by Monica Burns
Did he think she'd refuse such a courageous public display of devotion? Was it possible he didn't realize how well she knew him? She knew the price he'd paid for declaring his love for her in the middle of the village square. With a small cry, she ran forward determined to reassure him that her heart was his until her last breath.
Her brothers were close behind as they took the cabers off Ewan's shoulders. The instant the weight was off him, Ewan pulled her tight against him and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. Louisa clung to him oblivious to the shouts of laughter and cheers echoing around them. As he lifted his head, he pressed his forehead against hers.
"You have a wicked temper, mo ghràdh."
"It's no more than your stubborn nature, my lord, but I am sorry for allowing my pettiness to cause you more pain," she whispered as her hand caressed his scarred face.
"It's a price I was willing to pay to prove how much I love you. I'll go to the depths of hell for you, mo leannan."
"I love you, Ewan," she said huskily as he kissed her again. As he lifted his head, the desperation she'd seen in his gaze a few seconds ago flitted over his face as he inhaled and exhaled a sharp breath.
"And I hope you will say that again after we speak in private, mo ghràdh."
Startled by the bewildering remark, Louisa drew in a sharp breath of alarm. Before she could question him, three boys surrounded them whooping and cheering. Laughing at their excitement, Louisa kissed the three of them and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ewan ruffle Ross's hair. Seconds later the rest of the Rockwood clan encircled them.
The hours that followed were a blur except for one thing—her hand caught snugly in Ewan's strong grip. At different intervals their hands were pulled apart, but Ewan always found hers a moment later. Despite his obvious determination to keep her hand locked in his, it was impossible not to sense the underlying tension running just beneath the surface.
It surprised her that he'd followed the tradition of the Speerin task, but had not given her a Luckenbooth brooch, another centuries old tradition. Just as the Speerin task declared the intention of a marriage proposal, the brooch was a token signifying the marriage offer had been accepted. His wonderful and heroic declaration of his love was more than enough for her, but his failure to offer the jewelry still puzzled her.
While it was quite possible he wanted to present her with a brooch in private, as the new year rapidly approached, she began to realize Ewan hadn't mentioned marriage at all. It was also becoming painfully obvious that he was avoiding the matter at all. Whenever someone mentioned the subject, he found a way to dodge the question or redirected the conversation.
Then there was the air of desperation she'd sensed in him when he'd faced her with two cabers on his shoulders. It hadn't disappeared. He'd simply hidden it from her. Whenever she suddenly turned her head and caught him watching her, the brief glimpse of anguish on his beautiful warrior features frightened her. The bleakness would vanish as if it never existed, but she knew it was there beneath the surface.
It became a worrisome dread that nibbled at her in small bits. But every time he smiled or refused to let her hand leave his, the sense of calamity swirling the fringes of her happiness retreated. As the midnight hour drew near, the excitement of the crowd grew. The moment the church bells rang out into the cold, crisp night, Ewan's hard body pressed into hers from behind.
The warmth of him melted into her, and she reveled in the joy and happiness of the moment. Ross and Charlie stood in front of them, and as her hands came to rest on their shoulders, the two boys look up and grinned. Wills had pushed his way into Ewan's side and gently pulled Ewan's artificial arm over his small shoulders. As he grinned up at them, Louisa's heart swelled with happiness. Sebastian had been right, the new century was upon them, and her future was brighter than she'd ever dreamed.
§ § §
Ewan dragged in a deep breath as he continued to stare into the fire waiting for Louisa to say something now that the truth was out in the open. The silence that greeted him gnawed at him like an angry beast feeding on its young.
When everyone had returned to the abbey after the Hogmanay ceilidh, Louisa's family had quickly ensured their privacy. Her sisters had ushered the children upstairs, while the men had clapped him on the back as they'd directed him into the salon where Louisa had taken a seat at the fire.
