“Avery and Darragh, of course.” She took another sip. “My father didn’t arrange ours, although my comment about the brute still stands.”
“I think it worked out pretty well for them both, in the end.” Daniel decided to ignore her slight, given the fact that he was making progress with her. She hadn’t even been talking before.
“Luck turned out to be on their side,” she admitted.
“I think it was a little more than luck,” he said with his head titled to the side. “They went through a lot together an’ eventually grew into people that could build a life as one. I dinnae believe in luck. You make yer own rules to live by.”
“There you go with that moral code of yours again.” She rolled her eyes and downed the last few drops from the glass.
Daniel hadn’t even noticed that she’d downed the third glass while he was speaking. He watched as she filled her glass again. While not drunk, he noticed the rosy tint on her cheeks that signaled her tipsy state at present.
“This ale is good,” she said, taking a smaller sip this time and settling into the chair, her body relaxing with the help of the drink.
“Ye might want to slow down, lass,” he said in amusement at the red tinge that had begun to spread over her cheeks.
“I can handle my liquor.” She tried to suppress a hiccup as she spoke. “Thank you very much. Besides, my father has just come back after two years of silence,” she added. “And suddenly, now he thinks he can just waltz right back into our lives as if nothing happened.” She picked up her glass again and took a sip before shaking her head. “Just like that.” She snapped her fingers in the air.
Daniel was inclined to agree with her that the man had the nerve to come back after everything that had happened, but he didn’t want to discourage her from seeing the possibility that her father could honestly be trying to change. Just because his own father had never changed until the day he had died, didn’t mean that nobody else had the capacity for it, so he let her vent.
“And to make matters worse,” she continued, suddenly raising her voice. “It seems as if my mother is more than willing to welcome him back with open arms.” She emptied her glass again, placing it back on the table with a loud thunk. “I know it’s been hard for her to adjust to a life in Scotland, but she shouldn’t be so trusting of the man who put us all through so much hell.”
He watched as her cheeks grew brighter and the tip of her nose became pink. While not being entirely drunk, she was well on the way to being inebriated if she had any more.
“Andyou,” she said in a frustrated tone, opening up a bit more thanks to the help of the ale.
“What did I do?” he asked with one eyebrow raised, thoroughly entertained at seeing a brand-new side of her.
“You just sit over here in your secret little tower with your unexpected stack of books and great ale.” She huffed. “How can one man be so handsome and awful all at the same time?” she continued before he had a chance to answer. “I really don’t care for you or any of your rules ormoralcodes,” she added, shaking her head from side to side in an uppity manner. “I don’t want to care for you in general, as a matter of fact,” she said through a hiccup and stood, walking over to the window, and leaning on the sill.
Daniel quickly stood and went to her from fear that she’d fall in her current state. The last thing he needed at present was for his bride to fall to her death directly after their vows. The priest already had his suspicions that something untoward was underfoot.
“You just make me so mad,” she whined as she turned toward him and leaned back on the windowsill until her hair was hanging from the window. “You need to learn how to just let go.” She tilted her head back and shook her hair. “Let the breeze blow through your hair. Stop all of this nonsense with rules.”
He stifled a laugh, thinking how adorable she looked with her pink nose and flushed cheeks when she was mad at him. Biting his lips, he allowed her to continue her tirade, knowing full well that she was right about a few things she had said. Not all, but a few. He’d kept to his moral code in life, even when it meant that others around him didn’t always get treated as they should.
“Hey look.” She turned and spotted a few people walking in the distance beyond the confines of the tower. “It’s people from our wedding. We should call them over and have them join us, I’m sure they would be able to tell you more about how stuffy you are.” She leaned out the window and waved before he had a chance to stop her. “Ladies and gentlemen” she called. “Come up here and join us.”
“Will ye get away from the window ‘afore ye fall to yer death?” Daniel gripped her arm and pulled her inside, thankful that they were far too high for anyone to hear her calling from afar.
“You see?” she said accusingly. “Right there. Why can’t I call more people up here to join our little hideout? I am your wife, aren’t I? I should have the right to do as I please,” she said defiantly and glared at him.
“Ye will have the right to fall from the window if ye carry on as ye are right now. I think we should sober ye up ‘afore we join the feast.” He tried to guide her back to the chair but stopped and turned around when she pulled her arm away and took a step back toward the window.
“I’m not ready to go down.” She pouted. “In fact, I think I may stay up here, talking all night.”
“Good God, I cannae handle that,” he said while trying his best not to laugh, placing his hand over her mouth after closing the distance between them again. He suddenly drew back when she bit the inside of his palm. “Ye little minx.” He shook his hand a few times from the pain.
“That will teach you to try and silence me.” Melissa came a little closer, sticking her nose in his face. “I shall not be silenced, Daniel Forrester. Not even now that I am your wife.”
He stared at her for a second before suddenly drawing her into his arms and kissing her full lips. His hands held her waist in place as she struggled in surprise for a second before relenting and returning his kiss.
Her body suddenly softened against his as she melted into him, her round breasts pressed against his chest. A soft moan escaped her throat as he used his tongue to part her lips, pressing her against the wall beside the window and giving into the desire that burned in his loins.
Moving his hands from her hips to her ribs, he used the tips of his thumbs to caress her skin through the fabric of her dress, searching the depths of her warm mouth. He growled in pleasure when she nibbled on his lower lip and lifted her leg over his hip. Even through the fabric of her dress, he could feel how shapely her long legs were. A fact that made his arousal grow and his passions deepen.
Bringing her hands to the back of his neck, she drew him a little closer, molding her body to his. She moaned a little louder as he dipped his head and trailed kisses from the tender flesh of her neck down to the base of her throat.
His hands cupped and massaged her breasts, making her sigh in pleasure. Then, he pulled the neckline of her dress down until the top of her chest was exposed and his fingers felt naked flesh. Drawing a path with his tongue, he kissed his way to the top of her breasts, before stopping. Taking note of her altered state of mind, he realized how inappropriate it would be for him to continue with the situation at present, while not being entirely intoxicated at present, she was more than slightly tipsy. There was also the matter of his promise.
