by Carmen Caine
Lady Margaret leaned forward, blocking the intense current between the two men, though the matron’s eyes focused on the hand Gyllis had on Sean’s arm. “I could scarcely believe my eyes. It appears Lady Meg’s treatments have been overwhelmingly helpful.”
Gyllis released her grip and folded her hands in her lap. “Aye. I never would have thought hot compresses could make such a difference to the monk’s treatments.”
Mother’s gaze slipped to Sean. “Perhaps we should have kept you at Kilchurn.”
Sean knew Lady Margaret to be a shrewd woman. His exuberant display of concern for Gyllis wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. Sean only hoped Gyllis’s mother would be an ally when it came time to ask for the lass’s hand.
Sean and Duncan had spent too much time swilling whisky in alehouses with buxom wenches when they were lads. Aye, they’d both acted like rogues, but Duncan had changed after he’d met his wife—sworn off alehouse tarts. If only the lord could realize more than one man could do the same. Sean hadn’t thought of another woman since…since…in a bloody long time for certain.
***
Sean didn’t balk when Lady Meg offered him a bed in a guest chamber above stairs—though he’d intended on bedding down in the stable. The soft mattress did nothing to soothe his unease. He needed this business with Lorn’s wedding to be over. Though Duncan’s argument made sense—Alan MacCoul’s quarrel was with Sean and not with the Lord of Lorn. If the bastard was foolish enough to try an attack, it would be a siege on the fortress of Dunollie, not the wedding party and not a castle being part of the crown’s holdings. Sean considered sending a missive to Lorn and asking him to change the date or the venue, but doing so would admit weakness.
Sean closed his eyes and slung his arm over his face. A picture of Gyllis immediately came to mind. She’d been so radiant this eve, he could have swept her into his arms and stole her away like a Viking from ages past. The thought of taking Gyllis to his galley and sailing to a distant shore tempted—but only for a moment. He was a chieftain, by God, and his plan was solid. He’d see out his duty and then Gyllis would be his. Not even Duncan Campbell would be able to stand in his way.
Gyllis was his. They may not have pledged their love before God, but she was his woman—always had been. Duncan would not arrange her marriage to any other. Sean would not stand for it. The idea of her marrying any other man made his blood pulse icily through his veins. Hell, if another man looked at Gyllis he turned into a raving lunatic.
The door opened and quickly closed. Sean sat up, the bedclothes dropping to his waist. Gyllis stood against the door, holding a candle, using only one crutch. She wore a dressing gown belted at the waist. Staring at him, the whites of her eyes grew enormous.
“Gyllis?” Sean reached for a plaid and circled it around his hips as he slid out of bed. “What are you doing in here?”
She drew in a sharp gasp. “I cannot sleep.”
“Nor can I, but ’tis not proper for you to be in my chamber.” He tucked the plaid at his hip and hastened across the floor. “You could be ruined.” Not to mention Duncan would sever Sean’s cods if the lord of the keep found them together.
She handed him the candle then placed her hand on his bare chest. His breath caught at her touch. Heaven help him, he could not resist but a single fingertip’s caress. The tingling of flesh on flesh stirred molten fire from his chest all the way through the tip of his cock.
She trailed her finger from his heart to the edge of the plaid with a seductive chuckle. “I am already ruined thanks to you.”
Sean had no control over his body’s reaction. In the blink of an eye, his cock lengthened and stretched taut against the woolen fabric. “I would never see you ruined.”
“Mm, mm.” She didn’t miss his reaction and ran her fingertips along the inside of the plaid perched precariously on his hips.
He took a step back and grasped her shoulder. “We mustn’t.”
“Why?” she purred.
He squared his jaw. “I should march straight to Duncan’s chamber and ask for your hand.”
“I do like that idea, however…” She chuckled like a wanton. “He’s most likely making another bairn with Lady Meg.”
She stepped closer, again toying with the plaid. Sean stepped away and placed the candle on the table. He needed both hands to control the lassie’s advances, no matter how much he wanted her, damn it all.
