Page 35 of Married to the Highland Devil
The days he had spent traveling with her were what he missed. They had laughed together. He had told her what the world was like around her and watched her eyes light up.
Duncan missed all of that. Most especially, he missed her warmth next to him on the bed.
“Ye seem different today,” Arran commented as he thrusted the sharp blade of his sword forward again and nearly cut through Duncan’s side. “Yer distracted,” he continued. “Duncan, ye would never miss a strike like that. Whatever it is that has made me best ye in practice today deserves a fat reward from me.”
Arran laughed after he said the words, and Duncan only murmured gruffly beneath his voice.
“What did ye say?”
Duncan shook his head and then wiped off the sweat on his forehead with his right hand. “Naethin’,” he said. “Let us go another round.”
Duncan took his stance and drew his sword, but Arran tossed his to the ground and folded his hands over his chest. “What bothers ye?”
“I said nothin’.”
Duncan realized he had snapped, and he straightened into an upright posture, tossed his sword to the ground, and swung his leine off his body in one swift movement, so he could feel the cool air directly on his skin.
Arran marched over to him, and he backed away and dropped to a squat because he needed to ease the tension in the muscles in his shin. He sighed, closed his eyes for a bit, and inhaled deeply.
“This doesnae look like neythin’,” Arran drawled, and when Duncan opened his eyes again, he met his friend’s soft but dark eyes.
Duncan combed his fingers through his hair then rubbed the same hand over his face.
“This has to do with the lass, does it nae?”
“I cannae stop thinkin’ about her,” Duncan confessed before he sat on the ground fully. “And I might have hurt her too.”
The kiss yesterday had made every fiber of him crave her more. Amelia had been flushed too before asking him to leave.
Duncan could not hold back his smile as he thought of her flustered face. He loved making her shiver like that. The kiss had been everything to him even though it had ended with her anger at him returning. His joints had felt the impact of his feverish desire too.
“What did ye do?”
“I told her that I want our marriage to be strictly one of convenience.”
“And is that what ye want?”
Duncan knew it was not with every single breath in him. From the moment he had met Amelia, his heart had fluttered. He did not just want her, he liked to spend time with her… listen to her talk and laugh.
“It doesnae matter,” he said, swallowing hard. “I am tryin’ to protect her. I cannae use her for her dowry and also take her innocence. I just… I have a lot to handle right now. Plockton was raided again. Kret and Bune arenae safe… I cannae think of nything’ else but my clan right now.”
Mentioning the raid made Arran draw away from Duncan a little. This fight was between Duncan’s clan and MacGregor, and Duncan hated that his best friend was right in the middle of it.
Duncan did not think it was right to ever ask his friend to go to his father, so he never had, but Arran never stopped asking.
“Do ye need me to go to him? He is my faither, Duncan, and even if he is a terrible man, he will at least listen to his son and hold off his attacks.”
Duncan shook his head. “Nay… I shall have the dowry soon, and I will pay him. Ye dinnae have to do nything’. We just need to wait for the weddin’ now.”
“And until then? What if he destroys more than ye can salvage?” Arran rose to his feet now. “I shallnae sit by and watch that happen, Duncan.”
Duncan rose too and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “All right,” he agreed. “I shall go to him and tell him I will have his repayment soon. That should pacify him a little, aye?”
Arran’s frown persisted, but Duncan saw that he relaxed a little when his lips parted with a sigh and his shoulder slumped a little.
“It will.”
“Now, pick up yer sword and best me.”
