Chapter 23
23
T his was something that he could get used to.
Neil had never really given much thought to having another person in his bed. But last night, he couldn’t take his eyes off Ceana. Once again, he wanted to behead any man who laid his eyes on her. She was driving him crazy and she didn’t even know it. Until he invited her to their carriage. And she had been oh so willing.
She was finally his.
After he claimed her, he brought her home and carried her to his bedchambers. With his first wife, after their encounters, she always headed back to her rooms. It was always like that. He had never been opposed to the idea, but it had felt like more of a chore than anything else.
But with Ceana? It was the most natural thing in the world.
Her leg was thrown over his, her body was curled into his side, and she was using his arm as a pillow. Her hair was a mess all around them, and he was quite certain that she was drooling on his chest… and he didn’t care even one tiny bit.
The morning sunlight just started filtering through the window, making the room brighter. But, most importantly, it gave him a much better view of the woman in his arms. She looked so peaceful that he almost didn’t want to wake her. Almost. He tightened his grip on her, dipping his chin just enough to kiss her forehead.
Ceana hummed in her sleep and shifted against him, so he did it again. He kissed her forehead, her nose, and finally her lips. Her sleepy moan aroused him far more than it should have. His cock was already aching with need for her. She shifted her leg slowly, seeming to come to that realization. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, then kissed him back.
Neil didn’t wait for her eyes to open fully before grabbing her leg and pulling her further over him so that her slight frame was lying on top of him. He couldn’t get over how responsive she was. Even half asleep and groggy, her body rolled against his. His hands found her hips and pushed her lower until he felt the heat of her sex over his cock.
Slowly, almost lazily, he pulled her close and then flipped her over, deepening their kiss as she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders. Their bodies were a tangled mess of limbs, the blankets restricting their movements, but her perfect, soft body was underneath him and that was the only thing in the entire world that he needed right now.
He was a fool for waiting to do this.
“Neil, please,” Ceana moaned as he cupped her breast and started to kiss his way down her body. She would just have to be patient.
His lips trailed down her chest and closed over her nipple. He flicked his tongue against the stiff bud, and her breath hitched. It was like a little reward each and every time. He glanced up at her hungrily, his teeth scraping over the sensitive peak as she arched into him.
“Please!”
“Please what?” he asked, his hand moving to her other breast and massaging it.
She bucked her hips against his in answer.
He was fully planning on teasing her again when a knock sounded at the door.
Whoever it was, they must have a death wish if they meant to interrupt them.
Neil didn’t even have a chance to say as much before the knocking started up again, much more insistent this time.
“Faither! Faither!” Jeanie’s voice shouted from the other side of the thankfully locked door. “Did ye forget our chess game?!”
Jeanie had never asked to play chess with him before. If anything, it had felt more like something she forced herself to do.
“Faither?! Do ye hear me?!” Jeanie called again.
Neil dropped his forehead to Ceana’s chest with a reluctant groan. “Aye! I hear ye, lass!”
“Ye’re late!” Jeanie added in a reprimanding tone.
“Just… give me a moment,” Neil sighed, kissing Ceana one last time before rising slowly. “Of all the worst possible timings…” he muttered.
Ceana only laughed, sliding out of bed, and he took his time admiring her naked body. He almost forgot why he needed to get dressed so badly. He shook his head to clear his mind and reached for his clothes, pulling his shirt over his head and tying it hastily. It would likely look askew, but he couldn’t care less.
“Go on down for breakfast, lass. I’ll meet ye there!” he called, and he could feel Jeanie pouting behind the door.
He had no idea if she had actually left or not, but at least her knocking had stopped.
When he was dressed, he quickly moved to help Ceana into her dress. “I think I like undressin’ ye a good deal more.”
Ceana only smiled, pulling her hair into a semblance of an updo, but it was far looser than it usually was. He could hardly take his eyes off her. Now that this need had awoken inside of him, it was going to be damn hard to pretend that he didn’t want her at every moment of the day.
“Ye cannae keep her waitin’, so ye had better stop lookin’ at me like that,” she teased, pulling on her shoes and heading toward the door.
“I dinnae want to stop,” Neil answered honestly as he pulled on his boots and then trailed after her.
He grabbed her arm before she could open the door, just in case Jeanie was out there, pressed her against the wood with his body, and kissed her. He was going to need something to tide him over for the hours to come, but he could already tell that he wasn’t going to be able to think about anything else now that he had her. Claimed her. It was all he wanted to do.
Ceana giggled and pushed at his chest. “Stop it, yer daughter’s waitin’ for us.”
Neil groaned and nodded.
They headed down for breakfast together, having already missed the people who had awoken at an appropriate hour and hadn’t gotten carried away.
