“By all means, invite them all here.”
Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “All here? At once?”
Was that jealousy he saw in her face? Wondering how far she would go, he nodded again. “I doonae want to have to spend much time on this. I am certain ye will think of a reason to have them here at once so that I may choose. Will a week be sufficient?”
“Nay, a week willnae be sufficient! The women willnae be traveling alone, and we are talking about eligible ladies from all over the country, not just the highlands. There would need to be food preparations, and chambers made presentable, and entertainment planned. Not to mention reinforcements at the borders. The women will be traveling with families and armies. It would take months of preparations!”
“Months...” He pretended to consider it. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, her time as mistress of the Sinclair keep had served her well. “I doonae think we have that kind of time, do ye? Why do ye not simply choose one for me? I trust ye.”
Once again, she looked troubled, but she nodded. “I will need to take some time to think it over, once I have learned more about ye, to see which lady might suit.”
“Take into account the Hamilton women as well. Lorna is single, and there is that one lass everyone wanted me to wed. Mary, I believe her name was. In fact, I believe we should simply choose a Hamilton, to appease the people.” He pursed his lips and nodded. “Aye, I like that idea.”
Before she could object, he reached around her and swung open the door. “Yer chambers. I trust that ye will find everything in order.”
“Hamish, about wedding a Hamilton lass—”
“‘Tis a good idea, is it not? And I have ye to thank for it. Let me know if ye need anything. The door over there joins our two chambers.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Enjoy yer night, Lady Grace.”
17
There it was again. That flash of silver. Grace screamed, tumbling back, her arms out as she ineffectively tried to ward off the blows that were coming. Fear gripped her, and her stomach rolled nauseatingly. Around her, the ground was saturated with blood.
No, not her blood.
Next to her, Maggie’s body was splayed out in the dirt, her head turned toward Grace. “Help me!” Maggie screamed, but there was nothing Grace could do. Maggie was already dead, nothing more than a tormenting ghost.
Silver flashed, and Grace closed her eyes and screamed again, determined that she would not die quietly.
* * *
“Grace, wake up!”
Gasping for breath, Grace flew upward and into strong arms. For a moment, panic assailed her again, and she struggled, but then she recognized the scent surrounding her.
Hamish.
“Easy, lass,” he whispered soothingly as he held her. “I have ye. ‘Twas nothing more than a nightmare. There is nothing in this room that will hurt ye.”
Heart pounding, Grace sucked in air as she tried to right herself. The chamber was dark and unfamiliar. I have been moved, she reminded herself. This was the chamber for the mistress of the keep.
“She’s dead,” Grace whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes even as she tried to swallow down her fear. “Maggie is dead, and I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t help her. I can’t even help her now.”
“She wouldnae blame ye,” Hamish said firmly. “Her death isnae yer fault. By the bloody saints, lass, ye are cold.”
Limp against him, she didn’t struggle as he picked her up and slid into the bed with her, holding her tight onto his lap as he tossed the blankets around her. “Have ye been having nightmares this whole time?”
“Just snippets of dreams.” She shivered and tried to bury herself into his warmth. “I want to remember, but it’s just a faceless monster with a blade. Maggie is begging me for help, but all I can do is hope that I doonae die. I—”
“Doonae tell me again, lass, that ye couldnae help her, or I will lose my temper,” Hamish warned. “Is this why ye are running around half-cocked trying to find the killer? Ye feel responsible?”
Annoyed, she tried to pull away, but his arms were locked around her. “I am trying to understand, Grace, but I need ye to explain it to me. I have told ye that I amnae ignoring Maggie’s murder. I will find who did this. But ye insist on doing it yerself. Why?”
“Not by myself.” She thought of Lorna and Edina. They would help her. “When my parents were murdered, I pointed the finger at Moira, and because of that, I ruined years of her life. Years that she cannae get back. And Connor...he was so busy trying to slip into my father’s shoes that he couldnae spend the time he needed to discover the truth. ‘Twas my friend, ‘twas a woman I brought into our home that destroyed it, and because of that, Moira and Connor suffered. I realize that there is no fallout like that here. Maggie has no family, but—”
“Grace, Maggie has a family. She was a Hamilton, and despite the wrongs that were done here before, they are family. I am her family.”
