Page 18 of The Cruel Highlander (From Enemies to Marriage #3)

CHAPTER 17

Aiden stood there holding Valorie, feeling like nothing would ever be the same again. He’d felt a cataclysmic shift watching her shatter beautifully in his arms. When Aiden fled the castle this evening, he never expected to end up here, but he would be forever grateful that he got to experience that moment with Valorie. And that it was her first of the kind.

The moment Aiden spotted Valorie in the garden; he was crazed. The adrenaline from the near fight at the tavern was still pumping through him. And that, combined with the flimsy piece of material Valorie called a nightgown, was enough to turn him practically feral.

Aiden needed to hear from her lips that she was his. He needed to hear her begging for him, and only him, to bring her over the peak for the first time. And it had been glorious.

Valorie in the moonlight, crying out for him, was something out of a fantasy. In a million dreams and daydreams, Aiden could never conjure up something that perfect. Aiden only hoped he would be so lucky to see Valorie like that again and to be the one who brought her to that ecstasy. He would happily bring her pleasure like that every day if she let him.

Aiden was forever enraptured by the lass. They were connected now in a way that Aiden didn’t think he could ever disentangle from. The woman in his arms was irreparably a part of him, no matter what happened with their agreement.

Cradling Valorie’s head against his chest, Aiden stroked her hair softly. Valorie let out a content sigh as she relaxed into him. That sound topped any other that he’d ever heard the lass make — even better than her laughter or the sweet sounds she’d made while he took her over the edge. That sound meant true comfort and ease.

There was no other place Aiden wanted to be…ever.

A soft bark interrupted the moment, and Willow jumped up on their legs, excitedly. Valorie started laughing in his arms, and Aiden couldn’t help but join in.

The puppy seemed to be carrying something in her mouth, but Aiden couldn’t tell what it was out here in the dark garden. Still stroking Valorie’s hair, he said softly to her, “Let’s head back inside for some light, so we can see what the puppy has brought us.”

Valorie responded with a hum in the affirmative and drew herself away from Aiden. Immediately, he missed having her in his arms, but Aiden forced himself to lead them all back to his castle. Their castle.

Standing back in the kitchens with Valorie and Willow, Aiden took another look and saw the puppy had seemingly brought them a note.

What is this? Aiden wondered. As he began to read, his face scrunched up in anger. This note, or more accurately this threat, was not what Aiden was expecting to find.

“What does it say?” Valorie asked, bending down to scratch Willow behind the ears.

“If ye marry her, ye’re both dead,” Aiden read aloud, unsuccessfully containing the rage in his voice. Who could have possibly sent them a note like this? And how did they get so close as to put it in the dog’s mouth?

While Aiden was otherwise distracted… someone had managed to get on to his castle grounds and threaten Valorie. Aiden felt his body tightening in fear at the thought of something happening to her. Not now, they couldn’t have her now.

This was everything Aiden had feared from the beginning. He let himself get close to the lass only for someone to try to rip her away. She was his! Aiden wanted to roar, but any anger he was feeling was only masking the fear that ate away at him.

Aiden was in a spiral of fear and what ifs, but Valorie just laughed bitterly, “It’s a good thing we arenae gettin’ married then.”

Aiden shook his head harshly to remove that thought; he couldn’t think about why that thought was sending him deeper into a spiral right now.

It’s what he wanted from the beginning, but now, with Valorie in his castle and after having her in his arms, Aiden did not want to think about her leaving. That felt like it was no longer an option. Not after everything in the garden.

Besides, they had other things to worry about right now. So, Aiden shook his head once more to clear those thoughts fully. Once the threat was removed, he could worry about what everything with Valorie meant. Now was the time to prove he really could protect the lass.

“Who would send somethin’ like this?” Aiden asked aloud, but Valorie merely shrugged.

Aiden thought through major players in the Highlands, but no one was fitting in his mind. He had his enemies sure, but this felt personal towards Valorie — why else would it have been phrased that way, ‘if ye marry her…’

Whoever it was needed to have been nearby — Suddenly, Aiden remembered Laird Campbell from the pub tonight. The old drunk had seemed happy for him and Valorie, but could it have been him?

