A Scottish Duke for Christmas (The Duke of Strathmore Book 4)

by Sasha Cottman

  When he sensed he was on the verge of losing complete control, he slipped a thumb inside her mouth.

  ‘Enough my beauty. It is your needs which should be attended to first.’

  He pulled her to her feet and kissed her fiercely on the mouth. As he did so, his hands began to work their magic on her body. He slid a hand down her stomach and when he reached the folds of her intimate flesh, he slipped a thumb deep inside. She as wet as he was hard.

  'Oh god Ewan, take me now. Ride me hard. You know I am ready for you.'

  From out of the dream mist, a bed appeared and they were quickly upon it. He rose over her and kissed her once more. She guided him to her, arching back in the bed as he entered her willing body.

  'Caroline. I have wanted you for so long. Lusted to take you as I am now.'

  They were the last words he spoke before his sexually heated body took control of the dream. Thrusting repeatedly into the woman he loved, Ewan was lost in his desire to claim her. With her long legs wrapped around his upper thighs, he drove them both to the edge. Her sobs of pleasure and desperate need spurred him on to take her harder and deeper with every thrust. He wouldn't stop until he had sated her sexually until she had finally surrendered to him.

  He thrust deep one last time and Caroline gave a guttural cry as she came apart in his arms. His own roar of completion soon echoed in the bed.

  Ewan woke early the next morning, still fully dressed. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

  Memories of his lust filled dream encounter with Caroline were foremost in his mind. He didn't need to touch himself to know he had woken with a serious case of morning glory.

  The grandfather clock in the hall chimed the hour of seven. At seven thirty, his valet would be knocking on the door, expecting to enter and make preparations for Ewan's daily wardrobe.

  He climbed off the bed and stripped off his clothes. His valet was a fastidious man and disapproved of his master sleeping fully clothed.

  Now naked, and still hard as a rock Ewan slipped under the bedclothes. Taking himself in hand, he closed his eyes and slipped into the memory of his dream of Caroline.

  Chapter Thirteen

  While Ewan and Caroline quickly fell into the easy daily habit of taking a walk up the mountainside and into the woods. Ewan decided it wasn’t prudent to further push the topic of their failed relationship any further at this time. Caroline for her part, he noted, seemed to have put the matter to the back of her mind.

  She was holding David lovingly in her arms when Ewan arrived in the nursery several days later. She greeted him with a friendly smile.

  'Good morning. Look, David, your papa has come to see you,' she said.

  Ewan's heart swelled to see how natural the bond was between Caroline and his son. David began to fuss the instant he was handed to Hannah.

  'Good morning to you too Lady Caroline. I was hoping we could take our daily walk again if you have time,' he replied.

  She appeared to hesitate for a moment before replying.

  'Yes of course. Give me a few minutes to get my things. I shall meet you outside near the kitchens.'

  Ewan headed downstairs and waited for her. Standing outside in the fresh morning air, he pondered how he could once again broach the subject of their relationship. After several nights of heated dreams of Caroline, he knew he wanted more from her than her forgiveness.

  It was only after Beatrice had thrown him over that he had come to the awful realization that it was Caroline he had been in love with all along. The emotions he felt for her had been a long slow burn, not the all-consuming fire that had been his foolish notion of love with Beatrice.

  He had allowed his lust to rule his actions and as a consequence had made the biggest mistake of his life. If he had kept to the path set for him, Caroline would be David's birth mother; and she would be his duchess.

  Caroline appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading up from the kitchens, hurrying up them with more than her usual haste.

  'Quick, before Cook catches us,' she laughed.

  She flipped up the corner of her woolen cloak revealing a small wicker basket. She pushed the basket under Ewan's nose.

  He caught sight of a freshly baked loaf of bread, a large piece of sweet milk cheese, and a knife. He nodded his approval. Caroline, it would appear had already captured the kitchen staff under her spell.

  'Come on,' she said.

  He followed her as she headed down across the courtyard and toward the small gate which led out into the fields beyond the castle. She had settled in quickly and was moving around the castle and grounds with the ease of someone who had long lived there.

  'Beautiful day is it not?'

  Ewan mumbled something in reply. His gaze was fixed firmly on the soft swing of Caroline's hips as she walked ahead of him. He longed to reach out and run his hand over her firm, round backside. What he would give to see the real-life Caroline do what her dream twin had done to him last night.

  He swallowed deep.

  There was only one way to find out.

  Once inside the private space of the woods, they sat down and Caroline broke off a piece of the bread and handed it to him. The aroma of fresh bread had his mouth watering.

  He, in turn, took the knife and cut them both a generous chunk of the sweet milk cheese.

  'So good,' she murmured, between bites.

  Ewan found his manhood go hard at the sound of her enjoyment. When she licked the crumbs from her fingers, he feared he may lose control.

  'Caroline?'

  'Mmm.'

  He sat for a moment attempting to compose himself. The air between them had still not been cleared, and the dowager duchess had begun to make polite inquiries as to how long Ewan intended to keep Caroline at the castle.

