Have Yourself a Merry Little Secret : a Christmas collection of historical romance (Have Yourself a Merry Little... Book 2)

by Collette Cameron

  A second trace of rose perfume, this time stronger than the last hint, danced beneath his nose.

  “’Tis only me come to return the pitchfork,” Catrina said, her voice growing louder as she approached him

  Niall jumped to his feet and spun around. “Dunnae let…” It was too late. The door slammed behind Catrina who by now was several steps into the barn, setting the pitchfork against the wall.

  “Don’t let what?”

  “Dunnae let the door close as it will stick. The latch wasnae the problem.”

  She quirked one red eyebrow as if she needed a minute to mull over his statement.

  And he didnae blame her as she had her hands full just bringing up Fergus.

  The look of realization slowly settled on Cat’s face. “We’re trapped, aren’t we.”

  “Aye. But at least Mrs. Ramsay can get us out.”

  “I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon.” Catrina winced.

  “What do ye mean?” He sauntered her way, his gaze locked on those enchanting blue eyes of hers.

  Catrina stepped back. “Fergus is down for a nap and Mrs. Ramsay decided to take one herself. And once she’s down, she hears nothing.”

  “And yet ye left Little Fergus in her care?” He continued toward Catrina.

  “Well, I did not have the intention of being out here long.” Catrina inched back even further.

  Niall pinned her against the wall. He brought his hand to her waist and pulled her close. “I will ask ye this only once. Did ye miss me?”

  Gently, Catrina placed her hands on his shoulders. “With Moira being with child, there was a lot that consumed my thoughts. I barely had a moment to myself.”

  Niall inched back a tad, put a bit of space between them. “So ye didnae think of me.”

  “That is not what I said. Of course I thought about you. Probably more than I should have, in fact. But I tried so hard to push those thoughts away. And after Moira died in childbirth, all I wanted was to hunt down the bastard responsible for her death. That is why I was out yesterday. I have been riding out every day, visiting the area that was said to be The Christmas Rebel’s favored roads.”

  The revelation filled Niall with guilt. But he couldnae tell Catrina about Robbie’s secret identity, yet. “Would ye be willing to allow me to court ye, now?”

  “Any man who wants me in his life, must also accept Fergus. And Mrs. Ramsay, as she has become part of the family.”

  “I have no objections to Fergus.” How could he, the bairn was his own nephew. “But as for Mrs. Ramsay, well, I have a cook. Edgar’s wife, Grace.”

  “Is there not something we can do for her?”

  Based on the sincere look in Cat’s eyes, he couldnae refuse her anything. “Aye. I’ll do my best to come up with something.”

  She smiled at him. “Then I would very much like to start our courtship anew.”

  He didnae see the point in going back to the verra beginning when they’d had shared a lot more than a mere few kisses. He’d proposed to her, for goodness’ sakes. “I had something a wee bit different in mind.”

  “Such as?”

  “I dunnae see the reason behind starting from the verra beginning, lass.”

  A flush tinted Catrina’s cheeks.

  “I didnae mean to embarrass ye, Cat. Believe me, that is the last thing I would care to do. But I ken ye understand what I mean.”

  “I do.” Cat paused and lowered her gaze. “May I ask you for something?”

  “Aye. Anything.”

  “My sister fell in love with a rogue. He ruined her and then left her. At least that is how it looks to me.”

  “Sometimes, not all is clear, Cat. Maybe there was more to Moira and….” He paused for a moment, catching himself before revealing Robbie’s secret. “More to the situation of Moira and the man she loved.”

  With her hands still on Niall’s shoulders, Catrina looked him in the eyes. “I know I should feel that way. And a part of me does. But I am ashamed to say that for most of the time, I get so frustrated at the outcome of their union. Moira is dead and Fergus has no mother or father. Moira swore the man she loved had actually married her. That they’d escaped to Gretna Green and Fergus was the result of their wedding night. She also once said the man promised to come back, though he never did. At least not for any significant time. I did catch Moira out and about some days. I think she went to meet her lover on those occasions, but she never cared to discuss it with me, and I never cared to push the matter. I surmised the man had business to tend to. That he wanted to make things right before telling anyone about their marriage. But whatever it was that had gone wrong in his life, Moira never revealed those details to me. Though she did say the man held their wedding license.”

