When he lifted her down, Edie couldn’t help feeling a little thrill at his easy yet commanding strength.
“It seems rather unusual to have a hunting lodge so close to the main house,” she said once she’d gotten on her feet.
“According to Walter, my great-grandfather built it to give himself and his friends a little privacy.”
“Because God knows you couldn’t find any of that at Blairgal,” she said. “What with only a few hundred rooms at your disposal.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Not for what that particular earl had in mind. He was a well-known rake and reprobate with a bit of a dragon for a wife. This is where he stashed some of his lady-birds from Glasgow.”
“Then how splendidly convenient it must have been for him.”
He laughed and moved to tie the horses to the hitching post when the door to the house opened and an elderly man in a neat white shirt and leather apron hurried out to meet them.
“Mr. Monroe, it’s good to see you,” Alec said. “I hope we’re not inconveniencing you by dropping in unexpectedly.”
The old man bobbed up and down like a turkey, his wrinkled face wreathed in smiles. “Nay, Master. Ye are always welcome in yer own house, God love ye.”
Alec drew her forward. “Edie, this is Mr. Monroe. He and his grandson keep the hunting lodge in fine trim. Mr. Monroe, this is Miss Whitney.”
The old man bowed again but shot her a close look from under his eyebrows. Edie had no doubt that he’d already heard rumors about the unusual events up at the castle. But his manner was friendly.
“Ye’re most welcome, miss. If ye give me a few minutes, I’ll be bringing some tea. I’ll just be fetching Heckie and having him take care of the animals.”
“Tea won’t be necessary, Mr. Monroe,” Alec said. “I’m giving Miss Whitney a short tour and then we’ll be on our way.”
“As ye say, Master.”
Alec led her into the entrance hall, a warm, wood-paneled space with a lovely old oak staircase. They strolled through the rooms on the ground floor—which included a spacious drawing room with a small, attached study, and a dining room, all decorated in the Queen Anne style. Some of the furnishings and the carpets were a bit faded, but on the whole it was a very pretty house with a comfortable, almost homey atmosphere. After spending several days in the grand but somewhat overwhelming Blairgal Castle, Edie appreciated the intimate feel of the lodge.
“I want to show you the bedrooms,” Alec said, guiding her to the stairs. He rested a hand low on her back, just above the curve of her bottom. She loved the warm, possessive feel of it, and smiled over her shoulder at him.
“I do hope you don’t have an ulterior motive in mind, Captain Gilbride,” she said. “I’m very easily shocked, you know.”
His gray gaze went smoky and dark with intent. “I would like very much to shock you, Miss Whitney. Repeatedly.”
The tone in his voice made her stomach deliciously clench and her knees go a bit shaky. She forced her mind away from the naughty images that had popped into her head.
“I’m very happy you brought me to see the lodge,” she said to distract herself. “But was there any particular reason you wished me to see it?”
He guided her down a hall and opened a door, gesturing her into a bedroom with large bay windows and a gorgeous bed with a carved, rosewood canopy. Edie walked to the windows and gazed out at the expansive view of the Highlands. When Alec came up behind her and rested his hands on her hips, she had to resist the urge to snuggle back into him. After all, she was trying to behave.
“I thought we might have this place spruced up and redecorated,” he said. “However you’d like it.”
She turned in his arms, resting her hands on his chest. “That might be rather fun, but why? Do you intend us to do a lot of hunting and shooting?”
He shook his head. “I thought it might be nice if we had a little privacy from the rest of the family. A place of our own, as it is here.” His gaze had gone serious again. “Things could be a bit challenging at Blairgal for a while. A little distance might not be amiss.”
Touched, she went up on tiptoe and kissed his chin. “You’re worrying about Fergus and your grandfather again, aren’t you? You really needn’t, you know. I can handle them.”
“I know you can, but you shouldn’t have to.”
Edie narrowed her eyes at him. Alec adopted what he no doubt thought was an innocent expression, but she wasn’t fooled. “It’s not just about me, is it? You don’t want to deal with them, either.”
He looked like he was going to deny it but then relented. “All right, guilty as charged. But truly, Edie, I think it would be best if Fergus and I weren’t tripping all over each other every blasted day. For all our sakes.”
She couldn’t help recalling her mother’s words a few days ago, when she’d challenged Edie to fight for what she wanted. “Alasdair Gilbride, I never thought of you as a coward, but perhaps I have to revisit that notion.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Then he scowled. “Do you think I’m afraid of Fergus? I would have thought this morning’s pistols-at-dawn farce should have made that amply clear.”
“Of course you’re not afraid of him. But I think you feel guilty about Fergus, just like everyone else in your blasted family. It’s ridiculous.”
He grimaced. “Well, of course we all feel guilty.”
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes. “As you so delicately put it only a short time ago, I am the cuckoo in the nest. Fergus, by all rights, should be the heir to Riddick.”
Edie whacked him on the arm. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Ouch,” he said dramatically. “Madam, have you ever considered a pugilistic career?”
“I’m being serious,” she said severely.
