Highland Hellcat (2010) (14 page)

If that was wickedness, if longing for another kiss was the path to damnation, then she was surely wicked.

***

Maura lowered herself but kept her chin level when Connor frowned at her.

“Ye’re my laird and have my loyalty, but I’ll say it plain that I’ve come to speak my mind to ye.”

Maura was old enough to be his mother, and in many ways she had raised him. She’d done her best to fill the emptiness left when his mother died and his uncle took control of the Lindsey clan.

“Then tell me straight, Maura. Do ye disapprove of my bride?”

The older woman who had wiped the blood off his face after countless fights scoffed at him.

“If that were so, I would nae have taken her above stairs to await ye, but told ye to do yer own sinful deeds.”

Connor hadn’t anticipated how much he would enjoy hearing that Brina was ready for him. His cock twitched, surprising him, because just a few minutes past he had been certain fatigue was going to crush him beneath its weight.

“Then what is on yer mind?”

Maura clicked her tongue at his tone. Connor felt a twinge of guilt because she was the woman who had been there for him, and she rarely spoke her mind now that he was laird. He forced himself to bite back his next demanding question and wait for her to speak.

“Yer tone tells me that ye’re eager for yer bride.”

“That would be considered a blessing in most matches made for the sake of alliances.”

“Aye, upon that point I agree.” Maura stopped talking and pressed her lips together for a long moment while she eyed him. There was a wealth of knowledge in her stare, the sort a person only gained through experience.

“Ye have grown into a fine man, as large as yer father and maybe a wee bit more.” She ran her gaze down his frame once more. “Which is why I feel I should say my piece to ye. That girl is nae petite, but she is still half yer size.”

Connor felt his temper rise. “I will no’ be rough with her.”

Maura kept her tone even but firm. “That is no’ what I am aiming to talk about, but rough to a man’s thinking is different than it is to a woman’s.”

Connor felt his fatigue return, or maybe it was frustration. He shook his head. “What are ye getting at, Maura?”

“That girl was raised to serve the church.”

Connor snorted with his displeasure. “I know that, but it was her or no alliance, which would leave us with the Douglas prowling our borders like hungry wolves.”

“Ye are becoming cross for no good reason, Laird. I am nae here to debate whether or no’ taking her was a good deed or a bad one.”

Connor went to speak, but Maura held up her hand, and he snapped his jaw shut.

“I mean to tell ye what it means for a lass to be raised in that fashion, for there is no reason that ye might think upon the matter if ye do nae have it brought to you by an experienced woman, and due to the circumstances, her mother is nae here either.”

Connor felt his forehead crease. “Which leaves you, so go on with what ye have to say.”

Maura grunted, obviously becoming cross with him. “Ye are twice her size, and while that is nae an uncommon thing in couples, that girl has nae been touched.”

“I expect her to be a maiden, which was the entire point of taking her instead of her sister.”

Maura shook her head and blew out a short breath that left no doubt that she was growing impatient with him. “Even a maiden is allowed more touching and flirting than a girl who has been promised to the church.”

“Aye, I noticed that she’s skittish already.”

“Ye noticed, but did ye take any time to think upon the fact that a simple touch is alarming to her? Rush into consummating yer union, and ye might turn that girl fearful or, worse yet, resentful of intimacy for the rest of her days.”

“Obviously ye didna see her in the courtyard when we rode in. Brina Chattan is no quivering lass.”

Maura humphed at him. “I did see, and one has naught to do with the other, but I’m wasting my time if ye cannae hear what it is I am saying.” She lowered herself but hesitated before turning to leave. “Mark my words, Laird; fail to seduce her like a lover, and ye will never have a contented wife. Ye will nae be the first to suffer a woman who feels shame every time she enjoys her husband. Yer aunt was that sort. That’s the truth that ye do nae know, but I do. It ate away at her soul and turned her bitter because she never learned to trust your uncle after he stole her and forced her into his bed so that there might be no changing the fact that she was his. That’s a man’s thinking, but I’ll tell ye a woman’s.” She lifted one finger up in warning. “Ye can steal a woman, but nae her affections. Her heart will be only hers, no matter what ye decide to do with her body.”

