Page 22 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

CHAPTER EIGHT

The great hall of Laird MacIver was impressive. Intimidating even, Alana thought, as she walked on Tadhg’s arm to take their places as honored guests of Blaine MacIver, to dine at the laird’s table. Even though the laird isnae here.

If she were being honest with herself, she was glad to have Tadhg at her side, whatever her feelings for him. His imposing presence made her feel safe. It did little, however, to allay her feeling of foreboding.

“Ah, here are me special guests.” Blaine got up from his seat and greeted them heartily. “Come and join us,” he added, gesturing for them to be seated. “This is tae be a celebration tae welcome ye tae where ye belong, Lady Alana.”

“How kind of ye,” Alana said, allowing Tadhg to pull out her chair and then push it in for her, just as an attentive husband would do.

“Ye’re already acquainted with Laird Stewart, I think,” Blaine went on.

“Aye, Tadhg and I have met all right,” Knox put in with a chuckle, “earlier, on the trainin’ ground.”

“Aye, I heard about that,” Blaine said, nodding and smiling with obvious interest. He glanced over at Tadhg and raised his tankard to him in a toast. “I hear congratulations are in order, Mr. MacTavish.”

“Aye, he was way too fast fer me,” Knox lamented jokingly.

“I reckon ye let me win by deliberately bein’ too slow,” Tadhg quipped, eliciting laughter all round. He had filled Alana in on his spar with Knox just before they came down for dinner. Looking at the impact he had made already, she could not help being a little proud of him for being such a fine fighter, while also humble.

The meal was excellent, as were the wine and the company. Alana could not fault her absent father’s hospitality. An atmosphere of celebration permeated the hall. She was on the verge of actually relaxing when, during a lull in the conversation, Blaine suddenly leaned forward on his elbows, smiled directly at her, and asked, “So, how long have ye been married tae Tadhg here then?”

Taken aback, she looked at Tadhg for help.

“Och, long enough,” Tadhg piped up, laughing heartily at his own joke and making the others laugh too. Unfortunately, it did not seem to distract Blaine from his mission.

“’Tis just that we ken ye were married before, tae a soldier in the Lennox army who was killed in battle called Sloan,” Blaine said, his friendly smile fixed in place. “So, when were ye married tae Sloan?” he persisted. “The records show he died two and a half years ago.”

“What records?” Alana asked, tamping down the panic staring to rise inside her as she realized they were in trouble. “Whatever they are, they’re wrong,” she insisted, once again looking to Tadhg for assistance. “Are they nae, me darlin’?”

“Aye, she’s right, they’re wrong. She’s been married tae me fer the last two years,” he said.

“I was married tae Sloan over four years ago now,” she lied to Blaine.

“Is that a fact?” Blaine replied, titling his head to one side inquiringly. “The records must be wrong then, as ye say.”

Alana met his gaze, and though he was still smiling, she saw something flicker in his eyes that told her he suspected they were lying. Maybe Tadhg saw it too, for he suddenly turned to her and grinned, pulling her to his side.

“The happiest two years of me life, tae be sure, eh, me darlin’?” Then, to Alana’s surprise, his lips landed on hers, and he kissed her. Her first instinct was to push him off and demand what he thought he was doing. But she noticed his eyes were open, and they were pleading with her to understand and play along. Realizing he was attempting to add authenticity to their lies, she had no choice but to kiss him back and look as if she was enjoying it.

It had been many years since their last kiss, but now, with the firm warmth of his mouth enclosing hers, the cold ashes of desire for him inside her flickered disturbingly into life once more. Her mind fought against it, but she succumbed as, without her volition, her mouth opened beneath his, and she found herself returning the kiss with something of their former passion. Moreover, she sensed from the way the kiss grew in intensity, that Tadhg was feeling it too.

When the kiss continued, she heard laughter and playful jibing start up around them. When their lips finally parted, despite her flustered state, she was forced to join in the laughter along with Tadhg, praying fervently that they had been convincing.

Later that night, with dinner finally over and their chamber door firmly shut, she whirled on Tadhg. Before she could stop herself, she made her displeasure obvious by giving him a resounding slap around the face.

“What in hell was that fer?” he demanded, frowning and rubbing the red hand mark on his cheek.

“What d’ye think? Fer kissin’ me like that, of course,” she berated him, unaccountably furious in her confusion. “I’m warnin’ ye, Tadhg, dinnae ever try anythin’ like that again!”

“But it was necessary tae make them believe we’ve been wed these past two years,” he defended himself, still rubbing the sore spot. “Besides, it’s nae like we’ve never been intimate before, is it?” he added, starting to unbuckle his sword belt.

“That was before!” she remonstrated, sitting on the bed and kicking off her shoes. “It serves ye right tae be sleepin’ on the floor.” She grabbed a pillow and the coverlet and threw them at him as she had earlier in the day.

To her added annoyance, as they fell onto the rug, he simply shrugged and said, “I’ve slept in worse places.”

She watched, silently seething, while he slung his sword belt over a chair and took off his coat, hanging it over its back. Determined he would not see her undressing, she fetched her nightgown from beneath her pillow and got under the bedcovers. With great difficulty, she managed to undo the front lacing of her gown and wriggled out of it. When she laid it aside carefully on the vacant side of the bed, she glanced at Tadhg and noticed he had taken off his boots, his stockings, and was now removing his neckcloth.

Looking away, she fumbled off her garters and stockings and put them with the gown, careful not to show any flesh. Unlacing her stays proved tricky also, but she finally managed it after a lot of fiddling about. Now down to her shift, she moved further under the covers and pulled it off over her head, clamping the covers to her chest before she tried to put on her nightgown.