Chapter 26 #2
Along night of travelling followed. We’d caught the first UK flight possible so landed in London and had a red-eyed wait in the terminal before the next flight to Inverness took off.
William held me up. He carried our bags and made the arrangements. I mustered the strength to call to Charity’s care home, leaving a message for them to alert me if Dad got in contact, otherwise I was a zombie, stumbling around in my scarlet evening gown, drawing stares.
Finally, when we landed in the Highlands, he pointed out a familiar face in the arrivals. Ella and Gordain waited behind the barrier.
I gave a cry of excitement that quickly turned to real tears. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and still fearful, despite what Terence had told me, I fell into my best friend’s waiting arms. Just as William got wrapped in a bear hug by his big brother.
“Let’s get in the car, and ye can tell us all about it,” Gordain said, and we followed him outside into the fresh Scottish morning and to their Land Rover.
But the second I was in the seat, I closed my eyes and was out like a light. My fitful sleep on the plane had been laced with nightmares. Now, finally, a sense of safety rebounded.
I woke enough to be aware of William collecting me from my seat like a child, but, when I next came to, I was alone in a bed that smelled of him. By the light, it was late afternoon, and I rose, stretching out my limbs.
Ah. It was his room in the castle. I’d been here before, years ago, when we’d first met.
One stone wall held shelves of books alongside a stack of photography magazines, another had movies, all old titles. Clothes littered a chair. It wasn’t neat, which surprised me. And pleased me. So he had a flaw after all.
Slowly, the door swung open. William entered, balancing a tray.
“God, is that coffee?” I gaped at him.
“Tea. If ye want to sleep tonight, we’ll stick to the light stuff, aye?”
He placed the tray on a side table and leapt onto the bed. I squealed and opened my arms, pulling him onto me. A long kiss followed. He tasted of fresh mint, and smelled gorgeous, like he’d just taken a long shower.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Six-thirty. We slept all day. I only woke half an hour ago. Your fault. You’re too nice to sleep with.” He snuggled closer, and my smile spread.
“I’m so rank. I need a bath, clean clothes, and a reality check.”
“Maybe in a minute. I happen to like having you here in my bed. Might’ve been a fantasy of mine.” William gave me a squeeze. “How are ye feeling?”
“Emotionally battered, but I’ll survive.” The warmth of him woke me up fully. My hormones jolted to life, and I slid my hands under his t-shirt.
“I bet you used to lie here with your hands in your boxers, picturing me doing this.”
“Far too often,” he admitted. “Dirtier versions, too.”
I traced soft lines lower.
William rumbled approval, and I got another kiss for my trouble.
Then, in a flash, he jumped up and backed away to the door, eyebrows raised to his hairline. He swore low. “God, woman. Have ye any idea how hard it is for me to keep my hands off ye?”
I eyed the bulge in his jeans. “Why are you trying?”
“We don’t have the time. My family are waiting. Dinner’s almost ready.”
I rose on my knees and gave him a lewd look.
“Nope.” He smacked his hand over his eyes. “Go get in the shower. I’ll wait here.”
Pity. “Sure you don’t want to join me?”
William dropped the hand and took a heavy inhale.
“I do. Always. God knows that since the day I met you, I’ve never stopped wanting ye.
But the next time we’re together in bed, I want time to do every fantasy that we can dream up.
I want my own solid walls keeping us safe.
I want ye wet and willing and for there to be no one waiting on us. Nothing but you and me.”
Well, put like that, he made a convincing argument.
I swung my legs off the bed and padded over to him. “Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For loving me. For being you.”
I earned a soft smile and a swipe on the backside that had me hustling to get ready. One reviving shower later, and I was back in the room. Still, I dressed slowly, letting him sweat over my disappearing flesh. Enjoying his ardent attention and open admiration.
But then, outside his bedroom door, nerves hit me. “Do people know what happened?”
“Aye. Mostly.”
“Will they hate me for putting you in the firing line?”