His head of house left him alone with his thoughts, and Connor groaned. He turned his back on the doorway, trying to hide his unsettled emotions by facing the fireplace. There was nothing but a bed of coals blanketed in a thick layer of ash, giving heat but very little light. There wasn’t any light in the room because he preferred it dark. He’d lived a large chunk of his life without candles, and it had made him strong. The dark was nothing to fear.

But allowing Brina to become anything like his aunt was…

He’d all but forgotten that his uncle had stolen her with her dowry from a ship bound for England. His aunt had been a Frenchwoman who was a cousin of the English king. Connor’s uncle had claimed her and wed her, but the couple had never been content. He hadn’t thought on it for years because there were many matches in Scotland that didn’t begin on the most… legal of terms.

That memory filled his mouth with a bitter taste.

He lifted his forearm and looked at the scratches Brina had left on his skin. She might have been raised to serve the church, but there was a flame inside her that was neither humble nor meek.

It was that part that he was going to enjoy taming.

He took the stairs with silent feet and only slowed his pace enough so that the retainers he’d posted at the door of Brina’s room might recognize him in the darkness. They jerked their heads about when they noticed motion in the stairwell, their hands moving out of instinct before their gazes settled on his face. They reached up and tugged on the corners of their bonnets before stepping aside so that he could open one side of the double doors.

The room was cloaked in darkness, but that didn’t stop him from locating Brina in the bed. She hadn’t closed the curtains, making it simple to spot her with the light from the fireplace coals.

He crossed to her, feeling the slightest quiver of anticipation move through his belly. The feeling startled him, but at the same time it pleased him greatly. He’d spent a great deal of time thinking of this moment, when he would see his bride sleeping in the bed he was proud to be able to provide for her. The sheets she slept on had never been used by another soul; neither had the bed. Everything in the chamber had been carefully selected for her arrival. The sight of her unbound hair shimmering against the plump, goose feather–filled pillow was the reward that he’d desired while planning the chamber.

He sat down on the side of the bed, careful not to jolt the mattress. Brina stirred, her breathing increasing for a mere moment before she turned her head and settled her cheek against the soft pillowcase. But her breathing never completely slowed back to the deep rhythm that it had been. He watched as she turned her head, almost as if she could sense his presence.

Part of him enjoyed that idea. It had taken him two solid years to reach an agreement with her father. The fact that those negotiations had resulted in Deirdre being named as his bride-to-be didn’t stop him from feeling the glow of satisfaction spread through him now.

He was very pleased with the woman in front of him. More than pleased, for he felt drawn to her. The kiss he’d stolen from her burned a path through his mind, and even the fatigue of riding for so many days with little rest wasn’t enough to make him eager to seek out his bed instead of sitting on the side of hers.

The delicate scent of her hair teased his nose. Connor reached down to touch the delicate strands, his fingertips gliding through them while a smile tugged his lips upward. Brina muttered and turned her face toward his hand. Her eyes remained closed, but she kicked at the bedding with soft motions that made slipping sounds against the sheets. His gaze was drawn to her lips. Even in the dark he could see the soft motions she made with them, almost as if she were dreaming of his kiss. He stretched his fingers out until he stroked the soft, tender skin. A delicate sound passed over those lips as she pressed the most innocent of kisses to his fingers.

Connor felt that kiss more intensely than any he had ever experienced. For the first time since he had heard of his parents’ death, his heart felt warm. There was no logic to it, no way to truly grasp what he felt, only that it sat there burning slowly in his chest, melting ice that he hadn’t really noticed. Brina was the source of the heat that warmed him. The idea of leaving tore at him because every fiber in his being dictated that he lie down beside her and bask in the glow.