“When is Lorn’s wedding?” she asked.
“A fortnight.”
The crutch clicked the floorboards as she moved further into the chamber. “’Tis soon. I shall await your return with great anticipation.” Her scent made Sean’s knees waver, yet Gyllis moved forward unaware of the spell she’d cast over him. “Mother has always been fond of you—but I shall never understand Duncan. You’re his best friend, and yet he cannot bear to see you place a hand upon me.” She reached out her finger and stroked it across his lips.
Damn, the wavering of his knees rocketed up his thighs, spread through the ache in his groin, and continued to his chest.
Sean forced himself not to tug her into his arms and devour her. God’s bones, Duncan’s chamber was directly above theirs. If he heard Gyllis’s crutch tap the floorboards, the lord would charge in like a raging bull. Sean swallowed, lightheaded from his growing erection. “’Tis difficult for a man to see his friends take an interest in his sister. You ken we’ve talked about it.”
“Aye.” Gyllis’s voice grew husky. “’Tis why mother must make him understand.” She grasped the plaid and tugged.
Sean held her wrist. “We mustn’t.”
She met his gaze with an arched brow, but she released her fingers from the wool. “No one saw me. No one will know.”
Helpless to turn her away, Sean followed while Gyllis moved to the foot of the bed, placed her crutch on the floor then grasped the bedpost with one hand. Reaching out with the other, she again closed her fingers around his plaid. Her eyes flashed wide and a sultry laugh spilled from her throat as she pulled off Sean’s plaid. His cock bounced out and pointed directly at her. He was harder than an oak broomstick and more aroused than a lad staring at a pair of breasts for the first time. Christ, he needed release.
Gyllis didn’t help matters. Her pink tongue slipped to the corner of her mouth as her gaze undulated down his body and stopped at his cock. “I-I’ve wanted you ever since…” She untied the sash around her waist and let the dressing gown drop to the floor.
God save him, she wore not a stich of clothing. Every shred of self-control fled. His mind consumed with the tantalizing woman before him. Somehow she was even more beautiful now than he’d remembered. The candlelight flickered amber across her skin. Chestnut tresses slid over her shoulder, framing two perfectly formed breasts, tipped by rose.
Sean licked his lips, those delectable rosebuds would be his second stop. In two strides, he wrapped her in his arms and crushed his body against hers. “For all that is holy, you have claimed my soul, my flesh and my mind.”
He covered her mouth with his, her minty taste flooding his senses. Claiming her for his own, he forced his tongue inside her mouth. She matched the ferocious swirling of his tongue. No, Gyllis wasn’t one to shy away from anything life threw her way. She was strong and wild and seductive, and he loved her to the depths of his core. His cock slid across her stomach and he moaned.
In an act of unbridled trust, she released her hold on the bedpost and clamped her arms around his shoulders. Their mouths joined, she thrust her hips against him. “I want you.”
He needed no more encouragement. Sean swept her into his arms and placed her on the bed. His mind consumed with desire, his senses overpowered by her smell, her seductive way she rocked her hips in anticipation of receiving him, and the deft fingers plying the muscles in his back, he was powerless to resist.
He trailed kisses down her neck while kneading her breast. Her soft moan made his seed dribble from the tip of his cock. Christ almighty, he needed her and soon, else sh
e’d unman him just by the sultry tenor of her voice.
He clamped his mouth over her breast and teased her delectable nipple with the swirling of his tongue. Her body quivered as she arched her back and mewled. “I cannot take much more.”
Sean looked into those alluring green eyes and chuckled. “You taste like ambrosia from the Gods.”
A slow grin spread across her lips and she tugged on his shoulders. “’Tis my turn to taste you.”
“Nay.”
She tugged harder. “If you haven’t realized it yet, I am seducing you, not the other way around.”