The look of trepidation on her beautiful face as she'd looked up at him had made his gut twist viciously. Somehow he'd managed to gather his courage for the second time that night and began telling her the squalid story of his birth. The entire time he spoke, she'd sat quietly. There had been no rustle of skirts or gasps of surprise. It was a devastating quiet that had made it impossible to look at her.
Instead, he'd kept his back to her the entire time he spoke. Telling her brother yesterday had been humiliating, but this was a trial by fire. It didn't matter whether Melton believed he was doing the right thing or not by keeping a title that wasn't really his. It was what Louisa thought that mattered.
The silence deepened as he waited for her to say something. When she didn't speak, Ewan experienced a painful gnawing at his insides. Every tick of the mantle clock in front of him emphasized one more step toward the reality that he had lost her. He was about to turn and confront her when he heard the rustle of her skirts as she stood up.
Glancing over his shoulder, he watched her walk to the sideboard to pour more than two fingers of whiskey into a glass, which she proceeded to drink in one gulp. Uncertainty barreled through him. This wasn't the reaction he'd expected. Actually, he'd not known what to expect, but if he had, it would certainly not be the sight of Louisa tossing liquor down her throat.
Ewan wasn't surprised when she coughed violently after swallowing the liquor. It was the reaction of someone unaccustomed to the drink. She kept her back to him, her head bent as if studying the bottles on the sideboard. Tension held her rigid, but he thought he saw a tremor shudder through her as continued to keep her back to him.
"And that's," she choked out as she coughed again. "And that's why you sent me away from Argaty Keep? From you? You used my deception to send me away because you learned you were a bastard?"
Every one of Ewan's muscles were pulled taut until he ached as if someone had sewn him up for a second time in little more than a week. The restrained anger in her voice offered up an explanation for her downing a glass full of whiskey. He could only assume the drink had been an effort to calm herself before speaking.
"Yes," he said tersely. "It was hard enough to believe I had anything to offer you before I knew I wasn't the true Earl of Argaty. After I learned the truth, even that was gone."
In a sharp gesture, she slammed the empty glass down on top of the sideboard. It rent the air with a loud, vicious crack as she whirled around. Anger had sent color flaring high in her cheeks, while her hazel eyes flashed with outrage. Ewan dragged in a harsh breath at how beautiful she was in the firelight.
She didn't move for a moment, she simply glared at him from across the room. Hands pressed deep into her sweetly curved, full hips, Louisa began to close the distance between them in slow, measured steps.
"You are the most annoying, insufferable, beastly man I have ever met," she sputtered with a fiery anger that accentuated her Scottish heritage. "Do you think so little of me that you believed I would actually care who your parents are?"
"Damn it, Louisa, I didn’t—"
"I am not finished," she snapped as she stepped forward and jabbed her finger into his chest. "I didn't fall in love with a title, Lord Argaty. I fell in love with a man who thinks no one can see past his physical wounds. But, I did. I saw beneath your scars, pain, and ill-tempered manner.
"I saw you for the strong, brave, honorable, caring man you are. A man who, despite his best efforts to be as curmudgeonly as possible, has the heart of a lion. That's the man I fell in love with, Ewan Colquhoun. I don't want any other man except him, and if you think telling me you're a bastard and not
the true Earl of Argaty makes me think—"
With a quiet noise of frustration, Ewan caught her by the arm and tugged her into his chest. The moment his mouth captured hers, a sigh of surrender escaped her as she parted her lips beneath his. Soft and pliable against his hard, angular body, the warmth of her pressed its way through him and heated his blood.
Sweet as honey, he plundered her mouth as if in doing so he could possess every inch of her. The fervor of her response tugged a groan from him, and his cock hardened with a demand for satisfaction he knew would go unanswered for a little while longer. Before he lost control of his senses completely, he lifted his head. An incoherent protest passed her lips, and she leaned into him to nibble at the side of his neck.
"Christ Jesus, Louisa," he choked out as her mouth worked its way to the base of his throat.
