Page 15 of Bound to a Scot
Adair studied him in silence for a long moment, his eyes boring into Maddox’s, then finally gave him a gruff nod.
“All right then,” he said. “Be sure ye remember that. Ye’re doin’ this fer yer people.”
“Aye. ‘Tis impossible fer me tae forget with ye bleatin’ in me ear every minute.”
“Somebody has tae because if I dinnae, ye may run off and get yerself all tangled up with another man’s wife,” Adair teased.
“In me own defense, I didnae ken who she was at the time.”
“Well… now ye dae.”
“Aye.”
Maddox drained the last of his wine then got to his feet. “I need tae use the privy.”
“Well, dinnae get lost on yer way back. We’ve got much tae discuss still.”
“Aye, aye. I’ll be right back, Maither.”
They shared a laugh as Maddox headed out of his bedchamber and down the corridor to the privy. A moment later though, the door opened behind him and when he turned, he found Emmeline standing there, a frown upon her lips. Images of the kiss they’d shared flooded into his mind as thick and powerful as the desire and arousal he felt just looking at her.
“What th–?,” He muttered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“What in the bleedin’ hell are ye doin’ in here?” he hissed.
Emmeline stiffened and stood up straighter. She knew it was highly inappropriate and improper for a lady to barge into the men’s privy, but it seemed like the only place she could speak to Maddox without being seen.
“We need tae talk,” she replied. “And keep yer bleedin’ voice down. Burchard has eyes and ears all over the castle.”
“If that’s true, it doesnae seem wise tae follow me intae the privy then, does it?”
“I can move about unseen.”
A cocky grin touched his lips. “Ahh. So, ye’re a spy then, eh?”
“Shut it. I ken the way the people in the castle move about, that’s all,” she grumbled.
They stood silently for a moment, looking at one another, the air in the privy growing thicker with tension and a sense of anticipation. As she looked into his icy blue eyes, Emmeline felt her heart quiver with fear and that warm rush of desire that had filled her at the inn. She tried to quash that feeling ruthlessly. It had led her to make a terrible decision and the last thing she needed was to travel down that path again. Not here and not now.
“So? What is it then?” he asked. “Ye ran off so abruptly the other night… did ye come tae finish the game we started at the inn?”
Emmeline felt her cheeks flush and a lump form in her throat. She swallowed hard and tried to chase away the inappropriate thoughts that sought to take root in her mind. As if he was intuiting her thoughts, she watched the slow, smarmy smile cross his face. Her heart pounded in her ears and she felt the urge to slap him, then storm out of the privy in disgust. But the matter on her heart that had brought her to seek him out, in the privy of all places, was too dire to let his flirtatious goading get to her that way. They had to speak. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, gathering her wits and her courage about her. When she felt steady enough, she caught and held his gaze.
“Ye cannae mention what happened between us at the inn. Nae tae anybody,” she said firmly. “It must be our secret, Maddox.”
An amused and mischievous glimmer sparkled in his eyes that she didn’t care for. Not one little bit. It sent a tremor of fear through her heart.
“Our secret, eh?”
“’Tis nae the time fer games,” she said. “I’m bein’ serious.”
“I can see that. But tell me this, why’d ye kiss me in the first place?”
“Ye kissed me.”
“And ye kissed me back,” he teased.
