“By then I had decided to leave,” she lied.
“Nay, Moira. Tell me the truth. Why did ye not let Hamish kiss ye?”
“I didnae want his kiss.”
“But ye want mine?”
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze, met his challenge, and refused to back down. “If I didnae want ye kiss, then I wouldnae have asked for it, would I?”
“Ah, Moira,” he groaned. “Ye are still full of surprises.” Then he bent his head and pressed his lips to hers.
They were soft and warm, whereas his body was hard and scorching. Instinctively, she lifted herself onto her toes, desperate to feel more of him, but he kept the kiss light and gentle. Frustrated, she placed her palms on his chest, slid them up, and hooked them around his neck as she arched into him.
“Easy, lass.” He skimmed his lips over her cheek. “’Twill be a chaste kiss at the altar.”
“We arenae at the altar, Connor. There is no one watching us here. We are alone.”
His gaze never left her. “No. No one is here, Moira. Just us.”
Then he kissed her, and it was nothing like before. Heat flared between them, and he coaxed her mouth open. She accepted him, eager to discover all he could show her. At the taste of him, pleasure assaulted her, and her knees weakened, but he had a strong grip on her.
“So sweet,” he muttered as he trailed his kisses down her neck. His hands stroked down her body, cupping her bottom and pulling her up against him. With a gasp, she felt his full arousal.
“That is what ye do to me, my sweet. This is how ye make me feel. I ache for ye, painfully.” Connor pulled up the skirts of her dress until he could touch her bare thighs. “If I put my hands between yer thighs, will ye be wet for me, Moira? Do ye want me as badly as I want ye?”
“Connor,” she whimpered. “My body is so hot.” Hot for something she didn’t understand. Oh, she knew well enough what happened between a man and a woman, and she knew that it would bring pleasure to a man, but she had no idea that it would make her feel this way. There was a need clawing inside of her, demanding to be assuaged.
“Aye, my love. I can help. Let me touch ye, Moira. Just touch. Just to stroke ye until ye feel pleasure.”
“Yes,” she moaned and closed her eyes. Whatever it took. She just needed to feel him.
Then his mouth was back on her, and his fingers were at the apex of her desire. Shivering, she clung to him as he stroked through her curls and along her wetness. When he slid a finger inside of her, her whole body went taut.
“Relax, Moira. I willnae hurt ye. Trust me.”
Trust him? After everything, she wasn’t sure she could trust anyone, but here, she had no choice. She felt like she would die without relief.
As his finger stroked her, another touched that small spot that ached so, and she buried her head in his chest as she screamed. Pleasure like she’d never known wracked her body, and she shuddered as he held her tight. “Connor,” she whimpered. “Oh. Oh!”
“I have ye.” Gently he stroked her hair as he pulled her skirts down. It wasn’t until she’d finished shivering that he stepped back. “Moira…I…I had not meant to do that.”
“Please do not apologize.” Already embarrassed, she stepped back and tried to right her hair. “I am most certainly not sorry.”
“Neither am I, my love, but I willnae do more until ye are my wife. I willnae dishonor ye that way. Go to sleep, and fear not. We will wed as soon as possible.”
After kissing her on the top of her head, he turned and left her room through the adjoining door. Mystified, she stared at him. If he felt anywhere near as desperate as she did, then he had to be hurting, and yet he wanted nothing in return.
But soon, she would have all that he would give to her, and she would give to him all that she was able. Maybe it would be enough.
7
Connor was used to breaking his fast alone and in his room. Long ago, Alec and Grace used to eat in the morning together, but Alec was gone, and Grace liked to use the time to bombard him about marriage so that she would no longer have to act as mistress of the keep. It meant starting the day off with a headache, so eating quickly gave him the excuse to miss those less-than-pleasurable moments.
Only today, as he rose, one of the servants delivered a message from Tyree. The laird of Hamilton wanted them to dine together. Although they hadn’t had a chance to speak in private, he had a feeling last night that the man had plenty more to say to him.
