Page 23 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Bride

CHAPTER 23

The following day, Maisie rose late, having slept for much of the morning. Her leg felt better and ached a good deal less than it had.

She expected to find someone else guarding her door, but she was greeted by Harris’s broad smile when she ventured out.

Jean had been most attentive that morning, fussing over the best gown for her injury. She had worn fewer underclothes that left less weight against it.

She felt refreshed and anxious to find James.

“Are ye wishin’ to head downstairs, m’lady?” Harris asked.

“Have ye had any sleep at all?” she asked, concerned for him.

“Aye, m’lady, and Jean has been bringin’ me strong tea through the night and day. I am all right.”

Maisie smiled. She knew Harris would be an excellent match for her maid, but she was unsure how to broach the conversation. She took Harris’s arm as he escorted her downstairs.

“What is all the commotion?” Maisie asked on their way down the stairs. It seemed that half the staff were bustling back and forth in a frenzy before her.

“The laird is hostin’ a dinner in yer honor, m’lady,” Harris said as Maisie saw Mrs. Murray rushing toward her, looking deeply worried.

“M’lady, ye shouldnae be up and about yet, surely!” she said, fussing over Maisie until she laughed and put her hand on the woman’s arm.

“I am all right, Mrs. Murray, thank ye for all yer concern. Is there really to be a dinner?”

“Aye, m’lady,” she said, looking excited. “Cook and I discussed it, as ye were under the weather, and I remember ye saying ye liked lamb, so that is what we will serve as the centerpiece.”

“But what is it in aid of?” she asked, puzzled.

“A celebration of yer recovery, m’lady. Laird MacLennan has invited all the leadin’ families and the council for the event.”

Maisie kept her smile in place, but her mind was working feverishly. What was James planning?

“Is there anythin’ I can dae to help?” she asked, feeling guilty that it had all fallen to her faithful housekeeper.

“Heavens nae, child! Ye must rest. There will be plenty of dinners for ye to organize in the future when ye are nae hobblin’ about all over the house,” she said cheerily and gave Maisie a wink as she went back to her duties.

“I have never seen anyone get into Mrs. Murray’s good graces so quickly,” said Harris with a note of awe in his voice. “She wouldnae speak to me for three weeks when I arrived because I changed the schedule of the footman to suit me trainin’ rounds.”

Maisie chuckled as he led her down the steps, and they headed out into the gardens.

It was early evening, and dinner was scheduled for the following night. Maisie was eager to see James, check that he had gotten some sleep the night before, and find out what he was up to.

I am getting used to havin’ his arms around me at night, she thought guiltily. I shouldnae be gettin’ used to anythin’ when it comes to James MacLennan.

They found him standing with a group of guards, giving them their orders. Harris looked a little put out momentarily and Maisie squeezed his arm.

“I am sure he would have asked ye to arrange things if ye hadnae been guardin’ me door.”

Harris laughed. “Am I that transparent, m’lady?”

“A little,” she said fondly.

James turned, and his eyes were all concerned as he spotted her; Harris and James quickly shifted positions, and Harris began barking orders at the guards.

James took her arm gently and led her around the side of the castle slowly to keep the weight from her leg. They walked past the hedge maze and out through a low arch she had not seen before.

Inside, she found herself in a fairy garden, with roses and peonies bobbing in the evening light, the green grass and high walls making it soft and quiet and secluded.

She sighed as James led her to a bench for her to rest.

“What’s all this about a dinner in me honor?” she asked.

“I thought we should celebrate yer recovery,” he said, a little too quickly.

Maisie raised her eyebrows. “Ye should be better at lyin’ than that, James. I could have seen that one in me sleep.”

James shook his head, his jaw clenching again and she took his hand gently in hers.

“I ken ye are worried, but ye can talk to me. Ye cannae dae it all yerself.”

He relaxed a fraction and sat beside her, stroking her palm.