  So that explained it. Robbie was probably hoping to get justice for himself, to financially restore his own good name before telling anyone about Moira.

  Jesus, but he should have kent long before the night Robbie died, what the lad had been up to. A good brother would have kent it all. He’d been so obsessed with fixing the family’s financial problem himself, he never reckoned his baby brother was attempting the same thing, only in a different way.

  “The man could have been financially ruined,” Niall finally said. “And not by his own fault. Mayhap he wanted to clear his own name before having it attached to your sister’s reputation.”

  Catrina frowned, a look that appeared to Niall as one born more out of sorrow than annoyance. “Moira hinted as much. But she never talked in depth about the situation. She was very loyal to her lover.”

  The first thing he was going to do after getting back to Dundaire Abbey, was go see that despicable Mr. Murray. The last of his father’s destroyers must be confronted. “If yer sister said her lover…her husband…held their marriage license, then it must exist somewhere.” He was going to search the Abbey from rooftop to cellar. That damn license had to be among Robbie’s belongings. “Perhaps I can help ye sort out yer sister’s situation.”

  “That’s most generous of you, but it is not your problem.”

  “Did I nae say what goes on in Dundaire, is my problem?”

  Cat smiled. “You are a gentleman, Niall MacHendrie. A true gentleman.”

  He wasnae certain Cat would continue to feel that way about him after she learned the secret he was keeping from her. Or after she learned what was going through his head, this verra moment, about what he wanted to do with her.

  Niall placed his hand on Catrina’s chin. He tilted her head upward. “Ye are the most beautiful lass I have ever laid eyes on.”

  “Looks do not last a lifetime.”

  “That may be true for the common woman, but ye are nae a common lass. Ye, Catrina Lennox, with yer good heart and enchanting beauty, have bewitched me. I will never see ye in any way but as ye are now.”

  Catrina blushed and then lowered her gaze.

  Niall kissed her gently on the cheek, her skin smooth like silk beneath his lips.

  A cold draft blasted the barn.

  Catrina shivered. “I’m freezing.” She leaned into him.

  “Ye should have worn more than just yer shawl, lass.”

  “I know, but I did not intend to be out here long. I only came to return the pitchfork.” She shivered a second time.

  He wasnae going to be able to keep Catrina warm without getting close to her. Verra close. “How long do ye think it will take Mrs. Ramsay to wake up from her nap?”

  “An hour. Maybe?”

  His beguiling little minx would freeze to death by then. “I dunnae want ye to think I am taking liberties with ye, but I do believe if we huddle together, and share my coat, we might survive the hour.”

  Catrina didnae answer him. She simply brought her hands to his chest and placed her head on his shoulder. A trace of rose lifted from her beautiful red curls. “I cannot die,” she said in barely a whisper. “Fergus has lost enough people in his life.”

  Niall’s heart ached for his nephew. H
e and Catrina were all the lad had left in the world. “Dunnae fash about it, I willnae let ye die. Though I do believe we will fare better if we use the hay in the corner as a place to sit.”

  With a soft sigh, Catrina backed away. “This is turning out to be the most unusual Christmas I have ever had.”

  He gave up a slight chuckle as he led her by the hand to the pile of scattered hay on the other side of the barn. “’Tis the same here. Though I must admit, I am nae sorry about it being so.”

  “Nor am I. You’ve even made me start to think differently.” She removed her shawl and unfolded it over the hay before sitting down.

  “How so?”

  “Maybe I need to focus more on raising Fergus and forgetting about chasing down The Christmas Rebel. What is important is that my nephew has a good, happy life. And I can provide that for him. I can’t change the past, so why not let it go? At least some of it.”