Jeanie was practically bouncing in her chair as she loaded her plate with sweets and pastries. Neil ruffled her hair as he moved past her. He might have made a comment, but a messenger was waiting for him to take his seat. He held out his hand expectantly as he and Ceana sat down.
He opened the letter without bothering to check the seal like he normally would because of the distraction sitting right beside him. He didn’t recognize what it was until he saw the handwriting—and he immediately lost his appetite.
“What is it?” Ceana asked, before popping a piece of bread in her mouth.
Neil couldn’t even find the words to answer her as he scanned the contents of the letter. It was the first one that his brother had sent to him directly since abandoning his post and his home.
Ceana leaned over his shoulder and read the letter, her eyes widening.
“He says that he’s happy for us,” Neil muttered, not wanting to alarm Jeanie or have her start asking a bunch of questions. “Glad that we found a ‘solution’ but he had to leave.”
Ceana swallowed hard and waited for him to finish speaking.
He found it rather annoying that his brother called what had happened a ‘solution’ because it would have never needed to happen in the first place if he hadn’t left without prior notice.
“He says that he’s with his lover… and that he willnae be returnin’ any time soon.” Neil couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice.
“His lover?” Ceana echoed. “I didnae ken that he had a lover…”
“Neither did I. Why would he agree to marry ye if he had a lover?”
“Clearly, he never intended to do such a thing,” Ceana said sadly. “And the letter doesnae say where he is?”
Neil shook his head, folding back the letter and tucking it into the bag at his belt.
What lover? If Blaine had kept so much of his life from him, hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him, then perhaps Neil didn’t know his brother at all.
“I dinnae ken if there’s even a way to write to him when there’s nay information.”
Ceana placed her hand on top of his with a soft smile. “He will come back when he’s ready. I’m sure that he will explain.”
Neil wasn’t entirely certain that he wanted his brother to come back.
Suddenly, Ersie skidded around the entrance of the Great Hall. She didn’t stop until she reached the head table, bowing at the waist out of respect. Before she started speaking, she paused to glance at Jeanie, seemingly unsure if it would be wise to speak in front of the lass, but Neil beckoned her forward.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“There are a few villagers outside, M’Laird. They are chantin’ something about the truth… They are callin’ for ye to resign,” Ersie said, seeming very uncomfortable with the whole situation.
“What?” Neil scoffed.
She had to be joking. But there wasn’t even the slightest hint of amusement on her face as she waited for his orders, or for him to make a move.
“What are they talkin’ about?” Neil asked as he pushed back his chair. “Who is outside, exactly?”
“Just… villagers, M’Laird,” Ersie informed him. “They havenae been there for very long, but they are causin’ quite the commotion. They keep shoutin’ that ye’re keepin’ secrets and that ye need to tell the truth.”
Neil was at an utter loss. What truth? What secrets was he keeping from his people? He knew that there were rumors about Blaine, but that shouldn’t have caused something like this. He did his very best to be a fair ruler. He wasn’t the sort of man who took his duties lightly or demanded blind faith because of his title. His clansmen all swore fealty to him because they believed in his work and the man he was.
It had always been that way.
So, what was this dissent about? Whatever it was, he was going to have to put a swift end to it.
They didn’t even have to get very far outside the keep before he could hear the angry voices and shouting. It seemed that the guards who were normally stationed at the doors had all moved forward to ensure that no villager found their way inside until their Laird gave his permission.
Good. He would handle this just like everything else.
“M’Laird!”
“We need answers!”
“Tell us the truth!”
Neil quickened his pace at the sound of angry voices around the corner. He heard footsteps behind him and was sure Ceana was following him along with Jeanie, Ersie, and—he guessed—many of his servants, but he didn’t look back to make sure. He needed answers.
A group of people whose faces he could still remember from the festival that he had attended only the other day was gathered outside the gates.
How could public opinion have turned against him so quickly?
The moment they saw him, they all seemed to yell and shout louder, spewing various choice words in his direction—but they were all demanding the same thing. They all wanted him to tell them something or another.
“Settle down. Settle down,” Neil commanded. Despite their anger, the clamor died down. “What is all this about?”
“We ken what ye did, and we demand that ye fess up!” one of the villagers said, stepping in front of the others and jabbing an accusatory finger in his direction.
Neil arched an eyebrow, and the man seemed to waver for a moment.
“And what is it that I have done?” he asked, his patience growing thinner with every passing second.
“Ye truly mean to deny it? Ye dare stand there and insult all of us like that?” the man grunted.
He was emboldened further as the others behind him started murmuring their assent, demanding that they know more about the situation as well.
“If ye dinnae have the courage to tell us the truth, then ye have nay right to be our Laird!”
