He tore away with a curse. “God, I want you.”
She gave him a suggestive look, sliding her hand slowly down the taut bands of his stomach.
He clasped her wrist before she could circle him in her hand. “Not now, you jade. You need to get back your strength. There will be plenty of time for that.”
She smiled. “How much time?”
He took her face in his hand, rubbing his thumb over her chin. The look in his eyes made her heart catch. “Forever,” he promised huskily.
She was so deliriously happy, it almost didn’t seem real. “’Tis really over? The Fife Adventurers are gone?”
“Aye, it will be some time before the king dares try that again.”
Meg sighed. “But he will try again.”
Alex nodded. “It seems inevitable. He’ll not give up on the promise of riches to be found in the Isles.” Alex, too, it seemed, had recognized that change was coming. But she knew that he would never stand by and allow injustice. Alex was a Highlander, a warrior. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. He was the perfect man to help lead her clan into the future. Her brother’s position would be safe.
She frowned, realizing not everything was behind them. “But what will happen now? The king will be furious with you.” Panic bubbled in her chest as the reality of the situation intruded. “You’ll be imprisoned.” The words wouldn’t come to her mouth. “Or worse.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” he said soothingly, stroking her hair. His mouth curved into a wry grin. “I suppose we have Jamie to thank for that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Through Jamie, Argyll and my brother have brokered an alliance. Argyll has agreed to intervene with the king. It seems I am to be forgiven. I’m a free man.”
She couldn’t help it. She popped up and threw her arms around him again, burying her face in the warmth of his neck and hair. Her heart swelled, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “It’s really over.”
He laughed, a low sound that warmed her to her bones. “Aye, love, it’s really over. There is only the future to look forward to.”
Meg felt as if the last vestiges of the past had dissipated from her consciousness. They were free. “Our future,” she said. “Together.”
But rather than echo her sentiments, his expression was oddly somber. “What is it, Alex?” she asked. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Rory has rewarded me with the lands of Miningish.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said, knowing how important having his own lands would be. Nonetheless, she was disappointed. She’d hoped he might be speaking of their future. Together. But something was wrong. Something that he was holding back. Her heart stopped cold. Would these lands prevent him from marrying her?
His voice grew thick with emotion. “You had me so worried, Meg—” His voice broke. “When I think of all that I might have lost. How could you not tell me?”
She was genuinely confused. “What are you talking about? I apologized for not telling you that I was bleeding.”
“Yes, but I’m talking about the babe.”
Meg’s brows shot up to her forehead. “What babe?”
He studied her face intently. “You didn’t know?”
She shook her head, stunned. “But I thought…” Her hands went to her stomach, still perfectly flat.Could it be?She’d had some bleeding around the time of her menses, it had been unusually light, but she’d just assumed…
“Mairi, the healer, thinks sometime around May Day.”
Still at a loss for words, Meg nodded. A child. Their child. It was almost too much to comprehend. A warm glow radiated from the deepest part of her. She thought her heart would burst with happiness. To think that she carried a part of Alex inside her.
“I’ve sent for your parents and brother, Rory and Isabel, and my sister Margaret and her husband, Colin. We’ll be married as soon as they arrive.”
Meg couldn’t hold back the smile, even though it hurt.Married. A child.Everything was going to be all right. Her future couldn’t look more perfect.
Alex was looking at her expectantly, probably wondering whether she’d take umbrage at his edict. But Meg knew when to surrender. Her mouth twitched. “Do I get no say in this, then?”
