Page 94 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

Tommy crouched to inspect her work. “Nay, it was better where ye put it.”

“Ye have nay idea how a properly crowned goat should look.”

The little boy cocked his head. “She must look like a lady.”

Ness stretched her neck toward the loose stems in Ceana’s lap. Ceana rescued the nearest flower from her teeth and pressed a palm against her nose. “Then yer lady lacks courtly manners.”

Tommy’s laugh drew a glance from the gardener. He declared that the crown required three more flowers and hurried along the path to find them.

Ceana flexed her hand when her wrist pulled again. Movement beyond Tommy drew her eyes toward the far end of the garden.

Oscar approached with his hands folded behind his back. His face held the hard stillness she knew from council meetings, and his steps made little sound on the packed earth. For some reason, the sight reminded her of Muriel’s account of the orchard wall.

Fear made him quiet.

His gaze went first to her face, then to the hand resting among the flowers. Warmth pooled between her thighs as she remembered the feel of his mouth on her and his arm around her.

“How do ye feel?” he asked.

“Well enough to be overruled by a five-year-old concerning floral arrangements.”

“I am helpin’,” Tommy protested, holding up a crushed yellow bloom.

“Aye. And ye have had the gravest responsibility,” Oscar said.

Tommy grinned and returned to his search.

Oscar looked at Ceana again. “Will ye walk with me?”

Her smile faded, and she set the crown on the low stone wall. “Aye.”

“Tommy, find three flowers Ness hasnae tried to eat. Stay beside the gardener while ye choose them.”

Tommy accepted the charge with all the seriousness Oscar had given it.

Ceana promised to return, then followed Oscar down the narrower path. He matched her pace with his arm hanging at his side.

The gap between their sleeves made her remember waking against his chest. A low branch crossed the path. Oscar placed his hand on her waist as he guided her beneath it. The contact spread heat through her gown. Her breath caught, and his fingers tightened once.

As soon as the path widened, he released her and put a step between them. His next breath sounded rougher than the last.

Tommy remained visible beside the gardener, holding flowers beyond Ness’s reach. They had moved far enough that he could not overhear them.

“We should start using separate chambers tonight,” Oscar began.

Ceana looked at him for the better half of a minute. The silence that followed was so thick that she could have sworn he hadn’t said anything at all.

“Has Muriel said that me bruises require more space while I sleep?”

“She has said nothin’ of the kind.”

“Have I been disturbin’ yer rest?”

“The problem is mine.” His gaze shifted beyond her shoulder. “Because it is gettin’ harder and harder nae to touch ye.”

A low pulse moved through her body. She looked at the hand hanging at his side, the same hand that had supported her in the bath. His fingers curled into his palm.

“Do ye want me gone from yer bed?”