Excitement stirred in Ewan’s veins as the plans of the last eight years came to life in his mind. Finally he saw a way to fulfill his vow to his father.
“The lass is courageous and she’s fiercely protective of Crispen. She’d make him a fine mother, as well as the rest of the sons she’d bear me. In return, I’d give her my protection, and she’d never have to worry about Duncan Cameron again.”
“It isn’t us you have to convince,” Alaric said with a twist of his lips. “ ’Tis the lass you have to persuade. Caelen and I stand beside you always. You well know that. My loyalty is to you. Always. It extends to the woman you marry, no matter who she may be. She is a very courageous lass. I saw that for myself. And if she brings with her a dowry like Neamh Álainn, then I see no downside in marrying her.”
Caelen nodded, but he said nothing about Mairin. Ewan didn’t expect him to. It would surprise Ewan greatly if Caelen ever allowed himself to trust another woman again. If he ever sought to breed sons, Ewan felt pity for the woman Caelen would marry. Once, Caelen had given himself unreservedly. The folly of youth. He’d vowed never to do so again.
Ewan put his hands down on the table and pushed himself to his feet. “It would appear I have much to discuss with Mairin Stuart. Alaric, I want you to send out an escort for Father McElroy. He’s up at the McDonalds’ administering last rites to one of their sick. I’ll need him here to perform the wedding. If the lass is who Maddie says she is, I don’t want to delay. We’ll marry immediately.”
Chapter 9
Ewan stopped outside Mairin’s chamber and smiled at the proximity to his own private quarters. She probably wouldn’t be pleased if she knew how close he’d placed her. He knocked to be polite, but he didn’t wait for her answering summons before opening the door and entering the chamber.
Mairin whirled from her position at the window, her unbound hair flying about her shoulders. The furs were pulled aside to allow the sun to shine in, and she posed an enchanting portrait with the light reflecting the brilliant hue of her eyes.
Aye, she was indeed a bonnie lass, and it would be no hardship to marry her and get her with child. In fact, now that he’d decided on a course of action, he looked forward to the prospect of Mairin in his bed.
She looked indignant over his intrusion, but before she could launch the reprimand he was sure was forthcoming, he held up a hand. The lass had no respect for his authority over her, but that was a matter that would quickly change. When she was his wife, he’d take great delight in advising her of her duty to him and, most important, her obligation to obey him without question.
“Will you tell me now what it is I want to know?” he asked. To be fair—and he was a fair man—he wanted to give her the opportunity to confide her identity before he related his own knowledge.
She thrust her chin upward in the show of defiance he now expected from her and shook her head. “Nay. I will not. You cannot order me to trust you. Why that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
He sensed she was warming up for a full-length diatribe, so he did the one thing he knew would silence her.
He rapidly closed the distance between them, curled his hands around her upper arms, and hauled her upward. His lips found hers in a heated rush, her gasp of outrage swallowed up by his mouth.
She went rigid against him, her hands shoving between them in an attempt to push him away. He brushed his tongue over her lips, tasting her sweetness, demanding entrance into her mouth.
Her second gasp came out more as a sigh. Her lips parted and she melted into his chest like warm honey. She was soft all over, and she fit him like his sword fit his hand. Perfectly.
He pushed inward, sliding his tongue over hers. She went rigid again, and her fingers curled into his chest like tiny daggers. He closed his eyes and imagined them digging into his back as he thrust between her thighs.
Lord, but she was sweet. Nay, bedding her would be no hardship at all. The image of her swollen with his child flickered through his mind, and he found himself very pleased with the image. Very pleased indeed.
When he finally pulled away, her eyes were glazed, her lips deliciously swollen, and she swayed like a sapling in the wind.
She blinked several times and then frowned sharply. “Why did you do that?”
“It was the only way to silence you.”
She bristled with outrage. “Silence me? You took liberties with my … my … my lips in order to silence me? That was very impertinent of you, Laird. I won’t allow you to do it again.”
He smiled and folded his arms over his chest. “Aye, you will.”
Her mouth gaped open in astonishment and then worked up and down as she struggled to speak. “I assure you I won’t.”
“I assure you that ill.”
She stamped her foot, and he stifled his laughter at the fury in her eyes. “You’ve gone daft! Is this some trick? An attempt to seduce me into telling you who I am?”
“Not at all, Mairin Stuart.”
She recoiled in shock. If he had any doubts about the validity of Maddie’s claims, he didn’t now. Mairin’s reaction was too genuine. She was utterly horrified that he knew the truth.
She quickly came to the same realization that she’d given herself away, because she didn’t attempt to deny it. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away, her fist going to her mouth.
An uncomfortable sensation knotted his chest. The sight of her distress unsettled him. The lass had suffered enough, and now she looked as though she was utterly defeated. The light had vanished from her eyes the moment he’d uttered her name.