He certainly had the means to follow Aiden home from the tavern to deliver this threat. And that night on the balcony, he made it clear he had some kind of twisted interest in Aiden’s bride.

“What about Laird Campbell? I saw him at the pub tonight. He might have followed me here,” Aiden thought aloud.

Valorie shook her head no before saying, “Then there’s nay problem; he cannae hurt ye or yer clan.”

That didn’t mean it wasn’t him. All Valorie was saying was Laird Campbell wasn’t someone to worry about. Unfortunately, worrying about things was one of Aiden’s greatest strengths.

So, until he had Laird Campbell standing before him, Aiden would be worrying. It had to be him though; it was too coincidental that Laird Campbell had been at the tavern tonight.

Was that man far more cunning that Aiden was giving him credit for? Maybe the congratulations and the false apology were all to throw Aiden off suspecting him.

If so, maybe there was something to be concerned about here. If he had managed to get that close to Aiden to deliver this threat, then this man was capable of anything.

Aiden would certainly be spending the night working on this, but Valorie did not need to. He looked over at the lass as she released a big yawn. A bit of smug pride interjected Aiden’s concern for a moment as he thought about the fact that he was the one who tired her out like that.

“Go to sleep lass; I’ll take care of this, whatever it is.” Valorie stared at him for several long moments, opening and closing her mouth a few times with thoughts that never made their way out. With just a small nod in his direction, she left the kitchen and made her way to her bedchambers.

Aiden had to forcefully stop himself from asking her to go to his rooms instead. He wanted her somewhere that he could check on her tonight, and selfishly, he just wanted her in his bed. But more than all of that, Aiden wished for her to be comfortable, so he said nothing.

To Aiden’s surprise, Willow did not follow the lass upstairs. There wasn’t a time over the last few days that Aiden could remember seeing the pup without Valorie close behind or leading her along.

But tonight, the dog looked up at Aiden with big puppy eyes and whined. Carefully, with no sudden movements, Aiden reached down and picked up the animal.

Almost immediately, the little thing sighed happily, no teeth or claws to be found. Aiden gently carried her into his study with him, and as he took a seat at his desk, he placed Willow on his lap.

Even more pleased with this position, the puppy licked Aiden’s hands excitedly, wagging her tail. And within no time at all, Willow had fallen asleep in his lap. Her little head was resting against his leg, and Aiden could feel her soft breaths on his thigh.

“Maybe yer nae so bad,” Aiden whispered, softly stroking Willow’s fur.

* * *

Valorie once again found herself in Aiden’s castle late at night, unable to sleep. After she had left Aiden and Willow in the kitchens, Valorie had made her way to her bedchambers alone. She stripped off the now filthy and tattered nightgown and cleaned the remnants of her passion off of her.

Down in the kitchens, Valorie was so close to telling Aiden the truth since she was finally being honest with herself. But instead, she ran from that conversation like a coward.

All her life, she envisioned herself as brave, an adventurer, someone who broke the norms of highland society, but when it came down to it, she was just scared. Scared that Aiden didn’t return her feelings, scared that she would never feel the same way about anyone else.

Being held in Aiden’s arms after he brought her that earth-shattering pleasure, Valorie could not stop thinking about her life with Aiden. She was starting to think she wanted more than a limited betrothal from him. She was starting to think she wanted everything. And she had the opportunity to tell him. But instead, she’d made her bitter snide remark and left the room.

Now, alone, without even Willow to comfort her, Valorie kept reliving every moment of their evening together. The fight, the pleasure, the gentle way Aiden held her against him and softly played with her hair. It all repeated in Valorie’s mind.

The contrast between that gentleness and the intense way he brought her over the edge or the harsh way she had seen him handle Laird Campbell that first night was part of what made him Aiden.

Someone who could just as easily be soft and gentle as he could fierce and strong, Valorie had seen so many sides of Aiden… and alone in her bedchambers, she could admit that she liked them all.

The dreams Valorie had for her life were still important and true, but she found she could no longer picture traveling the world or being free without Aiden by her side. What would be the point of all that if he wasn’t there with her? Not having Aiden was starting to feel like the true cage.

Besides, Valorie knew for certain she’d never find another man anywhere who made her feel like Aiden did. And she didn’t just mean the pleasure — it was all of him. The way he challenged her and pushed her to be the very best version of herself. The way he could seemingly read every expression on her face or scheme in her mind. How he made her smile just by being nearby.

