The Highlander’s Promise, page 18
It was not new.
Aife took a moment to look at the long rack of clothing the dress had come off of. At Larks Point Tower, clothing was traded in when new items were needed. Aife was thin, and the dress she wore had likely been too tight for whoever had traded it in.
If she stayed, she might need a larger one, too.
Aife smiled and hurried to pinch out the candles. But when she left the workroom, she froze in the passageway because she didn’t know which way to go. She’d dawdled too long, and now there were no others to follow toward the great hall.
“Can I help ye, mistress?”
Aife was startled. She blinked and realized there was a young Retainer standing in the passageway.
“Alec,” he told her his name as he reached up to tug on his cap.
Aife worried the fabric of her new skirt between her fingers as she tried to decide if the man had been waiting for her.
Of course the chief was having her watched.
But instead of being upset over that fact, Aife enjoyed knowing that she had shelter from Lonn’s reach.
What of Arth?
She looked at the floor, her elation dampened by the thought of just how impossible it would be for her to truly have a happy life at Larks Point Tower.
“I’ll show ye the way to the hall,” Alec offered.
He was a fine young man with a cheerful smile and honest eyes. But Aife didn’t miss that he had the ability to turn serious if needed. He was young but still a full Retainer. He was every bit as bound to Chief Chattan as she was to Lonn Worthings.
“Ye look very fine, mistress,” Alec said as he extended his arm out to show her the way.
“I do?” Aife really shouldn’t have spoken. Yet the words just tumbled right out of her mouth while she was caught up in the way Alec looked at her.
Like she was someone.
Instead of a beggar.
“I think so,” Alec insisted. “Ye have a very pretty set of eyes.”
Aife followed him down the passageway. She didn’t know how to answer him. But the surface of her face was turning hot. She reached up to rub one cheek, and Alec watched her do it. His expression became pensive as he led her down the passageway and into another one before she caught the scent of supper.
“I hope to see ye again, Mistress Aife,” Alec said with a tug on his cap. He turned in a flare of Chattan plaid and went toward the men’s side of the hall before she managed to regain her ability to speak.
“Thank ye.” The words were a whisper that the supper time conversation swallowed.
*
Cannons Row…
“That scamp will be back again and again since ye feed him,” Tete groused at Rhona.
Arth was back in the yard looking for eggs.
Tete was frowning.
“He is a boy,” Rhona admonished Tete.
The burly doorman started to open his mouth, but she held up a finger.
“A boy who Lonn Worthings believes to be insignificant.” Rhona looked out of the window to make certain Arth was still searching the nests.
“I’m surprised to hear ye say ye would use the lad,” Tete remarked.
“It’s not as if the boy will not benefit from us finding a way to be rid of Lonn’s rule over Cannons Row.”
Tete nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll be surprised if he brings ye anything of worth,” Tete finished sharing his opinion.
“It’s better than never trying,” she said.
Tete shrugged in response. Arth was coming back, saving Rhona from saying anything else. Arth happily handed her five eggs.
Rhona used a spoon to lift an egg out of the hot water she’d boiled it in. She placed it in a small pottery bowl. Steam rose from it, quickly leaving the shell dry.
Arth began to peel it soon after as he swung his feet back and forth beneath the table. Rhona swallowed her distaste and turned to look at him.
“Ye said Lonn was yer master, Arth,” Rhona kept her voice soft and subtle. “Do ye fetch eggs for him?”
Arth licked his lips, his expression remaining sunny and without any suspicion. “My master has a cook.”
“Ah,” Rhona remarked. “I’m sure ye do other things for him.”
She cut a slice off a chunk of cheese and offered it to him. His eyes glittered with happiness.
“Mostly, I fetch people up to his study,” Arth informed her.
“He is an important man,” Rhona said. “But ye are so young to be working. Have ye no family?”
Arth was nodding. “I have my sister Aife. Master sent her up to Larks Point Tower.”
Rhona shared a look with Tete over Arth’s head. The doorman was far more interested in Arth now. Tete came forward and ruffled the top of the boy’s head.
“How is that cheese? Rhona keeps a fine kitchen, and that’s a fact.”
“Yeah, but she makes me scrub me fingernails like a girl,” Arth whispered when Rhona had her back turned to them.
“Me too, lad,” Tete answered as he held up his hands.
Arth finished up the cheese and was on his feet a moment later. He tugged on his cap before he raced out of the back door.
“Seems I need to send a message to Jasper,” Rhona muttered softly.
Lonn Worthings was a cancer. If he’d sent someone up to Larks Point, it could only be for the wrong reasons.
*
Someone scratched on his door.
Jasper opened his eyes.
Terin was sleeping peacefully by his side. He eased from beneath the bedding, scooping his shirt up on his way to the door and shrugging into it. The single garment would suffice for modesty’s sake for no female would be at his door so early in the morning. The decency rules at Larks Point Tower applied to women as well as men. There was a thick rod hanging on the wall in the great hall to remind everyone that moonlight liaisons would not be tolerated.