She ignored his protest and slid her hand down the front of him to just above his erection. With a deep groan of regret, Ewan winced as he used his artificial hand in conjunction with his good one to pin hers behind her back. Louisa frowned up at him in frustration, and he bent his head to press his forehead against hers.
"God help me, mo leannan, you have no idea how difficult it is not to take you here and now," he rasped. "But I want more than a few seconds of pleasure. I want to be able to worship your body in every way possible, and take my time doing it. Something I can't do here in your aunt's salon."
"Then I'll come to you," she whispered. "I know someone has asked Mrs. MacGregor to prepare a room for you."
"Absolutely not," he growled.
"The abbey has its own hidden corridors, and I won't be seen." Her mischievous expression dissolved into one of tenderness as she gently pulled free of his grasp and cupped his face with her hands. "I've missed you. I want to be with you."
"And I want to make sure your brothers don't tar and feather me or worse, prevent you from marrying me," he bit out. His words made her draw in a sharp breath as her beautiful hazel eyes grew luminous with tears. Fear lunged through him. "Do you not want to marry me, mo ghràdh?"
"Of course I do, you daft man," she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck and feathered his face with soft kisses. "But it's the first time you've actually mentioned it."
"Is your memory so short you've forgotten me carrying two cabers on my shoulders into the village square this evening and shouting out I love you in front of the entire county?" He glared down at her. "A far from easy task I might add."
"I know that my love," she whispered as she kissed him again. "I know what it cost you to walk across that square. But when you'd not said anything…"
"I wanted you to know the complete truth before I asked you to be my wife. After all, you'll be contributing to a fraud by marrying me." At his reply, she pushed herself away from him to fold her arms across her full, lush breasts and glare at him.
"You truly are an exasperating and beastly man." Her irritation caused him to swallow a chuckle.
"Does that mean you intend to refuse the beast of Argaty Keep?" he asked softly.
Ewan reached into his pocket and pulled out the Luckenbooth brooch his mother had given him earlier in the day. It had been made for her by his father, despite knowing they would never be together. The brooch was made of two hearts intertwined around a stag and doe with a thistle nestled inside each heart, while a delicate crown rested on top of the two hearts. Despite the absence of jewels, the simplicity of the brooch made it all the more beautiful. Louisa released a small gasp of pleasure as he opened his palm and offered her the Luckenbooth token.
Slowly taking the brooch from him, Louisa stared at it for a moment then quickly pinned it to her dress. With a soft, gentle caress of the silver hearts, her gaze met his again, and the love shining in her eyes drew the air from his lungs.
"No, I'll not refuse the beast of Argaty Keep," she whispered. "I'll not refuse my beastly earl."
Epilogue
Christmas Day 1913
The soft light of dawn had begun to push its way through the curtains of Ewan's and Louisa's room at Callendar Abbey as Ewan awakened. Beside him, Louisa murmured something in her sleep. As was his habit most mornings, he turned over onto his side to study his wife's lovely face. The night he'd found her on the moor had changed his life in ways he'd never dreamed possible.
She was an angel with a fiery passion for life and a lioness when it came to protecting those she loved. Ewan gently brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, and in her sleep, she batted his hand away as if a fly was buzzing around her head. A smile curved his lips, and he swallowed a laugh as his forefinger brushed its way down across her cheek. She slapped at his hand and opened her eyes to glare at him.
"You had better have an excellent reason for waking your wife in the middle of the night, my beastly Lord Argaty." Her prickly tone was filled with affectionate irritation.
"It's actually dawn, mo ghràdh," he murmured. Clearly still annoyed at having been awakened, she lifted her head to look over his shoulder. She glared at the gentle light growing brighter by the minute then with a loud sigh of resignation flopped back into her pillows. "I shouldn't have allowed Percy to goad me into playing that last game of cribbage."
"I seem to recall urging you to come to bed with me, mo leannan. And from your contrary mood, I'm assuming you lost." His obvious amusement made her scowl at him as she closed her eyes again.
"You enjoy depriving me of sleep, don't you?" she grumbled.