“It is someone close to me,” he said angrily. “I am sure of it. The man who attacked ye confirmed as much. The dinner will weed him out where I can observe them all together. I’ll find the blaggard and we can be rid of him, and dae as we planned.”

Living separate lives and making a bairn together but nothin’ else.

Maisie pursed her lips, not willing to bring up her unhappiness with their original agreement just now. She didn’t want the fragile alliance between them to shatter in the face of yet another argument.

More than anything, she wanted to remove the heavy frown from his face and give some lightness to his day. He had shaved that morning, and the stubble on his jaw had disappeared. He looked impossibly handsome, and she examined his face greedily.

He glanced over at her, smirking as he caught her staring.

“What is it, lass?”

“Ye are very concerned for me wellbeing, and angry that I was hurt, but now I am sat beside ye, yer attention is elsewhere.”

“Och,” he said, his lips kicking up at the corners again. “I am sorry, lass.”

“Will I be allowed to sleep in yer rooms again tonight?” she asked. She almost confessed that she liked having his arms around her but stopped herself at the last moment.

His thumb moved from her palm to her wrist.

“Is this ye tellin’ me ye will dispense with yer foolish rule?”

“Ye mean that we must sleep in separate rooms?”

“Aye,” he said, leaning toward her. “That one.”

She shuddered in his arms as he began to kiss her neck, her eyes darting back to the entrance to their little garden.

“Someone will see!” she said in a scandalized whisper.

“No one disturbs the laird and lady unless they are invited, and there are high walls about us, me lady. All ye’ll have to dae is nae scream too much. I hear it is very pleasurable to have grass against yer skin.”

“Och, ye are a wicked man,” she said with a sigh as he gently pulled her from the bench, lowering her down to the floor as she stared up at him.

He slowly came down to rest over her. He kept one hand at her waist while the other worked into her hair. Her hands cupped his head, bringing him closer as they kissed urgently. There was no longer any uncertainty for Maisie. She wanted him and he was going to claim her just as he promised.

James could feel his skin itching with the need to have her. He was becoming acquainted with the fire that burned through him when Maisie was close, and this occasion was no different.

Their lips caressed each other, finding a rhythm of give and take. They exchanged all the emotions they had bottled up for weeks. His lips showed her devotion and a need to care for her, a need for him to have her, want her, and need her in return.

She moaned, and her legs spread in invitation.

He still wanted to take things slowly, not rushing into anything, but his knee took up the space she gave him. He growled and rocked into her. His hand slid around to the small of her back and lifted her to meet him, letting her feel how eager he was to please her.

Maisie gasped at the contact. He continued to kiss and suck at her bottom lip, so plump and pert.

“Och, James,” she moaned, running her hands through his hair.

He chuckled. “Ye like that?” he teased, his lips hovering on hers.

She nodded, forcing his head back down so they could kiss again. She was now kissing him so eagerly that she was nipping him. He tested licking the inside of her mouth, and by the way she moaned in response, he knew she enjoyed it. The second time, she sucked on it, so he rewarded her with a small thrust.

Maisie was melting in his arms, so delectably that he was not sure he would be able to stop himself from going too far. But he wanted to treat her carefully, as precious as she was.

She writhed upward beneath him, and he felt a rush of arousal, making him ache painfully.

“Patience,” he said, as much to himself as to her, bringing his hand up to unlace her bodice.

His eyes tracked the fabric as it unpeeled from her piece by piece. He discovered that she was only wearing a simple undergarment.

“I dinnae wish to hurt ye,” he said, his fingers skimming over the edge of the bandage.

“I will be all right. I just need to be on my back,” she flushed furiously as she realized what she had said, and he grinned down at her.

“I shall have to wait to watch ye ride me then, lass,” he growled, and her fingers flexed against his shoulders as he pulled her undergarment away and exposed her perfect breasts to his hungry eyes.

He licked at each peak. Teasing her with his teeth to see her reaction, she almost bent double at the sensations he provoked in her.

“They’re perfect,” he said right against her skin.