As it was, he and Terin would be in for a taste of that rod if they were caught and didn’t marry. The local priest, Father Peter, was mostly amiable toward his flock.
But he had clear lines which he abided by when it came to morality.
More than one Retainer had witnessed what happened when a man came to Larks Point Tower and thought he might carouse and cavort at his pleasure with no mind to the scriptures.
Knox was outside the door. His man had turned his back to the door so he wouldn’t catch even a peek of anything Jasper might object to him seeing. Jasper closed the door softly behind him.
“Message for ye from Rhona,” Knox spoke once Jasper had joined him. “She has something to discuss with ye.”
Jasper drew in a stiff breath. Rhona was often his eyes and ears in Cannons Row. It was a place he needed to watch because it was so close to Larks Point Tower. Davonna had built something worth taking. It was one of the reasons he’d stayed and taken the title of chief. He was, after all, a Chattan son.
Jasper nodded. “Get the horses ready.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d dressed in the gray light of early morning.
But it was the first time he’d sat back on his haunches because the soft breathing of his companion captivated him so much.
He watched the light increasing in the chamber. It afforded him the view of something breathtaking.
Terin was just a lump in the bedding. Her hair was a tousled mess, and he grinned as he recalled precisely how those silky strands had gotten messy.
He couldn’t wait for it to grow long again.
Jasper bent down to continue folding his kilt. It was a familiar motion—one that had meaning beyond his Highlander identity.
He was the chief of Larks Point Tower.
And now, he was buckling the plaid around his waist before true first light because he would make certain Terin never feared inside the home he was making for her.
Perhaps that was the measure of a man.
It was definitely the mark of one in love.
Jasper felt heat warming his heart as he carried his boots out of the chamber to ensure Terin didn’t wake up.
He wasn’t certain when he’d decided he truly loved her. All he knew was that he suddenly understood what his mother meant by fate being something that happened. It simply was.
Had it happened in those first moments when he’d seen her in the common room?
Possibly, for he’d taken her under his wing and been unwilling to question himself.
“Look at ye,” Knox muttered as he chewed on a thick slice of cheese that he had put on top of another slice of bread. There were a few crumbs in his beard because he was wise enough to know he’d better fill his belly while he might.
Knox pointed at him. “Grinning like a besotted fool.”
Jasper finished securing his bootlace and stood. Knox smiled at him before offering him another portion of bread and cheese as a peace offering.
Jasper took it, but he sent his man a smirk. “I do seem to have quite the appetite this morning.”
“Oh…so that’s the way it is now?” Knox groused as they headed toward the stables.
Jasper stopped and sent his man a serious look. “It is very much the way things are.”
*
Late in the afternoon, Aife began to anticipate the supper bells.
Snow was flying, but her new dress kept her warmer than she could ever recall being. Terin was happy, too, a smile on her lips as she worked through more of the stacks of ledgers on her worktable. When the cook rang the bells, Terin looked up.
“Supper already,” Terin said.
Aife nodded. Terin stepped beside her and hooked her arm through Aife’s.
“We are going to become friends, Aife,” Terin declared happily as they left the chamber. “I will not take no for an answer.”
Terin stopped, though, as she spied Alec waiting in the passageway.
“Mistress,” Alec reached up and tugged on the corner of his cap.
The Retainer looked at Aife. Terin suddenly unhooked their arms.
“I need to speak with Meghan,” Terin declared. It was a poor excuse at best, but Terin hurried away as Aife turned and offered Alec a hesitant smile.
The Retainer did not return it.
Aife felt her heart stop. There was a look in Alec’s eyes that cut her to the bone.
“The chief has sent me to fetch ye,” Alec informed her in a low tone. “He does nae want the mistress to know.”
Aife had been disappointed before.
This was so very much worse, though.
She looked at the ground as she fell into step beside Alec. He stayed near her, clearly not trusting her to follow obediently.
Even knowing she was guilty, Aife didn’t want to flee.
Who would want to leave such a haven?
She wouldn’t have to flee, though. The look in Alec’s eyes made it plain that she was going to be put out.
Or hanged.
Perhaps whipped and put out.
She drew in a deep breath and forbade herself to cry.
Weeping solved naught.
And anyway, there would be plenty of time for tears after she learned her fate.
*
Jasper wasn’t in the great hall for supper.
He’s not the sort of man who blends in…
She smiled at her own wry humor.
“Ye can stop stretching yer neck,” Meghan said from beside her. “Seems the chief got called away to Cannons Row this morning.”
“Humph,” a woman remarked across the table. “He favors that Rhona far too much.”
Terin recalled Rhona very well.
“Ye do nae know the chief went down to see Rhona,” Meghan defended Jasper’s name. “It might have been some other bit of business.”
Terin discovered her appetite evaporating.
Ye don’t have the right to be jealous.
That was partially true. She had been the one to tell Jasper she wanted to be his lover. Jasper had said there were matters he wanted to discuss with her.
Well, he was missing this morning…
Terin poked at her supper, trying to decide how she felt. Her feelings had never been so tender before.