Shifting slightly, she looked up at him. “Do ye truly feel that way? Ye werenae born a Hamilton.”
“Nay,” he admitted. “I wasnae, but when I needed a family, the Hamiltons opened their arms to me. I may not be Hamilton by blood, but I am in my soul, and I will fight for them. I will fight for Maggie. Ye have to trust that.”
They stared at each for a moment, and Grace realized that she wasn’t cold anymore. No, she was very very warm, and the heat wasn’t just Hamish.
It was her reaction to him.
“Grace,” Hamish whispered. “Ye are playing a dangerous game here.”
He wasn’t talking about her search for a killer. Raising her arm, she stroked a finger along his cheek. Warmth spread down to the very center of her sex, and she licked her lips. “There was a woman today who introduced herself as yer future bride.”
“Did she now?”
“Aye.” Unable to help herself, she moved against him. “Her name was Mary. Should she be here with ye?”
“Nay, lass. I have no plans to wed Mary.”
Good. It chafed Grace to think of Mary in here instead of her. “Kiss me,” she whispered. “Like ye did before.”
With a groan, he bent his head and took her lips. Just like before, her body blossomed for him, expanding, wanting something she knew that only he could provide.
Without breaking the kiss, she moved, climbing up until she could wrap her arms around him, and straddled his hard thighs. With a hiss, he pulled back and stared at her. “Ye tempt me like no other, lass.”
“I doonae do it on purpose. Kiss me again.”
Laughing hoarsely, he obliged her, and this time, his hands roamed, and she freely explored him. He was half-naked, his chest warm and smooth as she glided the palms of her hands over it. His muscles flexed beneath her touch while she liquified beneath his.
Her shift was barely a barrier, thin and warn, and the heat of his hands permeated it as he gathered the white fabric in his hands and tugged it upward, baring her thighs to him.
Restless and needing more, she moved against him, seeking an end to the ache that assuaged her body. As his tongue stroked over hers, he roughly pulled her forward until she was gliding over the hard length of his erection.
They both groaned at the contact. “More,” she whispered. “Oh, please, Hamish, I need more.”
“I will give ye what ye need, lass,” he whispered. “Just keep riding it out.”
She had no idea what he was saying, but she continued to move against him while his hands skimmed up her rib cage and toward her breasts. They ached for his touch, and pleasure careened through her as his fingers stroked and pinched.
“Do ye like that?” He groaned. “Am I hurting ye?”
“Nay, but I am needing. Oh, Hamish, please.” She felt wild and reckless as she moved faster against him. Grunting, he finally gripped her hips and pushed her away until he could fit a hand between her legs.
“So wet,” he murmured. “So wet for me, sweet Grace.” His fingers slid over her slit, and she was too f
ar gone to feel embarrassed at the intimacy of it. His touch chased away the demons, chased away the nightmares, chased away the fear, until there was only him.
Then his knuckle rubbed against the most sensitive spot, and she cried out, arching her back. One hand gripped the back of her neck, bringing her mouth back to his while he kissed her deeply as she moved forcefully against his fingers.
The pressure built until she thought her heart would explode, but when the dam finally broke, she saw only stars and waves and waves of pleasure as she screamed into his kiss.
The next morning, she woke up alone and feeling more rested than she had since she’d first arrived at the Hamilton keep. Rolling over on the bed, she reached out her hand to the place where Hamish had been, but he was long gone. After giving her more pleasure than she thought capable of handling, he kissed her gently and left her, telling her that if he stayed, there would be no going back for either of them.
Cheeks blazing, she knew just what he meant. Last night, she was more than willing, desperate even, to give him her whole body, and he’d been the one to stop before it was too late.
How unfair it was that men could take their pleasure whenever they wished but women were forced to choose only one—the man they would marry.
Unless...
