Harley sat straighter and glared at her. “Why is everyone so surprised when I say that?”
Feeling a bit sheepish, Ronan cringed. He had not handled that news well with Harley at all.
Rachel frowned and turned toward Harley. “Who exactly do you mean by everyone? That’s not the sort of subject that you bring up with just anyone in the 1400s.”
Harley rose and paced back and forth in front of the bench. “Your son—Ronan. He seemed shocked as well. Said something aboutmy age. What exactly have you told them about the future?”
“Might I ask how the subject of your virginity came up with my son? Or is that the reason for all the questions about birth control?”
Birth control.Ronan nodded, full understanding dawning as he remembered how worried Harley had been about getting with a bairn.
With her arms set across her chest, Harley tilted her chin to a defiant angle. “I was saving myself for the man I was to marry—for the one who truly loved me. The thing was, the jerk was so understanding about no sex until marriage because he was banging my best friend!”
Rachel rose and hugged an arm around Harley’s shoulders. “It’s a horrible thing when the one you think you love hurts you. Your fiancé sounds a lot like my first husband.”
Harley narrowed her eyes, her gaze centering on Ronan amid the ivy leaves. “Someone is watching us.”
“Shite,” he whispered. How had she spotted him?
Rachel looked right at him and crooked a finger for him to come out. “It is rude to eavesdrop. Did we not discuss this breach of manners when you were a child?”
With disgruntled surrender, Ronan emerged from the shadows. “I was merely checking on Harley to make certain she was safe—during her evening stroll.”
Rachel bent and retrieved the bowl of herbs. “Then I shall leave you to accompany her the rest of the way. I’m sure your father is wondering where I am.” She winked at Harley and mouthedsea spongesbefore she turned to go.
“Sea sponges?” Ronan repeated while watching his mother head back toward the keep. After she disappeared inside, heturned back to Harley and grinned, waiting for her to explain why she was talking to his mother about not getting a bairn.
“Never mind,” Harley said. “How did you know I was out here? I thought you were in Emrys’s study.”
With his most disarming smile, he offered her his arm and waited for her to take it so he might escort her up the lane. “I finished my studies, then found myself a bit lonely. ’Twas my hope ye wouldna mind having some company for a while.”
She fixed him with a look that plainly called him a liar. “I am honored.”Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “I’m sure a man like you has a woman in every port. Especially the port he calls home.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You spend all your time here at the castle. Is she one of the kitchen maids?”
Clenching his teeth, Ronan fought to hide any reaction to her boldness. The little minx was baiting him. She chose her words with the same care a warrior used to choose his weapons. “Actually, up until recent days, I had no interest in any of the women here. ’Tis rare for me to stay ashore this long, and rarer still for me to stay in my home port any longer than a few days.”
She gripped his arm tighter, obviously irritated that he hadn’t taken her bait. It made him ache to unleash a victorious smile, but he didn’t dare. Instead, he led her through the farthest gate and took the path nestled against the side of the castle overlooking the sea. With a tip of his head at the dancing waves, he drew in a deep breath and gusted it back out. “It calls to me, ye ken? The salty wind in my lungs. Open sea. ’Tis freedom unlike any other.”
Harley relaxed against him and smiled. “It’s so beautiful here. How could you ever leave all this? And your family too? The MacKays seem a close-knit group who care about each other.”
“We are close,” he said as he took her hands and gently turned her to face him. “But my life was out there—in search of someone I needed even more. Someone made to understand me as I was made to understand her. Someone to share in my love of the sea. Until I found her, I had no respite from my wandering ways. I had to keep searching.”
She hitched in a breath and wet her lips with a nervous swipe of her tongue. “And have you found this someone?”
“Aye,” he said softly, locking his eyes with hers. “She is all I ever wanted—ever needed—and even more than I dreamed possible. There is but one problem standing in the way of my happiness.” He drew her closer and cupped her face in his palm.
She wet her lips again and appeared to swallow hard. “And what is that, exactly? What is standing in your way—between you and this person you’ve searched for all this time?”
He brushed his lips across hers and lowered his voice to a husky whisper. “The lass canna see that my heart is pure. She willna allow me to show her how wonderful we two could be.”
A soft moan escaped her, and she thrilled him by pressing closer. “How wonderful the two of you could be?”
“Aye, love.” He nuzzled tender kisses along her jawline and gently sucked on her earlobe until she moaned again. “Wonderful to share a life together. Share one heart, one soul, one love.” Then he claimed her mouth with his and deepened the kiss to make it clear he intended to possess her.He crushed her close, shuddering as her body molded to his. When she melted against him, when the pounding of her heart tapped into his flesh, he lifted his head and stared down at her. “Trust me, Harley. That is all I ask. Let me show ye how easy it would be for ye to love me.”
“I want to trust you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She reached up and combed back the wild strands of his hair tugged free by the wind. “You are so different from any man I have ever met before. Can I really trust you? Will my heart be safe with you?”
Tightening his embrace, he lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers as he whispered, “I swear to ye, upon my verra heart and soul, I will never hurt ye.”
She laced her fingers into his hair and pulled him in for a hard kiss. The way she poured herself into him made him groan with the need to take her—the need to melt into her and never rise again.