  He took a deep breath.

  'It wasn't your fault that things did not go well between us, ‘he said.

  He cursed inwardly. That was not how he had planned to start the conversation.

  'What I meant was, that I am to blame for the situation that arose.'

  'It's in the past, let us leave it there,' she replied.

  She didn't look at him, rather her gaze appeared to be fixed firmly upon the branch of a nearby tree. The tension in her jaw the only outward sign of what he knew was her struggle to keep her emotions in check.

  In a way Caroline was right. It would be easier to leave things in the past. But Ewan Radley was a stubborn man when it came to matters of the heart. The sure knowledge that he loved her had been growing steadily over the days since they had arrived at Strathmore Castle. If she felt anything for him, he was not going to let her keep it from him.

  'I made a grave mistake in not allowing matters to fully develop between us. I am deeply ashamed to say that I let your sister turn my head.'

  Caroline rose from the bench and turned to face him. She sucked in a deep breath before speaking.

  'I think what you really mean to say, and correct me if I am wrong Ewan, was that you thought my sister capable of great passion. And since she and I were so unlike in nature, you, therefore, decided that I must be incapable of feeling and displaying such things,' she replied.

  He shook his head.

  'It’s more complicated than that.'

  She threw the remainder of her piece of bread and cheese into the nearby bushes.

  'Actually, Ewan it’s not. It's really quite simple. You chose her over me, the same as you chose lust over love. Have you ever considered why I find it hard to forgive the pair of you? Beatrice was true to form, she saw something that could possibly be mine and set out to take it. You, in turn, decided that I could never hold your heart, that I was not worthy of your love. In your selfish pursuit of sexual pleasure, the pair of you dashed any hope I may have had for a happy marriage. You must pardon me if I struggle with more than a little bitterness over the injustice.'

  She was right. He was the lowest cad alive. Having given Caroline every sign of his interest in her, he had
won her heart, only to then without mercy crush it.

  Violent shakes trembled through her body revealing to him the depth of the turmoil he had created in her life. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she wiped them hurriedly away.

  Ewan rose to his feet and stretched out a hand. She stepped away.

  'Don't. Don't you dare attempt to comfort me. I am not some weak female who you can cradle in your arms while she cries herself out, all because of loving you. Damn you, Ewan Radley. Is that the real reason why you brought me to Scotland? To see if you can try your hand with the other Hastings sister,' she ground out.

  She went to step past him, but Ewan was quicker. He grabbed hold of Caroline's arm and swung her back to face him.

  'I never wanted your tears.'

  His fingers grasped hold of her hair; as he pulled her roughly to him. Hunger dictated his every move. Hunger for all that she could give.

  'Let me go!'

  'No.'

  While it pained him to see her in such anguish, her tears signaled hope. If she no longer cared for him, she would not be so angry. He would kiss some sense into her if that’s what it took.

  His lips descended upon hers and he forced his tongue between her teeth. The challenge was laid down. Let her show him that she was immune to the heated passion which had been building up between them.

  Caroline's initial stiffness in his arms soon faltered and she gave in to his desires. Her lips and tongue softened as their mouths engaged in a dance of ever-deepening passion. She groaned as he pulled her closer to him, hard against his body.

  Innocent miss or not, he no longer cared to hide the physical effect she was having on him. It was time she understood what he had in mind for them.

  His left hand drifted down and slipped under the flap of her cloak. Nimble fingers soon found the tight bud of her nipple. He gave it a gentle squeeze and was rewarded with yet another whimper of barely concealed delight. His dream was becoming reality.

  He only had to hold her a little while longer in his sensual grip and she would be his to do with as he pleased. He could take her here and now, and she would let him. He would stake his claim to her body.

  But not her heart, and for that, you will lose her forever.

  The thought pulled him up sharp. He took his hand away and released her lips from his kiss.

  Caroline stood staring at him, a look of pained confusion on her face.

  'I shouldn't have done that,' he stammered.

  He didn't get to finish the rest of what he meant to say, which was that he should have asked her permission first. Before he knew what had happened, Caroline had stepped forward and given him a resounding slap across the face.

  'You are a heartless blackguard. You take what is not yours, and think that a feeble apology will smooth things over. You have no understanding of women Ewan. God have pity on the poor woman who is eventually saddled with the displeasure of being your wife!' she cried.

  And with that, she was gone. Ignoring the established path by which they had come, Caroline crashed through the bushes and was quickly lost from sight.

  'Oh,' was all that Ewan could manage, as his mind went into a whirl of indecision.

  Should he follow her and try to make amends? Was he best to head back to the castle and see if he could intercept her as she returned? What if he did find her, what then would he say?

  Caroline was right about one thing though, he didn't have a clue about women.

  In anger and frustration, he turned and headed back down the path which led out of the woods. Instead of making amends and forging a new way forward with Caroline, all he had managed to do this day was push her further away and gain her enmity.

  'Damn.'

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caroline reached the castle late that afternoon. She had spent the best part of four hours wandering the mountainside while trying to make sense of the morning's events.