A wicked thought formed in her head. Since she had no plans to marry, why couldn’t she take her pleasure? Who would ever find out? There were ways to ward against pregnancy. Lorna could help her with that, and she had a feeling that Hamish would make an excellent first lover.
Emboldened, she rose from the bed and dressed. After slipping her dagger in the holster of her thigh, she braided her hair and wondered if there would be an entourage of guards following her around again today. If there were, maybe she could convince some of them to train with her. It had been so long since she’d held a sword in her hand. She didn’t want to get rusty.
When she opened the door, Tavin was standing outside of it. “Good morning,” she said with a sigh. “I suppose ye will be with me all day?”
“Lady Grace,” he said with a bow and a grin. “Lovely to see ye as well. I have the honor of escorting ye wherever ye wish to go.”
“Back to the tavern?” she asked hopefully.
“Nay,” he said simply. “Hamish wishes ye to make yer inquiries elsewhere.”
Of course he did. “Am I allowed to break my fast at least?” she demanded
“Of course. Would ye like to have yer breakfast here?”
And stare at the bed where she’d had a rather unabashed orgasm? “No, I believe I will break my fast downstairs. I suppose everyone else is finished?”
“I doonae know, ma’am. I have yet to be downstairs.”
She regarded him closely. “Tavin, have ye not eaten yet?”
“’Tis my duty to guard ye.” He seemed puzzled by her question. Surely he was allowed to eat and follow her around.
“Vera well. We will break our fast together. I promise that in future mornings, if ye arenae already waiting for me, I will go no further than the breakfast room.”
“I appreciate that, miss.”
Smiling a little, she walked down to the breakfast chambers with him and saw that they would not be eating alone. Theo was already at the table enjoying a large bowl of porridge, some eggs, bacon, and biscuits.
“Lady Grace.” Pushing his chair back, he stood. “If ye were planning on having a quiet breakfast, I can take my leave.”
Lord, nobody in the Sinclair household treats me like this!
“I am the one interrupting ye, Laird MacDougal. Do ye mind if we join ye?”
“I would be honored.”
A young lady returned with a large breakfast for Tavin while Grace accepted some eggs and porridge. “The subject of Loch Moran has been a heated debate at the Sinclair keep, especially when Alec comes to visit. Connor always felt that if MacSeaver couldnae defend it, then he shouldnae have it, but Alec feared that if it became open season, it would be nothing but bloodshed for years to come. Yer deal with the king has tidied things up nicely. I imagine most of the surrounding clans are green with envy.”
“I did not seek it,” Theo admitted. “But I am not unhappy about it. ‘Tis a prosperous land and will help feed my clan, but it makes for a delicate transition. I wish for no bloodshed, but sometimes ‘tis unavoidable. I am hoping that Hamish will help me defend it.”
“I doonae see why not. Now that the Hamiltons are enjoying some peace, they will no doubt have the time and energy to help fortify alliances, and other than the MacSeavers, they are the closest in proximity.”
Cocking his head, Theo studied her. As the morning light streamed in through the window and highlighted some of his powerful features, Grace admitted that he was handsome to look at. There was something so familiar about him. “Ye speak as though ye arenae a Hamilton.”
“I amnae.”
“Yet,” Hamish said coldly from behind them. “Ye arenae a Hamilton yet.”
He looked at her furiously, and Grace had no idea why. She was dressed properly, she hadn’t left the keep, and she had not escaped her guard detail. What could have possibly happened between last night and this morning to make him so angry?
Unless he regretted last night. A knot settled in her stomach, and she tried not to let the heartache overwhelm her. Why she felt so sensitively about the matter, she didn’t know, but she’d be damned if she cried at the table.
Instead, she thrust her chin up and met his angry gaze head-on. “Laird Hamilton,” she said stonily. “Good morn to ye. I trust ye had a good night’s sleep?”
“I didnae, but that is neither here nor there. Theo, the men are waiting for ye on the training fields. I trust ye are finished with yer leisurely breakfast with my future bride?”
