Lachlan’s hand stilled on the blankets, and for a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then he shook out the blankets with deliberate force, the sound loud in the quiet room.
I should not have said that.
Her heart thumped painfully in her chest.
It is not ladylike.
His gaze flicked briefly toward the bed, then he looked away just as quickly.
It is not proper.
Her chest tightened at the thought of what her suggestion had implied, and her face could not get redder.
Lachlan returned his attention to the blankets. His jaw tightened slightly, but he did not say a word.
Marian sighed, her traitorous eyes falling to the muscles in his forearms as they flexed beneath his skin, and she nearly bit her bottom lip.
Oh, Marian. What has come over you?
Her words had pricked more than just his ears.
Lachlan stilled for the briefest moment, his hands tightening slightly around the blankets as his gaze flicked toward the bed. He should not have looked.
Mairi… and me. Here.
The image lodged in his mind faster than any idea he’d ever conceived, and once it had formed, it refused to leave.
For a fleeting moment, he imagined that the distance between them had vanished. The hard floors were replaced by the bed, and Marian was beside him, her head resting on his chest.
He dragged his gaze away at once, focusing his attention on the blankets in his hands. He could feel her watching him, but he refused to look at her. His pulse quickened, and he shook out the blankets with more force than necessary, the noise carrying loudly across the small room.
His actions did nothing to shake off the image in his head or quell the heat that was starting to gather low in his belly.
He cleared his throat, straightening slightly as he forced himself to finally look at her.
I should say somethin’.
His eyes fell to her lips, pressed together as though she’d been waiting for a response.
That would settle it.
His jaw clenched hard, but he opened his mouth to speak regardless.
“And scandalize half the Highlands?” he said dryly.
Marian looked away quickly. “It is not what?—”
“And ruin ye in the process?” he spoke over her.
The words were sharper than he had intended, but they seemed to work, causing the images in his head to fade.
“Ye’re a proper English lady, Mairi,” he added quietly, “and I willnae be the man who takes that from ye.”
Even though a part of me?—
He shoved the thought away.
Marian crossed her arms, and for a moment, he wondered if he had said more than he should have. Her mouth twitched faintly, though there was no humor in it.
