“But I am traveling with someone who isn’t my husband. Do you really think that man cares about what is suitable or not?”
“I doona care what he thinks, lass, but until we get to Conall Castle, ye shall be seen as me wife to anyone we may cross paths with. Now,” he reached out and grabbed me by the wrist, dragging me behind him as he traveled farther away from the man and our fire. “Ye have promised this man food to eat, and food we shall give him.”
*
Lots of daylight remained by the time we finished eating. We could have traveled a good distance further but our wild man, who later introduced himself as Alec, seemed starved for conversation and chatted our ears off until sundown.
It turned out Baodan was far less of a hard ass than he tried to make himself appear, for it didn’t take long before he softened to Alec. By the end of the evening, he offered Alec work at MacMillan Castle if wished it.
After hours of listening to the two men talk, I zoned out until Baodan’s touch on my hand drew me out of my daze. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Alec just said that we make a handsome couple, and I told him ’twas only because of me wife’s beauty.”
He winked at me playfully, and I rolled my eyes.
Alec stood and smiled in our direction. “Aye, it has done me heart good to witness two people so truly in love. Gives me hope that I may one day find a lassie of me own.” He tore his gaze away from me to address Baodan. “Why doona ye just kiss her already? I can see in yer eyes that ye wished to do so all afternoon, but ye have been denied the pleasure of doing so by me presence. Go on and do it now. ’Tis been too long since I’ve seen a proper kiss.”
I stilled where I sat, but Baodan stood in a moment, yanking me up so that I pressed flush against him.
“Aye lad, if ye wish to see a kiss, I am in no mood to deny ye.”
It was rough and consuming, the way his lips met mine. There was a heat in his lips, a passion that had been suppressed for far too long, and I was more than happy to help sate it. He had one hand woven into my hair, gripping the back of my neck so tightly I could only move my lips in response to him when he allowed it. With his other hand against the smallest part of my lower back, he pressed himself into me. I could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest.
He had yet to break for air, and I worried he would pass out from the effort. He kissed like a man too long without love. While possibly less practiced than his younger brother, he made up for it in talent.
I didn’t care that Alec watched, but I found myself wishing he wasn’t there. Maybe if we were alone I could’ve persuaded him to just rip all of my clothes off and take me right by the fire.
When I could take no more or pass out myself, I reached up with my right hand and pressed it lightly on his face. He stilled and I realized in that instant that he’d lost himself. It broke my heart to be the one to pull him back to reality. I got the feeling that he didn’t often allow such weakness in himself.
An apology lay behind his eyes, and I reached up to kiss him lightly in the hopes that he would know it was okay. How could it not be? There wasn’t a woman alive who would have been bothered by that kiss.
To the left of us, Alec started clapping and I blushed as Baodan released his grip on my neck. Pulling away so that our chests no longer touched, we both moved so that we faced each other once more, but Baodan kept his arm around me, holding me tightly in the crook of his arm.
“I couldna have dreamed up a kiss as wonderful as that. Well done. Now ’tis time for me to take leave of ye both and find camp for the night. Thank ye both for yer kindness.”
He turned to leave, but Baodan spoke to stop him. “’Tis already dark and I doona wish to ride at night again. Why doona ye set camp here with us tonight, and we may take our leave of one another in the morning?”
Alec nodded and went about the business of rolling out his small blanket for sleeping. I knew he had to be relieved not to travel elsewhere after dark, but I suspected that Baodan aasked him to stay for another reason.
If someone else camped with us, Baodan would insist that we share where we lay our heads to sleep. For in the company of others, we had to maintain the fa?ade of being husband and wife.
Chapter 17
We had only one blanket and spread it out over the ground for us both to lay on. Though a warm evening, the wind chilled enough to cause me to shiver despite the nearness of him. I lay with my back against his chest. Neither of us spoke until we heard Alec snoring on the other side of the dwindling fire.
“Come here, lass. Turn into me.”