“Naw. They’ll love ye because I do.”
Hand in hand, we walked the stone-walled bedroom corridor. Before we rounded the corner, William stalled.
“Ah, there’s something you should know. James and Beth are here.”
“Oh.” Well, didn’t that make this ten times more awkward. Not only had I drawn William into a world of potential pain from my father, but now my previous mistake had come back to bite me in the ass.
At least I could do something about that now. Pushing up onto my toes, I kissed William’s cheek and gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go say hi.”
We descended the big staircase that led down the inside wall of Castle McRae’s great hall. Noise came from the dining room at the head of the hall, and the scent of roast chicken wafted to my nose.
My stomach growled. Loudly.
I picked up the pace, William chuckling at my back. I’d eaten a meal, of sorts, on the plane, but my appetite had been stifled by the events of the evening. Twenty-four hours on, and it roared back to life.
A feast spread out across the heavy wooden dining table. Mathilda’s twins carefully carried bowls in from the kitchen. Mathilda herself appeared after them, a stack of plates in her hands that William instantly took from her.
“Can I help?” I spoke to the lady of the castle, but my eyes strayed to the dishes. Succulent roasted chickens. Trays of root vegetables and bowls of broccoli. Jugs of gravy.
God, roast potatoes. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had them.
“Nope. It’s all ready. Grab a plate and tuck in before everyone gets back.”
William took up a long knife and fork and carved slices of chicken.
A second woman strode into the room, carrying a small girl at her shoulder. Despite being tiny, the woman’s presence grabbed my attention.
Beth.
I drew in a breath, searching for something to say.
Anything. Last time I’d seen her, I’d been in such a different place.
I’d cheerfully explained how my arranged marriage to her now-husband could work.
I’d confidently described how he and I wouldn’t have to sleep together but she’d need to be in the sidelines in certain situations.
What an asshole I must have seemed.
“Taylor!” She adjusted her grip on her sleepy daughter. “You’re up. You must be famished.”
“Hey, Beth,” I croaked. “Can we talk?”
“Not right now.” Her daughter grabbed a handful of her hair, revealing a shaved side, and she disentangled the little one’s fingers.
“I need to get Isobel to bed. If you want, we can talk later, but believe me, once the hordes descend, this food will be gone. And from all the strife you’ve been through, I imagine you need feeding up. ”
“Truth.” William started on the second chicken.
I gazed at the little girl, a perfect blend of her mother and father. “She’s gorgeous.”
Beth hefted her, a proud grin spreading. “Isn’t she? I’ll be back. We can talk then.”
Beth vanished, and I took up one of the plates of chicken William had made up and offered it to Mathilda. Then I took a chair, grabbed another plate, and we all loaded up on vegetables and potatoes.
Halfway through the happy task of devouring our glorious meals, Beth returned, and the rest of the party showed up. William’s two older brothers, James with a small boy at his side, and then Ella. The boy fled, joining Mathilda’s twins who played a noisy ball game in the great hall.
Ella swept over and hugged me from behind. “You’re alive!”
I waved my fork, my mouth full of food.
“I have so many questions, but I guess I’ll let you eat first.” She took a plate from Gordain and kissed him on the cheek.
“Where’s Alasdair?” William handed a jug of gravy down the table.
“Still there.” Callum carved off what looked like half a chicken onto his plate and tipped the tray of vegetables around it.
“Still where?” William asked.
“See what I mean?” Beth said to me, gesturing at the vanishing food.
I grinned at her then glanced up to see William’s two older brothers exchange a meaningful look.
“What’s going on?” William put his cutlery down.
Callum, the enormous laird of the castle, ran a hand over his pale hair. “We might have done something for ye.”
“Done what?”
“When we heard about you and your lass, we thought ye might like to have a home to come back to,” the laird continued.
William swung his baffled gaze to me then back to the two men. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“We put up the walls in the crofthouse,” Gordain explained, a happy expression pulling his cheeks.