“So am I,” he said, sounding a bit snappish. “The truth is, Fergus and his family have every right to resent me. If I had married Donella and she had become countess, there would have been at least an element of justice done for them.”
She forced herself to remain calm. “And are you having second thoughts about that?”
He looked horrified. “What? No, of course not, you goose.” He pulled her back into his arms. “Never think that, Edie. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, I swear.”
Because she’d freed him from an obligation he’d been fighting for years? Was that the true basis of his affection for her? It was a daunting thought, which she decided to put aside for the moment until she had a chance to think it through a bit more.
She rested her cheek against his brocaded waistcoat, letting him cradle her for a few seconds longer. Then she disengaged herself from his embrace.
“As I understand it,” she said, “Scottish titles can be inherited through the female line, correct?”
He nodded.
“Then your mother was, in fact, the heiress apparent to the earldom.”
“She was, but—”
“And you are your mother’s only child, are you not?”
He began to look annoyed. “Obviously.”
“And she was married when you were born?”
“Yes,” he gritted out.
“Then I fail to see the problem.”
“It’s not that simple, and you know it,” he growled.
“In the eyes of the law it is.” When he started to object again, she held up a hand. “Alec, you were born to a woman who was married to a man who clearly and proudly claims you as his son. There is no problem, whether you wish to see that or not.”
He shook his head. “You sound just like my grandfather.”
“Then I am in good company.”
Breathing out a heavy sigh, he wandered over to the bed and sat on the mattress. She followed him. Her heart ached a bit at the brooding expression on his face. Never had she met a kinder or more worthy man, but on some level he didn’t see it in himself. His past made so much sense now�
��why he’d run away and stayed away, seeking a life of adventure and danger. Not only was he running away from the life he deserved, he’d been trying to prove himself worthy of that life in the first place.
She reached out a hand and stroked his sleek, close-cropped hair. He pulled her hand over and pressed a kiss into her palm.
“You do deserve this, you know,” she said. “All of it.”
“So does Fergus,” he said, shrugging.
“Why?”
“Because, unlike me, he’s actually earned it,” he said, sounding a bit impatient. “He’s the one who stayed, helping my grandfather and learning how to run the place. He’s the one who found solutions to problems and helped the place grow and continue to prosper. Fergus has earned the respect of everyone at Blairgal, and he’d have made a damn good earl if things had been different.”
“Perhaps, but you’ll be a better one.”
He scoffed. “How the hell do you know that?”
She grabbed him by his coat and shook. “Because I know you, you great Scottish oaf. You are strong, smart, and brave. You can do whatever you set your mind to. I’m sure everyone respects Fergus, but you’re a leader. You’ve been leading men for years, and protecting the weak and innocent from those who would harm them. All that sounds like the perfect recipe for an earl to me.”
“I was just a soldier, Edie. A spy. I fail to see how that qualifies me to run this great, bloody earldom. Quite the opposite, in fact.”
“Well, you’ll have your grandfather to help you learn, and I’m sure Fergus will eventually come around. You don’t have any plans to fire him, do you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then what is the problem?”
“Edie, you have no idea—”
She jabbed him in the chest. “Now, you listen to me. It’s time for you to stop running away. You’ve been doing it for quite long enough. It’s also time you stopped wishing that life was different and started accepting responsibility for who you are—Alasdair Gilbride, formerly of the Black Watch, now Master of Riddick. You were not only born into that title thanks to your mother, you’ve earned it. And everyone knows it, too, including Fergus, I’ll wager.” She jabbed him in the chest once more for emphasis. “Stop moping about and start doing what you were born to do. Your grandfather will help you, I’ll help you, and Fergus will help you, too.”
Halfway through her lecture, his mouth had started to curve up. “I see. You’re very wise and masterful, all of a sudden. When did you figure this all out?”
“About the same time I figured out that I needed to accept responsibility for my own actions. I’ve not been particularly good about that, either, and it’s time I was. Besides, it’s not like we have a choice. It’s that or run off together to the Orient, which really isn’t a very good plan when one thinks it through.”
His slow smile turned into a full-on grin. He wrapped both hands around her waist and then slid them up to rest just below her breasts.
“I believe you’re correct, Miss Whitney, and that means you’re about to take responsibility for your actions right this minute.”
He stood and turned in one swift movement, then lifted her up high and tossed her onto the bed. She fell back in an inelegant sprawl, her skirts twisting up around her knees and her hat flying off her head.
“What are you doing?” she squawked.
“Getting ready to make love to you,” Alec said with a seductive smile.
Edie struggled to a sitting position. “You must be joking.”
He stripped off his coat and dropped it on the floor. “Does it look like I’m joking?” he asked, casting a significant look down to the area below his waist.
Her cheeks flushed as she took in the obvious erection pushing against the fall of his breeches. Choking out a horrified laugh, she tried to flip down her skirts to cover her legs. Alec thwarted her attempts to preserve her modesty by batting her hands away and then pulling her skirts above her knees.
“Alasdair Gilbride, I will not make love to you in a strange house in the middle of the day,” she protested as he plucked off her spectacles and laid them carefully on the small table beside the bed.
