Page 32 of The Highlander's Auctioned Bride
Maisie felt a jolt of excitement. There was no denying that her body desired him, she could feel the heat building between her legs even as she lay there. Perhaps she needed toamendher rules, rather than break them.
Her eyes flitted about the room and her brow furrowed as she saw a familiar object on the far side. It had been placed with some other wedding gifts.
She sat up and he pulled away, watching her carefully, but the dizziness had subsided.
“Where did that come from?” she asked, puzzled as she pulled herself from the bed, getting up slowly and padding across the room.
James twisted around and stood to follow her. Maisie reached a small table beside the fire and unfolded the familiar chessboard, running her fingers over the pieces happily.
“This is me faither’s,” she said, emotion clogging her throat. “He said he had a gift for me, Dora must have sent it,” she whispered.
“Dora?”
“Me old maid, from me old life,” she said. She flipped it over and emptied the pieces into her skirts. She looked up at James with a renewed excitement running through her veins.
“Dae ye play?”
“Aye, I play,” James said, eyeing Maisie suspiciously.
She thumbed over the pieces. They were made of fine marble, well-worn from years of use.
“Maybe we could have a game,” she began to say, but her breath caught when she saw his face. His nostrils were flared. His pupils were blown with desire, and she watched a slow smile spread over his face.
“Och, aye? A game to compete for the amendment to our deal?”
Maisie felt a thrill at his words. She liked the idea that her own rules did not dictate everything, that chance might play a factor in how their marriage would play out.
“All right. If I win, ye have to spend three evenin’s a week in the castle with me, nae seein’ to clan business,” she stated.
James’s eyes narrowed. “One evenin’.”
“Two.”
“Done.” He smirked. “And if I win?” Maisie cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows at him. “I get to show ye what pleasure without love can be in a marriage ofconvenience.”
He was positively vibrating before her now and the depth of need in his eyes was frightening to behold. Her fingers shook slightly as she held the board, knowing in the darkest part of her heart, that she wanted that as well.
I shall win anyway,she told herself.So, he will nae get the chance to have me.
“But we daenae have time,” James said. “We have to get ready for the ceremony.”
Maisie glanced at the clock. He wasn’t wrong, but she knew a quick game would calm her nerves; maybe it would calm his, too.
“I think we have time for one game,” she said.
“Maisie,” he said reproachfully, but his voice was a soft rumble, telling her that she had the advantage.
“James,” she responded, looking up at him through her lashes.
“We cannae hold up the entire weddin’ because ye want to play a game of chess.”
“Then we can renege on the new rules and go back as we were before,” she said, moving to close the board, and just like that, his hands had gripped her wrists, and he pulled her roughly toward him.
“Ye are playin’ with me, woman,” he said darkly.
“I thought that was the intention,” Maisie breathed.
James released her, his shoulders tense. “One game. When I win we get wed.”
