Page 60 of Married to the Highland Devil
Last night, he had had to summon all of his will not to make love to her, and now, he was torturing himself.
Duncan drew in a deep breath and blew air through his lips. “I cannae just sit still and wait, though. I need to make sure I am prepared for war at any time. I cannae wait and hang the faith of my sister in the balance.”
“So, you do not trust that Arran will bring her back?”
“Nay, nay, that is not it. I trust Arran. I trust him more than anythin’, but I cannae wait. I am too restless.”
“Scared?” Amelia asked in a gentle voice then she put a hand on his cheeks. “It is all right to be scared, Duncan. We all feel like that sometimes. I get scared too. When you came back hurt… I was so scared, I thought you would…”
She did not finish her words. Instead, she pressed her lips together and sucked in a deep breath. Duncan’s eyes dropped to her bosom, and he saw the slow rise and fall there. Her creamy skin begged for his attention. He wanted to kiss her right there and in the places where he had kissed her last night, but he focused on their conversation, his eyes soft.
“Die,” he finished for her before she could say more. “Ye were scared that I would die.”
Amelia nodded then he bent down and kissed her on the lips.
“Dinnae worry, Amelia. I am strong enough to fight and protect myself. Naethin’ will happen to me.”
“You promise me that?” she whispered shakily. Amelia’s heart pounded when he placed a hand on her chest.
“I promise I will stay safe,” he told her. “I shall ride out to the village today to see what is goin’ on there. I shall return before nightfall. Ye can stay here with my maither. Ye have naethin’ to worry about, Amelia. I shall return.”
“Can I come with you?” Amelia asked and leveled him with those eyes that always made him melt inside.
“Nay, Amelia. At least nay today. I want to show ye my villages and all of my land, but I need all of this to be all right first.”
“I understand,” she told him with a small nod. “I shall stay here with your mother, and I will see you tonight at dinner.”
Duncan kissed the side of her mouth again then chuckled when she smiled at him and tried to get another kiss. “I shall see ye later tonight after dinner,” he said and smirked at her breath getting quicker at the promise.
Duncan was looking forward to it.
He backed away from her and headed out of the castle as planned. The villages had not been attacked in a while, and the peace from Laird MacGregor was only making Duncan edgy.
I need to ken what is going on.
When he met with the village head in Plockton, Duncan watched the man squirm on his feet for a long time as they talked about the last raid that had happened in the village.
“We have guards walkin’ around to make sure naethin’ happens and takes us by surprise.”
“That is good,” Duncan said to the man with a slight nod.
“But there are a few issues I think ye should ken, My Laird. These rumors around town, I dinnae think I can hold them off any longer.”
“What rumors?”
“The rumors about your lady, My Laird. There is naethin’ I can do to stop them now. They are plannin’ to protest to the castle. The village heads want the lady gone. They say she is doom itself.”
Duncan sighed then took a step closer to the village head. “If anyone speaks ill of her again, I will have their tongue.”
“My Laird—”
“Enough, I willnae have any of this. Have the guards watch out all the time. We cannae risk anyone getting’ hurt.”
He marched away from the village head and rode back towards his castle. Duncan knew he had to figure out the source of these rumors soon before someone tried to hurt Amelia because of them.
When he reached the castle, he went in search of Amelia and found her in the garden with his mother. Amelia laughed at something Elspeth said, and they looked happy at that moment as he watched them from a distance.
Duncan knew he could get used to seeing her this happy. He loved it when she laughed. The sound tickled his ears and made him want to be around her all the time. Unable to stop himself, he walked into the garden and interrupted their moment.
