Her husband, on the other hand, was far more reserved. His gaze followed her wherever she went, but he didn’t smile when she looked his way or dance with her. In fact, he didn’t look like he was enjoying the festivities nearly as much as she was.
When there was a tug at her arm, she turned and enthusiastically embraced Amelia. “I cannae thank ye enough for putting this together. I have never experienced anything like it,” she murmured in her friend's ear.
“Ye are more than welcome,” Amelia assured her. She looked effortlessly beautiful in her green dress with her hair wound around the top of her head. There was a glow about her, but it had nothing to do with how she was dressed and everything to do with the fact that she was still breathless after dancing in her husband’s arms. They were still so obviously in love. Ava couldn’t help but wonder if she would feel even a fraction of that. “If there is one thing this clan knows how to do right, ’tis celebrate!”
“Everyone has asked me where I got this dress.”
“And ye are lying to them, are ye not?” Amelia said as she narrowed her eyes. It was her clever hands that had fashioned the dress together but she didn’t want anyone to know about it. She feared that if everyone knew, she’d be spending all of her time making dresses rather than running her clan.
“Aye,” Ava laughed. “I have told everyone that I brought it with me. How is Ferguson and his father? Did ye check on him this afternoon?”
“Aye, the boy is doing well. Our healer is impressed by Ness’s work, but then, his clan is a hard one so ’tis no wonder that he’s picked up on a few things.”
There was something about the way Amelia was looking at her that pricked her senses. “I was impressed by Ness as well,” she responded slowly.
Amelia reached out and grasped her hand. “Aye, ye were, and with that moment, ye changed yer mind about something that had ye traveling on yer own to escape. Ava, Ness is willing to let ye stay here with us. How do ye feel about that?”
“Stay here?” Dumbstruck, Ava stared at her friend. “But he wanted me to return with him. He set up the challenge…” Understanding struck her, and she felt her knees go weak. “The kiss. It was never about me going with him. He just wanted to show me there was another way that he could control me.”
Amelia’s eyes widened in panic, but Ava ignored her and whirled around in a fury as she searched for her husband. Her gaze landed on him at one of the tables. Setting her jaw, she marched his way.
“Ava,” Ness said in a low voice as he could read the thoughts in her mind.
Realizing that she didn’t want to air her embarrassment for all the clan to see, she took a steadying breath. “May I please speak with ye? In private?”
Everyone around them immediately misread the situation and began to whistle and clap gleefully as they made some comments about her wedding night. She blushed even as Ness scowled. Glaring at them, he rose from his chair and took her hand. Anger simmered in her blood until they were in the keep, but when she opened her mouth, he squeezed her hand. “Not until we are behind closed doors,” he warned.
After he’d pulled her into chambers and closed the door, she rounded on him. “Is it true?” she demanded. “Ye are planning on abandoning me here? Did ye just want to see how easy it would be for me to give into ye? Is this nothing but a game for ye?”
“Abandoning seems a harsh word considering that yesterday morning, ye were hoping to stay,” Ness pointed out as he clasped his hands behind his back and watched her as she paced. His voice was calm, but his body was tense.
“Aye, but that was yesterday, and this is today. Seeing ye with Fergi made me realize that life isna about exploring. I want to help people! I want to be useful, but ye only wanted to show that ye had power over me.”
“Nay, my sweet. I wanted ye with me. Ye have no idea how badly I want ye, but it wasna until last night that I realized the type of woman ye were and what faced ye on my lands.”
She wanted to ask what was waiting for them at his home, but she was still stuck on his previous statement. He wanted her. “What type of woman do ye think I am?”