Furious, Grace opened her mouth, but Theo calmly stood. “My apologies, Hamish. Ye are right. I should be going. Lady Grace, yer company was delightful. Tavin.”
The guard nodded at him, but the room remained tense until Theo left. “Tavin, take yer breakfast elsewhere,” Hamish growled. “I need a word with Grace.”
“What is wrong with ye?” she snapped as soon as they were alone. “I have done nothing wrong.”
“I told ye to stay away from Theo.”
“For heaven’s sake, it wasnae like the man sought me out. He was eating breakfast. It would have been rude of me to walk away, and we werenae alone. My guard dog was with me every step of the way. If this is about last night—”
“Nay, this isnae about last night, Grace. This is about me trying to keep ye safe and ye deliberately disobeyed me!” He was practically roaring now.
“I am not yer wife or yer bride-to-be!” Grace said steadily. “This jealousy—”
“Jealousy?” he hissed, and then suddenly, he was right in front of her. “Last night ye were riding my thighs like a wanton, and now ye doonae think I have any claim on ye? I brought ye to yer pleasure, Grace. ‘Twas my fingers sliding inside of ye. Tonight, it’ll be my tongue.”
His tongue? Her eyes widened at the thought. “Hamish...”
“Theo isnae just a suspect in Maggie’s murder, Grace. He is the enemy. I asked him here not because I wanted an alliance with him but because I need to know his intentions now that we are both in power. He is my half-brother.”
His half-brother? Grace gasped. No wonder he seemed so familiar. How could she not have seen the similarities? They both held themselves the same way, walked with the same swagger and the same air of authority. The facial features, the shape of their bodies.
“Does he know?”
“I doonae know, but if he does, it makes him vera dangerous, Grace. Our father wasnae a good man, and Theo could be cut from the same cloth. They willnae suffer a bastard to be in power, and I willnae have ye caught in the crossfire. Ye stay away from him, or so help me, Grace, I will send ye home.”
18
Grace stared at him in a mixture of fury and astonishment, but without a word, she picked up her skirts and tur
ned to leave. Knowing that he hadn’t handled that very well, he growled. “Grace, wait.”
Just the sight of the two of them together had been enough to set him off, but she was right. She wasn’t alone, and Tavin would have let him know if Theo had done or said anything inappropriate. Still, she was so naive. How could she not see that Theo was testing her, trying to discover if she was still available?
For all he knew, Theo intended to abduct her and make her his.
When she turned, there were tears in her eyes. “Ye make threats like ye have a right!” she hissed. “But ye treat me just like everyone else. I made my case vera clear from the start, and ye agreed to it, but now, every time I turn around, I am doing something that ye doonae approve of. What am I to think, Hamish? Why did ye agree to this if ye werenae going to let me look into Maggie’s death?”
“This isn’t about Maggie’s death!”
“Nay, ‘tis about me. Suddenly, ye are worried about my safety, but what if I like Theo? Did ye ever think of that? I am to find ye a bride when this is over. Maybe I am looking for a husband.”
Something cracked inside of him, and he grabbed her and lowered his head to kiss her. She didn’t resist and instead wrapped her arms around him. “Lass, ye drive me crazy,” he whispered. “Doonae cry.”
Desperately, he hoped to silence her. If he listened to her talk about being with another man, he would go crazy. There would be no other woman for him just as there would be no other man for her. What did he need to do to prove to her that he would do anything to keep her safe?
“Why do ye want me here, Hamish?” she whispered when she pulled back and looked at him. “What do ye want from me?”
If he told her the truth, she would run, maybe straight to Theo’s arms. After last night, with the way she felt in his arms, he knew without a doubt that she belonged to him. He just needed her to realize it too.
Women are so damn difficult!
“Tavin,” he called as he stepped away. The guard immediately entered the room. “I apologize for interrupting yer breakfast. Please finish and escort Grace about the day as she seeks out information on Maggie.”
Highlander's Hellion Bride: A Scottish Medieval Historical Romance (Highlander's Deceptive Lovers Book 3) Page 12