Page 25 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Hellion (Auctioned Highland Brides #4)

Lydia couldn’t sleep. She had been tossing and turning for hours, her mind a whirl with thoughts and possibilities.

Despite what Callum had told her, every sound from the corridor made her jump, her mind convinced that at any moment one of the men who had attacked them would break down the door and slice through the curtains surrounding her bed.

Setting her jaw, she got out of bed and padded to the adjoining door to Callum’s bedroom.

She was not sure why, but she was certain he was awake. He had vowed to protect her, and no laird would sleep soundly when his family had been threatened.

It was torture to remain in her room alone when she knew that the one man who could keep her safe was only a few feet away.

Throwing aside her doubts and worries, she opened the door, padding down the short passage between the rooms.

Bursting inside, she watched Callum’s rippling torso rise in bed, staring at her in astonishment as she closed the door behind her.

“What are ye doin’ in me room, woman?” he murmured, his voice hoarse. Lydia crossed her arms over her chest.

Callum raised his eyebrows, running his eye over her appreciatively, and Lydia became painfully aware that she was only in her thin nightdress.

The room was chilly, and she frowned at him, fidgeting in place.

“Don’t flatter yourself, My Laird, I just cannot sleep.”

“Close yer eyes and ye will soon be dreamin’,” he murmured, but he did not lie back down.

The single candle beside the bed illuminated his wide chest, and Lydia’s eyes were drawn to his navel, where a trail of hair ran down beneath the covers.

I have seen him this way before, but he was not my husband then.

Raising her chin, she made her way to the other side of the bed to where he was lying and climbed under the covers.

Callum watched her, looking deeply unimpressed.

“And what makes ye think ye have an invitation into me bed?” he asked.

“I am your wife, am I not? And I am frightened. Some men tried to kill me today.”

“They werenae tryin’ to kill ye . They came for the girls.”

Lydia stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he fell silent.

“And who is ‘they’?” she asked and then yelped as he rolled on top of her.

She gasped, letting out a low moan as his heavy body weighed her down into the mattress.

“Why are ye askin’ me questions before dawn, woman? Ye have forgotten yer place, is that it? Dae I need to remind ye where it lies?”

“And where is that?”

“Other than beneath me, I dinnae ken, but I could tie ye to me bedpost again and let ye find out for yerself.”

Lydia felt an ache form in her chest as she swallowed, scoffing to hide her disappointment.

“You have told me again and again how you do not want anything to do with me,” she said bitterly.

His hand ran over her arms as he repositioned himself above her.

“Is that what ye think?”

“I know it. You told me this marriage was a convenience, that my only duty was to those girls.”

She shuddered as he rubbed his hard length between her legs. The nightgown rode up, and her mind went blank as she imagined what it would be like for him to simply push inside her now and begin thrusting in earnest.

A rush of heat made her groan as she widened her legs. Callum chuckled above her.

“Stop torturing me, wife,” he muttered, rubbing his nose against her neck. “I swear, ye will be the death of me one of these days.”

His hands went around her wrists, raising them above her head and pressing her down into the mattress.

“You don’t want me,” she said softly.

Her breath hitched as he began kissing her neck, the tip of his tongue touching her skin and making her whole body come alive.

“If I dinnae want ye then why am I touchin’ ye?” he asked, his right hand releasing her wrists even as the left kept them pinned.

“I couldn’t say,” she replied, a cry falling from her lips as his hand skimmed over her shoulder and came to rest on her breast.

“Maybe I should explain meself,” he mused. “As soon as I saw ye in that gown, I couldnae think of anythin’ but peelin’ ye out of it.”

His fingers curled over the hem of her nightgown, and Lydia writhed beneath him as he ripped it clean away, tearing the fabric and exposing her completely.

Her breasts were hard in the cold air, and he descended on them, his tongue lapping at her flesh as his teeth scraped against her, making her groan.

“Dae ye like that?” he asked.

Lydia couldn’t reply, her skin rippling with sensation as he sucked at her, licking with gentle bites across her body.

His right hand was wandering, sliding down her waist, and moving to the top of her thigh, flirting at the join of her legs as she opened for him.

Lifting his head, he moved up her body, meeting her gaze as he pushed one finger against her wet entrance. Lydia moaned as he captured her mouth with his.

His tongue drove inside, licking against hers, tangling together in a wicked dance as his thick finger moved further into her.

She pushed her hips up into him, reveling in the feeling, but let out a cry of protest as he pulled free.

In an instant, his large hands had gripped her waist, and he hauled her up, lifting her effortlessly to the corner of the bed, her back pressed against the post.

He straddled the mattress, putting his legs on either side of the post as they dangled toward the floor. Then he placed her spread thighs against his legs.

She gasped as she felt the evidence of his pleasure push against her.

“Dinnae worry, lass. I willnae take ye tonight. All the same, I would still like to look at me glorious wife.”

Lydia looked down as Callum’s eyes did the same, traveling over the golden plains of her skin, illuminated by the candle flame.

Her breasts were exposed, her legs split wide against his body. She could feel the thick length of him pressing between her legs, and she rolled against him, watching his eyes close at the movement.

“Dae that again,” he murmured, and she obliged as he gripped her tighter, groaning as he pulled her roughly into him, claiming her mouth as he speared his tongue inside her.

“I could have ye now,” he growled. “I could ruin ye and I would listen to ye beg me for it, wife of mine.”

Lydia gasped as he lifted her in a sharp movement that made her feel as if she were toppling from the bed. Her arms flailed as her hands gripped the post behind her, steadying her body as his hand moved beneath her.

She closed her eyes as she felt his finger push into her, a wicked glint in his eye as she threw her head back.

