“Just try it for a moment.”
Vin shed his shirt and settled back against his pillow pulling the blankets more modestly up over his chest. “I feel foolish,” he grunted. “This whole thing is foolish. I’m a grown man…”
“Oh hush!” Moira admonished, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking his hand between hers. “Let’s just see what happens, shall we?”
“You should just…”
“Hush!” she commanded. “Now let’s see… Which story? All right then. Once upon a time…”
Vin scoffed.
“I said hush now and close your eyes!”
He went silent but couldn’t close his eyes as he watched her begin to speak, loving the way her lips formed the words. “Once upon a time, long ago the terrific Viking hoard invaded our country’s shores. The frightful warriors ravaged our land and our women leaving behind blood enough to flow as strong as a river…”
“This is a story Nanny May told you as a wee lass?” Vin interrupted skeptically.
Moira shrugged. “Nanny May was always a little bloodthirsty. Shall I continue?”
“By all means. Please.”
“They swept across Scotland like a whirlwind, ransacking our monasteries for their wealth and our villages for slaves…”
Chapter 17
A kiss is a rosy dot over the 'i' of loving.
Cyrano de Bergerac
The last thing Vin recalled when the early morning light woke him was Moira’s voice, soft and soothing – a direct contrast to the words she spoke – relaxing him in the darkness. He took a trembling breath and released it slowly. He slept through the night with nary a dream at all! By God but Moira was a miracle worker! As gruesome as her story had been, Vin would have thought his nightmares would have been even worse but no! The only dream he could even recall having was of a beautiful Scots lass who stood against the Vikings and repelled their advances. A lass who bore a strong likeness to Moira.
A little smile lifted the corner of his mouth as he became aware of a weight on his chest that was beyond what a blanket might weigh. Looking down, he discovered that his new blanket was a mass of bright auburn hair spread across him. Reaching down, Vin gently pushed the hair aside, smoothing it back from Moira’s face and tucking it behind her ear.
She was as lovely in sleep as she was awake, he thought. Her cheeks rosy, her lashes a dark crescent against them. Moira must have been exhausted to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position! Her feet still dangled over the edge of the bed while she bent from her side to use his stomach as a pillow. He wanted to adjust her so she might lie down but feared the movement would wake her. He couldn’t even carry her back to her own bed, he realized with a self-disparaging grunt. While he continued to regain his strength, he knew that after the fatigue following his long walk with Moira and his vigorous ride yesterday with Richard he would not be able to carry Moira up a flight of stairs.
Instead, he tried to keep his breathing light and even so, she might continue to get her hard-earned rest. Vin stroked her temple lightly hoping the movement was as comforting to her as it was to him. Tucking his other arm behind his head, Vin watched her sleep as the bedside clock ticked off the minutes.
What would he do when she married and left once more? He was a selfish bastard, he realized if he would gladly deprive her of a good marriage so that he might have her to ease his sleepless nights! But he would. He felt revived this morning. Rested in a way he hadn’t felt in years. It made him feel powerful and able to take on the world. And Moira gave it to him. He didn’t know how or why, but her presence allowed him that peace and he wanted it again.
Vin was afraid it might be the most addictive thing he’d ever known. He wanted this moment, this serenity each morning. Needed it. Of course, it might just be the presence of another person. He pondered the idea as he idly stroked her cheek. Perhaps anyone…
Moira shifted and inhaled deeply. Her hand crept up next to her cheek and smoothed over his chest, changing the course of Vin’s thoughts. His body tensed as Moira started to awaken, rubbing her cheek against his stomach even as her hand stretched upward. Her palm stroked across his chest before her fingers curled in the light covering of hair there and fisted.
Her eyes fluttered open and met his before closing again, a smile softening her lips as she hummed so deeply it felt to Vin as if a cat’s purr vibrating against him. His body responded unbidden to the feel of her hand on his flesh, to that soft inviting smile and that purr of pleasure. Moira turned her head again rubbing her nose against the flat planes of his stomach before placing a kiss there.