  He wished he could be as forgiving with Murray as Catrina was being with Robbie. “In Fergus’s case, I do believe ye are making a wise choice.”

  Without saying more, as he didnae trust himself to keep talking about the topic for fear of revealing something he shouldnae say just yet, Niall joined Catrina and then draped his coat over the two of them.

  He prayed to God they’d stay warm enough to survive before Mrs. Ramsay came looking for them.

  Chapter 8

  Catrina snuggled as best as she could under Niall’s coat while trying to remain the proper lady. But no matter how she moved, her hands, positioned as they were, either brushed against the man’s strong chest or his hard cock. And her fingers itched to stroke both—unclothed.

  She cursed under her breath.

  Refocusing her thoughts would serve her well. Refocusing them quickly, even better. “Yesterday, I noticed your horse bears two different colored eyes,” she said, struggling to pull her hand away from the front of Niall’s breeches. “He’s quite beautiful.”

  Her hand refused to budge.

  Niall remained still. Either he was unaware of her wicked hand or he was enjoying her touch and craved more of it. Both of which did not help her cause a single bit.

  “Aye, he is a beautiful beast,” Niall said, his voice low and strained. “And a good horse, as well.” He bucked slightly against Cat’s palm.

  Sweet Mother of God… If the man tempted her once again, she feared her fingers would act on their own volition.

  “Have you had him long?” That damn horse was all that stood between her and sin. “I don’t recall you riding a white stallion while in London.”

  “I didnae take Mischief to England, but he has been a part of the Abbey’s team for quite some time.”

  Niall’s answer didn’t settle the question of him being or not being The Christmas Rebel’s accomplice. And asking outright would do no good as the man was not the sort to implicate himself. He was too intelligent to do so.

  Cold crept up her spine. “Mayhap if we are lucky, Fergus will wake early from his nap.”

  Niall smiled at her. He toyed with a strand of her hair, reaching out and coiling it about his forefinger. “Mayhap we are lucky just having this time to ourselves.”

  “Niall MacHendrie, you are a wicked man.”

  “I dunnae remember ye thinking me wicked when we were courting.”

  “Only because a proper lady would never voice such comments. In truth, I thought you very wicked at the time.”

  “And yet, ye didnae protest my behavior.”

  She lowered her gaze. “Why would I have?”

  “Och, lass. Didnae anyone ever teach ye nae to say such words to a man when he is this close to ye, alone from the prying eyes of others, and has done nae but think about ye for the past two years?”

  Of course they had. But what fun would it be if she abided by all the rigid rules of propriety and morality? She’d done exactly that up until now and what did it all get her? Precisely nothing.

  No. Catrina Lennox was done with being the proper lady. And to prove it to herself, she was about to be bolder than she’d ever been her whole life. “Did no one ever teach you to just accept a woman’s invitation rather than question it?”

  “Ye dunnae ken what ye’ve just done, lass.” Freeing his hand of her hair, Niall reached for her face and gently stroked her cheek.

  A thrill of pleasure snaked through Catrina’s veins. “Oh, I ken exactly what I’ve done.” She leaned forward, her heart racing. Parting her lips, she took the initiative and boldly kissed Niall.

  The man did not resist. He opened for her, allowed her tongue into his mouth.

  He tasted of warm butter and biscuits and something unique only to him.

  Ambrosia.

  The word floated through Cat’s mind as she envisioned Niall on an imaginary Mount Olympus, his long, brown hair free and blowing wild in the wind, his body draped with nothing but a thin, chiton.

  There was no denying her want for Niall. With two years of suppressed emotions and longings now bubbling to the surface, remaining chaste was an option rendered impossible.

  Cat moaned.

  She closed the small gap between her and Niall, her hand mindlessly skimming the buttons on the fall of his breeches. The fine wool did little to conceal the length and hardness of his cock, and unlike the statues she’d spied in the museums, Niall was far larger than his stone counterparts.

