“ . . . freaking awesome.” She took another bite of the bannock and closed her eyes with a contented smile.
“Ye look like yer grandmother’s wicked cat after she’s licked the cream pans clean.” Colum refilled his own goblet with mead, then relaxed back in his chair. He could eat later. He would much rather spend his time taking in the wonder of the beguiling woman before him.
“So, I take it you are not a fan of Queen Kismet?” Mischief danced in her eyes as she watched him over the rim of her cup.
“I canna believe ye are not offering the chieftain’s own good sister a thing better than a bit of stale bannock and spring water,” Diarmuid said as he planted himself in front of their table with a grin so conniving Colum wanted to knock it off his face. “Diarmuid McCann at yer service, good lady. Yer arrival gives our chief and his lovely wife even more cause to celebrate this fine time. Allow me to get with the kitchen lads and see to it that ye are offered something more fitting and proper to yer station.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. McCann, and let me assure you, Colum is seeing to my needs perfectly.” She leaned a bit closer to Colum, and while her words had been quite polite, her tone had turned suitably colder.
Colum sat taller in his seat and smirked at Diarmuid. The sneaky bastard could gnaw on that for a while.
Diarmuid took a long slow sip from his cup and quietly snickered before turning his attention back to Colum. “By the by, my newest bow is quite the addition to my collection. Would ye not agree?” With a smug look, he turned back to Lady Kenna. “Yer chief’s fine man-at-arms here is quite the archer. None in the clan are better. Ye have chosen yer champion well, my lady, except for the fact he gambled away his best bow in quite the foolish wager.” Diarmuid leaned in a bit closer and winked. “But never ye fear, I shall be more than happy to protect ye.”
Damn the man.Colum gritted his teeth and never uttered a word. Diarmuid knew he couldn’t very well explain the terms of their wager to the fair Lady Kenna. No matter how Colum chose to explain himself, he would appear in a less-than-savory light. Lady Kenna would surely deem him either a gambling fool or a heartless cur.
A cold shiver shot through him as he realized how poorly his past behavior would be viewed through the lovely lady’s eyes. By all of hell’s demons, soon Lady Kenna would know the truth of it—hewasa gambling, wenching fool.
Colum sagged back in his chair with a defeated huff. Lady Kenna turned to him. Her deep green eyes narrowed the slightest bit as she studied him. He struggled not to shy away from her scrutiny. Damned if he didn’t despise the very sight of himself currently mirrored in her eyes.
Her mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed even more. Without breaking her study of his features, she lightly trailed her fingertips from the inner crook of his elbow down to the center of his palm. He shivered beneath the eroticism of the lady’s slow, exploring touch. A strange tingling zipped up the back of his neck—a warmth that could only be explained by the presence of the fair lady’s cool fingers upon him. Lore, he had to have her for his own. Had to make himself worthy of her station.If she ever deemed him fit enough, he would never let her go.
Kenna’s face became an unreadable mask as she turned her attention back to Diarmuid. Completely ignoring his earlier remark about the bow, she lightly rested her fingertips on his extended palm. “Excuse us, Mr.? ” Kenna frowned as she moved to stand, shoving her chair back before Colum could pull it away. “I’m so sorry. I seem to have forgotten your name.” She shrugged, then rudely flipped a hand as though dismissing him from her midst. “Well, anyway. It doesn’t really matter. Now, if you will excuse us.” She nodded to Colum, a coy smile lighting up her face. “I would really love some fresh air to properly top off my delightful meal, and perhaps . . . ” She took a long slow look around the hall, then shyly tucked her chin. “We could find a little privacy for a nice long chat? My sister says MacKenna keep has a very nice garden.”
“Aye, my lady.” Colum none too gently bumped Diarmuid out of the way as he led his precious charge toward the double arch leading to the inner courtyard. He must remember to properly thank Mother Sinclair for assigning him to this task. This responsibility had turned out to be quite promising indeed.
They strolled down the broad stone steps and entered the moss-covered path of the first maze of deep green hedges. He drew in a relieved breath. Aye and for sure, the day held great promise.