God, he loved this woman. Sean slid alongside her and gestured to his body, his muscles as taut as they were after he’d been an hour or more in the sparring ring. “I am at your service m’lady.” A groan of desire rumbled from his chest.
She ran her tongue over her teeth, sweeping her gaze down his body. The way she looked at him set his cock on fire. The woman was a lioness in the bedchamber, her innocence and eagerness more arousing than anything he’d ever experienced. She rolled atop him and kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his chin.
Sean grasped her shoulders and tried to claim her mouth, but she held up a finger. “You must allow me to seduce you.”
“I fear you already have me in your clutches.” His voice came out deep and hoarse. He hardly recognized it. He’d been with countless women, but they all paled to the one in his arms. With but a look she could do unholy, rapturous things to his body. He could think of nothing but Gyllis—how much he wanted her in his bed—how much he wanted his cock inside her right now.
But she slid her mouth downward and covered his nipple. Christ his cock spurted another dribble of seed. It felt so damn good, he wouldn’t last long. And then she trailed her kisses lower. Sean clenched his bum cheeks so tight his muscles cramped. When she took him into her mouth, he muffled his gasp by draping his elbow across his mouth. Never in his life would he expect Gyllis to taste him, but by God, he was about to explode for the rush of urgency she built up with every sweep of her tongue.
At the ragged edge, his buttocks burning, shaking with frenzy, he grasped her shoulders and tugged her up. When his fingers found her hips, he raised her high enough to impale her on his erection.
She gaped at him, eyes wide. “I can be on top?”
He stirred himself within her warm core. “Aye, lass. You can and you are.”
She followed his lead and together they found a rhythm that sped with the intensity of their breathing. Their bodies quivered with the strain, thrusting, swirling, mounting the precipice of no return until, all at once, together they reached their peak, clinging to each other with silent screams of ecstasy.
She collapsed atop him, their bodies joined, their souls joined. Neither spoke. Even their breathing matched. With her in his arms he was whole. For the first time in his life he knew what it meant to be a man—not just a warrior or a chieftain, but a man who loved a woman so much it hurt. He wanted a family he could protect and cherish, and Gyllis would be the center of his world.
As she rested in Sean’s arms, her breathing took on the slow cadence of sleep. No matter how much Sean wanted her to remain in his arms throughout the night, he couldn’t risk being discovered. Not only would it ruin Gyllis, it would validate all Duncan’s unfounded misgivings—the reason Sean tried to stop her when she’d first slipped into his chamber. The moniker “Lusty Laddie” rang in his head.
“I must take you back.”
“Must you?” Gyllis rose up on her elbow. “Why not take me to Kilbride Church and marry me this night?”
He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Because I want to do this right.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“If you don’t stop smiling, Mother and Duncan will suspect you’re hiding something,” Helen said while she placed her looking glass in the trunk between the folds of her clothing. She closed the lid. “You’d best pay heed to me. Ever since Sir Sean arrived, you’ve been flitting around as if you’ve been touched in the head by a fairy.”
Gyllis reached in and fastened the hasp. “Perhaps I have.”
“You are hopeless.” Helen gave her a prying stare. “It makes me suspect he may have spirted you to the garden and stolen a kiss.”
“My lips are sealed.” Though she tried, Gyllis couldn’t stifle her giggle and it blew through her nose. “Though I must admit, he is very good at kissing.” She could never tell Helen what had transpired—heaven strike her dead, she’d actually gone to Sean’s chamber and seduced him. She hadn’t ceased spinning her rosary around in her pocket, reciting Hail Mary’s at all hours—while throwing in praises of thanksgiving every now and again.
Helen placed her hand on Gyllis’s arm. “I’m happy for you, but tell me, when is he planning to speak to Duncan?”
“As soon as the marriage business is finished with the Lord of Lorn, and after Mother returns from your wedding. I need Ma’s support if Duncan launches into one of his rages.”
Helen rubbed her palms together. “I could mention something to Ma on the journey to Ardnamurchan. At least it will give us something interesting to talk about.”
