Page 34 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

“In any case, I owe ye a debt of gratitude,” Knox went on.

“How so?” Tadhg asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Ye ken when we met on the road tae the castle, I said I thought we’d met afore?”

“Aye.”

“Well, I remembered where it was.” He drank some ale while letting that sink in with his companion.

Tadhg looked at him closely and shook his head. “Nay, I still dinnae recognize ye. Where did we meet? Was I blind drunk? I didnae try tae fight with ye, did I?” he asked, slightly worried.

Knox laughed. “Nay, naethin’ like that. Well, ye did some fightin’ but nae with me. In fact, ye saved me from a bad beatin’.”

Tadhg nodded. “Aye, that sounds like the sort of heroic thing I’m always doin’ in me cups. So, where did all this happen?”

“D’ye really nae remember? Ye’re nae pullin’ me leg?” the laird asked.

“Did ye change yer hair since then?” Tadhg asked jokingly, eliciting more laughter from Knox.

“It was a year or so ago, in the lowlands, at a market. I was getting’ me arse well and truly kicked by a bunch of drunken ruffians in a tavern when ye suddenly stepped in and saved me. By the Wee Man, the way ye laid those fellers out was a miracle tae me at that moment. Like an avengin’ angel, ye were. Ye got me a healer and a room for the night too. I owe ye me life fer certain.”

“That was ye, was it? That poor, bedraggled, bloody lump of flesh I had tae throw over me shoulder tae get up the stairs. Well, lookin’ at ye now, I’d never have guessed it was the same man.”

“Aye, that was me,” Knox said laughingly. “I honestly thought I’d had it. I’d started sayin’ me prayers, thinkin’ I was goin’ tae meet me maker. And then, ye appeared out of nowhere, me savior. But ye can imagine, after bein’ set upon by three of those bastards, me face was badly battered, all swollen, and I had a couple of good black eyes, so I looked a wee bit different. I’m guessin’ that’s why ye havenae recognized me.”

“Well, well, well, who’d have thought we’d meet again. And here of all places,” Tadhg said, genuinely amazed. “I’m very pleased we have though, man. Cheers!” He raised his tankard, and Knox followed suit. “Tae good friends,” Tadhg proposed.

“Aye, tae good friends!” Knox seconded, and the two men laughed heartily and ordered more ale.

An hour or so later, when Tadhg crept into the bed chamber, he found a candle burning low on a nightstand next to where Alana was fast asleep in the bed. He was feeling a bit tipsy and wanted nothing more than to lie down and go to sleep, preferably in the comfort of the bed.

Knowing he could not, he let out a small sigh of disappointment as he took off his boots by the door. Then he padded over to the bed as quietly as he could, trying not to knock into anything on the way and wake her. For several long moments, he stood looking down at her, drinking in the delicate beauty of her features.

Her dark hair lay spread out over the white pillow, and her eyelids were violet in the dim lamplight. His heart clenched in his chest to see how lovely she was. He wondered what would have happened if they had not been disturbed in the library. After their talk, he felt they had reached a new understanding. She had let him kiss her hand. But more importantly, he was certain they would have kissed, that she had actually wanted him to kiss her.

Looking down on her now, he so wanted to climb into bed with her and cuddle her, to go to sleep with his arms wrapped around her slender form, every curve of which was engraved in his heart. Instead, he bent down and touched his lips lightly to hers in a good night kiss, then gently brushed a stray, curling tress from her forehead.

It took all he had in him not to get in the bed but rather take the coverlet and pillow and bed down in his usual spot on the floor. Dinnae get yer hopes up fer a reconciliation. Fer if it should happen that Alana finds out I’ve been lyin’ tae her all this time, then she’ll kill me rather than kiss me.

With that sobering truth in mind, he let the ale topple him into slumber.