Vin’s body clenched. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and make that sleepy invitation into reality!
Moira stretched. Her eyes flickering open once more, she turned to prop her chin on his stomach and smile up at him. When she pushed herself up scooting farther up the bed until she could rest her cheek against his chest and her arms came up to encircle his neck, Vin knew she must still be half-asleep. She was not aware of her actions. Still she hummed once more as she snuggled against his chest as she hugged him tightly!
Caught between disbelief and lust, Vin’s body roared to readiness as his arms came around her of their own volition. His hands thrust into her hair, pulling until she raised her head once more. Her eyes were still half-open and sleepy, but she smiled at him again and stretched upward to press her lips against his.
Vin’s breath caught for a moment before the fire and electricity of her kiss overwhelmed him, feeling both new and familiar at the same moment. Feeling aflame with lust, he devoured her mouth with his, plunging his tongue deep as she parted her lips to welcome him. Again and again he tasted her sweet lips, parried his tongue with hers before moving lower to nip and suck at the tender flesh of her neck. Her frenzied moans of delight set him on fire. He wanted more. His hands were just moving around to cup her glorious breasts at last when Moira murmured, “Oh, Vin.”
Time suspended for them both as they pulled apart and stared at each other in shock. Moira’s eyes widened as she came fully awake and read the frozen expression on Vin’s face; the dismay and perhaps…self-loathing?
Moira scrambled off the bed and pulled her robe more tightly around her before smoothing her hair down in a nervous gesture. “I’m so sorry, Vin. I must have fallen asleep. I must have been dreaming or… I didn’t mean to wake you. I must have imagined… I’m sorry I woke you! Did you sleep well? Oh!” Flinging her hands in the air, Moira cut off her own nervous babble before turning and running from the room to flee anywhere she might wallow in embarrassment in peace.
Vin watched her go knowing that he should have stopped her tirade. Should have taken some of the blame on him. He was certain the situation had upset her. Surely, awakening from a dream to find herself locked in the embrace of a partially naked man would distress any lass.
He lay back once more willing his still raging erection into submission. It was becoming harder and harder to do so, especially after holding the object of his lust in his arms. She had been dreaming, she said. What could she have been dreaming of to prompt such a passionate episode? Who had she been dreaming of? Her unnamed love? That Aylesbury fellow?
Then why had she whispered his name?
Chapter 18
I no doubt deserved my enemies,
but I don't believe I deserved my friends.
Walt Whitman
Moira managed to avoid Vin for the balance of the day by inviting herself to Abby’s and spending the morning and afternoon there, playing with her friend’s twin toddler’s, Bryn and Corri. She read stories to them – not at all like the ones Nanny May had told! – played with dolls, soldiers when Trist joined them and was now building block towers for them to destroy. Even when Richard came to tell her he was going to Carlton Terrace to ride with Francis and Vin and offered her a lift there, Moira stayed where she was. It was unbearable to think of how humiliating it would be to face him again.
How had it even
happened? She had no idea! Oh, she lied to him flat-out in saying that it had all been a dream! She had been having the most pleasant dream and awoken in Vin’s arms. She was aware of where she was when she faced him but perhaps still caught in the lingering web of fantasy. It seemed so natural to be in his embrace and kiss him good morning. Perhaps he, too, hadn’t been fully awake but Moira thrilled when he had crushed her in his arms and plundered her mouth as if he were a man starved! She shivered remembering the jolt of desire that had energized her to her very toes.
Then she spoke aloud and burst the illusion fully awakening them both to the reality of the moment. How appalled he had looked! How ashamed! Moira wasn’t ashamed in the least. Instead, she wanted more. But that look in his eyes! She doubted he would ever be comfortable in her company again. Perhaps she even risked their friendship by putting her fantasies into action.
