“I would give aught to go back in time and keep you from suffering those taunts and cruelty. I’d throttle my sister if I could for her part in your insecurity. Maude, you are a desirable woman with your clothes on, but what I saw tonight is a secret I would kill to keep. I will kill to keep. You have breasts men dream aboot. Your stomach is flat, and your waist narrow and trim. I’d felt as much when I lifted you on and off your horse and when I’ve held you against me. But the way it connects your breasts to your hips, the contrast is—is—I don’t know how to describe it, but talking aboot it is making me hard again. I might say something practical and unsentimental aboot your hips, that they’re broad enough to keep me from worrying when you bear our children. But what I’m picturing, in truth, is having your arse in my hands again. The lushness makes my palms tingle. I want to bend you over that chair and take your from behind, so not only can I watch my cock enter you, I can hold your arse while doing it.” To reinforce his words, his hands squeezed her bottom as he drew her higher on his lap. His arousal once more brushed against her mons. “I saw your thighs and wanted them wrapped around me. I want to settle between them this very moment and have them cradle me as I drive into you over and over. I can’t imagine a single mon who would choose another woman over you if they based their choice on a woman’s body alone. Do my words shock you? Are you shocked at how much I want you?”
Maude nodded. They were the antithesis of everything she’d convinced herself of for so many years. She’d wanted to hide in her clothing, using them as a shield because she considered herself so dowdy and heavy compared to the other women her age. While Kieran’s words brought her immeasurable relief, they didn’t allay all of her doubts. As if he read her mind, Kieran ran his forefinger over her eyebrows, then down her nose. He swept the pad of his thumb over her cheeks before brushing it over her lips.
“You now fear I may lust for your body, but you still believe you’re not pretty. Am I right?” Maude’s noticeable swallow was his answer. “I’m seeing you as I’m sure no mon ever has. Your hair is unbound, as it should be for a maiden, and I saw it rest against your breasts. Wearing it up doesn’t diminish your attractiveness, but having it down softens your face. I’m drawn to your eyes; their color fascinates me. They’re amber, yet they blend into cinnamon with a walnut band at the outer ring. They still remind me of whisky.” He grinned, relieved when she joined him. “The small gap between your teeth and the ever so slight crookedness are endearing. Some women are so beautiful they seem untouchable. Others are so beautiful that a mon seeks her as a conquest, as a chance to prove to himself that he possesses the ability to catch the woman’s attention. Your beauty comes from your guilelessness, your unassuming manner. You not knowing how attractive you are only adds to the effect. I wish it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, or at least anyone but me, but I know it does. You are judged for your beauty every day here. I can’t imagine how it would feel for my looks to be all that people judge me upon.”
“That would be easy for you. You’re very handsome.”
“There are plenty of good-looking men who are horrible people. I’d rather people judge me–I’d rather you judge me–by how I lead my people and how I can defend them with my sword and my mind.”
“Your ability to defend them with your sword has led to a devastatingly attractive body,” Maude pointed out.
Kieran shrugged. “Is that your opinion?”
“Aye and every other woman who’s ever seen you.”
“I don’t care what those women think. I only care aboot what you think. Buttercup, I would whisk you away from here and return you to the Highlands where you belong. You need to be somewhere where you can be yourself, where you can let your guard down. And maybe even your hair.” Kieran grinned again.
“It’s too thick and suffocating in the Great Hall. It’s not so bad at home, but here, I wish I could chop it all off.” Maude ran her fingers through her drying hair, but Kieran caught her wrist.
“Never,” he growled. “I’d be happy if I was the last mon to ever see you with your hair down.”
“It would ease my headaches. While my hair makes me too hot, the weight makes my head ache and having it pulled so tight constantly tugs. I must reconsider wearing it down.”
“Fine,” Kieran grumbled. “Then I shall stick one of those hideous kertches on your head once we’re wed. You could keep your hair down but covered. It would be my privilege to see you with your hair unbound.”
Maude guessed Kieran was only half kidding. She suspected he would do such a thing.
“Only if you didn’t wear your breacan feile again. I don’t like other women seeing your knees. It gives them ideas.”
Kieran’s laugh was deep and vibrated against her when he pulled her close.
“For you, I would do aught.” Kieran grew serious when he shifted again, and the missive pressed against him within the inside pocket. “Matheson’s response came this eve, but I haven’t opened it yet.”
Kieran withdrew it and ran his finger under the wax seal. He unfolded the parchment and scanned its contents before going back and studying it, a smile spreading across his chiseled face. He saw Maude shifting behind the vellum, trying to glimpse his reaction.
“Here. Read it. He’d like her there within a fortnight.”
“That soon?”
“Aye. It’s all there. See?
“I do. She’ll be livid. She won’t want to leave court.”
“She’s known all along that part of being sent to court was to find a husband. That the mon wasn’t found here doesn’t change her being of a marriageable age. For all her faults, she’s loyal to the last breath when it comes to our clan. I didn’t agree to the marriage or alliance just because it would be expeditious. Their proximity to Skye will strengthen the MacLeods of both Lewis and Harris, the Harris in particular since they’re surrounded by MacDonalds. Madeline loves Lewis, but she fell in love with Skye when we visited as children. I’ve granted her dower lands there. While the Mathesons won’t own that land, they may use it if they wish, or they may simply be a reminder to the MacDonalds that we don’t stand alone. We may be far larger than the Mathesons, but an alliance in that region will strengthen us.”
“When will you tell her?”
“In the morning. It’s too late now.”
“Speaking of which. I’m surprised Arabella hasn’t caught us yet. You must go before she returns. She wouldn’t say aught, but if she’s retiring for the night, then so will the other ladies. We can’t risk your discovery here.”
“I know, leannan. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“If we find we suit in more than the bedchamber, then you shall have me in yours arms whenever you wish once we’re married.”
“Whenever I wish? That will be every night. Lass, there will be no separate laird’s and lady’s chambers. There will only be our chamber.”
Maude’s mouth formed an “o” that made Kieran’s cock twitch. He was already struggling with saying goodnight without being reminded that no part of him wanted to leave. He kissed Maude once more, taking advantage of her open mouth to sweep his tongue around hers. He accepted her attention, but they both pulled apart before things advanced. Maude opened the door and peered both ways down the passageway. She counted to twenty before she stepped aside. Kieran stood in the doorway for another count of twenty before bussing her cheek and slipping away.
