Page 14 of Highland Dove

Chapter 5

It felt like heaven to Duncan as he sank down into the hot tub of water, gripping the tankard of Mountain Magic in his hand. He had eaten the food Mari brought him earlier, but was still hungry. Hungry, that is, for the love and affection of the girl he would soon marry.

His eyes closed slightly as he relaxed. It would be so easy to drift off to sleep right now because he was thoroughly exhausted. But thoughts of his father and Eideard taking over as chieftain wouldn’t let him rest. Plus, he was waiting for Mari to join him. Just as he started to wonder where she was, he heard a shy knock at the door.

“Enter,” he called out, knowing it had to be her.

The door opened and Mari walked in, stopping in her tracks when she saw him.

“Och, I’m sorry, Duncan. I didna ken ye were still in the bath. I’ll come back later.” She turned her head and didn’t look directly at him. Neither did she walk away. Instead, she stared at the hearth. The firelight danced upon her smooth skin, lighting up the tips of her red hair, making it glow. She was a beautiful angel and all he wanted to do was hug her and kiss her and never let her go.

“Nay, dinna leave, Mari. Come here and join me.” He didn’t really think she would, but he had to try.

“Join ye?” She turned to look at him and her eyes opened wide. “Duncan, ye are . . . naked.”

“Isna that the usual way to take a bath?” He chuckled at her reaction.

“Aye, but no’ with a woman in the room!” she told him.

“Lass, ye dinna need to be shy. After all, we will be husband and wife in a week’s time. Now come here. Dinna be frightened. After all, we havena seen each other in a long time. Plus, dinna forget I almost died.”

“Aye, and I feel awful for what ye went through.” Slowly, she made her way toward him, stopping at the edge of the tub. He held out his hand to her but she seemed hesitant to take it.

“What’s the matter, lass? Ye seem as if ye no longer want to be with me.” He chuckled. “Have ye replaced me with another while I was imprisoned?”

“Another? Another what?” Mari’s heart ached. Nay, she hadn’t replaced him with another, but was forced into doing so. Duncan was the only man she ever wanted but, sadly, she was now married to Eideard. She didn’t even want to tell Duncan this because the whole thing disgusted her. She wished it was all naught but a dream. Instead, it was a living nightmare. She needed to speak with her father immediately, and before she revealed the awful truth to Duncan. Hopefully, Eideard had lied and her father wasn’t off fighting but still at camp back home. Her hope was that with her father’s help she might be able to get an annulment and none of this would make a difference in the end.

Aye, she decided, that’s what she would do. She’d leave tonight and go back to her clan instead of to MacLean Castle. She’d tell her father that Duncan was alive and she wanted to marry him instead. Once her father found out the horrible things Eideard had done, she was sure he would not turn down her request.

“Another man,” he said, sounding playful and as if he didn’t really mean it.

“Duncan, ye are the only one I’ve ever wanted,” she told him, taking his hand in hers. What she told him was the truth. It felt good to touch him again. It felt right. But before she could release his hand, he pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms. Then he quickly lowered her into the water. “What are ye doin’?” she cried out, but her cries were muffled by his mouth covering hers. She forgot to fight him when his kisses relaxed her, making her feel safe and secure in his arms once again.

“I missed ye, Mari,” he whispered, his mouth finding its way to her neck and down to her collarbone next.

His kisses tickled and she giggled. “I missed ye, too,” she told him. “And even though everyone told me ye were dead, I swear I never gave up hope that ye were alive and that I’d someday be with ye again.”

His hand grazed past her breast and settled at her hip. He continued to kiss her as he reached under the water, his fingers grazing her thigh next.

“Make love to me, Mari,” he whispered, spreading her legs and placing her atop his lap. She felt his erection pressing up against her, making her body tingle. Mari craved Duncan. Her thoughts were consumed by making love with the man because it is what she really wanted. She wore no braies, having dressed quickly to escape Eideard during the night. Now, she regretted not taking the time to dress properly because his bare skin was touching hers and they were very close to coupling. The thought just about drove her mad with desire.

His hand caressed her thigh, slipping up higher and higher until she felt his fingers cupping her mound and playing with her womanly folds. She moaned in ecstasy, her eyes closing on their own.

“I love ye, Mari,” he said in a husky voice, picking her up and pulling her closer.

Her breathing labored as she felt his engorged form brush up against her. All she had to do was lower herself onto him and her fantasies would be fulfilled. She pushed her breasts into his face, breathing heavily, so excited that she would finally be giving up her virginity to the man she loved. But before this could happen, something he said brought her back to her senses.

“I’m so glad ye waited for me instead of givin’ yerself to someone else.”

She jerked away from him. “What do ye mean?” she asked, suddenly frightened that mayhap he knew she was married to Eideard and was only testing her. If so, it was a cruel jest and she didn’t like it.

“I’m just sayin’ that it looked like I wasna comin’ back and I did tell ye to find another man if that happened. But I am so glad that ye stayed loyal to me.”

This shook her up so badly that she couldn’t continue now if she tried. “I think we should get out of the tub,” she told him, standing up, sloshing the water over the sides. “I dinna have a change of clothes and will have to borrow somethin’ from one of the women below stairs.” She stepped over the side of the tub, her wet gown weighing her down even more than her secret.

“Ye dinna need clothes tonight.” When he stood, her gaze drifted below his waist, and her mouth dropped open. He was more than ready to make love to her and, now, she was ready to do it, too, but couldn’t. Oh, why had she ever married Eideard? And why had she agreed to spend the night with Duncan after all? “Come here, Mari,” he said, stepping out of the tub and slowly making his way to her. “Ye need to get out of these wet clothes. We’ll dry them by the fire.”

“I – I.” She didn’t know what to say.