Page 44 of In Bed with her Highland Foe

“And she looked delighted,” Barrow went on. “Ye couldnae have stopped her smile.”

Good.

Gilchrist couldn’t break his own smile now, not until Aaden elbowed him, a clear warning not to be too obvious.

“Well done fer guarding her,” Gilchrist said under his breath, trying to return to a business manner. Soon, conversation turned to other matters, though Gilchrist could not let go of his thoughts of Kyven and Laird Shay, and how they had not enjoyed their ride together.

In fact, when he returned to his chamber, it was all he could think about, and he smiled greatly as he stepped into the room. That was until he felt the now familiar attack on his ankle.

“Lottie?” He looked down at the kitten. She released him and playfully jumped back, wanting him to play with her. “Too late fer that, aye. We need some rest tonight.”

However, she had no intention to settle.

As he readied himself for bed, still thinking of Kyven and how put out Laird Shay must have been for riding in the rain, he played with the kitten too. He dragged a sock across the table and petted her when she was good, then fed and watered her, before he lay down in bed. She tuckered herself out and curled up on the pillow beside him, in her now usual position, with at least one paw touching him. He raised a hand and petted her under the chin, in the way she liked, as she purred noisily.

“Time tae sleep, little one,” he murmured, reaching up and blowing out the one candle in the room.

Yet as he lay down, sleep would not find him.

The kitten was off within seconds, breathing quietly as he lay there with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling. He kept imagining different scenarios from the day, and just how put off Kyven and Laird Shay had been by one another, with each scene he imagined bringing him more and more joy.

He turned on his side and eventually closed his eyes, but those pictures changed.

He saw himself with Kyven. The two of them were riding together through the hills in the rain, before they came upon a loch nearby, one of Kyven’s favorite spots to rest. They were alone and she declared she wished to swim. He tried not to look as she shed her clothes, though he couldn’t help sneaking a glance.

She untied the laces of her gown and slowly slipped it down her shoulders, revealing the tight-fitting stays and the chemise beneath. She took off her stockings too, reaching beneath the skirt of her chemise and revealing her legs toned from all the riding. Her curvy figure was on show as she next reached for the laces of her stays.

His mouth was dry – he knew he should turn away, yet it was impossible for him to do so.

The kitten hissed.

It was a sudden sound. For all the play fighting she did, he had not once heard her hiss in such a way.

He opened his eyes, aware that in the darkness he could just make out her head lifting from the pillow.

The seductive image of Kyven melted away as he heard the creak of a floorboard. Lottie hissed again.

Gilchrist held himself perfectly still, pretending to be fast asleep. Some sort of dirk was unsheathed from a scabbard. How often had he heard such a sound on the battlefield? It could not be mistaken.

The dirk whipped through the air as Gilchrist pushed Lottie off the pillow and reared his head back. The blade buried itself in the pillow next to his head.

—

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