His thumb sought out the wet heat of her body, thrusting inside and twisting enough to send her wild with desire. His head lowered toward her, his tongue lapping at her breasts as she struggled to remain in control.

Pushing against the bedpost behind her, she began to rock her hips toward him. As she cried out in shock, he pulled her down, her back flat against the mattress once more.

She shuddered as his head descended, his tongue pushing into her ruthlessly until she screamed.

The peak of her pleasure was even more intense than before, as if her whole body came alight as she felt his nails digging into her flesh, as her release came.

She was suspended in the air, in the throes of ecstasy as he pulled away, looking up at her with wicked satisfaction.

Lydia collapsed beneath him, and they lay like that for many minutes, coming down from the high.

She stared upward at the canopy of the bed as her breathing slowly began to settle again. Her body was thrumming with pleasure, but even as it began to fade, questions crowded her mind.

Who came for the girls today? If he is willing to touch me in such a way, he must see me as a part of his life. I have to know what we are up against—who he is protecting me from.

“Who tried to take the girls?”

Callum slowly opened his eyes, staring upward as she moved to face him.

“Are your scars part of the reason they are in danger?”

His stomach turned over at the prospect of telling Lydia of his past. After what they had just shared, he simply wanted to drift into oblivion and hold her until dawn.

But he knew it was not fair to keep her in the dark, not after today. She was his wife after all.

He sighed, pulling himself up to a sitting position and watching as she did the same, lifting the ripped fabric of her nightgown to cover her body as best she could.

“Ye ken I have seen it all already,” he said teasingly, and Lydia glowered at him, pulling the blankets up around her in a pointed way that made him smile.

They both sobered as she waited for him to finally tell her the truth.

“What happened to you?” she asked, her finger skimming over his face.

It took everything he had not to pull away from the touch. He was beginning to crave feeling her skin against his, and it frightened him more than anything else.

“Love,” he replied.

The fingers against his jaw disappeared, and Lydia looked away. Callum reached across and gently grabbed her chin, turning her face towards him, waiting until she looked back at him.

“I wasn’t in love with anyone,” he clarified, feeling the familiar rage begin to build inside.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he leaned against the headboard, staring at the fire.

“Me braither was in love. Deeply in love. The kind that makes a man lose his mind.”

He shook his head.

“Moira Lawson, me braither’s wife, was a beautiful woman. Ye saw her portrait in the gallery. There were men for miles around who had offered her their hand, but Angus was the one who captured it. For a while, they seemed happy, but that all changed when they had the twins.”

Lydia was frowning at him, but she did not ask any questions, letting the story come out on his terms.

“When she had the girls, she began to behave differently. It was clear that Angus adored his children, even more than his wife, and she wasnae used to that. She began to get jealous of the attention they received… and looked for it elsewhere.”

Callum winced. “She tried to seduce me. I didnae ken she was even in the room until she touched me.” He scoffed.

“I was in the bath and she didnae have any shame about it. I pulled as far away as I could. I told her nay.” He scoffed.

“I dinnae ken how many men have said that to Moira Lawson, but it cannae be many.”

Lydia’s slim fingers came to rest on his hand, and he gripped them fiercely.

“She left, she was angry, but she walked away. I thought that was the end of it. Then me braither summoned me. She’d told him I’d gone into her room, tried to have me way with her. She was convincin’. She’s a talented liar, and Angus was persuaded that I was guilty. He’s the one who….”

He gestured to his face, unable to articulate the words. For a second, he could feel the blood dripping down his face all over again.

“I begged him to believe me. I’ve never begged a man before or since, but I tried to get me braither to see sense.

I didnae fight back. We had been together since we were babies; I’d never betray him.

Not for anythin’. But love destroyed his reason; everythin’ he once believed was eclipsed by a woman. ”

Slowly, Lydia’s fingers released him, and she leaned away as he turned to face her.

“Then what happened?”

“He tortured me, told me I wasnae welcome in his clan, and banished me. When ye arrived here, I had only just returned from me grandmother’s castle.

I had spent four years there in exile. It was a ruin, a miserable existence, but it was the only place I could go.

I suppose there was a part of me that didnae wish to leave me clan. ”

“And why did he allow you back?”

Callum sneered. “Angus found letters. Moira might be beautiful, but she isnae clever. She’d written to me askin’ me why I had never succumbed to her charms. Me braither was ragin’—furious. He sent her away, but she didnae take the girls with her. It’s her that’s tryin’ to get them back now.”

Lydia was quiet, her expression pensive as she stared at the fire before them.

“Angus died before I got here. We never reconciled. Love makes ye crazy,” Callum said bitterly.

“It made me braither someone he wasnae, someone who couldnae see reason or truth when it was starin’ him in the face.

I have nay need of it. Ye and I may desire each other, but that is all it will ever be.

I have no need of any deeper feelin’s. They just make a man stupid. ”

“And that’s why you’re keeping us apart? Because of Moira?”

“Ye saw what happened today. The girls, ye, yer maither, yer braither, they could all be dead now because Angus fell for the wrong woman.”

“But it is not always like?—”

“Cannae ye see, wife? I am protectin’ ye. Ye will come to see it in time. Ye’ll thank me.”

“Protecting me from what?”

“From meself.”

To his dismay, her slender legs moved off the bed as she bent to pick up her nightgown.

She pulled it over her slim shoulders, not looking back at him until she was standing at the foot of the bed.

“Very well, husband,” she said quietly. “Thank you for the protection.”

She turned away, and Callum sat up, wanting to beg her to stay and pushing away the feeling.

Callum Lawson doesnae beg.

“In the mornin’ it would be best that yer maither and braither leave the castle. It would be best if they returned to London, away from all this.”

Lydia was still, her shoulders rigid, before she gave a single nod and left the room, pulling the door shut with a thud as the candle beside him was snuffed out.