She was asleep before her breathing quieted, and so deeply, she didn’t feel him gather her close, or hear his sigh of contentment.
“You’re mine now, darlin’. Like it or no’, come morning you’ll be knowing it.”
Kimberly didn’t hear that either, which was a good thing, or she might not have slept a wink.
32
Lachlan had meant to stay awake, he really did. Mostly because he’d had every intention of making love to Kimberly again, and again, throughout the long night. She was going to have little doubt, come morning, that they were meant for each other. No more excuses. She’d not be talking her way out of marrying him this time. And he couldn’t have been more delighted.
And the irony was, he hadn’t come to her room with the idea of seducing her. Not that it wasn’t always on his mind, but last night, he’d merely wanted to know why she’d gone to see Will Ables.
And he hadn’t even needed to ask. She’d explained it quick enough. What he hadn’t counted on hearing was that she was willing to prove his innocence at the expense of her own reputation. She had in fact been willing to do so all along, if it became necessary.
He’d been so moved, in realizing that she really did care about him, must care about him, despite her assertions to the contrary, that he’d been unable to resist claiming her then and there. And she’d let him. If he’d had any doubts left, her passionate, yielding response to his lovemaking put them to rest.
Aye, he’d meant to stay awake, and leave her as he did the other time, before the dawn. He would have returned at a decent hour to settle things between them. But the first indication that that plan had gone awry was the soft humming that woke him, of a cheerful little tune, and the sounds of the fire being stoked.
Any rekindling of the fire in his own room he had to do himself. The maids who attended such things simply wouldn’t enter his room until midday, long after there could be no doubt that he’d be up and about.
Yet there was no mistaking that a fire was being tended to across the room, and not by Kimberly, because there was definitely no mistaking her warmth still beside him in the bed. In fact, she was so wrapped to him that the arm about his neck was nigh choking him, and she had a leg flung clear across his hips. Hard to miss either of those limbs, he thought with a mental chuckle.
But this was an unexpected turn that Lachlan certainly hadn’t counted on. And he didn’t imagine that he could go unnoticed, great hulking body that he’d been cursed with, not unless the maid was near blind. That would be stretching his luck a wee bit too far, when he’d had little enough of it lately for any stretching at all.
But what happened was rather comical, at least he was to think so later.
At the present, though, there was nothing amusing about it, with Kimberly stretching sensually against him, having also been awakened, apparently, by the sounds the maid was making. That wouldn’t have been so bad either, faith, was damn pleasant actually, but no sooner did he think so than she was sitting up and screaming her head off. And not a second later, the blasted maid was doing the same thing, screaming loud enough to bring the roof down.
Lachlan sat up himself then, mumbling a few unmentionables about his poor ears. The maid was staring at him boggle-eyed, her sooty hands covering her shocked cheeks. One glare from him and she ran out of there, with Kimberly yelling after her, “Mary! Mary, come back here this instant!” but to no avail. The door was slammed shut and wasn’t reopened. Then there was a half growl, half shriek as Kimberly buried her head beneath her pillow.
Lachlan lay back down, his arms crossed casually behind his head, his brows half-lifted, and remarked in an exceedingly dry tone, “It could’ve been worse, darlin’. She could have stayed.”
“Ohhh!” Kimberly exclaimed, coming out from under the pillow to scald him with her eyes. “You have no idea, no conception…she’s the biggest gossip this side of the Atlantic! Do you know what that means?!”
“It means we’ll be getting married.”
And then he smiled at her. He couldn’t help himself. He wouldn’t have sealed her fate quite so dramatically, not for the world, but now that it was done, he couldn’t manage to be displeased.
Kimberly, on the other hand, wasn’t a bit pleased. She looked like she was about ready to pound her fists against him, or at the very least, her pillow.
“You’re a fool, Lachlan, if you think anything is that simple.”
Having made that cryptic statement, she flounced off the bed in search of a robe. He had to remind his body that this wasn’t the time to pay attention to the fact that she was stomping about naked. After last night, his body wasn’t inclined to listen.
Kimberly was furious, more so at herself than the man in her bed. This time there’d been no champagne to blame. She hadn’t had a single glass of wine at dinner last night. She had been perfectly sober, perfectly aware of what she’d been doing.
What she’d done was ruin her life. And for what? Pleasure. She’d wanted the pleasure Lachlan could lavish on her, did lavish on her. But this time she was going to pay for it with not just one, but two scandals, and with a husband who loved someone else. And all because she didn’t have enough will to ignore Lachlan MacGregor.
She came back to the bed now, knotting the belt on a pink velvet robe that barely covered her breasts. In fact it left a deep V down to her belly, designed as it was to be worn over a nightgown, not without one.
But Kimberly was too upset to notice, too intent on releasing some of her fury. Lachlan, sensualist that he was, couldn’t help but notice, despite the emerald green eyes shooting sparks at him.
“Why are you still here?” she demanded, glowering down at him. “Are you waiting for someone to barge in here to verify Mary’s shocking tale? You’ll no doubt find ten maids out in the hallway waiting to do just that as soon as you leave. Why disappoint them?”
He ignored her sarcasm. “I’m waiting tae hear you say you’ll marry me.”
“Did I miss something, MacGregor? Were you not just found in my bed as if you belong there? As soon as the duke hears of this, there will be no alternative.”
Mentioning his nemesis was not why Lachlan suddenly shot off the bed, showing some annoyance himself now. Shocking Kimberly wasn’t his intention either, though he managed to do that just the same.