  Ewan had kissed her. He wanted her.

  If she had stayed with him in the woods, matters between them would have likely taken the way of nature. She had for a moment been tempted to let him have his way. To allow them both the pleasures her heated body craved. Yielding to his demands would have been the easiest of choices.

  Caroline Hastings, was, however, a woman capable of seeing the repercussions of taking the easy path in life. She was not about to make that mistake.

  Knowing Ewan and both their social stations, he would have offered marriage as soon as he caught sight of her naked breast. And he would be exactly where he had been with her sister. Compelled to marry a girl whom he didn't love. It would be the rocky start to a marriage doomed to failure.

  She stifled a satisfied snort at the thought of having slapped his face. As a duke, it was not likely something which happened to Ewan Radley on a regular basis. The shock on his face had been real enough.

  'Caroline?'

  She turned to see Lady Alison standing in the doorway of her sitting room.

  'A letter has arrived for you from your father.'

  Back in her own room, Caroline opened the letter, read its brief contents and then without further thought screwed it up into a ball and threw it into the fireplace.

  As expected Lord Hastings had made his position clear. Caroline had overstayed her time in Scotland, she was now commanded to return home to Hastings Hall as soon as possible.

  As she watched the flames burn up the letter, Caroline felt a sense of calm come over her.

  Her father was right. She had no reason to linger any longer in Scotland. Other than as a sometime relative in David's life she was a stranger in this landscape.

  In Ewan's world, she was just another problem, something which he felt he needed to rectify. Kissing her had simply been his clumsy way of attempting to smooth things over between them.

  'He doesn't love me. The only reason he asked me to come to Scotland was to ensure he enjoyed a quiet journey home and to get David away from prying eyes as soon as possible.'

  She could consider her task complete. She had seen her nephew home to Scotland and into the capable arms of his grandmother and paternal great aunt.

  It was time for her to go home, mourn Beatrice in whatever way she could and get on with her life.

  Chapter Fifteen

  'When did Caroline say that she intended to depart for Kent?'

  Lady Alison finished spreading the marmalade onto her morning bread before setting down the knife.

  'A week, perhaps two. But she did say it had to be by the second week of December at the latest. She wants to be home in time for Christmas,' Lady Alison replied.

  She and Aunt Maude were enjoying an indulgent late breakfast, some three days after Caroline had received the missive from her father. Caroline herself had gone for her now solo morning ramble, up the mountain.

  'That boy of yours is a bloody fool,' Aunt Maude replied.

  The dowager duchess sat quiet, patiently waiting for the rest of Aunt Maude's speech.

  'He brought her all the way up here for a reason, and that reason certainly wasn't to show her the sights of Strathmore Mountain. If she had wanted rocks and mountains she could have gone to the Peak District.'

  'And what do you suggest I do about it Maude dearest? I have tried to reason with him. I was the one, if you recall, who warned him to stay away from the eldest of the Hastings girls in the first place. Beatrice was trouble from the day she was born, anyone with a seeing eye could tell that. Caroline was always the better option in all aspects,' Lady Alison replied.

  Speaking ill of the dead did not sit well with her, but there was no point in dancing around the fact that Beatrice Hastings had been an unruly child who had grown to be a headstrong, untamed young woman.

  The only thing of value Beatrice had managed to achieve in her short life, was to give birth to a son. A child, Lady Alison, was now tasked with helping to raise.

  'We could work to ensure that she doesn't leave,' replied Maude.

  It had been several centuries since th
e castle had last held prisoners.

  ‘The windlass still works. I could have the drawbridge raised. Then again from the look on your face, I am assuming you already have something subtler planned.’

  Lady Alison looked up and found herself staring at Aunt Maude who was leaning forward in her chair, a look of expectation on her face.

  'What do you mean?' she replied.

  Aunt Maude harrumphed in disgust.

  ‘You have a sly grin on your face, and you only ever have one of those when you are plotting something,' replied Maude.

  Lady Alison chortled.

  'I am sure that if you and I put our heads together, we could find a dozen different ways to ensure that Lady Caroline remains at Strathmore Castle. Maude dearest we have work to do.'

  Chapter Sixteen

  Until Beatrice Hastings came hurtling into his life Ewan Radley had held fast onto the opinion that he was not a foolish man. After she left him with his self-respect in tatters mere months later, he was forced to accept that perhaps he was not as worldly nor clever as he had once thought.

  The same feelings began to seep once more into his mind. His encounter with Caroline had been a disaster. One minute he was exulting in having her submit to his sensual overtures, the next he was in shock having received a slap to his face delivered with great fury.

  Alone in his study, late in the evening, he was slowly working his way through a pile of estate papers left for his review by his steward. Paperwork was normally an emotion free task which calmed his over occupied mind. Tonight however, his mind would not settle.

  He sat and stared at the glass of whisky on his desk. He had already downed two large glasses of Scotland's finest single malt and was steadily working his way through a third. The buzz in the back of his brain had become an uncomfortable mixture of alcohol and regret.