Highland Hellcat (2010) (23 page)

Part of him was very interested in being that man.

Maura was quiet as she directed her staff toward helping Brina disrobe. Brina could sense the woman’s displeasure with her, but there was nothing to say, for it seemed that they were destined to be on opposite sides of the issue of the staff calling her mistress.

She had that in common with many a stolen bride; that was for sure.

“I had a tray fetched up from the kitchen since ye didn’t join the laird for supper.”

“He had a guest and didna need a woman sitting by his side.”

The truth was she had been sickened by the sight of the retainers set to guarding her. Brina looked around the chamber, recognizing that she had chosen to imprison herself instead of being watched.

She wasn’t sure which she detested more.

“Thank you for the tray, Maura. It was kind of ye to consider me.”

“Ye’re the mistress…”

The head of house’s words trailed off when Brina simply ignored her. It was by far one of the most impolite things she had ever done, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from walking toward the windows that were closed shut for the night. Her hair fluttered behind her, released from the plait that had held the strands throughout the day, and the veil that had covered her head to provide warmth and modesty was now neatly draped over a clothes rack.

“Well, I’ll bid ye good night, mistress.”

Brina smiled for a brief moment because Maura was a stubborn woman. Maybe even as hardheaded as she was being. The doors to the chamber closed, leaving her alone for the first time that day. She sighed and turned around to look at the chamber with all its lavishness. Candles were lit and casting their yellow light over the long table and twin chairs. The bed curtains were drawn closed on three sides, making the turned-down comforter and sheeting look inviting.

But she discovered that she longed for the cold cell at the base of the cliff, with Connor there to wrap his warmth around her…

She snorted and turned back toward the shutters. Reaching up, she loosened the bar that held them in place against the wind and weather. The moment she did, the sound of the ocean rushed in on a cold draft of night air that sent a shiver down her back.

Brina laughed and pulled both sides of the shutters wide open so that the sound of the surf filled the chamber. Her nose turned cold instantly, but she was too enchanted by the sight of the ocean to worry about it. Moonlight cast the rippling waves in silver as far as she could see, while the moon itself was only a crescent on the horizon.

“Ye’re mesmerizing, Brina Chattan.”

She turned around and felt her thin underrobe flaring up to expose her ankles and calves, because the light fabric wasn’t held down by a thicker outerrobe. Her hair flowed around her as well, and Connor’s gaze was on it. His lips thinned, but in a sensual manner that captivated her.

He liked what he saw, and it made her feel pretty.

Connor stood near the door, his sword in one hand instead of tied to his broad back. He held one side of the doors open, and two maids carried in trays that they set on the long table. They began to set out the items they had carried, their attention purposely directed to the surface of the long table.

“We do nae require service.”

Both of them raised their attention to her, the younger maid failing to maintain her stiff composure. Her lips twitched up into a knowing smile that was accompanied by a twinkle in her eyes. Brina blushed, but this time the heat surfaced in her face because she knew full well what it was like to have Connor next to her.

Inside her…

Connor cleared his throat. Brina looked at him because the sound was so delicate. She realized that was for her benefit, a gallant gesture she would not have thought he had in him.

Except that he had always tried to be gentle with her…

The maids lowered themselves before hurrying out the door. Connor closed it with a single motion of one arm. Brina stared at him and the amount of strength that he had in his body. Truly she shouldn’t be surprised to discover him using such a soft sound to get the maids to leave, because the man had always controlled himself with her.

Of course, that knowledge only drove home just how helpless she truly was against his greater strength and position. He was more than just a Highlander; he was a laird and a powerful one too. His friend Quinton Cameron was equally dangerous, and together, they might swear that she had taken marriage vows, and there would be few who would be interested in challenging them.

“Now do nae look at me like that, Brina. Ye have little to be so unhappy about.”

“I never said I was unhappy.”

He walked across the floor and placed his sword next to the bed.

