18
Earlier
Leeth strode to the study, his fists still clenched at his sides from the earlier tirade he had with Edna. She had met with a laird that neither one of them trusted without him at her side. If he were to protect her, how could he when she wouldn’t tell him what the bloody hell was going on? His heart had literally stilled in his chest at her words, and all he could think about was everything that could have gone horribly wrong with that meeting. Laird Robert Mclves could have killed her, forced her, put his bloody hands on her.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered for the hundredth time as he walked into the study.
Edna was behind the table, and her eyes widened as she saw him. “Leeth?” she stammered as he shut the door with a slam. “Wot is wrong?”
“Ye,” he grumbled, bracing his hands on her table. “Ye are wot is wrong with me, woman! Wot were ye thinking meeting with McIves like that? Are ye trying tae kill me?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are ye still up in arms aboot that? ’Tis wot I do, Leeth! I’m Lady. I will meet with others without yer presence or yer consent!”
He leaned in until their noses were nearly touching. “How in the bloody hell am I tae protect ye when ye wilnae listen tae me! Ye cannae just go off and do things on yer own, Edna!”
She smirked at him. “I won’t have tae now. Finley is now mah second-in-command.”
Leeth snorted. He would be surprised if she lasted a month before she was chasing after that McGregor. Finley was a good choice, and he loved her like his own, but ever since Erik had come into her life, he doubted she was thinking about being her aunt’s right hand any more than he was.
“She might be,” he forced out, “but I am in charge of watching over ye.”
“Nay,” she breathed, her eyes flashing anger. “Ye’re not, Leeth. Ye won’t take mah second-in-command position. Ye wilnae marry me. I’m starting tae think ye dinnae care aboot me at all.”
Her words surprised him, and he straightened, his heart hammering in his ears. “Wot?”
She looked away, emotions high on her face. “Ye heard me. I’ve asked ye tae be mah partner yet ye push me away at every turn. I cannae do it any longer, Leeth.”
She was telling him farewell. Leeth couldn’t breathe. Edna had been a part of his life for many years, the one he had sought solace in when the clan was falling down around them. She had welcomed him as a friend, then into her bed as her lover, and now she was telling him that he couldn’t be either any longer?
“Nay, lass,” he tried, desperation filling him. “Dinnae do this.”
When Edna looked at him, he was surprised at the tears in her eyes. “I cannae help it, Leeth. Ye rage around here like a husband would, but ye dinnae see any reason tae be anything more than the warrior that bends me over this bloody table every once in a while. I’m tired of being used.”
Leeth clenched his jaw. “Ye think I am using ye?”
She didn’t flinch at his harsh tone. “Ye tell me wot it is then.”
Leeth was rounding the table as she scrambled out of the chair, finding nowhere to go when he pressed her against the stone wall, his body on hers.
“’Tis love, ye fool woman,” he said, one hand cupping her cheek and the other at her hip, where it belonged. “I love ye tae distraction. I have the moment that ye smiled at me and allowed me a seat at yer table all those years ago. Ye are the only bloody thing I care aboot, that I worry over.”
Her expression softened, but he wasn’t done, brushing his thumb over her soft skin. “I’ve wanted tae tell ye many times,” he continued, his eyes searching hers. “I wanted tae tell ye, but I was afraid, lass. Afraid of wot this would do tae me.” What it had done was only make him love her more, and the thought of not having her in his life terrified him far more than any battlefield would. “So do me a proper and marry me.”
“Oh, Leeth,” she breathed, tears spilling out of her eyes. “Do ye know how long I’ve waited tae hear those words come from yer mouth? I love ye, ye stubborn fool.”
His grin was quick before he covered her mouth with his, taking his time with his kiss so that she would feel his love all the way to the very recesses of her bones. She was right. He was a fool for not telling her sooner, for not being by her side as her husband. He could bloody care less if she was a laird.
To him, she was Edna McPherson, the lass that had stolen his heart and kept it under lock and key for him.
When they broke the kiss, both were panting. “Well,” Edna said, her finger tracing the cleft in his chin that she loved dearly. “Seems I need tae let the council know that I am tae be wed.”
The thought no longer scared him as it had in the past, and he brushed a tear away. “Do ye not like being bent over the table?”
Edna laughed, swatting at his chest. The pink on her cheeks reminded him of when they were both younger and had tasted the hint of passion between them for the first time. Edna had been the only woman in his life and in his bed for over twenty years past, and she would be the only one that remained there for the rest of his days.
“Nay,” she finally said, sliding her hand to his neck, bringing him back to her lips. “And I wouldnae mind it so much right now either.”
It was a long time before the study door opened again.
