Page 59 of A Sinful Night with a Scot
“I could never dae that,” she gasped.
His smile was as soft as his eyes. “I ken, little one. I dinnae ken why, though. I am only grateful ye are the gracious lass ye are, or I wouldnae be here today.”
He gazed down at her, peering into her very soul. For the first time, she truly felt affection emanating from him.
“I am indebted tae ye fer me life, Elsie. Fer that reason, I will spend the rest o’ me days protecting ye and doing all I can tae show ye what ye mean tae me.”
Those words crashed into her like a wave breaking onto the rocks. The first words that expressed any feelings. Well, perhaps not his first. He had said something in the tavern the day they went to the village. It had been right after she had defended him to the villagers; lying to their faces so they wouldn’t think badly of their laird. His words had taken her breath away.
I dinnae deserve ye.
“And what dae I mean tae ye?” she asked, her voice a whisper. She had to know. She needed to hear him tell her what his words meant.
Keane twirled a strand of wayward hair around his finger. Looking at her with an intensity that shook her to her very core, he said, “More than ye can ken.”
If her heart could physically burst, she was sure it would. Instead, it jumped for joy in her chest. His words, and what they meant changed everything.
Before now, her future had been uncertain. She had held back, secretly hoping to somehow escape and run back to her family. Now, she didn’t want to leave. The man beside her had transformed. Or, more realistically, had returned to his former self. Not that she had known him before the death of his father had consumed him, but she had seen glimpses.
Elsie had sensed her feelings growing even at the celebratory feast. But the attack had finally bonded firmly what she already knew to be true. She wanted to be with Keane.
Nerves danced in her stomach at what she was about to say. Still, she ventured forth, certain it was what she wanted.
“Then I have a way ye can show me,” she said.
A mischievous look danced across his face, and he grinned. “Tell me,” he growled.
Elsie found herself smiling widely, the heat rushing to her cheeks. “I want ye tae…” she trailed off, losing her nerve, the embarrassment of the words overwhelming her.
“I want tae… I want tae belong tae ye… fully,” she said. She felt like a coward, but she simply could not say what she wanted plainly.
Keane, however, was not going to let her get away with it.
“What does that mean, little one?” He smiled, betraying that he knew very well what she meant. “We are already married. What other way can ye belong tae me fully?”
She couldn’t look at him a moment longer, and turning away, she whispered, “Ye ken exactly what I mean.”
Keane hooked his finger under her chin and pulled her face to his. “I want tae hear ye say it.”
Taking a deep breath in, Elsie whispered, “I want ye tae tak’ me, Keane. I want ye tae tak’ me in a way that I will always be yers. I want tae belong tae ye in every way possible.”
Delight crossed his face, and his smile only grew wider. Leaning forward, his lips brushing against hers, he said, “Ye are mine.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
While Keane had wanted nothing more than to grant Elsie her wish, his injury simply would not allow it. In fact, Elsie made that perfectly clear, for after her request, she told him she would wait.
“We are married now. I’m nae going anywhere,” she had said. “Ye need tae heal first.”
Over the following days, however, Keane had found himself more concerned with what the result of their lovemaking might be, rather than the pleasure of it.
There was something he had not told Elsie. Not that he was keeping it from her. It had simply not been relevant to discuss. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but he had tried to bury this particular childhood memory in hope that one day, it would not cause him pain. So far, that had not worked.
At ten years old, he had been as excited as everyone else in the family to welcome his new brother or sister, for Sinead Mackay, his mother, had been with child. But when she had felt the first birth pangs, panic had rippled through the castle. He hadn’t understood it at the time, but when he was older, his father had explained that the baby was two months early.
Keane had sat on the floor outside her bedchamber, watching the maids rush in and out for hours, while his mother’s screams of agony pierced the air. Hamilton had paced the floor in front of him. On each occasion the door burst open, he had stopped and turned towards it expectantly. But the maids continued to hurry back and forth with no word for him.
After an entire night, he and his father were eventually allowed to go into the chamber. As they entered, a maid had whispered to his father.