“Would you care to talk about it?” Abby asked when Moira sighed heavily for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Abby had known Moira her entire life. Had been her closest friend for what seemed an eternity. They shared much in their lives, from friendship to the love of a MacKintosh lad. It took a lot to separate them as girls. When Abby was sent to England to attend a boarding school at her stepmother’s whim, Moira begged her father to send her as well. And too, when Abby was nearly crushed by a horse at Ascot, Moira spent a month at her bedside determined to see her through the tragedy.
Abby always thought Moira would never keep a secret from her until she concealed Vincent MacKintosh’s survival and impending return from her in the past month. She understood why Moira had done it, of course. Abby would never have been able to keep the secret from Richard, but still!
Now something was troubling her friend and Abby wanted to help her as Moira always helped for her, but first she needed to know the details!
Moira shook her head. “It’s just too humiliating!”
“Come now!” Abby chided. “It can’t be that bad! Come. Spill it!”
Moira continued stacking wooden blocks for the pair of toddlers, joining them in laughter when they destroyed her work before beginning again. Abby said no more simply waited patiently as if she knew that Moira wouldn’t be able to deny her for long. “I kissed Vin this morning,” she whispered finally.
“Why, Moira! That’s wonderful! I knew for certain when I saw you two together the other day at luncheon that everything would work out for you! And he could hardly keep his eyes off you at the theater!” Abby beamed at her friend before leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially, “How was it?”
“It was everything I always imagined it would be, but,” Moira corrected the misconception, “you’re missing the point entirely. I said I kissed him.”
Abby frowned. “Are you saying that he didn’t kiss you back?”
“No, he did,” Moira’s lips too turned downward. “But I had taken him unawares when he was half asleep. The moment he realized what he was about, he looked completely mortified!”
“But he did take part in it while it lasted?” Abby clarified. When Moira nodded morosely, Abby just chuckled. “I would consider that a very good sign then, don’t you? I had it from Kitty just yesterday that Eve is convinced Vin wants you more than he knows. She has said as much to you, hasn’t she?”
“She has and Harry has as well, but…” Moira just shook her head denying her friends’ optimism. “I’ve told them both and I’ll tell you also, it is not I in particular that Vin is attracted to. Let’s consider the truth, shall we? Vin was imprisoned for five years and it’s very unlikely they ever allowed him to…well, you know while they had him there. I’ve been around enough men in my life to know how they are, Abby.”
“You think that any woman would do, don’t you?”
“Well, of course! Don’t you agree?” Moira continued insistently. “Vin is a Scotsman to his very core, Abby. Everyone knows they are a lustful lot.”
Abby’s eyes danced merrily but she could not disagree having been wed to very lustful Scot for almost five years. “I can assure you Vin would not bed just any woman who offered herself to him!”
Moira just snorted her denial. “Come now, Abby! You are not that naïve! You know as well as I do where the lads used to sneak off to any time they had a chance. Not just Vin but Jason, Francis, Jack and, yes, Richard as well! It is what men do! They want a body, not a woman!”
Abby wrinkled her nose. “That might be what young lads do, Moira, but I can guarantee that just ‘a body’ is not what Richard wants any longer, nor does Francis or Jack.”
“And I see you cannot include Vin in that list, Abygail Merrill!” Moira pointed out. “Because Vin does not love me as you are all loved. Any woman would do for him!”
“I disagree.”
“Well, you didn’t see his face when he realized who he was kissing this morning either!” Moira chided as she ferociously stacked on block atop another with a definitive smack. “He looked as if he might be physically ill!”
“Moira! Now you’re just exaggerating!”
“No! I am not!” Smack went another block and then another before she pushed the whole thing down sending the little girls into gales of laughter that softened Moira’s ire. She looked at their angelic faces, their shiny blond curls and again felt that pang of envy. How she wanted a pair of lasses just like them or better yet, a lad with black hair and chocolate brown eyes. “I’m his friend, Abby. It is simply what he sees. And I will continue to be that friend for as long as I can bear it because Vin needs all the friends he can get right now. But that is all it can be. He may desire me – I’ll not deny the possibility – but it would never mean more than that and it would be ruinous to that friendship.”
