Page 40 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

A few moments passed in silence before he heard something under the bed and remembered Lilith was still there. Cursing, he jumped out of bed and helped her up to her feet, unable to hold back a chuckle at the ridiculousness of their situation. There they were, Lilith’s shift wrapped around her torso, her dress rumpled around her waist, her hair a mess around her head, and Aaden’s hands shaking with adrenaline and, perhaps for the first time, the fear of rejection.

“I can only assume that ye heard everythin’ they said,” he told her.

Lilith smiled and gave him a small nod, gesturing towards the bed. “Difficult tae avoid it, considerin’the circumstances.”

Laughter bubbled out of Aaden and he nodded, considering his next move. Should he ask Lilith what she wanted to do? Or should he simply continue with the confession he had never got to make?

In the end, he decided to be direct and fell to his knees in front of her, taking her hand. There was no point in dancing around the matter at hand. As much as he feared Lilith would say no, he had to ask her.

“Lilith… may I have yer hand in marriage?”

Lilith didn’t respond right away and suddenly, Aaden felt like a fool on his knees like that. She pursed her lips, her hand twitching where he was holding it. “Is this what ye want?” she asked. “Marriage?”

“Is it what ye want?” he asked instead of answering.

“I asked ye first.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Aaden raised his free hand to comb through his hair only for his shoulder to burn with pain, his injury reminding him of its existence. He let his hand fall back down and instead chewed on the inside of his cheek.

The truth was that he didn’t want it if it wasn’t what Lilith wanted, too. As much as he wished to make her his wife, this was neither a game to him anymore nor just a means to ensuring his mother’s safety. The latter was still important to him, of course, but condemning Lilith to a marriage she didn’t want seemed too cruel. He didn’t want to force her to do this. Lilith had spent her entire life avoiding this very moment; she had chased away suitor after suitor, until no one but Aaden remained, and he certainly didn’t view himself as a catch.

What happens when we wed? Will she ever find out the truth? Can I keep it from her fer the rest o’ our lives?

In the end, he decided to tell her the truth—as much of it as he could for now. Once his mother was safe from Ruadh, then he could tell her everything. He couldn’t risk it now. He couldn’t risk revealing anything as long as his mother was in danger, but Lilith deserved to know the truth, even if she never forgave him for sustaining the lie for so long. He could only hope she would understand why he had had to do this once he explained it to her.

“I want it if ye want it. I willnae force yer hand here, Lilith. I ken what ye think about marriage, so, if it isnae what ye want, then I will accept yer rejection.”

“I want it,” Lilith was quick to say. Before Aaden could speak, she fell to her knees before him and pulled him into a kiss, nodding firmly. “I want tae wed ye.

Aaden laughed again, half in disbelief and half in delight as he pulled Lilith close and scattered kisses all over her face. She echoed his laugh, the two of them kissing and pawing at each other until they collapsed onto the floor, tangled together until separating seemed impossible.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Had someone told Aaden only a few weeks prior that he would not only be betrothed to Lilith Stewart, but he would also be happy about it, he would have laughed in their face. And yet here he was now, preparing for dinner with a smile that hadn’t faded from his face ever since he had asked for her hand the previous day.

They hadn’t seen each other since then, as Lilith had slipped back into her chambers, fearing her father would look for her or that Ruadh would return to see Aaden again, and then Aaden had spent the entire day in bed, resting as per the healer’s orders. She had come to him that very morning to change the gauze on his shoulder and had given him the all clear to join the rest of the family for dinner if he felt well enough, but had asked him to spend most of the day in bed.

The wound on his shoulder still ached and Aaden did his best to keep his arm still as he dressed, hoping that he wouldn’t bleed through his sleeve. Despite his eagerness to see Lilith, though, he took a lot of time getting ready, simply because he wanted to delay showing up to dinner as much as possible.

Ruadh would be there, he knew. He would be there, and the last thing Aaden wanted was to see the man who kept his mother imprisoned and under death threat, and have to make polite conversation with him.

Besides, Aaden had begun to suspect that Ruadh’s tyranny would never end. With him married to Lilith, Ruadh would have yet another lever over him, yet another tool to use against him. But even if he couldn’t get to Lilith, Ruadh still had his mother. What if he went back on his word and kept her imprisoned? What if he released her, only to use her every time he wanted to force Aaden’s hand?

I could try tae convince Maither tae live with us after the weddin’. I could try tae keep her away from him.

At least now he was prepared for meeting him. Ruadh’s sudden appearance had left Aaden feeling unmoored, anxiety simmering just under his skin along with the anger that always showed its ugly head whenever Ruadh was near. Spending the day alone had given him the chance to calm down and remind himself how to behave around his uncle. He had more at stake now than ever before and he couldn’t risk the man’s wrath.

Surely, he cannae reveal any o’ it. It would go against his best interests.

But that didn’t mean Ruadh couldn’t still find a way to hurt him. Aaden wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him.

Once he knew he couldn’t delay his arrival any longer, Aaden left his chambers and headed down to the great hall. On his way there, he saw another pair of latecomers—Freya and Cameron, who was helping her down the stairs, her hand in his.

“Ye’re nae needed anymore.”

The voice came from behind Aaden and he turned to see Evander rushing down the stairs, only to stop by Freya’s side. When Cameron didn’t immediately drop her hand, Evander stared at their joined fingers with a frown and raised his hands up in exasperation.

“Well?” he demanded, crowding Cameron towards the wall until he had no choice but to either push Evander away or let go of Freya’s hand.