Jasper sent ye into upheaval for certain…
She ended up heading for her chamber, needing to think. But the chamber was dark and cold, Aife nowhere in sight.
Terin sat for a long moment.
“The day was too bloody long,” Jasper declared as he came through the door.
Terin turned to face him, stunned and relieved at the same time. He had his jerkin in his hand, and his hair was still wet. He sent her a smile. “Long and yet, I bathed, lass, so ye will not have to suffer the sweat on me.”
Jasper tossed his jerkin aside. No matter if it was forbidden or not, Terin still felt the draw between them. Her insides tightened, and her clit throbbed as she caught the freshly washed scent of his skin.
“Now, sneaking in here was a wee bit of a chore I don’t mind telling ye I could live without,” Jasper informed her. He sent her a wink before he sat down and started to unlace his boots. “Do ye mind having a winter wedding, lass?”
“Wedding?” Terin discovered herself stunned by the idea.
Men enjoyed bedding women. They didn’t crave wedding their conquests.
Jasper looked up at her. “Ye think I would nae honor ye by wedding ye, Terin?”
“I do nae wish to wed again.”
Jasper’s expression hardened. He stood.
“Ye would be my woman but not my wife?” he asked pointedly.
Terin discovered herself uncertain as she faced his displeasure. “I suppose…I have not thought the matter through.”
Jasper took a step toward her. Terin truly wanted to stand in place, but the look in his topaz eyes made her belly twist.
He backed her up until she hit the wall. Jasper flattened his hands on either side of her head, caging her. A warning flashed in his eyes.
“Perhaps I have nae proven myself just yet,” Jasper muttered. “Now it’s very true that I enjoy a challenge, lass. Good of ye to notice that trait.”
His tone was husky.
It was also edged with determination.
“Let’s discuss this matter.” Terin flattened her hands on his chest and braced her arms.
“I’d rather let me actions speak for me,” Jasper declared.
Her elbows remained straight because Jasper was big enough to lean over and press his mouth against hers.
The kiss was devastating to her logical, well-thought-out plans.
Terin let out a sound which was half dismay and the other half elation.
It drew a growl from Jasper. He peeled her hands off his chest by gripping her wrists. A moment later, he pressed her hands to the wall.
Terin gasped, her senses filled to the brim with his scent. She was melting beneath the onslaught of his kisses.
“Would ye have me leave ye now, lass?”
Terin blinked, her mind having trouble functioning. “I…do nae know what I want.”
The words felt like they came out her soul.
She was fairly certain she had never muttered anything as truthful in her life. She yearned for him.
“In that case, Terin,” Jasper responded. “I am going to make ye scream.”
He released her wrists and scooped her off her feet. For some reason, she often forgot how large a man he was, feeling so very at ease with speaking her mind to him.
Jasper reminded her of his strength as he cradled her against his chest, bearing her weight with ease. He turned and deposited her on the small table.
“What are ye about?” Terin asked incredulously.
Jasper caught the back of her head. “I told ye, lass, I’m going to make ye scream.”
He pressed another kiss against her mouth. Jasper took complete advantage of her confusion, pressing her lips open so he might give her a hard kiss that left her gasping.
He broke away from her, taking a moment to look into her eyes before he grasped her skirt and flipped it up to bare her thighs.
“Jasper…”
He cupped the inside of her knees and pulled them wide.
Her eyes widened as she felt the evening air hit her folds.
Jasper chuckled. Only it was a dark sound—one which hinted at a knowledge she had no inkling of.
“I am planning to have my way with ye, Terin,” Jasper answered. “Be very sure of that, lass.”
He sunk down to his knees.
“Ye can nae mean to…”
He did.
Terin watched as Jasper leaned in and kissed her folds. Her heart nearly burst at the scarlet nature of the matter.
“Do not!” she ordered.
Jasper clasped her hips to hold her in place instead.
His shoulders kept her thighs spread wide open when she tried to close them. His mouth was so hot against her flesh, she gasped, arching back while he teased her most sensitive spot.
It felt good.
No…it felt amazing.
One moment Terin was struggling with her disbelief, and in the next, she couldn’t remember why she needed to be so horrified at all.
Because the pleasure was so very intense.
Jasper was using his tongue to sweep up the center of her folds. All the way to the top where her little pearl resided. He teased it. Flicking it before he closed his mouth around it and sucked hard.
Terin cried out.
Her back was suddenly arching. She had to flatten her hands on the table behind her, or she’d have flopped back like a newly caught fish.
“It sounds a bit like ye enjoy this, Terin,” Jasper taunted her.
Her eyes popped open, and she looked down her body to see Jasper’s eyes glittering with mischief. Her belly twisted with anticipation as her clit throbbed for more.
Jasper didn’t disappoint.
He pressed his mouth back against her.
Terin let out another cry. There was simply no way to contain it. She was twisting and lifting her hips up as he tongued her clit. She was being driven ruthlessly toward the edge of endurance. Her heart was racing, pumping so hard, it was likely to burst.