“I still think that you’re wrong.”
“You and Eve and Harry all think that! Harry has even set a wager on it.”
“Did he really?”
“Yes, he wagered he could drive Vin into a fit of jealousy within a fortnight.”
“That long?” Abby mused. “I wager he could do it in half that time if he truly applied himself.”
Moira couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. “You are fools all! But in the end, I will prove you all wrong, then Harry and I will wed and we can be done with all this nonsense!”
“Hmmm,” Abby tapped a finger to her lips. “I might have to see this for myself. I think I will send a message over to Eve and see if we might come to dinner.”
“Do that if you must, but I will not be there.” Moira crossed her arms. “I dashed off a note to Harry this morning asking him to take me to dinner at that new restaurant at the Royal Edinburgh Hotel. I’ll not sit and watch as you plan the poor man’s downfall.”
“It’s not like you to run like a coward, Moira.”
“Aren’t you always telling me to try new things?”
“Of course, but…Moira? Where were you this morning that you caught Vin half-asleep?”
“Richard, you didn’t mention this afternoon that you were coming to dinner,” Vin said in surprise as he came down for the evening meal. He found the parlor filled with Eve and Francis, Jack and Kitty, Richard and Abby and his sister Fiona but absent the one person he wanted most to see.
“I wasn’t aware this afternoon.”
“Where is everyone else?” Vin asked as Fiona bounced over to him and flung her arms around Vin’s neck.
“Richard told all the lads they had to stay away tonight so you could take us in small doses,” Fiona told him bluntly. “Dorian’s got to be back at Cambridge for the next term anyway and Tam and Ian are going to take Connor over to that new gambling hall in Old Town. I imagined they’ll be laid bare in more ways than one by morning.”
“Fiona!”
“What?” she blinked innocently. “Jamie didn’t go with them though. He’s been trailing after that widow of old Mr. Ross for weeks now and I imagine he’s about to make his move.”
“Blossom!” Vin choked. “You shouldn’t talk of such things!”
“Och,
and sure it’s all right that I know about them! I just shouldn’t speak of them?” she asked defiantly. “I have ten older brothers, Vin! Really how did you expect me to turn out?”
Before Vin or Richard could answer, the Glenrothes butler, Hobbes, stepped into the room addressing himself only to Eve as was his habit. “My lady, Lord Aylesbury has once again graced us with his most distinguished personage. Might I do us all the favor of showing him in?”
Vin nearly groaned aloud. Bugger it! The fellow was here again? And he’d managed to win the approval of Eve’s persnickety butler as well? The old man didn’t seem to like anyone besides Eve and perhaps Kitty.
When Aylesbury entered the room bowing over a huge bouquet of roses, Vin found his wasn’t the only strong reaction in the room. “Would you look at that bonny man?” Fiona exclaimed under her breath. “I don’t know what Moira has been thinking if she hasn’t snapped him up yet. I wouldn’t wait so long if he turned those bonny blue eyes on me!”
“Blossom,” Richard reprimanded their little sister. “You’ve barely given the man a moment’s rest when he’s come to dinner; please allow him a moment to breathe!”
“What’s this?” Vin asked.
Richard shrugged dismissively. “Fiona fancies Aylesbury.”
Vin gaped down at his baby sister. A myriad of thoughts inundated his mind but the one that headed the flood was, “Why?”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Vin,” Fiona sighed as she took in the marquis with adoring eyes as he greeted Eve first and made his way around, greeting the others near him. “Aylesbury is everything a woman could want: handsome, titled, wealthy, witty, dashing…”
A Question of Lust (Questions For A Highlander Book 3) Page 14