Neil would have told them whatever it was that they wanted to know, but he had no idea what it was. He was about to say as much, but they kept talking.
“Ye can start by tellin’ us why ye really married yer Lady!”
Neil glanced back at Ceana, who looked just as surprised by all of this as he was. If the villagers were going to take this opportunity to belittle her, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stand by and just accept their vitriol.
“We ken all about it! Ye stole yer braither’s woman, just as ye stole yer first wife! We’ll nae forget about that betrayal as well!”
“What in God’s name are ye prattlin’ on about? Have ye all lost yer minds?!” Neil shouted at them, causing the ones in the first row to stagger back slightly.
“We ken how she tricked us all. We ken what happened eight years ago, and ye didnae even have the courage to seek vengeance for her betrayal! Ye have gone soft, M’Laird, and it’s time for ye to step aside!” another one of the men interjected loudly.
“Eight years?” Ceana muttered at Neil’s side, seeming just as confused as he was.
The realization started to dawn on her, and he wanted to ask her if she somehow knew what they meant… But he was almost scared that she did and she was somehow connected to all of this mess.
“Fiona, can ye take Jeanie inside, please? Dinnae come back out again unless the Laird or I come to fetch ye,” Ceana instructed, giving Jeanie’s hand to the maid, who quickly started to drag the little girl back to the castle.
Neil felt better knowing that his daughter was well out of harm’s way, at the very least.
“Aye, hide yer bastard daughter!” one of the villagers shouted.
Neil lost it—he saw red. One moment he was standing beside Ceana, the next he was rushing into the crowd. He was a good deal larger and better trained than those who attempted to swarm him. And he was stronger, faster. The culprit was on the ground before he could utter another word.
“Ye have nay idea what ye’re talkin’ about! Dinnae ever talk about me daughter again!” Neil snarled in warning. “How dare ye question yer Laird like this? Do I need to remind ye who ye owe everything to?”
The rest of the villagers moved backward, giving him more space so that he didn’t have a reason to punch them, too. The bubble of tension was broken, and they were all eyeing him warily.
“We apologize, M’Laird. Please…” one of the men started, inching closer to the unconscious man on the ground, and another came to help drag him away.
“What has gotten into ye?” Neil growled.
“We… we didnae mean to question ye, M’Laird. But this morning, we heard the rumors, and we got swept up into them. Men moved about the village before dawn, mutterin’ about ye havin’ a bast—Some of us recognized their clan’s tartan. It’s MacAngus. So we assumed that they kenned what they were talkin’ about…”
“Arthur?” Neil’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It couldn’t possibly be what he thought it was. Arthur had no reason to betray him or to stoke unrest like this. “Are ye sure that ye arenae mistaken?”
“Nay, M’Laird. We are certain. It’s why we thought that it was serious,” another man supplied.
“Go. Get out of me sight.” Neil dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Slowly, they all started to disperse, carrying their friend back toward the village with their tails tucked between their legs.
Neil didn’t want to face his wife—he could feel the question already.
“What did they mean?” she asked before he could turn around fully.
He didn’t want to have this conversation. He didn’t want to think about what it might mean. He wanted it to be impossible, but it would seem that he was not the only one who knew his first wife’s secret.
“Nothing,” he said sharply. “They meant nothing.”
Ceana recoiled from him as he turned on his heel and started toward the castle. She was having difficulty keeping up with him, but he had no intention of slowing down for her.
“I thought… maybe after last night…”
Neil stopped so abruptly that she nearly collided with his back. “What did ye think, wife?” he huffed in irritation as he slowly turned around.
“I thought ye’d open up. But I can see that ye still dinnae trust me enough to tell me about yerself! I could help ye!” Ceana shouted, but he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“What is it that ye wish to hear, wife? I made meself clear from day one—I want a marriage of convenience, an heir, and nothing more. The fact that we desire each other might be useful, but that’s about it,” Neil hissed.
His words landed just as he had intended them to, and he could see the instant pain on her face.
He didn’t want to hurt her. But there was no denying that it was for the best to keep her at arm’s length.
“I see…” she mumbled, clearly disappointed.
Neil stepped into her space once more, towering over her. “What did ye see?” he snapped.
Ceana took a moment to compose herself, her eyes turning steely and cold as she looked up at him. “I see that ye’re just like every other man. Ye wanted something from me and ye took it, and ye’re still actin’ as if ye’re the one bein’ used? At least I trusted ye with me past and me future. Ye cannae say that I didnae try.”
She shouldered him aside and marched back to the castle.
Although it hurt him deeply to see her go, he knew that it was for the best. She didn’t need to get closer to him, or else he would hurt her even more.