the twins leave
the manor. The basket is too light for him to offer to carry it and
Heather is kind of pissed at him, so Tim decides to stalk them
instead. Great.
Heather makes it
to the farmhouse without incident and leaves the twins playing on the
lawn while she goes inside. She holds the baby while the mom, Megan,
gets some things done that she hasn't been able to. To Heather's
credit, she gets along really well with the baby and knows by taste
what a medication for colic is. So, while Megan finishes the washing
and gets dinner ready, Heather holds the baby and thinks about how
she would like to hold hers and Tim's baby someday, and how it can't
be any other man's baby, she only wants to have his. But this takes
us back into the issue. If he doesn't love her, then he'll cheat on
her and that will shatter her heart. Heather admits to herself that
she doesn't necessarily need the words, an action will do, as long as
she knows that he will love her forever.
Once the chores
are done, Megan takes back her baby and Heather goes on her way with
the twins. That's when she notices that Tim was following them and
confronts him. She's mad. He mentions that there's the possibility
of her kidnappers being around, then hates himself for scaring her
and tells her that he and Richard have sent out riders and that any
strangers who come in will be looked at. Oh, also Heather makes the
point that if Tim hadn't been “protecting her” way back at the
beginning of the book and taken her out of that party, then none of
this would have happened. He asks if she wishes none of it had
happened and she doesn't answer the question. Bad move, girl.
As they walk on,
Heather realizes that as happy as she was on the walk out, she's
happier about the walk back just because Tim is there. Even though
she's mad at him. She likes the feeling of being protected with him
there and reminds herself that she'll lose that when he goes back to
London. So, then she asks him when he's leaving since there's
nothing keeping him in the Vale. Ugh. He doesn't really answer her
question.
Later that day,
Tim and Richard do manly stuff together. In this instance, they make
lures for fly fishing. So, of course, they take the opportunity to
talk about Heather some more. Richard tells Tim, again, that the way
to get Heather is to share his feelings, but he does it kind of
subtly so Tim doesn't get mad. Richard and Catriona seem to be
well-matched in being matchmakers for the stubborn. Tim thinks about
how he can't tell Heather that he loves her, but that even if he did,
he wouldn't expect her to return his feelings. He might really want
her to, but he doesn't expect it. Also, he's worried that if he
tries to tell her and messes it up, that he'll ruin his chances
forever. No pressure. Then, just as the chapter closes, Tim gets an
idea of how to tell her.
Chapter
Seventeen
Again, this
chapter starts at night. Tim waits until everyone has quieted down
for the night. Then he goes looking for Heather. He had asked his
borrowed manservant where Heather's room was earlier, and the servant
had answered directly. Yes, actually everyone wants them to be
together. Anyway, Tim is skulking along the passages when he runs
into someone, who he quickly recognizes as Heather. They're almost
at her room, but they go to his because he has a bigger bed. Also,
she's wearing her robe with nothing underneath. I guess they have
the same idea, then. Also, to answer your question, yes this chapter
is almost entirely sex.
Once they get to
Tim's room, she starts by kissing him. Deeply. In a way that
exposes everything she wants and needs from him. Then he takes
control again and we learn that his plan for showing her how much he
cares is to make love to her. ...again. Heather, meanwhile, has a
plan of her own. When she used words to encourage him, it didn't
work, and when she tried not banging him, he still didn't show her
what she needed to see, so now she's going to bang him. Huh. Maybe
Tim's plan will work better than I thought it would.
So, as they keep
kissing, Heather thinks about how she'll put her own emotions on
display and hold back nothing. Hopefully, this will encourage Tim to
do the same. So, he gets her to sit on the bed, when she breaks
their kiss and says that she's going to take control first. They
chat about this a little as she takes his clothes off sexily. He
asks what she's planning to do and she replies that she's not going
to tell him, but that she's going to show him. Well then. So,
there's lots of smexiness, leading up to her giving him a blowjob,
which lasts for about a page. He just barely stops it from ending in
an orgasm.
Then he takes
control and he wants to do so blindly, without holding back, but
somehow he stops himself. Apparently they're both on the same
wavelength about sex showing love for each other, but he's still
resisting. Anyway, then he gives her oral as well. She orgasms for
awhile and then they finally get on the bed that just had to be the
larger one. Yes, they're still banging, but now they're switching
who has control. Tim gives himself up to this closeness and
intimacy, even though it's scary. How this translates into the
physical world, apparently, is that he lets her get on top. Then, as
she's orgasming, he flips and gets on top of her and somehow this
communicates a deep need that they're reaching for together and... I
guess they each managed to get their message across.
Tim wakes up
awhile later because he's cold, so he pulls the covers out from under
Heather, and then up and over both of them. He realizes what they've
communicated and is content that now there's totally not a reason for
Heather to deny his proposal.
So, in the next
chapter, I think there will totally be a reason Heather will deny his
proposal. I mean, come on, we've still got four chapters left.
Also, I really hope we at least find out the Highlander's name
because otherwise that's going to bother me forever. Well, at least
a little bit.
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