"In instances such as these I do," he said with a chuckle.
"One of these days, I'm going to be the one who interrupts your sleep."
The peevish note in her voice made him snort with laughter. She immediately responded to his amusement by calling him an unflattering name beneath her breath, and he laughed again. Eyes still closed, her lovely mouth twisted in a line of annoyance.
"It's far too early in the morning to be up and about."
"Did I say anything about leaving our bed?" he teased as he leaned forward to nibble at her shoulder. The corners of her mouth tipped upward slightly as her bristly tone became soft and tender.
"Are you trying to seduce me, Lord Argaty?"
"I'm the one who's been seduced, mo leannan," he whispered against her silky skin. "I was lost the moment you stormed into my study that first time."
"I did not storm into your study," she huffed.
"Aye, but you did, lass." Ewan abraded the skin of her shoulder with his teeth. "You weren't intimidated by me in the least, and I remember wanting to kiss you to see if you tasted as fiery and passionate as you sounded."
"And was your curiosity ever satisfied?" she murmured as she slowly opened her eyes and reached up to caress the scarred side of his face.
"Every day since you agreed to marry the beast of Argaty."
"And should I help satisfy your curiosity once more?"
An alluring smile curved her beautiful mouth as her hand glided across his chest in a leisurely fashion. The sultry look in her hazel eyes made Ewan's heart slam into his chest. God, how he loved this woman. Her hand slid up around his neck as she pulled him downward to brush her mouth over his in a sweet, tender kiss that held the same promise of love she'd pledged to him the day they were married.
She moved against him until the warmth of her burrowed its way into his body. With an eagerness that betrayed her growing passion, lushly curved legs tangled with his as he rolled her onto her back and pressed her deep into the mattress. His mouth trailed a lazy path down her throat to her breast. The moment his tongue swirled around a stiff peak, she inhaled a sharp breath. The sound made him smile slightly as he nipped at the rigid tip. Lifting his head, his smile broadened at the frustration tightening her lips into a small pout.
"First you wake me at an ungodly hour, then in the middle of seducing me you stop," she said with exasperation. "Are you deliberately trying to irritate your wife this morning, my beastly earl?"
"I can assure you, Lady Argaty, I have no intention of ending this seduction," he said wit
h a smile as he shifted his body slightly to illustrate his arousal. His heart swelled with emotion as he shook his head. "No, mo ghràdh, I simply wanted to say how much I love you."
The scowl on her face vanished at his words. Hazel eyes shining with love, she cupped his face in her hands, and her lips moved in a silent reply as he lowered his head to kiss her deeply. When he lifted his head, she uttered a sigh of what he knew was the same profound level of happiness he felt. Her gaze met his for a moment, before her hips shifted beneath his suggestively, and she slid her hand between them to caress his cock. He inhaled a sharp breath, and a familiar smile curved her mouth. It was filled with the mischief he loved so dearly about her and yet despaired of whenever she did something impulsive.
"Stop teasing your wife, my beastly Lord Argaty," she whispered with a smile. "She loves you far more than she can ever say, but there are limits to her patience when it comes to satisfying your curiosity."
The heat of her hand warmed his skin as she ran her fingertip along the hard length of him. It was an intoxicating caress that tugged a quiet groan from him as she opened herself up to him. The familiar fragrance of roses wafted up off her skin to mix with the subtle scent of desire. It sent his heart slamming into his chest as her fingers pressed deep in his hips with a silent demand for his possession.
Not about to deny her any longer, he thrust his body into hers with a powerful stroke. She gasped his name then met him stroke for stroke as their passion grew in strength until it was spent in a powerful completion. As he throbbed inside her, Ewan buried his face in the side of her neck his harsh, ragged breaths equaling hers.
Neither of them moved for several moments as they reveled in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Silence had never truly been silence between them. Whether with a small touch or a glance, they always knew what the other was thinking. When he pulled away from her to lie on his back, she curled up into his side with one leg draped over his.