Shooting him in the knee and enjoying his howl, I stroke her cheek. “I have never loved you more.”
“Thank you, husband,” she smiles up at me demurely.
The next evening…
“How do you feel, love? Are ya’ sure you’re up to tonight?”
Isla turns her back to me, wiggling her shoulders. “Of course I am. This is a big night. Both our families are together for the first time, here. On what is considered neutral territory.”
Zipping up her dress, I kiss the base of her neck. “It’s only been a couple of days since you were shot-”
“Grazed,” she corrected.
“And your beautiful skin loaded up with rock shrapnel. Then drugged and you fought off two men, which makes you the most magnificent woman I know.”
“Pity, that,” she sighs, running her hands up my arms.
“What?”
“That you canna take me to bed and show me just how magnificent you think I am,” she grins, going up on tiptoe to kiss me.
“We have time!” I assure her, but she’s already racing out the door. Catching her in the hallway, I pull her to me, squeezing her beautiful arse and making her feel my erection against her stomach. “How long before we can throw them out?” I groan in her ear.
The chime of the lift makes us both look down the hall. “They’re just now arriving, husband!”
“So, an hour perhaps?” I tighten my fingers down on the soft flesh of her arse and then step away sadly. “This is torture.”
“We had sex this afternoon,” she hisses, smiling as Cormac and his brood arrive first.
I know Isla is subtly checking her watch, getting a little frown between her brows as my family is here and hers has not arrived. If her old man ducks out on this, I swear I’ll set fire to one of his jewelry stores.
Finally, the lift doors open and Bruce is there, along with his son Gavin and three bodyguards. A bit of an insult for a friendly family gathering, but I’ll not complain, seeing the happiness on my wife’s face as she hurries over.
“Thank you, Papa! I’m so glad to see you.”
“You as well, my brave, clever girl,” he smiles down at her fondly.
“We’ve not met officially,” Gavin holds out his hand to me, and I give him a firm shake.
“A pleasure. Your sister thinks the world of ya’.”
He shakes his head, chuckling. “I should be givin’ ya’ the speech about if you break my sister's heart, I’ll rain down all kinds of vengeance, but it doesn’t seem necessary. I’ve seen her look at you, she’s a goner.”
I look over and Da is heading over to Isla and her father.
“Bruce, ya’ daft prick,” he holds out his hand.
Blackwood stares down at Da’s hand for a moment before taking it. “Cormac, ya’ feckin’ bawbag.”
My wife rolls her eyes at me and I grin. They’ll be prickly, but we might just get through this. The Lady Elspeth glides over gracefully, and Isla tenses again.
“Bruce,” she says, so warmly that I blink, trying to clear my vision. This can’t be my mother.
The whole room falls silent as she places a delicate hand on his arm, reaching up to give him a light kiss on the cheek.
“I have missed you, my friend.”
Blackwood is still for a moment, then smiles down at her. “It is… it’s good to see ya’ again, lass. Ya’ look grand.”