Slowly, he reached and curved a finger down her cheek. “Ye have surprised me, Ava. I wasna wrong when I said earlier that I had made up my mind about the type of woman ye were. I thought you spoiled and used to the riches of yer family, but ye arena. Ye have so much passion in ye, passion to help others and to help the world. My clan is no place for someone like ye. We have made vast improvements, but there is so much distrust and anger in my people. The problems I deal with are way more dangerous than an injured boy. I doona know what will happen if I bring ye with me. And I just vowed to protect ye. Ye are the King’s ward. Do ye have any idea what will happen if I take ye home with me and something happens to ye?”
Her heart beat fast, and she struggled to control herself. More than anything, she wanted to fling herself into his arms. First, she had to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about. “Ye doona think yer clan will like me? I realize that I can be mischievous from time-to-time, but I have never met anyone who didna like me.”
Groaning, he started to pace. “Doona take this the wrong way, Ava. I am sure that my people would love ye eventually, but in the meantime, they will be cruel, and ye have such a delicate spirit.”
Delicate spirit? Ava narrowed her eyes. She wanted to punch him in his beautiful face. “How dare ye? You know nothing about me!”
“I know that ye are deceptively sneaky. Stubborn. Difficult. Ye have a passion for this idea of freedom. Ye enjoy people and adore children. Ye have the voice of an angel, and ye look like a true lady in that dress. Strangely enough, it makes me want to take the dress off ye.”
“That is not…I…” All arguments fled from head, and she stared at him as he took a step toward her. Their argument had rapidly flown off course. What was happening?
“Turn around, Ava.”
Obediently she turned, and his hands settled on her waist and leisurely skimmed up her side. “This is our wedding night.” His lips whispered on the side of her neck, and her eyes closed. Was she really going to give up the argument so easily?
Ness’s fingers started working the laces of her dress. “Ye should have worn the trousers,” he grumbled. “It would have made this easier.”
“I thought it was the dress that made ye want this.” Thankful that the tease had come out like an actual sentence, she licked her dry lips and tried to pretend that she wasn’t trembling as the dress started to slip off her shoulders.
His kisses followed. “’Tis me remembering the woman underneath.”
“Ye doona think I am a lady?” A little Irritated, she turned and arched her eyebrows. “But I am too delicate to return home with ye?”
Ness groaned and pulled her closer as he leaned down to kiss her. At the last possible moment, she turned her head. She wanted that kiss. She wanted everything that came afterward, but this was their first night as husband and wife, and she didn’t want to set a precedent on how they dealt with their disagreements. Grace had a voice in her marriage. Amelia had a voice in hers.
Ava was going to make sure that she had the same.
“This is a dangerous thing that ye are doing,” he said darkly as he tugged the dress down further. The shift underneath was exposed as well as her cleavage, and he drank her in.
“I am having a conversation,” she said breathily as his knuckles skimmed over the thin fabric. At the slightest touch, her nipples tightened.
“And I am listening.”
He started working on the buttons of her shift. It was a painstaking job, but he had a look of determination on his face. His fingers were slow, his movement patient, and it gave her a chance to try to understand the emotions swirling around inside of her and the tightness in her body.
“I doona seem to have yer full attention.” The bodice loosened, and cool air reached her breasts. With a gasp, she stepped back, and she shivered, but it wasn’t just the sudden chill as much as it was the knowledg
e that soon he would be seeing her body intimately and touching her.
Ness studied her. “Ye most certainly have my full attention.”
Embarrassed, she flushed furiously and stared at the floor. Aware that she was in a state of undress, she started to pull her dress back up, but Ness reached out and stopped her. “Do ye want me, Ava?”
Wordlessly, she nodded.
“Do ye feel strange about that?”
Could he see inside her head?
“’Tis no reason to be ashamed for yer desires, Ava. I will be more than happy to show ye why. Tomorrow, if ye still want to come with me, we can talk about it further.”
Ava couldn’t help herself. “Ye must not think this is going to go well if ye think I’ll change my mind afterward.”
With a growl, he grabbed her and whirled her around. Kissing her neck, he roughly yanked down her dress until her hands were restrained in the fabric at her waist and her breasts were exposed. “I’ll show ye how well tonight is going to go.”
