Page 69 of Wedded to the Twisted Highlander
“Aye,” Astrid managed to say as she met his gaze.
She didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that her body yearned for him. Her gaze flicked to his lips as she swallowed past the lump of uncertainty in her throat.
Licking her dry lips, Astrid wrestled with her desires. How she wanted him to be the one to show her what intimacy could be like.
Her fingers brushed his chest and trailed over his broad shoulders until she found the hair at the nape of his neck.
“Me—”
Thomas’s lips were on hers immediately, ravishing her with such passion that it threatened to pull her under. The world around her fogged and faded away as if it were some distant island to be forgotten forever.
Thomas curled his fingers into the fabric around her hips as if he wanted to rip it apart at the seams. Every inch of her body tingled as his hunger fueled her longing.
She clutched at him, pulling him closer. A growl rumbled in his chest as she twisted her fingers into his hair.
“Lady McFair?”
Astrid pulled away, her cheeks flushed red with desire. She stared at Thomas for a moment, bewildered by what had just transpired. The shock on his face seemed to match her own.
“This had better be good,” he hissed, refusing to release her.
“Old Lady McFair is askin’ for the healer,” the maid relayed. There was no hiding the intimidation and worry in her voice.
Astrid could only imagine the punishment Thomas would have meted out for any other reason.
“Ye should go,” Thomas urged, his grip on her waist tightening before loosening. “Me faither’s needs are much greater than mine.”
Astrid didn’t know what to say. Her duty was to the family first and foremost.
Hesitating, she took a step back from Thomas and then another. She wanted to stay in the room and just be lost in there with him.
“Master Tavish is havin’ a spell, Me Lady” the maid whispered in Astrid’s ear.
“Another one?” Astrid asked as she followed her through the castle to Tavish’s chambers.
The silence inside was unsettling. Astrid feared the worst as she pushed the door open.
“Och, Lady McFair,” Alba greeted her, her tone laced with shock.
Astrid looked around, noting that nothing was amiss.
Alba moved swiftly to the door, preventing Astrid from walking in any further. The bashful apology etched on her face piqued Astrid’s interest.
Craning her neck, Astrid peered around Alba to find Tavish lying on the bed, sound asleep.
“I was told that he was havin’ another spell,” Astrid said, returning her attention to Alba.
“As ye can see, he tuckered himself out rather quickly this time. I’m sorry that ye were called here. If I had kenned he was just goin’ to pass out, I never would have bothered ye.”
“So, I’m nae needed?” Astrid asked, her thoughts jumping straight to Thomas.
Absentmindedly, she brushed the tip of her finger over where his lips just were, and a smile tugged at her mouth.
“I think ye might have other plans, aye?” Alba teased as Astrid turned on her heel and rushed back to the game.
Astrid wondered if anyone had noticed that she was missing, or if they had moved on to something else already.
Rounding the corner, she paused in the foyer and scanned each hallway. If she turned left, she’d wind through the bowels of the castle and end up in the kitchen. Going straight would lead her to the sitting room and Thomas’s study, as well as the drawing room and library.
