“I am, laddie,” the other man laughed, “I am.”
Ignoring their audience, Erik turned back to her. “Can you forgive me?”
Ellie gave him a hard stare. Truth be told, she was already halfway to doing so, but she intended to let him suffer just a little longer. A few hours, after all, was nothing compared to four months.
She lifted her chin, giving him her best nursemaid stare. “I haven’t decided. Perhaps you should take me home and let me think about it for a while.”
He sighed and shook his head regretfully. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, lass, but you’ve left me no choice.” He looked over to Domnall. “I told you she wouldn’t be reasonable.”
“That you did, laddie. That you did.”
Ellie looked back and forth between the two men, wondering what devilry he was up to now. He had that wicked gleam in his eye that boded mischief. “What do you intend to do with me?”
He leaned closer to her, brushing his mouth against her ear. She trembled, heat shivering down her spine. “I intend to take you home and prove it to you. Over and over again, until you believe me.”
Ellie gasped, understanding his meaning. The sensual promise in his voice sent a flood of heated awareness tingling between her legs. “So you intend to ravish me?”
“Over and over.”
“I got that part.” She tried to bite back a smile. Once a Viking, always a Viking. But he intended to take her home? “I don’t think my father will approve of your methods.”
He winked, knowing he had her. “Fortunately for me, he’ll be a long way away.”
Ellie lay sprawled across his chest, her soft, naked body pressed to his in a tangle of limbs and bed linens. Filled with a happiness that humbled him, Erik didn’t want to think about how close he’d come to losing her.
He twirled a dark silken lock around his finger, thinking that this must be as close to heaven as any living man would want to come.
“So I was right,” she said. “This is your home.”
He’d brought her back to Spoon Isle, to the great house that had belonged to his father. As promised, the king had returned his lands to him. John of Lorn might disagree, but they would deal with him soon enough.
“I’ve come to think of it as home, although I’ve many others.”
She smiled up at him, and his chest twisted. As a man who fortune had favored most of his life, he’d never truly understood how lucky he was until now.
“Because of me?”
“Aye.” He kissed her on the nose. “When the war is over, I’ll build you the finest castle you’ve ever seen.”
She put her head down on his chest and gave him a squeeze. “I have everything I want right here.” She paused. “How long can we stay?”
“A week, maybe a little longer.” He wanted to keep her to himself for as long as possible. Once his mother and sisters got a hold of her, he wouldn’t know a moment’s peace. “I’ll take you to Islay before I rejoin the king. You’ll be safe there with my mother and sisters.”
She paled.
He felt a pang, fearing she’d reconsidered. “Are you sorry already, love? I know you will miss your family. I’ve asked you to give up so much.”
She gave him a sideways glance. “As I recall, there wasn’t much asking.”
He grinned and squeezed her to him a little harder. “I couldn’t take a chance that you would refuse me. I’m used to getting what I want.”
She rolled her eyes.
He gave her a mock frown. “Spending time with my mother and sisters will be good for you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”
“They’ll put you right about me being irresistible.”
