Page 37 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
His mind went back to the first day they had met in the pinewood, the crackle of attraction that had passed between them as they walked toward each other. His manhood had sprung to life at once, and he had felt an urgent need to sweep Keira into his arms and kiss her senseless right there and then. He had managed to resist, but now that time had passed, he was finding it more and more difficult to do so. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. She was perfect.
As he sat down, Murdoch watched her taking her first sip of the milk, loving the way she rubbed her lips together then licked the corners of her mouth. He almost growled with desire but resisted the impulse, although his body disobeyed him and surged to attention as he caught the scent of her skin. There was no perfume, or even anything as humble as lavender water, just the plain earthy smell of her, but it might as well have been one of the most exquisite French fragrances ever concocted.
“You look tired. Perhaps you should take a rest tomorrow,” he suggested. “It is Sunday.”
“No. Sunday is just another day here,” she pointed out, yawning then smiling. “I cannot sit idly by while everyone else works.”
“You are the leader here,” he pointed out. “And you have been working harder than anyone else I know. It is time you were good to yourself, Keira.”
Keira looked into his shining green eyes for a moment. She knew she could look into them forever and never become tired of it. What a beautiful man he was, and how long it had taken her to know how much she loved him. At that thought, her body began to respond to him in its most primitive way, and suddenly she was flushed, sensitive, and wet in a very inconvenient place.
She snapped her gaze away from him quickly and took a deep draft of her milk. “I have no wish to be a leader,” she told him.
“Then what do you want to be, Keira?” he asked softly.
I want to be your wife,she thought.
She was not the kind of woman on whom the responsibilities of hearth, home, and children would sit well, yet for Murdoch, could she be all of those things? Somehow she knew that he would not want to tame her wildness, and he would allow her the same amount of freedom as he, a man, would expect as his right.
They stared at each other, each of them seemingly unable to look away, before Keira sighed and shook her head in complete exasperation.
“I just want our people to be happy,” she replied at last. “I don’t care who is the leader as long as they take care of everyone and keep them safe.”
She took another draft of her milk and stared into the fire.
“I can help you to do that.” His deep, gravelly voice was gentle as he spoke, and it flowed over her like warm honey.
Keira had never felt the urge to be so close to any human being as she did now. The arms around her were big and muscular as opposed to her long, soft woman’s ones. How different they were, and how good it felt to be close and held tightly against his hard chest. She was safe here, she knew it, and after the mayhem they had both managed to navigate through during the past weeks, she needed to feel secure. They both did.
Keira snuggled further into his chest and murmured, “And how can you do that?” she asked. “Perhaps we could build a big wall and put archers on top of it?” Her voice was teasing.
“Yes,” he replied, with a soft smile. “We can do that, but a wall will take months to build. We are a scattered people here. We have not much organization, not much shelter, and only a few fortifications. The only thing that makes us safe is your deal with the other lairds.”
“You mean the Allens?” Keira asked.
“Yes,” Murdoch replied, kissing her long red hair.
“Their castle is a long way away,” she replied, “and although he is a decent man, I do not think we can rely on his support alone.”
“Then I propose two strategies.” He moved closer to her and held his hands out to the fire. “I suggested a while ago that our little band here should form ourselves into our own clan. You were hesitant then. What do you think now?”
“I think we should do it,” she replied instantly. “But with you as its leader, not me.”
He nodded slowly. “I have no fear of leadership,” he answered. “But I do want to be chosen, not to thrust myself into that exalted position.” He grinned self-consciously.
“If only you could see yourself as others see you, Murdoch,” Keira observed sadly. “Everybody wants to follow you because they respect you and have faith in you. You are the only one who does not see it.”
Murdoch raked his fingers back through his wheat-blond hair, making it stand up in spiky disarray, almost like a little boy’s. He looked, if anything, even more attractive than usual, and Keira could not resist putting out a hand to straighten a stray lock of hair from his forehead.
Murdoch laughed softly and removed her hand, then looked at her palm, running his thumb over it. It was hard and calloused with the constant labor of lifting stones, but he admired it more than he had when it was the soft, well-manicured hand of a pampered lady.
“Your hands have changed,” he remarked.
“Yes,” she agreed, “but I like them better like this.”
When he looked up at her again, there was a deep tenderness in his expression. His lips parted, and his gaze dropped to hers.
Keira felt herself beginning to tense up, and a strange tingling began all over her body. Murdoch dropped his mouth to her palm and kissed it gently, causing a shaft of pleasure to shoot straight to her core.