Gyllis thought for a moment. She hadn’t said anything to Mother about Sean because she couldn’t decide how to broach the subject. But if Helen planted a seed, it might make her task all the easier. “Perhaps if you mention that Sir Sean gave me the crutches and paid a visit or two to Ardchattan during my confinement.”
“Exactly my thoughts, too. Besides Mother isn’t blind. She knows you admire him.”
Gyllis cringed. “She just doesn’t know how much.”
A rap came at the door and in walked two groomsmen. “We’re here to take your trunks to the wagon. Are you ready, Miss Helen?”
Her poor sister turned as white as bed linen. She cast a worried glance at Gyllis then gestured to her things. “I’m all packed. I shall be down in a moment.”
The sisters stood and watched the men haul away the first trunk while Gyllis couldn’t stop thinking it should be she who was traveling west to meet and marry a strange man. Her throat grew thick and her palms moist. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she whispered.
Helen straightened. “It will be fine. ’Tis time for me to marry and Mother will be there to ensure all progresses well.”
The remnants of Gyllis’s euphoria sank to the bottom of her toes. “You will write as soon as you are able?”
“Of course, and you will send word when your wedding date is announced?”
“I will.” She forced a smile. “And I’ll expect you to be there.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“’Tis settled then.” Gyllis tried to hold in her tears, but one dribbled from her eye anyway. She tugged Helen into an embrace. “Hug me now whilst no one can see me weep.”
Her sister’s body shuddered as a woeful wail burst through her lips. “I…I…”
Gyllis couldn’t hold it in. She patted Helen’s back and tried to regain control. “Everything will be all right.”
With a stuttered inhale, Helen clung tighter.
“A wedding is a happy occasion and you shall be lady of the keep, just as you’ve always wished.”
Helen pulled away, her eyes and nose red. She drew in a staccato breath and nodded while she dabbed her face with a kerchief. “I’d best be off before my tears set the bed afloat.”
Gyllis also dried her eyes. “Come. I’ll see you off.”
***
Sean had no opportunity to visit Gyllis again before the day of Lorn’s wedding arrived. Earlier that morning, he and his men, reinforced by a dozen MacGregors, fanned out through the forest surrounding Dunstaffnage Chapel and found nothing out of place. Things were also quiet in the village surrounding the castle.
The locals had a healthy respect for the Lord of Lorn. As the king’s emissary, he provided them with land to till or graze.
The boats moored in Loch Etive were all owned either by local fishermen, or were part of Lorn�
��s retinue, having sailed down from Lorn’s Castle Stalker to the north. Angus reported no sign of Alan MacCoul or any of the foul men who followed him. Nonetheless, Sean did not don his ceremonial armor. He met the Lord of Lorn in the king’s chamber wearing battle armor.
Lorn, who was wearing an ornate coat of blackened ceremonial armor, gave Sean a quizzical look. “Are you expecting a fight?”
Sean bowed. “I figured it best to be prepared for anything, uncle.”
Lorn patted his shoulder. “You’re a good lad.”
A long breath whistled through Sean’s lips. He didn’t expect anything to go awry, but Fraser’s death weighed heavily on his conscience. “Sentries are posted atop the battlements as usual and I have a contingent of fifty men surrounding the chapel.”
“You did take me seriously,” Lorn chuckled. “You’ve a mob of brigands guarding the chapel? What will my guests think?”
“They’re hardly brigands.” Sean pulled his helm over his head and pushed up the visor. “Would you rather not be well guarded?”
Lorn studied himself in the looking glass. “I asked you to provide security for my wedding, not to invite an army to it.”
Perhaps Sean had overreacted. “Shall I have them stand down?”
Lorn squinted. “You say you’ve scoured the forest?”
“Aye.”
“And the pier?”
“Not a galley moored that isn’t accounted for.”
The old man batted his hand through the air. “Then there’s little for which to be concerned. Send your army home and keep a few steadfast guards.”