But Maura’s words rose up to needle him. Brina was an innocent. She lay so trusting in the bed he’d selected for her that he stood up before he lost the resolve to leave her. Many things were said about him, but he wasn’t a rapist, and his head of house was correct about his bride. She wasn’t ready to accept the passion between them. It was a complication he hadn’t considered.

Connor made it across the floor and to the door before he snorted with his frustration. His men turned the moment he opened the door. Their expressions reflected their surprise to see him leaving, and he closed the door before he spoke.

“She’s an obedient lass to her father, so expect her to try escaping. Mind yer hands with her, for she’s shy of touches, but keep her within the inner walls and be sure that whoever takes the next watch knows that she’s to be treated gently.”

His men nodded their approval. Connor drew in a stiff breath and forced himself to move a few more steps away from the doors. Traditions kept Scotland from dissolving into a barbaric place where might made right. He could not think ill of her father for promising one of his daughters to the church. The church had its place and needed its share of devoted souls to keep it functioning.

Just as he had needed to claim his Chattan bride.

He walked up the stairs to the floor above where Brina was sleeping. The chamber was not so lavishly afforded, but it was clean and served his needs. Maura had left a single candle burning on the long table where he would lay his bonnet and kilt. He removed the bonnet and grinned when he noticed that one of the feathers was crushed from Brina’s yanking it off his head. With the door closed, he could chuckle without worry that the sound would disturb anyone or humiliate his newest guest.

His bride…

Connor enjoyed the sound of that word while he dropped his kilt and shrugged out of his shirt. His boots required that he sit down and unlace them, but he enjoyed being free from his clothing. Getting fully dressed after he bathed had been a chore he had nae been in the mood to suffer. But the idea of seeing Brina made him put every last article of clothing back on. He doubted she was ready to receive her groom in nothing save his skin.

Making her ready for that moment was something that weighed on his mind. Deirdre would have arrived ready to welcome him into her embrace. Connor settled into his own bed and considered the fact that Brina had been quite surprised to discover that a kiss might be so enjoyable. He was sure that the priests sleeping in his village church were going to be very displeased to hear that he had taken Brina, but even knowing that didn’t banish the grin from his lips.

But the erection refusing to allow him to slip into slumber did make him frown. His cock was rigid and needy in spite of the chill of early winter. The snow was going to be his best ally, for it would keep the Chattans from launching an attempt to retrieve Brina.

Well, at least the early snow would make it far more difficult for Robert Chattan to march his clan onto Lindsey land. He was still a Highlander, so that meant he wouldn’t let a few feet of snow stop him if he was really intent on doing something to retaliate.

There would be nothing for the Chattans to claim back if Connor went back down to where Brina lay and deflowered her.

Connor frowned in the dark, not caring for that idea, but he couldn’t deny that there were plenty of men who would do exactly that.

It was what would happen to his sister Vanora, the moment she was deemed old enough for marriage.

His thoughts were darker than the night, but they burned through any further hesitations he had concerning his marriage. Brina would be his bride, but he would not treat her unkindly. The early snow was a blessing that would give him time to court her gently.

But she would be his.

***

Brina heard the church bell ringing and sat up.

It was barely dawn, or at least it seemed that way until she rubbed her eyes and realized that there were bed curtains drawn around the bed she lay in. The fabric was thick and kept the light dim where she had been sleeping.

Her mind was clouded with sleep, and she reached out to touch the curtains, unable to recall why she was sleeping in such a fine bed.

“Mistress?”

Brina froze, and her mind cleared instantly with that single word.

“Are ye ready to rise?”

It was Maura, and she tugged on the curtain, obviously having seen movement behind it. Once the fabric was drawn, Brina could see that it was in fact dawn. The church bell tolled again, stunning her with how simple it might be to end Connor’s madness.

She slid out of bed and was frantically thinking of how to meet with the priest so that she might plead her case. Maura wasn’t alone this morn but had two maids along to help dress Brina. They tugged her underrobe up and over her body before she realized their intention.

A startled gasp left her lips as she wrapped her arms around herself to cover her breasts and mons. The women cast quick, curious glances at one another.