The demure Lady Kenna suddenly made a sound that could only be described as an infuriated growl. She ripped her hand free of his grasp and spun around in front of him. Green eyes flashing, she poked him hard in the center of his chest. “Why in the world would you want to be friends with that asshole? And why in the hell would youeverbehave just like him? I could tell you thought a lot of yourself when I first met you, but I didn’t think you were as bad as that shifty, little womanizer.”
He swallowed hard and backed up a step. How the blazes did the Lady go from purring like a wee tamed cat to yowling like an enraged lynx? He eased back another pace, both hands raised in self-defense. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, she charged forward and thumped his breastbone again.
“You’ve slept with every single one of them? Haven’t missed a single woman between the ages of eighteen and . . . and . . . what? Forty, maybe?” She pointed at the stone archway they had just passed through. “There is not a female in this entire keep, other than Granny and my sister, that you haven’t had in your bed? Have you never heard of STDs?” She took a step back and wiped both hands against her skirts as though touching him soiled her. With an irritated growl, she turned and stomped off deeper into the green sanctuary of hawthorn and ivy, muttering words Colum was certain he had never heard a woman use before.
“How did ye?” He raked both hands across the braids knotted at his temples. “Who told?” He cut himself off and stared down at the ground, swallowing hard against the bitter realization that the Lady Kenna had somehow gained quite a few intimate details of what went on in his bed and anywhere else he had enjoyed a lass’s sweet warmth. She had not been at the keep long. How could she ken so much so soon?
He shook a fist at the shaking bushes marking Lady Kenna’s progress through the garden. “I never took a forty-year-old woman to my bed!” Somehow, shouting that tidbit of information did very little to make him feel any better.
How the hell did the woman know so much about him? It had to be one of the serving girls. Aye. That was it. One of the girls he had cast aside must have taken it upon herself to give Lady Kenna his detailed history while helping her settle in her rooms. Damnation. It had not taken someone very long to spread their tales. Well, ’twas not exactly the spreading of tales but nonetheless, whoever had taken it upon themselves to do such a thing had wasted no time in the telling of it.
Colum shoved his way through the shrubbery. The stone path could just be damned. He had to catch up with the unreasonable woman and plead his side of this dark issue.
“Don’t think you’re going to stomp through here like some bull in heat and convince me none of it is true.” Kenna’s ire rang loud and clear from the circle of yews three paths over.
Colum ignored thorns and snapping branches as they ripped across his arms. He didn’t care if he shredded his flesh to a bloody mess—this woman would damn well hear him out. He would not be condemned in Lady Kenna’s eyes by the wagging of servants’ tongues. “Where the hell are ye?” He yanked the bushes aside and stretched as far as he could see, watching for any sign of movement.
“What the hell do you care?” came from the left. “What’s the matter, Colum? Are you tired of all the currently available pieces in this keep? What happened? Did you run out of new ones? Well, I have news for you, buddy. This piece isn’t up for grabs by just anyone who comes along. The only man good enough to get between my legs is going to be the man I decide to call husband!”
He ripped through the final leafy barrier and grabbed hold of her wrist just as she turned away. With a hard yank, he pulled her close and snaked an arm around her waist. “I dinna ken how ye discovered all that ye have but I swear to ye—” He froze. The pounding of his heart drowned out all other sound as he fell into the depths of Lady Kenna’s angry gaze. “I swear to ye . . . ” His gaze fell to her mouth.
“You swear what?” she hissed while tensing and pulling against his hold.
Colum barely shook his head as it all became clear. Damnation. How could it be so? Colum jerked his head sideways again. Aye. It was very much so.This woman needed to belong to him. No one else. She was meant for him alone. He cupped her cheek in his hand and bent closer. “I swear to ye on all that is holy and cherished, I will be making ye mine.”
He sealed the oath with the kiss he had craved since first setting eyes on her sumptuous mouth. Aye.The taste of her was just as deadly sweet as he had known it would be. He dove deeper, groaning as he strengthened the kiss to seal his claim. With his hand pressed on the swell of her hip, he pulled her hard against him. Aye, Lady Kenna Sinclair was his. Forever.
She halfheartedly jerked back and weakly pushed against his chest.
“Nay,” he whispered across the softness of her mouth. “Ye are mine now. There will never be another for either of us.” He drank in another deep kiss to add merit to the statement.