Accepting the invitation, he dressed and stepped toward the door separating him from Moira. After last night, he wanted to check on her. To make sure that she was still all right with what had passed between them. When he first proposed, he’d known that she was too young. He was prepared to give her time, but he knew that this was what would be between them.
She was older now, ready for those feelings, but she was still so innocent, and she had no one to talk to her. No one to help her understand what was happening.
Connor didn’t regret it. How could he regret getting closer to her? But he didn’t want to rush her.
If Tyree knew what Connor had done last night, he wouldn’t push for a quicker wedding. He’d probably try and take Connor’s head off.
It wasn’t an unpleasant thought. He was happy that the woman had someone in her corner to fight for her, but now she had Connor, and he would fight until his last breath to keep her happy.
The older man was already at the table when Connor arrived, and they acknowledged each other with grunts. “Chamber all right with ye?” Connor asked gruffly as he drank from his tea and filled his plate.
“Aye. Fine. Yer keep has always been impressive. Ye were just a tyke the last time I was here, but yer mother took great pride in her home. I am pleased to see that ye have not changed much of it.”
The pain had numbed over the years, but it was still there. “Aye. I feel like I keep her spirit around.”
“One night, yer father and I were both a little deep into our cups.” Tyree grinned. “We got into a spat and knocked down one of her tapestries. It fell right on a table still covered with plates of food and cups of drink. I had faced death in battle, but I didnae know true fear until silence settled in the room and yer mother looked on in horror and a terrifying fury. Rumor was that yer father wasnae allowed to sleep in his own chamber for a week.”
It triggered something familiar in Connor, and he chuckled. “I do remember that. My father slept with Alec and I. Told us never to get married.”
Without realizing it, he’d given Tyree the opening that he needed. Moira’s uncle leveled a look at him. “Ye are not taking his advice.”
“Doonae be coy, Tyree. Ye made yer case when ye got here that ye are unhappy with me, yet ye are still allowing me to marry her, so say what is on yer mind. More threats, if it pleases ye.”
Across the table, the Hamilton leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. “No more threats, Connor. Moira is quiet and collected, but when she returned that summer, she was a changed woman. She learned how to defend herself, and became almost obsessive about it. If ye hurt her, she doesnae need me to take her revenge.”
What had happened to her that she needed to take such drastic measures? “I have no plans to hurt her. I have done her wrong in the past. I intend to make that right.”
“My brother told me that when ye made yer bid for her hand, ye wrote that ye loved her,” Tyree said softly. “Do ye still?”
“Much has happened since then.” Connor didn’t want to lie to the man. “I amnae the same man who proposed to her just as she isnae the same girl. Love is rare, Tyree. I am sure ye know that, and I…doonae believe that ‘tis for me, but I have affection for Moira, and I will do what I can to make her happy.”
“So ye are trying to alleviate yer guilt?”
Tyree’s voice was hard, and Connor narrowed his eyes. “We spent the night together in a cave, Tyree. Nothing happened, but she had no chaperone. No matter where I had taken her, her reputation would have been r
uined. She didnae care, but I did. Aye, I will marry her to right some wrongs, but I am also marrying her to protect her.”
The older man was silent for a moment. “I didnae think of that. I only wanted her safe. I knew that people talked, but I didnae realize how difficult things were for her. Maybe if I had done more, this never would have happened.”
“Are ye truly so against me marrying her?”
“She has been cleared of all implications in the death of yer parents, but I am certain yer clan members will still wonder. I fear that deep down, there will always be doubt in ye as well. Moira should not have to live with that.”
“She willnae. She has asked to live separately, and I will allow it.”
“And when she is raising yer children?” Tyree demanded. “Will ye allow them to grow up in a cottage, away from ye?”
It didn’t sit well with Connor, but they would make it work. “’Tis not unusual for children to grow up away from their father, but I willnae be absent from their lives. I will be a good father to them.” At the thought of Moira with children, he smiled a little. “And she will be a good mother.”
