Page 24 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

“I ken ye did, unless it was a ghost from the trails who left the books fer me.”

He smiled, and it made her stomach flutter annoyingly. “All right, ye’ve caught me out. I heard ye talkin’ about the library. I would have shown ye where is it if ye’d only have asked me.”

“Ye forget, I’m nae talkin’ tae ye,” she pointed out. This time he laughed, a deep rumbling sound that reverberated around the chamber. It warmed something inside her.

“Just like ye’re nae talkin’ tae me now?”

She sniffed and opened the book. “Now, pay attention. I’m gonnae read ye the tale of the “Shadow Warrior of Loch Gillan.””

And that was what she did. Over the next few hours, she read him more ghostly tales and even found herself laughing with him despite herself at some of the more ridiculous and less than frightening images. In between, she dosed him with the tonic. When dawn’s rosy fingers appeared around the edges of the curtains, and she judged Odhrán lucid enough to be out of danger from his possible concussion, she closed the book and laid it aside with a yawn.

“I think ye can sleep now,” she told him, but when she looked over at him, she saw he was already dozing off. For a few minutes, she examined his features at leisure, and what she saw moved her in ways she did not understand. She could not make sense of it. How could the man she had vowed to hate forever be so dangerously appealing as to stir these feelings of desire inside her such as she had never felt before? Deep down, she had to admit, Odhrán was braw indeed.

His long locks fell in dark disarray against the pillow, and his thick, dark eyelashes lay like bird’s wings beneath his closed eyes, casting shadows on his high cheekbones. A smattering of brown freckles she had never noticed before lay across the bridge of his aquiline nose, giving him a boyish look. But it was his lips, firm and finely sculpted, which snared her attention.

Staring at them, the kiss suddenly came back to her vividly, bringing all the strange, warm stirrings it had ignited in her. She had to resist the temptation to run her fingertips across the black stubble covering his strong-boned, squarish chin, remembering the slightly coarse yet somehow exciting feel of it when he had kissed her. She actually raised her hand to touch it, but then snatched it away.

“What are ye doin’, ye fool? Are ye goin’ soft on him?” she chided herself under her breath. With a sigh, she got off the bed, and slipped under the covers, still with her clothes on. She checked once more on Odhrán, but he seemed to be sleeping soundly. Hardly, knowing what she was doing or why, she lightly touched her lips to his in a chaste kiss. Then, she lay down and, in a state of great confusion, drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Odhrán smiled into the darkness, feeling great hope pierce his heart like a bright lance as he listened to Maddison’s gentle breathing beside him. His lips still tingled from her kiss, and he exulted in it, sensing this was a turning point in their stormy relationship.

I cannae believe she kissed me! She’s worried about me, I can tell. She actually cares about me, however hard she tries nae tae show it. If this is what it takes tae make her like me, I should injure meself more often.

The bump on his head throbbed dully, but he had suffered much worse injuries in the past battles he had fought for his father. And back then, in his lonely bachelor life, there had been no Maddison to tend to him, however grudgingly. Having her next to him in the bed, even if she was still so far away, was deeply comforting. And now he knew he was out of danger, he was not worried, certain the bump would not prevent him from going about his business.

He slept a little, but shortly after dawn he awoke, his manhood like rock inside his trews. Half fearing that in his aroused state he would not be able to resist claiming Maddison as his wife in the fullest sense, he decided he had better get up.

Besides, the matter of Rollo and the attacks had already begun crowding his mind. He dressed quietly so as not to wake Maddison, taking his boots and sword belt in his hand as he padded to her side of the bed in stockinged feet and stared down at her, drinking in her early morning beauty. His heart clenched to see her so radiant in repose, her skin perfect and pale, her cheeks a little hollow from not eating properly, her chin softly rounded like a peach.

Her long tresses, the color of mahogany, lay strewn carelessly across the pillow like a dark halo. He longed to run his fingers through their softness again, as he had when they had kissed. Leaning over her, he dared to touch his lips to her pale pink ones, relishing their soft yielding beneath his. She murmured and stirred in her sleep. Fearing her anger if she caught him, he pulled back.

“Sweet dreams, me love,” he whispered, padding to the door and forcing himself to leave her and face what he knew was going to be a long and arduous day. As he strode down the hallway, he tore the bandage from his forehead and stuffed it in his pocket. On his way to his study, he gave orders to a servant for Jess the maid to take up some extra blankets for his wife and to let her sleep as long as she liked.

He intended to breakfast early and then devise a plan with Liam and Tadgh, who was feeling much better, to draw Rollo out. If they could do that, the council would have their proof and grant him the men he needed to launch an attack on Rollo’s stronghold. He could almost taste victory on his tongue, and it tasted good.

“I dinnae think ye have tae dae anythin’ but wait. Give Rollo enough rope and let him hang himself with it,” Tadgh suggested as the three friends sat in the messy guardhouse office talking over the situation. “I reckon it’ll nae take long fer him tae come out intae the open, and then ye’ll have him just where ye want him.”

“Tadgh could be right, ye ken, Odhrán,” Liam put in. “Yer weddin’ has obviously got Rollo on the run. And a man on the run makes bad decisions.”

“’Tis possible, aye, that he might come out intae the open,” Odhrán agreed. “But dinnae underestimate him. He looks like a fat weasel, and he’s twice as sly. He’s nae fool, and he kens very well the council will nae support me with arms while these attacks go on. He wants tae weaken me in their eyes.”

“Well, he’s nae succeedin’ so far,” Tadgh said with a loyalty that touched Odhrán’s heart. “The folks are all grateful for the extra protection ye’ve provided against further attacks, and the council have stated that if they have proof of Rollo’s intentions, they’ll give ye the men ye need tae attack him.”

“Aye, they want tae cover their miserable arses,” Liam said with a hint of disgust.

“Any news from our scouts about what Rollo’s up tae’?” Odhrán asked hopefully.

“Naethin’ yet,” Liam said. “I’d have told ye by now. But it wouldnae surprise me if he turned up here. I’ve strengthened security all around the castle just in case he tries tae surprise us with an attack.”

“I dinnae think he’ll try that just yet,” Tadgh put in. “I reckon that when he sees the attacks are nae workin’ as he hoped, he’ll dae somethin’ rash that’ll convince the council he’s a threat.”

“So, ye think we should just wait?” Odhrán asked, wondering if Tadgh could be right. “Ye think he’ll make a move that’ll expose his intentions?”

“I cannae say fer sure, but as I say, I wouldnae be surprised tae see his ugly mug around here sometime soon. But I think he’ll be careful nae tae be too obvious juts yet.”

“Well, without any new information we cannae move against him anyway,” Odhrán said with a sigh, frustrated. “So, we’ve nae choice but tae keep our scouts in the field and hope they come up with somethin’ soon tae convince the council.”