“Ye only fight with me over a matter that should bring ye peace. Would ye rather that I keep ye here and deny ye the respectable position as my wife? Ye wouldna be the first daughter who suffered that fate because of the shame her family brought to another.”

His words were harsh enough to make her wince. But what stunned her into silence was just how truthful they were. Much of Scotland’s history was written in vengeance. There would be many who considered Connor justified in taking her.

Brina frowned when she looked at the sword a second time, and it gained her a grunt from Connor.

“That’s correct, lass. I’m sharing that bed with ye.”

There was a hard edge to his voice, an exasperated tone that drew her attention to him.

She also noticed that he was without his doublet. Only the undyed fabric of his shirt covered his skin. Beneath her thin robe, her skin began to warm and awaken with hundreds of places that recalled how much she enjoyed his touch. The long, gliding strokes of his hands along her limbs before he had begun to touch her in more sensitive places.

“I simply cannae wed ye without my father’s blessing. It is a matter of honor, Connor, no’ my wishes.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “Is that so, Brina?” He reached down and pulled on the end of his belt until the twin steel tongues that held it closed popped free of their leather holes.

“Does that mean that ye will lie with me tonight, willingly? Maybe even be eager for my touch?”

She scoffed at him. “Ye do nae need to tease me, Connor Lindsey. Ye know full well that ye didna need to rape me last night.”

His loosened belt allowed the neatly folded fabric of his kilt to sag. He caught it before it slithered down his legs to puddle on the floor. With a practiced hand, he looped it all over his forearm and turned to deposit it on a side table she realized had been left bare just for his plaid.

“It is a very fond memory for me, Brina, one that I hope will nae be alone in my mind. So is the fact that ye told me that ye do nae lie, and I see it is so.”

She was frustrated but satisfied in the same moment. The satisfaction grew because she enjoyed being praised for being truthful. Actually she simply enjoyed earning Connor’s respect, and there was no way to hide from that fact.

His shirt hung down to his mid-thigh, but her imagination was quick to remind her what lay behind that single layer of simple fabric. He surprised her by sitting down.

“Come and help me remove my boots, lass.”

So that he could take her to his bed…

She couldn’t help but think about it. Excitement was beginning to pulse through her, running along with her blood to every corner of her body. Connor watched her with an expression that was more playful than she could recall having seen on his face before.

“Didna ye train to be of service, lass?”

She propped her hands on her hips with frustration. “Ye know very well that the kind of service ye are asking for is nae the sort that I was training to do beneath my father’s roof.”

Brina suddenly stopped speaking as she noticed just where Connor’s attention was centered. He was staring at her breasts and the very noticeable mounds they made with her hands on her hips. The thin fabric displayed the puckered peaks of her nipples, even hinting at the darker skin because the fabric was so delicate a weave.

He smirked at her, and she turned around but gasped when her memory offered up just what he’d do when presented with her back.

Connor laughed and reached down to unlace one boot. His amusement echoed off the wall behind her as he pulled the boot off. The fact that he did it so confidently and with such ease spoke of a man who hadn’t been raised with service being lavished upon him.

“I admit that I was looking forward to having ye tending to me, but if ye are too timid to do so, I’ll see to the matter myself.”

“I am nae timid.”

His eyebrow rose once again, and he extended his foot with the lace hanging free from the antler-horn buttons.

“Then prove it. If I wanted to hear someone tell me tales that have fact mixed with fiction, I’d have remained below.”

He was daring her. The challenge was as plain as the sound of the surf coming from behind her. She knew it and yet couldn’t seem to smother the impulse to go to him. The desire to prove that she was not intimidated by him was too powerful to resist, and she leaned over to grasp his boot before thinking any further about it.

The front of her undergown gaped wide open, and Connor looked right down her body while she slid the boot off his foot. But she held it up and lifted her chin in spite of the smirk that decorated his features.

“Ye have hard nipples. Is that from the chill or the memory of how ye enjoyed having my lips sucking on them last night?”