“Why not?” He crawled onto the mattress, making her scramble over to give him room.
“Why not?” she echoed, doing her best to sound scandalized.
Of course, she was scandalized, but her body clearly approved of his mad idea. Her heart raced with anticipation, and she was mortified to realize she was already growing soft and damp between her thighs. She was also having difficulty formulating an argument that held any conviction.
“Well, ah, because it’s not respectable,” she spluttered as he settled onto his side, propped up on one elbow as he faced her. “We’re not even married.”
He began unbuttoning her bodice. “But we will be soon. Besides, I think that particular defense went out the window last night.”
“I suppose that’s true,” she said, feeling a tad breathless. And no wonder, since he’d just slid his hand inside her clothing. “But certainly the other reasons apply. It’s broad daylight, and we’re in a strange house.”
Alec flashed her another wicked grin as he began tugging at her stays. “It’s not a strange house at all, not to me. Besides, daylight is the best time to make love, because then I can see this.” He gave another tug, and the top of her breasts popped up above her stays, exposing her nipples.
Edie let out a whimper when he rubbed his palm across one nipple, which made it tighten into a stiff point. She had to resist the urge to press her thighs together to assuage the ache already building deep inside.
“Now that,” Alec said as he gently squeezed her nipple between forefinger and thumb, “is one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen.”
Stifling a moan, Edie made one last attempt to make him see reason. “But what if Mr. Monroe hears us? Whatever will he think?”
He shrugged, clearly only half-listening as he played with her breasts. “What difference does it make whether he hears us or not?”
“Alasdair Gilbride!”
His hand stilled on her breast, and his gaze came up to meet hers. He gave her a rueful grimace. “I’m obviously a sex-starved brute, aren’t I? But I can’t seem to help myself, not when it comes to you.”
He leaned down and gave her a long, slow kiss that had her collapsing onto the pillows. Her toes curled inside her boots.
“But you make everything better, Edie,” he murmured, pulling back to look at her. His gaze was hot and yet infinitely tender. “And when I’m with you, my life—everything I’m expected to be—finally makes sense.” He let out a ghost of a laugh. “It’s a miracle, if you ask me, given how bloody confused I’ve been. But when we’re together like this, with no one and nothing else between us, it’s just . . . perfect.”
That was exactly how she’d felt last night when he’d told her he truly wanted to marry her. Alec wasn’t prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve, but he’d shared a great deal with her today. He’d made himself vulnerable, trusting her with his deepest secrets. It was the most precious gift anyone had ever given her and not one she took lightly.
He bent down again and kissed her on the tip of her nose. “I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life. Let me make love to you, Edie Whitney. Right here, right now.”
And how could she possibly say no, since she wanted the same thing?
She wound her arms around his neck. “Well, the lodge appears to be very soundly built, so I suppose Mr. Monroe won’t hear anything, if we’re quiet.”
He huffed out a laugh as he reached a hand down to her skirts. “Oh, the walls are quite thick, I assure you. And don’t forget that I was a spy. I can be very quiet when the occasion calls for it.”
Then, so suddenly that it robbed her of breath, he swept the skirts of her habit up above her hips, exposing her mound and nest of curls. When he cupped her sex, she jerked against the pillows.
“Spread your legs, love,”
he crooned in a low, gravelly voice. “I want to see all of you.”
She swallowed then looked down at herself, sprawled so wantonly on the bed. “But I still have my boots on,” she said inanely.
He let out a wicked laugh as he gently urged her thighs open. “And your garters and stockings, too. All that’s missing is the whip.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll explain another time. Right now, I have something else in mind.”
“And that is?”
He came up on his knees and straddled her. “This,” he said, yanking her stays down another inch.
Then he dipped down and sucked a nipple into his mouth. Edie let out a moan, grabbing his shoulders as he teased the rigid bead. She shivered, fighting for air as he lavished attention on her breasts. All too soon he pulled back, and she had to stifle a protest.
But a moment later she was biting back a startled exclamation as he slid down her body and settled between her thighs, his broad shoulders pushing her wide.
She came up on her elbows to stare at him. “Alec, what are you about?”
He glanced up, and the avaricious gleam in his eyes made her heart flutter.
“I’m going to taste you, love,” he said as his fingers brushed through her curls. His voice had dropped to a growl. “And I swear you’re going to enjoy it.”
She frowned. He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought—
He swept his tongue right over her sex. She let out a startled cry and grabbed at his shoulders. “Alec!”
“Hush, love,” he murmured. She could hear the laugh in his voice. “You don’t want Mr. Monroe to hear, do you?”
“No, but—”
“Then just lie back and enjoy it.”
He didn’t give her much choice, since he spread her wide and dipped back down again, licking between her soft folds. She arched off the bed, sensation storming through her body. The vision of Alec between her legs, his mouth playing over her most intimate parts, was so forbidden and erotic that she had to fight to keep from climaxing almost immediately.
How to Marry a Royal Highlander Page 29