Page 50 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
“So ye can chase him the rest of the way through the castle?” he retorted, drawing Dipper to his chest.
The puppy wriggled a little more, not to escape but to find a comfortable spot in his arms, and snuggled there.
“I went to check on him, and he slipped past me,” Cecilia said defensively. “Tara was supposed to be watchin’ him, but she wasnae there.”
“I suppose he’s wrecked me door tryin’ to get out,” Murdoch remarked, eyeing the dog. Dipper looked right back at him and jumped up, licking his jaw enthusiastically. “Oi, that’s enough of that.”
The puppy snuggled back into the crook of his arm, while Cecilia watched them with an angry frown on her face.
“Give him back,” she demanded curtly. “I’m retirin’ to me chambers and I dinnae want him anywhere I cannae see him.”
“There’s a cèilidh in yer honor underway.”
“Aye, well, everyone else can enjoy it,” she replied, holding out her hands. “I never asked for it anyway.”
As he took a step closer, Murdoch noticed that her eyes were watery and that the tip of her nose was slightly red as if she had been crying—or trying not to. A strange sensation rose in his chest, a sharp pinch catching him unawares as he looked upon the evidence of her misery.
I upset her.
“I expect yer aunt will come to find ye soon,” he said, puzzled by the discomfort in his chest.
“Much good it’ll do her,” Cecilia shot back, sniffing. “I meant what I said—I’d rather take me chances in the outside world, alone, than be forced into a union with a man who… who… cannae even decide if he tolerates me or if he is just playin’ games with me.”
He understood how his actions must seem to her, how hot and cold he had been in her presence. But the truth was, hedid not know why he had behaved the way he had. No woman had ever had any sort of hold over him or had confused him as much as Cecilia did. Even now, he wanted to pull her to him until she did not feel sad anymore—an outlandish impulse that he had no idea what to do with.
“But ye were right,” she continued harshly. “A kiss is nothin’. What ye… made me feel is nothin’. And now that me aunt thinks me sullied, I can just… wander Scotland at me leisure, free as a bird, doin’exactlyas I please with whomever I please. Or I can beg me aunt to let me take me vows anyway and be done with men, once and for all. She always warned me that a devil might come to tempt me, but ye’ve helped me banish the temptation now.”
A shiver ran up and down his spine when she alluded to taking her pleasure from other men. He did not care that she had called him a devil—how could he, whenhewas being tormented by devils of his own, who saw fit to conjure carnal images of her in the arms of others?
“Nay, I wasnae right,” he blurted out, unable to stop the words.
Her eyes widened. “Pardon?”
“A kiss isnae nothin’, and nor is what happened tonight and last night,” he said evenly. “I threatened yer virtue, and I wouldnae be honorable if I let it remain in a perilous condition. I didnae appreciate me maither and yer aunt makin’ demands, that’s all.”
She frowned at him, her eyes creasing at the corners. “I dinnae understand…”
“I’ll do the honorable thing,” he declared, his chest tightening. “I’ll save yer virtue and do what’s right in this situation.”
She shook her head slowly. “I still dinnae understand.”
“I’ll marry ye, lass.” He took a steadying breath. “I’ll marry ye, but only if ye agree to amariage blanc.”
That seemed to confuse her more as she took a half-step backward, fidgeting with the lace trim of her sleeves. “A white marriage? What does that mean?”
Evidently, such terms had never reached her in the convent. Why would they have, when the majority of the women who went into that place never came out of it again? Still, at least she understood French.
“Ye will be free to do as ye wish as me wife, but I willnae touch ye,” he explained, ignoring the pang of yearning that stirred his loins at the mere sight of her.
It would be the most difficult lesson in discipline he had ever learned—resisting her. Just thinking about her moaning his name in the gardens and the utter torture of coating himself in the slick heat of her, teasing her, not being able to sink deep inside her, had him burning with a maddening desire. But hewouldcontrol himself. It was the only way he could proceed.
“So… nay more of what put us in this predicament in the first place?” she asked in a breathy voice.
He shook his head. “Nay more of anythin’ from yer list. But yewillhave all the freedom that is granted to a Lady.”
“Allthe freedom…” She paused, her eyes glinting as they met his. “Does that mean ye’ll let other men touch me?”
He walked up to her and lowered the now-sleeping puppy into her arms, leaning close to her ear as he whispered, “Careful, lass. Dinnae make an oath-breaker out of me.” He paused. “And remember what I told ye—do what ye please with whom ye please, as long as ye dinnae mind havin’ their blood on yer hands.”
