Page 28 of Wedded to the Twisted Highlander
“Aye, it does,” he answered inching ever closer until he could feel the heat radiating from her body caressing him like a blanket..
He heard her breath hitch. He had no doubt that he had an effect on her. What that was, he was willing to bet that it was something she wasn’t ready to acknowledge yet.
“But we made an agreement.”
“The agreement was for me to tend to yer faither, nae marry ye.”
“So it would seem I’m changin’ the terms of our agreement. The new arrangement will benefit nae only ye but also me. Ye’ll be safe. Melody will be safe. As far as me council, they’ll be pleased wit’ an heir. It’s a win-win solution, nay matter which way ye look at it.”
“And ye think this is fair? Just? Is that it? Ye think ye can trap me in marriage?”
“Trap?” he mused as he leaned closer to her. He watched as her eyes fluttered shut the moment his hot breath caressed her bare neck. “Methinks ye’re the one tryin’ to entrap me.”
“Of course, ye’d turn it around,” Astrid huffed as she opened her eyes. Her gaze was piercing, and it sent a rush through him.
“I offer ye a way out.”
“Ye cannae just change the rules because it suits ye,” she argued, despite the lack of conviction in her voice.
“And yet here we are,” Thomas said, fighting back the smirk playing at the corner of his lips. His presence shrouded her like a warm blanket. “So, tell me, what is it that ye really want? Safety for ye? Or perhaps for the lass? Maybe ye’d rather have the freedom to walk away from all of this, despite the ruin that would befall ye or her, aye?”
His ears perked up as she blew air through her lips. The smirk playing on his lips widened as he lowered his face to hers. Her pupils dilated. The tension smoldered like melted steel in a blacksmith’s crucible.
Astrid struggled with the weight of his words. The truth hung like a noose around her neck. Her eyes flickered with a mix of fear and resolve that only stoked his desire.
Something stirred within him as he pulled in a deep breath. Astrid’s earthy scent swirled around him and filled his head with fog. She was intoxicating, so much so that it took all he had not to pin her to the desk, pull her skirts up, and have his way with her.
In a moment of reckless abandon, Thomas slid his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. Her lips were sweeter than wine, and she filled him with a longing he had never known existed. The feelings she evoked were unexpected yet welcome. It was as if her lips were the keys to opening him up to a world he had never seen before.
As he dominated and savored her mouth, the yearning to have her intensified. But he needed air. She had managed to take all that he had, and yet he found himself eager to give her more.
Pulling back, he studied her expression. She blinked at him, her cheeks flushed a lovely pink, and it only made him want her more.
“That’ll be the only time ye ever get to touch me like that,” she said, her voice firm.
Yet, Thomas couldn’t help but hear the doubt in her words ring like the bells of a chapel.
He arched an eyebrow as mischief flickered in his eyes. “We’ll see about that. But ye still havenae said whether ye’ll marry me or nae. Ye ken as well as I do that it’s yer best option.”
“Fine,” she relented. “I’ll marry ye.”
“Then I’ll get started on the arrangements. I hope ye dinnae mind having a short engagement? If all goes according to plan, we’ll be married by tomorrow evening.”
10
“Lady Astrid.”
A soft rustle disturbed the stillness of the night.
Astrid jolted awake, afraid that Laird Chalium was breathing over her. She hunted the darkness for his face, only to be met with the gentle, apologetic smile of a maid.
“Lady Astrid,” the maid whispered as Astrid rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Forgive me for disturbin’ ye at such a late hour, but ye’ve been summoned to Tavish’s room.”
Astrid’s mind raced as the sharp chill in the night air nipped her skin. She glanced over at Melody. The fact that the child was still sound asleep was both comforting and alarming. What if the intruder had been Jenson?
The thought was quickly squashed as Laird McFair’s face flashed before her eyes. His promise to protect her felt like granite, sure and solid.
“I’ll see to it that the lass is looked after,” the maid added. “But ye must go quickly—he’s nae doin’ so well.”