“Aye. She will. Hamish will be taking over soon. When I retire, I intend to visit my niece, and ye willnae deny me. Especially when she has kids. Aye, I think I will like being a great-uncle vera much.”
Connor was lost in a daydream. Sweet little Moira, and a few lads and lasses around her. He’d only indicated that he wanted one heir, but he wanted a whole brood, especially if they had Moira’s lovely honey locks.
“Laird Sinclair!” A young lad rushed into the breakfast room, his hair dark tousled and his eyes wide. “Laird!”
“Easy, Liam. Where are yer manners?” Connor said as he pushed his chair back.
“Apologies, Laird, but there is a purty lady at the border. She done been hurt, and she is alone. She says she be Grace’s friend. My da sent me to fetch ye.”
“A lady?” Connor frowned. “Do ye know her name, lad?”
“Covington, Laird. Says her name is Covington.”
“Ainsley,” Connor breathed. One of Grace’s oldest friends, Ainsely Carruthers, had married into the Covington clan. What was she doing here? “Liam, get one of the maids to tell ye where Grace is and tell her to prepare a room. Tyree, I am afraid that breakfast will have to be cut short.”
“Shall I accompany ye?”
“Nay. Until I know what happened to her, I doonae want to overwhelm her. We will speak again today once I know if we are in danger.” He had no quarrel with the Covingtons. They kept to themselves and rarely caused problems, but Ainsley’s husband was cousin to the laird. She could very well be here on a personal matter, but if not, then he would need to be prepared.
The urgency to see what had become of his sister’s friend drove him to ride hard across the lush fields toward the village. What was waiting for him shocked him, although he schooled his features so he didn’t scare her. It had been several years since Connor had seen Ainsley, but he’d never seen her quite like this. Leaves and branches tangled in her hair, and what looked like a green dress was now brown with mud. Tears streamed down her face, but it was bruising around her throat and on her cheek that made Connor’s gut clench.
He couldn’t stand violence against women.
She’d been stowed away in a small hut near the border. Grace had arrived not long after him, and he gave her time to comfort her friend so Ainsley could calm down and speak.
She’d been there that horrid day. It had been days before Connor could escape from his own prison, and he’d found Grace, Ainsley, and Senga clinging to each other. Alec had hidden them away and left a guard to keep watch while he struggled to free Connor.
Not a single intruder had escaped. Connor had seen to that.
“Ainsley,” Grace said softly, “ye must tell my brother what happened to ye. He will keep ye safe.”
Ainsley wiped her cheeks and nodded. “I know I look a mess, and I am sorry to have just shown up on yer land. I knew of nothing else to do. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Hush. Ye are always welcome here,” Grace said with force. “Right, Connor?”
“Aye, Ainsley. There is no need to apologize. Tell me what happened.”
“My husband, Oliver, he has grown increasingly violent over the years. I tried everything I could to please him, but he couldnae…” She turned bright red. “He couldnae perform, and so I couldnae conceive an heir. He blamed me. Then, several weeks ago, he came at me with a knife. I managed to escape, and I left. He chased after me and fell to his death.”
“Good riddance,” Grace growled. “I have a mind to find someone to raise him from the dead so I may kill him myself.”
Connor agreed, but he had a feeling this wasn’t the end of the story. “Oliver was the laird’s cousin, aye?”
“Aye. Covington isnae a bad man, but Oliver had friends, and they pressured him to exile me. I thought it was best. I didnae want to be married off again, but when I left Covington lands, Oliver’s friends followed me. They attacked me and took my horse. I barely got away with my life.” She stifled a sob. “I doonae mean to be a worry. I believe that Laird Carruthers will let me come home, but if I could just have a few days to rest.”
“Ye doonae need to worry about that,” Grace said abruptly. “Ye will stay here, for as long as ye want. Ye will make yer home here as a Sinclair.”