Desire and shock rooted her to the floor as he trailed his lips down her spine until his breath was hot against the small of her back and his fingers were moving her dress and shift down her waist. When it pooled to the floor, she turned. He was still on his knees and slowly moving his gaze up her body until they locked eyes.
“Ye were right to distrust my motives that first night at the inn,” he murmured. “I wanted this from the moment that I met ye.”
Kissing her belly, Ness ran his hands all over her body, heating her skin until she saw the direction that he was going. “Wait,” she muttered and pushed his head away and stumbled back against the wall.
“Dona be afraid, Ava.” Lowering his head, he captured her lips, and she felt that same toe curling experience. Melting against him, she whimpered as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. It was strange to feel the furs against her naked skin, and she hated it when he stepped away from the bed. Her panic immediately set in. Was he going to leave her?
No. Instead, he started to undress. She wanted to look away out of shame, but she couldn’t. And the best part was that she did not have to. She looked at his smooth bronze skin. Impressive muscles developed by hard work. He was a beautiful specimen, and she wanted her hands on him.
Finally, he returned to the bed. “Ye are beautiful,” she said.
“So are ye.” The words slipped out, and he chuckled as he settled next to her.
“And that has had an effect on me.”
She looked down to his manhood and saw that it was true. Sucking in her lower lip, she couldn’t help but giggle. Ness swore an oath under his breath and stopped her laughter short as he kissed her. His touch smoothed over her hips and thighs, and suddenly, there was no longer anything to laugh about. Gasping, she widened her legs, and his fingers found her slick entrance.
“Ness!” Certain that it wasn’t his fingers that were supposed to be there, she thought about moving back, but his strokes felt far too good, and she moved closer to him.
“That’s it, love,” he murmured. “Relax and enjoy yerself.”
There was something building inside of her, and she clutched as Ness’s shoulders. “I doona think…I…Ness…”
He rolled over on top of her and moaned as he nuzzled her neck. “Ava, I doona want to hurt ye.”
“’Tis all right.” Squeezing her eyes tight, she held her breath as he nudged at her entrance, but there was only a desperate need that she felt when he slowly slipped inside of her.
“I will go slow,” Ness groaned, but the more he moved, the more Ava wanted. The friction of their movements, the heat between them, it stole the very breath from her lungs, and sweat slicked her skin.
Tightening her legs around him, she felt the moment the control in him snapped, and there was nothing but raw need in his face as he stared at her. There were no words between them, and he moved faster and harder until she cracked. Crying out, she clutched at his shoulder and shattered, and while she was still being carried away by the chaos, Ness chanted her name and spilled himself inside of her.
In that moment, she’d never felt closer to anyone in her life, and all she could think about was that this could be the last night she ever spent with him.
12
Ness woke up before Ava the next morning. It was instinct that had him reaching out for her, but he stopped himself. After last night, she would most likely be sore, and she had a long ride ahead of her.
After last night, Ness knew that he couldn’t let her go.
It was not only the fact that they made love. He felt a deeper connection. He was in love with her. He had to protect her.
He tried to justify his decision. If he left her here, he couldn’t protect her. Anything could happen to her. Now that everyone knows that she’s the King’s cousin, she was subject to kidnapping. It was safer to have her by his side.
He was not a man that would easily leave the love of his life to someone else for protection. He would try to reason with her. Convince her to spend most of her time organizing the servants and not on her so-called “adventures.”
She’d been right about one thing. He didn’t know her, not nearly as well as he would like, and he wanted to rectify that immediately. He wanted to memorize every inch of her body. He wanted to know her favorite foods and her favorite flowers. He wanted to talk with her every night and then make love to her when the moonlight bathed her naked body.
There was so much pleasure ahead of them, so much happiness. How could he even think of leaving her here?
His men were due back this morning, so they’d leave as soon as they returned.