“The chill,” she snapped back at him. His lips didn’t turn down into a frown but rose higher so that his smirk became a wide smile that flashed his teeth at her.

“Well now, if that’s the case, you should be in bed where I may warm ye, Brina.”

He didn’t give her time to consider her answer. Connor left the stool behind in a flash of motion and swept her off her feet in the next instant. He cradled her against his chest, sending a jolt of enjoyment through her at the demonstration of his greater strength. She failed to understand it but couldn’t deny that his greater size and power impressed a part of her mind that she had suspected might issue opinions.

“I had this bed made for ye, Brina.”

He angled her beneath the thick rod that held the curtain and laid her on the creamy sheet. The bedding was fresh, and the scent of salt came through the open window. But her senses were also drawing in the musky hint of his skin, and she recalled it vividly from last night when he had been deep inside her and it had felt as if there was nothing between them except pleasure.

“Everything in it, I selected myself.”

“Ye’re a good man.” She meant it too and felt regret ripple through her for the facts that kept her from doing exactly what he wanted.

“No, I am simply a man who has known what it is like to sleep in the stable on a bench that was not big enough for a child, much less a man.”

He looked at the canopy above their heads and reached out to pat one of the corner posts that held that fabric above their heads.

“But ye understand that as well, dinna ye, Brina?” His gaze returned to hers, and his blue eyes were piercing. “Fate has an interesting sense of humor to pair us together when we had each accepted to make do with much less.”

His words were hypnotic, drawing her deeper into his eyes while her body hummed with anticipation. She didn’t want to fight with him, but that didn’t mean she was feeling submissive either. Fire was licking its way across her skin, chasing the chill away while the scent of his skin teased her with how near he was.

It wasn’t close enough.

“Let’s no’ talk. We can never agree when we talk.” Her voice was steady and strong, each bold word increasing her confidence. “Touch me, Connor, before I think of the reasons why I should refuse ye.”

There was a flash of agreement in his eyes that she only saw for a moment before he angled his head so that he could press a kiss against her mouth. It wasn’t a soft kiss, but one that was full of passion and need. Her body didn’t heat up gradually this time. The memory of last night swept her into a vortex of hunger that became acute almost instantly.

She reached for his shirt, pushing it upward even as she kissed him back. He pulled his lips away from hers so that she could lift the shirt over his head and pull it down the length of his arms.

“I insist on returning the favor, Brina.”

He slid one arm beneath her waist and lifted her up and onto her knees. The position allowed him to tug her underrobe up, baring her legs and then her body before he removed it completely. Her hair fluttered down to lay against her back and part of her front. Her skin was alive with heightened sensation, making her extremely aware of the delicate fibers settling against her form.

“Ye’re beautiful, Brina, and I admit that I enjoy the fact that I know I’m the first man to tell ye that.”

Her arms had risen up to cover her breasts. Excitement was still flickering in her belly, making it impossible to become fearful, but she was a bit apprehensive. He reached out and plucked her hand away from where it hid one of her breasts from his view. Connor pulled it gently toward him, turning it up so that he might lean down and kiss the delicate skin of her inner wrist. Pleasure rippled up her arm and into her chest.

“And ye humble me with yer genuine responses.” He lifted his head, his eyes full of male enjoyment that she might have mistaken for smugness if there were others about to hear him.

But inside the drawn curtains, with only one side still open to catch the last of the heat from the fire, there was no one to impress with his words.

Except her.

Her cheeks filled with heat, and he chuckled before leaning over to kiss the scarlet blush.

“Ah… the most perfect compliment that I might ever receive from ye, Brina.”

He pressed a row of kisses along her face until he claimed her lips once more with a kiss that was full of rising passion. His hands pulled her to him, and she gasped as their bare skin met, the amount of sensation threatening to drown her.

It was a fate that she went to willingly. Her hands threaded through his hair, while her mouth followed his lead, kissing him with the hunger that seemed to sprout up from the seeds left from last night.