Page 83 of The Beastly Earl

"God help me, mo leannan, you have no idea how difficult it is not to take you here and now," he rasped. "But I want more than a few seconds of pleasure. I want to be able to worship your body in every way possible, and take my time doing it. Something I can't do here in your aunt's salon."

"Then I'll come to you," she whispered. "I know someone has asked Mrs. MacGregor to prepare a room for you."

"Absolutely not," he growled.

"The abbey has its own hidden corridors, and I won't be seen." Her mischievous expression dissolved into one of tenderness as she gently pulled free of his grasp and cupped his face with her hands. "I've missed you. I want to be with you."

"And I want to make sure your brothers don't tar and feather me or worse, prevent you from marrying me," he bit out. His words made her draw in a sharp breath as her beautiful hazel eyes grew luminous with tears. Fear lunged through him. "Do you not want to marry me, mo ghràdh?"

"Of course I do, you daft man," she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck and feathered his face with soft kisses. "But it's the first time you've actually mentioned it."

"Is your memory so short you've forgotten me carrying two cabers on my shoulders into the village square this evening and shouting out I love you in front of the entire county?" He glared down at her. "A far from easy task I might add."

"I know that my love," she whispered as she kissed him again. "I know what it cost you to walk across that square. But when you'd not said anything…"

"I wanted you to know the complete truth before I asked you to be my wife. After all, you'll be contributing to a fraud by marrying me." At his reply, she pushed herself away from him to fold her arms across her full, lush breasts and glare at him.

"You truly are an exasperating and beastly man." Her irritation caused him to swallow a chuckle.

"Does that mean you intend to refuse the beast of Argaty Keep?" he asked softly.

Ewan reached into his pocket and pulled out the Luckenbooth brooch his mother had given him earlier in the day. It had been made for her by his father, despite knowing they would never be together. The brooch was made of two hearts intertwined around a stag and doe with a thistle nestled inside each heart, while a delicate crown rested on top of the two hearts. Despite the absence of jewels, the simplicity of the brooch made it all the more beautiful. Louisa released a small gasp of pleasure as he opened his palm and offered her the Luckenbooth token.

Slowly taking the brooch from him, Louisa stared at it for a moment then quickly pinned it to her dress. With a soft, gentle caress of the silver hearts, her gaze met his again, and the love shining in her eyes drew the air from his lungs.

"No, I'll not refuse the beast of Argaty Keep," she whispered. "I'll not refuse my beastly earl."

Epilogue

Christmas Day 1913

The soft light of dawn had begun to push its way through the curtains of Ewan's and Louisa's room at Callendar Abbey as Ewan awakened. Beside him, Louisa murmured something in her sleep. As was his habit most mornings, he turned over onto his side to study his wife's lovely face. The night he'd found her on the moor had changed his life in ways he'd never dreamed possible.

She was an angel with a fiery passion for life and a lioness when it came to protecting those she loved. Ewan gently brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, and in her sleep, she batted his hand away as if a fly was buzzing around her head. A smile curved his lips, and he swallowed a laugh as his forefinger brushed its way down across her cheek. She slapped at his hand and opened her eyes to glare at him.

"You had better have an excellent reason for waking your wife in the middle of the night, my beastly Lord Argaty." Her prickly tone was filled with affectionate irritation.

"It's actually dawn, mo ghràdh," he murmured. Clearly still annoyed at having been awakened, she lifted her head to look over his shoulder. She glared at the gentle light growing brighter by the minute then with a loud sigh of resignation flopped back into her pillows. "I shouldn't have allowed Percy to goad me into playing that last game of cribbage."

"I seem to recall urging you to come to bed with me, mo leannan. And from your contrary mood, I'm assuming you lost." His obvious amusement made her scowl at him as she closed her eyes again.

"You enjoy depriving me of sleep, don't you?" she grumbled.

"In instances such as these I do," he said with a chuckle.

"One of these days, I'm going to be the one who interrupts your sleep."

The peevish note in her voice made him snort with laughter. She immediately responded to his amusement by calling him an unflattering name beneath her breath, and he laughed again. Eyes still closed, her lovely mouth twisted in a line of annoyance.

"It's far too early in the morning to be up and about."

"Did I say anything about leaving our bed?" he teased as he leaned forward to nibble at her shoulder. The corners of her mouth tipped upward slightly as her bristly tone became soft and tender.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Lord Argaty?"

"I'm the one who's been seduced, mo leannan," he whispered against her silky skin. "I was lost the moment you stormed into my study that first time."

"I did not storm into your study," she huffed.