Maisie did not know if she could blush even deeper, but her cheek—and elsewhere—were growing hotter by the moment.

She was too stunned to speak, so she just cast her head back to stare at the sky above their heads. He continued to worship her breasts, and his fingers began to undo the lace of her skirts. That was a simple knot, and then he was pushing them down past her thighs before kicking them away, careful of the bandage around her thigh.

James turned his head in and kissed the side of her knee. His lips lingered there, wet and warm against the cool air.

He worked his way up her thigh, dotting kisses along its path. Each kiss was long, and he even sucked at the skin, making the surrounding skin pucker up with goose flesh. She bit her lip, trying to withstand the growing sensation in her loins, the urgency and the hunger that threatened to take over her being.

The thin fabric of her shift rippled as he pushed it all the way up to the crease of her thighs, just barely preserving her modesty. His mouth was inches away. He sucked more intensely than he had anywhere else on her thigh, nursing the skin.

He resumed kissing her inner thigh, but now his attention moved inward. She gasped sharply as he buried his face in her mound. She whimpered when his tongue darted forth, creating a burst of pleasure. Her hands grasped for him, not sure if she wanted him to stop or keep going.

James chuckled, which only increased the vibrations as his tongue lapped at her nub. She moaned and arched into his affection, seeking more of it. He pushed her thighs apart and bobbed his head as he suckled her.

Maisie’s core grew tight, and her mind grew hazy. It was hard to stay grounded in reality. A cord of desire and longing wove itself between them, lining them up together so they beat in time.

She gripped the grass beneath her in an attempt to keep herself from moving too violently, overcome with the pleasure that spread out from her center. Just when she expected the intensity to peak and her heart to spill out of her chest, he lessened the pressure, keeping her on the edge of release.

He leaned back looking down at her and his eyes were so dark with lust she caught her breath.

“Are ye sure, lass? We can wait until we’re back in me bed and I’ll have ye there.”

“Nae,” she said quietly. “I want ye here, just as long as nae one is watchin’ us.”

He looked up and about them, smiling when he looked back at her.

“I’ll keep ye safe, Maisie,” and then he leaned over her, claiming her mouth in a short kiss before he pulled back and stood up, enjoying her eyes on him as he slowly stripped away his clothes.

“I cannae believe I restrained meself so long. Look at ye, lass, ye’re perfection itself.”

Maisie covered her face with her hands at his praise, unsure what to say or how to respond. She pulled them free as she felt his gloriously naked body cover hers, and the hard evidence of his arousal push against her.

“How did ye get undressed so fast?” she asked as he bit at her jaw.

“I was motivated to hurry,” he said lightly. He leaned back again, stroking himself, his eyes roaming all over her body, just as hers were to him. She had never seen a more beautiful man; it was as though he were sculpted from granite.

“Ye are sure?” he asked again.

She nodded, and he leaned over her, his hands bracketing either side of her as he lined himself up with her entrance and slowly pushed inside.

She gripped his forearms as she felt the steady, blunt push into her.

“Breathe, lass, try to relax for me.”

She took in a shuddering breath, and as he guided her through it, he slowly eased into her. The sensation was painful at first, and then, as his skin met hers, he waited until she was able to let out a long sigh.

“All right?”

She nodded. “Aye.”

“We willnae have nae sheets to prove it this time either,” he said, and Maisie couldn’t help a laugh as he pulled out slowly and then rocked his hips into her.

Her head fell back, and she moaned as his thick length pushed into her over and over. Slowly, he picked up a rhythm of steady thrusts, and the pleasure returned to overwhelm her.

She looked down at him, his eyes on her breasts that jolted upward every time he thrust into her, the movements getting harsher and stronger every time until she was groaning at every one of them.

“Hush, lass, or ye’ll bring the staff runnin’,” he said as he claimed her mouth with his again, matching his thrusts with his tongue as her arms went around his neck.

They reached their peak together, shuddering through their mutual release, finally joined as one beneath the darkness of a new moon.