Page 36 of The Laird's Wicked Game
14: THE LAIRD’S WICKED GAME
KYLIE’S CHEEKS WERE flushed, her full lips slightly parted, and her lush bosom now rose and fell sharply. But it was her eyes that caught and held Rae’s attention. Her pupils had enlarged, making her gaze dark and limpid.
He was playing a dangerous, wicked game.
Nonetheless, his proposal had been made, and there was no withdrawing it.
What in Hades are ye doing?The voice of sanity and reason whispered to him.The woman will think ye an immoral wretch.
Aye, but he was. He’d thought about little else of late except plowing the lovely Kylie. And after the conversation they’d just had—an exchange he’d remember until the end of his days—he knew she wanted him too.
And he hadn’t lied before. He wasn’t in the market for another wife. Nor was he wanting to lose his heart. No, what he needed was to make up for years of frustration and longing, with this woman.
Only her.
He wasn’t sure why he’d shown Kylie that book—desire must have turned him momentarily witless—all the same, her reaction to it surprised him. She had the appearance of a stern widow at times, with her plain kirtles and spinsterish hairstyles that would ward most men off; but from the moment he’d met her at Moy Castle, he’d sensed the raw sensuality just beneath.
And after that torrid kiss they’d shared, he knew that bedding her would be a delight.
Even so, he’d now started to sweat like a priest in a brothel. What if he’d completely miscalculated? Was he about to make an utter fool of himself?
“Ye want us to become lovers … for six months?” she asked finally, as if to reassure herself she hadn’t misheard him, and the huskiness to her voice sent a jolt straight down to his rod.
“Aye … we shall make a game of it,” he replied, thinking on his feet now. “Once a week, when the rest of the broch slumbers, ye shall come to me.” His voice grew strained then as his groin started to ache. “And we shall choose chapters from the book to follow … ye may pick out which ones, if ye wish?” He halted at that point, worried that he’d gone too far. There was a fine line between lewdness and lechery, and perhaps he’d just crossed it.
“Have ye thought this through?” she asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.
“No,” he admitted with an embarrassed snort. And he hadn’t. He’d had lusty thoughts about the woman he’d hired, but he’d never conceived of making such a proposal to her. “If I’m honest, all of this is new to me, lass. I’m making up every word as I go.”
She inclined her head. “And what about the fact I share a chamber with my sister?” she pointed out. “Surely, Makenna will notice if I sneak out of bed?”
“I shall arrange for ye to have separate bedchambers, if ye wish?”
Silence followed his confident response. Hades, it did sound as if he’d planned all this.
Her smooth throat bobbed. “Can I have a day or two to think on things?”
His pulse started to thump in his ears. Well, she hadn’t rejected him outright. That was a start. “Of course.”
“Very well.” She pushed herself up from the table then, favoring him with a smile, even if her cheeks were still flushed. He couldn’t read her gaze now though; she’d deliberately veiled it. “I shall bid ye good eve then.”
He rose to his feet, nodding to her. “Good eve, Kylie.” How he liked saying her name. He also enjoyed hearing her address him familiarly as well, although she didn’t do so now.
Instead, Kylie nodded back and stepped away from the table. An instant later, she checked herself. Moving forward once more, she retrieved the book he’d lent her and tucked it under one arm.
And then, without another word, she walked from the solar, leaving him staring after her.
A salt-laced breeze drifted in through the open window, cooling Kylie’s flushed cheeks.
Sitting on the window seat in the lady’s solar, winding wool onto a spindle as she conversed with Makenna and Tara, she’d made the mistake of thinking of the game Rae had proposed. A mistake, for the moment she did—her mind instantly conjuring up torrid images—she’d started to sweat.
Luckily, her companions were too focused on each other to pay her much attention, for Makenna had just told Tara about the bargain their fathers had struck. It was Sunday, and there was no class today. Instead, after returning from the Sunday service in the village kirk, Ailean and Lyle were outdoors having their first riding lesson with their father.
As soon as the sisters had awoken at dawn, Kylie told Makenna of her discovery about Tara. Likewise, Makenna had news for her as well.
There was a ferry for Oban leaving mid-morning the day after next, and she would be on it. The time for her return to Meggernie Castle was well overdue.
Nonetheless, her sister’s announcement had made a lump rise in Kylie’s throat. She’d swallowed it though. Of course, Makenna wished to resume her role in their father’s Guard while she was still able. Not only that, but MacDougall’s attack had soured her stay at Dounarwyse. She’d want to put it all behind her. All the same, the thought of her sister leaving filled her with irritational fear. She didn’t confide much in others, but her younger sister was still her rock. In truth, she sometimes felt an irritational stab of jealousy toward Makenna—for the lass had always gotten more attention than her—but knowing she was nearby made her feel secure.