Careful not to disturb Ava, Ness rose from the bed and dressed quietly. Knowing her, the first words out of her mouth this morning would be an argument, and he didn’t want to see the gleeful look on her face when he told her that he was taking her with him.
It would just add to the guilt inside of him.
As she started to stir in the bed, Ness slipped out of the chambers. He found Amelia and Mack sharing a private moment at the breakfast table as she fed him a breakfast sausage. Not wanting to interrupt, he turned away, but Amelia caught sight of him. “Ness, please. Join us.”
“I didna mean to interrupt,” he said awkwardly. It was uncomfortable for him to join a family at the kitchen table. He’d traveled for so long that he stopped thinking of the Fenton keep as home, and when he took over for Errol, nobody treated him like he was welcome.
He joined his men for breakfast because he didn’t trust anyone else. He took a chance every time that he drank his wine or ale that someone didn’t slip something poisonous in it. He was not Errol’s son, but he was heir, and he should have seen what was going on. He should have done something sooner.
“’Tis not interrupting. Please. We didna see Ava again last night,” Mack started before Amelia shoved her elbow in his side, and he grunted. “We only mean to ask what ye have decided.”
Slowly, Ness pulled out the chair and joined them. “Now that everyone knows she is the King’s cousin, she is a target,” he muttered.
“Funny how that was still true yesterday.” Mack grinned at him, and Amelia shoved her elbow in his side again.
“Doona listen to him,” Amelia said hastily. “We believe that Ava will do well at yer home, and we would also like to offer a dozen of our men to help ye. I hear that there are still some repairs that need to be made.”
That was an understatement. Errol paid little attention to building infrastructure, and the feud that he initiated had done much damage. There was little he could do until he had money, but now that would no longer be an issue. “I would love yer offer for help, but if I return with men from another clan, it will cause more distrust in my people.”
“Why?” she asked. “Ye are a savior after Errol. Why would they not trust ye?”
“Take yer pick. Some doona believe I should have stepped in Errol’s shoes after being away for so long. Some think that I will be no better than him. Those that
Errol favored know that I will not do the same. The clan was on the edge of starvation, and I didna realize it. I am to blame for that.”
“You did as yer laird commanded. You are marrying in order to help them. You dedicate yer life to them. They will come around. The clan has a loyal leader, and they will see that in time.”
It had been two years. How much more time would it take? What did he have to do to prove himself?
“My men should return towards the end of the morning. Would it be any trouble for us to pack some food for our return trip? I realize that ye were not planning for this.”
“It will be no trouble, but if I know Grace, she will already have given them more than they can carry. We are happy to help any way that we can. As a wedding present to Ava, we will also be giving her a more suitable horse. I doona think that her sweet little mare can make the trip.”
“Ava isna used to riding,” Ness said cautiously.
Amelia waved her hands dismissively. “Melli is young but gentle and well-trained. Ava won’t feel at all nervous being astride her. As for her clothes…”
Ness knew Amelia’s concerns. Four men riding together should be enough to deter any bandits, but a beautiful woman in silk dresses would cause some attention. Even a woman in something simpler would make anyone wonder why she would require an escort. “If she is comfortable, I will allow her to ride in pants.”
“Allow me, will ye?” Ava said from behind. Amelia and Mack both grinned at him, and he knew that he’d been set up. Turning his chair, he tried to ignore the jump in his heartbeat. She was even more beautiful this morning. Maybe that was because he knew he’d left his mark on her last night or maybe it was because he desperately wanted her again, but in either case, he knew that he would never be able to leave her behind.
But if they were going to survive the hardships that came their way, she would have to learn to listen to him. He would never go as far as strip her freedoms away from her, but she needed to realize there would be times when there was no room for argument.
“For yer safety,” he said steadily. “If ye want to join me.”
Highlander's Untamed Lass (Highlander's Seductive Lasses Book 3) Page 8
