Page 28 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
“Because he looks like he dipped his tail and paw in the inkpot,” Lennox replied, scratching the pup behind the ears.
At that, Cecilia laughed. “It’s… perfect, Mr. Durness!”
The puppy really did look like he had had a mishap with an inkwell, but as Cecilia looked back to see Murdoch’s reaction to the name, her heart dropped like a stone, a chill slithering through her. He was staring right at her with a vicious glare, all semblance of last night’s warmth replaced with impenetrable ice. The kind that any woman would be a fool to think she could thaw.
CHAPTER 12
“Och, dinnae call me Mr. Durness,”Lennox said with a laugh that made Murdoch’s stomach twist.
Cecilia drew her gaze away from Murdoch and returned it to his man-at-arms, rewarding him with her most radiant smile. “WhatshouldI call ye, then? Kennel-master? Thief of hounds?”
“Lennox ought to suffice,” Lennox replied. “And I promise I willnae steal yer dog. But I’d ask that ye let me play with the wee thing as often as I can.”
Aileen elbowed Cecilia in the ribs not-so-discreetly, and the sight of it made Murdoch’s blood boil. He could see his mother’s scheming as clear as day, realizing that she had decided on a suitable replacement for him, just as she had promised she would.
She leaves in less than a week. I’ve given me order.
Murdoch wanted to say as much but knew it would make him appear weak in front of his councilmen. He should not allow such trivial things to bother him.
But itdidbother him, seeing the way Cecilia smiled and laughed and fluttered her eyelashes at Lennox. And the way Lennox jested and grinned back at her, offering a warmth and merriment that lasses seemed to find irresistible.
Everyonewas drawn to Lennox. Despite having the same history as Murdoch, both of them former pirates, he had no trouble winning people over.
Just yesterday, in the villages, the residents had gone to Lennox to inform him of any repairs or supplies that were required. Lennox, in turn, had passed the message on to Murdoch, for no one had dared to approach him.
Ye willnae touch her. I’ll have yer head if ye do.
Murdoch glared at his man-at-arms, who was paying him no attention whatsoever. Lennox was completely distracted by the puppy… and the woman who had gone to such lengths to rescue him.
“Do ye nae have a dog of yer own?” Cecilia asked.
Lennox shook his head, pouting playfully. “I keep tryin’ to convince the Laird, but he willnae permit it. Ye’ve got to be careful with dogs and horses, ye see, and until I can find the timeto train a dog properly so it sticks to me side and doesnae bite anythin’ it shouldnae, it wouldnae be fair of me to have one.”
“Well, ye can certainly enjoy Dipper’s company whenever ye like,” Cecilia promised, and a muscle ticked in Murdoch’s clenched jaw.
He thought of last night again, and the feel of her against parts of him that had never been so easily, so powerfully stirred. She was no novitiate of anything, unless it was sorcery. There was a wildness in her that he had glimpsed, like a campfire through dense trees. And it called to the wildness of others—the puppy, the stallion,him.
His horse was notorious for biting the stable hands and kicking anyone who came close, as well as refusing to let anyone else ride him, but the traitorous beast had nuzzled her hand like a colt. As if it recognized something within her—that fierce, untamable spirit.
Lennox cannae tame her.
And ye think yecan?a darker voice whispered in his head, mocking him.
“While ye waste yer time here with these idle follies, I have duties to carry out,” he declared roughly, conscious of the fact that if he stayed in that room much longer, forced to observe the flirtation between Lennox and Cecilia, he wouldloseit.
He turned and left for his tower, slamming the door of the East Hall behind him. The reverberation followed him into the hallway, sending a fresh spike of frustration through him.
Not only was Cecilia threatening the very foundation of his self-discipline—and potentially inserting herself permanently into his castle, if Aileen’s scheme became a success—she was also causing him to behave in ways that were beneath him and awakening voices in his head that he had taken pains to silence long ago.
Cecilia flinched at the slam of the door, and she was not the only one. Dipper yelped and came running to her. She scooped the puppy up into her arms and glanced around the room, noting that everyone had a surprised expression. She had assumed that Murdoch always slammed doors about the place, but apparently not.
And no one looked more frightened than Tara MacGill.
Cecilia went to her, offering Dipper as a comfort. “There’s nothin’ more soothin’ than runnin’ yer fingertips through soft fur.”
“May I?” Tara held out her arms apprehensively.
Cecilia laughed and placed the puppy in her arms.