His sister glared at him to defy her, and he nodded his head reassuringly. “Grace is right, Ainsley. Ye are welcome to stay here for as long as ye would like. I am certain that ye, Grace, and Moira can resume yer childhood antics.”
“Moira.” Ainsley’s eyes widened. “She is here?”
“Aye, she is, and I am sure that she would love to see ye,” Grace said warmly.
Connor hoped that she was right. By allowing Ainsley to stay, he felt like he might be slapping more salt on what was still an open wound, but he would not turn away a woman in need. “I will write to Laird Covington and tell him what happened.”
“No.” Ainsley shook her head. “Please doonae do that, Connor. I doonae want to turn this into a clan dispute. Covington willnae care what happens to me. I doonae think he ever really liked me, and I trust that no one will follow me here.”
Connor paused. He very much wanted to storm Covington lands and demand retribution for the bruises on her, but it would turn into a war. “Ye will be safe here. Safe and protected.”
“Thank ye.” Her eyes were full of gratitude. “Ye cannae know how much I appreciate this. I will make myself useful.”
“Doonae worry about that. Come. We will get ye back to the keep and settled in yer chambers.” It rankled him to let this go, but Ainsley was safe. She did not belong to him, and he could not start a war over something that happened internally on Covington lands.
Grace pulled Connor aside and gave him an unusual hug. “Thank ye. Ye know how much she means to me. She never said a word about her husband’s abuse in her letters. I had no idea.”
“Ye doonae have to thank me. She was yer friend, but I remember her fondly. Go with her to her chambers, and then relay the story to Moira. I am going to take a few men out and make sure that she wasnae followed.”
“How long will ye travel? Ye are supposed to be wed tomorrow.”
“The wedding will have to wait until I return. Doonae stress, my sister. Moira will be my wife before the week is out.”
He wasn’t happy about having to postpone it, but he would need to make sure that Ainsley hadn’t led dangerous men into his borders. Then, he would put his focus into making Moira his.
8
Of the four of them, Ainsley was always the most beautiful. Moira thought of that with a broken heart as she helped Grace clean out the dirt and grime in Ainsley’s hair. The years had been kind to her. She’d kept her tall and lithe figure. Her ginger hair had darkened into a stunning hue of red, and her features were still small and dainty. The idea of a man’s hands around her throat made Moira’s stomach turn.
> “The two of ye doonae have to do this,” she said for the tenth time as she brought her knees up to her chest in the bath. “I doonae mean to be a bother.”
“Ye arenae a bother,” Moira told her sharply. “Ye have had a harrowing experience. Let us help ye.”
“I cannae believe that ye are here, Moira. Seeing ye and Grace again somehow makes this all worth it. How long have ye been here?”
Moira and Grace exchanged a look. Somehow, it didn’t feel right to talk about her upcoming nuptials when Ainsley had just escaped her nightmare of a marriage. “A few days,” she admitted quietly.
“Are ye visiting?”
“She and Connor are to be married,” Grace said quickly. When Moira shot her a harsh look, Grace shrugged.
“A wedding? Oh, I love weddings!” Ainsley beamed. “When?”
“As soon as Connor returns. That is why we have so many men in the keep. Laird Tyree, and the future Laird Hamish—although I do believe that the two of ye are touched in the head if ye think that man is going to make a good laird—are here for the wedding.”
Moira blinked. Some of that made sense to her. “I am sorry. What did ye say about Hamish?”
“Not important,” she said dismissively, although she turned a shade pinker.
Finishing with Ainsley, they fetched a towel and wrapped it around her as she stood from the bath. Leading her to the chair, Grace grabbed a comb and started gently combing out Ainsley’s beautiful red hair. “To think that I have interrupted yer wedding, Moira. ’Tis unforgivable. I cannae apologize enough.”
“Ye have nothing to apologize for,” Moira said firmly. “Believe me, this isnae the normal wedding celebration. We only decided to wed a few days ago, and it will make no difference if we wait a little longer. Yer safety is far more important.”
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 23