And of course, the way Valorie was still so achingly desperate for him.

Aiden could bring her over the edge like that every day, and Valorie would still want more of him. She wanted him now — only hours after the garden, Valorie still imagined his hands on her body. And his mouth, oh God, that mouth against her skin. Her lips, her neck, her chest — everywhere he put his mouth tonight was permanently seared in Valorie’s mind.

Valorie would not have been surprised to find a brand on her skin the way she could remember every detail of where he touched her. She would remember those spots in her mind forever, she was sure of it. Even when this fake betrothal was up, and she was sent back home, she would still be marked by Aiden.

That was the crux of the issue as she wrestled to fall asleep. Valorie was forever changed by her time with Aiden. What would it be like when she tried to fit this new version of herself back into her old life? Would she even fit anymore?

Beyond Aiden, there was the strange note to consider. To be fair, in the mess of her thoughts, this one got very little attention. It seemed to Valorie an idle threat from someone who was just trying to scare them. But was it possible that someone was trying to hurt Aiden again? Because that idea was unacceptable to Valorie.

At some point, with all of these thoughts flying through her head, Valorie fell into a fitful slumber. She wrestled with the blankets all night, waking up a number of times and struggling to fall back asleep with each one.

When the dawn finally came through the curtains this morning, Valorie was particularly disoriented. It felt like her mind had never stopped running, even when it was feigning sleep. All her thoughts and concerns held on to her while she was unconscious, and she slept little all night.

Even now, groggy and exhausted, Valorie’s mind still apparently had the energy to think. Her young maid came into the room quietly and helped Valorie dress in a simple sheath dress for the morning, but there was only so much that could be done for the state of her hair and the bags under her eyes.

As Valorie tried to decide what was next for her day and her life, she heard a soft knock at her door. She rose slowly from the sitting room chair she was slumped in and made her way to the door. There on the other side of the door was the source of her racing thoughts. Aiden.

* * *

“Val,” Aiden paused, probably taking in Valorie’s disheveled morning look. “Would ye like to have breakfast with me?” Aiden asked holding out a hand to her and seeming shy for the first time since she’d known him.

For a few blissful moments as she looked at Aiden’s small smile, all the worries from the night before quieted. “I would love to,” Valorie said back with a smile. Taking Aiden’s offered hand, they walked hand-in-hand down to the dining rooms.

The dining room was set once again, for breakfast this time. Had it really only been last night that Valorie had stormed out of here in anger? The changes in the way she felt didn’t make sense in less than one day’s time, but she knew they were true. Although, if Valorie was continuing to be honest with herself, her feelings had started to change long before last night.

Aiden led them back to the same seats as dinner but continued to hold on to her hand, lightly stroking the top of it with his thumb. It was… nice, domestic, and Valorie was still smiling. She could envision a million mornings like this, just being together and happy.

Before any food was brought out, one of the servants entered the room warily and waved Aiden over. With a grin and a longing look, Aiden took his hand back and walked over to the servant.

The servant whispered something into Aiden’s ear and gave him a letter. Valorie watched as Aiden’s face turned horrified as he looked over the letter. Was it another threat?! With a flare of panic in Valorie’s direction, Aiden made his way back to the table.

“What is it, Aiden?” Valorie asked. He didn’t say anything until he was sitting back down again with Valorie’s hand in his.

“Lass, a coach has arrived to take ye back to yer faither’s castle.” Another long pause. “He has fallen severely ill,” Aiden finished, looking at her with concern.

Valorie’s mind was blank after those words came out of Aiden’s mouth. Something between her ears hearing the words and her mind processing them was off because Aiden wasn’t making any sense. Her father was fine! He’d been perfectly healthy only days ago! Valorie shook her head fiercely; no, that couldn’t be true.

“Lass, there was a letter from yer maither,” Aiden said holding the letter still in his hands, “and they want ye to come home immediately.”

Valorie ripped her hand out of Aiden’s, instantly missing his warmth, and raced back to her bedchambers to pack her things. If her father was ill, she needed to be home. Everything with Aiden would just have to wait. They had at least a year together, after all.