Page 52 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

“He only wins if Freya weds Evander,” Aaden said. “I ken that he is plannin’ somethin’ else, too. He must be. He wants the wealth an’ the lands that would come from me marryin’ ye but short o’ startin’ a war, I dinnae ken what else he can dae tae have those things.”

“Perhaps he will start a war,” Lilith said. “Or perhaps he has something else in mind. Either way, I doubt Freya will wed Evander now. We must tell everyone the truth, Aaden. We must tell me faither.”

“Aye, but I doubt yer faither will believe me like ye have,” Aaden said. “What if he thinks I’m helpin’ Ruadh because I wish it? What if he thinks me a traitor?”

“I will explain it tae him,” Lilith said, reaching for Aaden’s hand and lacing their fingers together. “He will listen tae me.”

Sitting up, Aaden brought Lilith’s hand to his lips, pressing them to her knuckles. Quietly, he asked, “But what if he doesnae?”

Lilith knew her father well. He had trust in her. He allowed her to make her own choices and believed that she always made the ones best suited to her.

But even he had his limits. Once he found out about all this, then there was no telling if he would believe in Aaden’s innocence or if he would think he was still lying about his mother just so that he could trap Lilith into a marriage. What if he thought of him as guilty? What if he forbade Lilith to marry him?

“Well, what else is there tae dae?” Lilith asked. “We have nae choice but tae tell him the truth. He must ken what Ruadh has done. Perhaps he already kens part o’ it. Freya must have told him as much as she kens by now.”

Leaving like that, without saying a single word to anyone, had been foolish. Not only was Lilith certain that her father and her sister were worried sick over her disappearance, but she had also missed her chance to take control of the narrative from the start. Now her father would have heard different versions of the truth from Freya, Evander, and Ruadh, and he wouldn’t know who to believe.

“Perhaps,” Aaden said, but then fell silent, frowning to himself. Lilith waited for him to continue, but he was too lost in his thoughts, his gaze distant.

“Perhaps what?” she prompted.

“I have the letters,” said Aaden. “The letters me maither sent me. I keep them with me always. Perhaps if I show yer faither the letters an’ explain tae him that I am her son an’ what Ruadh has been doin’ tae her, then he will believe me. She speaks o’ it in them. She’s told me everythin’ he did, but the last one I received from her was ‘afore he locked her away.”

“But it should be enough tae convince me faither about the truth if he doesnae believe what I tell him,” Lilith said. Her hand wrapped around the back of Aaden’s neck and she pulled him close, smashing their lips together in a heated kiss. When she pulled back, she gave him a teasing smirk and said, “Ye finally had a good idea.”

Aaden answered with a smirk of his own as he grabbed Lilith’s hips and dragged her into his lap. Lilith yelped in surprise as she was manhandled, hands grabbing onto Aaden’s shoulders to steady herself, laughing softly when he kissed her. For a few moments, she allowed it, even tilting her head back to let him scatter kisses down her neck, her fingers tangling his hair.

“I didnae hear ye complain about me ideas last night,” he said, voice low and gravely, and Lilith’s blood rushed to her face, her embarrassment painted in a bright pink over her cheeks. Before Aaden could convince her to stay there a little longer, she pushed at him and disentangled herself from his arms, much to his disappointment, quickly gathering her discarded clothes to pull them back on.

At least they had dried throughout the night, she thought, as she pulled on her dress.

Aaden on the other hand did nothing but lay back, watching her as she covered her body back up inch by inch. Once Lilith was done, she turned to him with her eyebrows raised, gesturing at the pile of his clothes that he had not yet touched.

“Well?” she asked. “Why are ye starin’?”

“I’m simply admirin’ ye,” Aaden said with a shrug. “Am I nae allowed tae dae that?”

The embarrassment that had faded in the time it had taken Lilith to dress now returned with a vengeance, heating her cheeks uncomfortably. She grabbed Aaden’s shirt from the pile and tossed it at him, hitting him squarely in the face much to her satisfaction, a grin spreading over her lips as she saw his features morphing into an indignant expression.

“Dress,” she said. “Me family will be worried.”

“Aye, aye,” Aaden said, as he finally pushed himself up to his feet. It was Lilith’s turn to stare now, her gaze roaming over all that bare skin and the muscles that rippled underneath, tracing the contours of his shoulders, his chest, the taper of his waist. When Aaden caught her staring, he grinned at her, preening, and Lilith couldn’t help the undignified squeak that escaped her as she quickly averted her gaze.

“Ye can stare all ye wish,” Aaden told her, stretching his arms over his head once he was dressed to get the tension out after sleeping on a stone floor all night. “I dinnae mind.”

“I wasnae starin’,” Lilith said, though there was little point in trying to hide it. With a huff, she began to prepare the horses for their departure and Aaden joined her, the smirk he was sporting never leaving his face.

“If ye say so,” he said. “I must have imagined it.”

“O’ course,” said Lilith.

Aaden only hummed in response. For a while, they worked in silence and then they stepped out into a chilly but sunny day, heading back to the castle. They had hardly crossed a few feet before he spoke again.

“I want me wife tae stare at me.”

Lilith couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I’m nae yer wife.”

“Ye will be.”