  Memories of their first indiscretion—in the London dining room of Niall’s townhouse where their actions were blessedly concealed by the thick cherry wood table—rushed to the forefront of her mind. Even back then, she did she not find the revelation of his size, off-putting. He fascinated her, forced her scandalous instincts to toss aside propriety. The fact they were in the barn, with the threat of possibly being discovered, only added to the explosive heat in her. Exploring Niall from head to toe, without clothes became a craving Cat could barely resist.

  She shamelessly undid the first button of his breeches.

  Niall moaned. He slid his hand from her face to her neck, and then down over the swell of her right breast, undoing the lace fichu crossing her chest. A trail of heat followed his fingers.

  Catrina’s nipples puckered on the instant. She arched her breasts toward Niall’s hand, craving more of his touch. Thank goodness she’d chosen to forgo her outer garments and dressed only in stays over her shift and skirts for today. Though she would have been warmer fully dressed, her work at home was easier done in less clothing.

  Niall slid his hand around her back, reached for the fabric ties of her stays and began unlacing them.

  Cat pulled back. “It would be easier if I turned around.” She didn’t bother waiting for his response, but based on Niall’s quick action, on how his hands deftly worked the ties through the loops and undid her stays, it did not appear to bother him. Left only in her shift and skirts, she returned to face Niall once again.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist. “I ken words are nae the same as actions, but I cannae resist ye, Catrina Lennox. I want more than just today with ye.”

  Her heart swelled. “Are you asking me to marry you? Again?”

  “Aye.”

  The last time she’d accepted Niall’s proposal, her world turned upside down. But all she had was herself now. Save for Fergus, of course, but he was too young to run off to Gretna Green and marry. Which meant now was all for her.

  “Catrina?” Niall furrowed his brow.

  “I will always be yours, Niall. Always.” She resumed their kiss.

  Niall dipped his hand lower, worked his fingers under the neckline of her shift until he’d had the garment pulled below Catrina’s breasts.

  Cold air kissed her skin. Her nipples now protruded to a full pucker, the taught buds so firm, they ached. But it was a delicious tease of pain that stalked her body. She wanted more of it. And not just at her breasts, but also at that sacred place between her legs. She wanted to feel Niall there, in her. She wanted him to take her completely.

  Shifting her hand slightl
y, Catrina undid the second button on Niall’s breeches and pushed the fabric fall, down.

  Niall’s long, thick cock sprung forward. He leaned into her hand.

  She glided her fingers over his jutting cock.

  He deepened their kiss as he plucked her right nipple with a firm tug.

  A shot of heat fanned through her body.

  She whimpered. It was only a soft little sound, but it was all she could muster as her voice was somehow lost to the exquisite sensations strumming her nerves.

  In a flurry of moves interspersed with kisses and strokes, Catrina soon found herself naked and under Niall, his coat somewhere off to the side along with the rest of their clothes.

  While it was a chore just getting out of her skirt and hip pad, being naked with Niall was liberating. And a long time overdue as she’d often dreamt of this moment, wondered what would have happened between them if she hadn’t the need to run off to Scotland to help Moira.

  She spread her legs—the sole parts of her body to remain clothed, her stockings and blue silk garters still on—and welcomed Niall to settle between her thighs, her gaze raking his muscled form from head to toe. She’d thoroughly lost all sense of modesty, as not so much as a single bout of shyness struck her nerves. She was also fairly certain no respectable lady kept her eyes open at this point but after last night’s kiss with Niall, it was foolish to even think she could hold on to such a virtue.

  Cat greedily took in the sight before her.

  Niall looked magnificent in his gloriously bare body. With a chest and abdomen of taut muscles, a set of muscular thighs, and a cock standing long and firm, he was more than she could have ever imagined. More than she could have ever desired. Reaching up, she wrapped her hand around the length of him.

  Niall bit out a hiss. “Och, Lass…” He closed his eyes but only for a second. He then lowered his gaze and watched her as she worked her fingers over the vein that protruded along his cock before she brought her forefinger to its bulbous top. A drop of moisture greeted her skin.

  Cat licked her lips.