Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Me Laird! Me Laird!” Frync came running into the garden, interrupting their moment, his face pale with worry. “It’s Laird MacPherson, Me Laird! He’s here!”
“What?! Me faither? Me faither is here?” Helena’s tone suddenly matched his panic, and she looked to Alexander for guidance.
He was silent for a long moment, brooding over the sudden turn in events.
“Has he stated the reason for his unannounced visit, Frync?” he finally inquired.
“He means to annul yer marriage to Her Ladyship, Me Laird.”
“Can he do that?” Helena turned to Alexander and grabbed at his shirt, steadying herself. “He cannae, can he?”
“Frync, go back and tell him that Helena and I arenae in the castle at the moment, that we left shortly after Sophia departed, as the lady was upset. That we arenae expected back until tomorrow. Have Lorna settle Chester and his men into rooms appropriate for their stations. Tell Michael and Alice that they are to entertain him this evening but nae to speak of anything of importance. They can use me absence as reason enough.”
“Aye.” Frync turned to go back in the direction he had come from.
“Och, and Frync,” Alexander called, stopping him. “Have a guard shadow him at all times—tell them it’s for his protection.”
The servant nodded in understanding and retreated hastily to carry out his Laird’s instructions.
Alexander took Helena’s hand and led her out of the garden through a back gate hidden by overgrown bushes, leaving the castle and their unwelcome guests behind as they disappeared into the forest.
“He cannae do that, can he? Tell me,” she pressed.
Alexander didn’t respond at first. He just kept marching deeper into the forest, pulling her along.
“Alexander! Answer me. Can he?”
He stopped so fast that she collided with his back and stumbled back. His wary gaze flicked to her.
“Aye, lass. At this point, he can.” He quickly looked around as if fearing to be heard, then spoke in a low voice, “We have yet to consummate our marriage. If he discovers that, then aye, he can annul our marriage.”
“Oh.” Her stomach sank in embarrassment, in fear, and a multitude of emotions enveloped her. “Right. That.”
“Aye. That,” he said quietly, dropping her hand.
He resumed walking through the forest, this time at a much slower pace. She followed behind him silently, and eventually, they reached a rock formation, where they stopped to sit.
“We’ll wait for a while, give them time to settle in, and then return to our chambers.”
Helena drew her knees up to her chest as she used to do when she was a child and was upset about something. “What are we goin’ to do?”
“There’s only one thing we can do, lass. I dinnae like the circumstances, but I promise to be gentle with ye,” he murmured, stroking her hair gently.
Nodding silently, she avoided looking at him, just leaning against him for comfort, both lost in thought.
It seemed like hours passed before the darkness began to creep in and they made their way back to the keep, sneaking in through the garden gate and into the castle through the rear entrance to the kitchen.
They earned surprised looks from the maids as they hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairwell to their rooms.
“Go and change—I’ll have dinner brought to our rooms. We can eat there to avoid the unpleasantries below.
” Alexander opened the door to her room for her.
“We’ll find our way through this, lass, dinnae fret.
” He paused, grabbing her chin with his forefinger and thumb.
“I’m nae goin’ to let anyone take ye from me. ”
“Nay.” Helena rose on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “That’s nae what I want at all. Goin’ home means the war will resume, and I cannae have that.”
“Aye, ye’re right about that, lass.” He pulled her close, whispering hotly in her ear, “Go on, lass, before I change me mind about dinner.”
With a nervous giggle, Helena retreated into her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it, listening to the sound of his booted steps as he went to the room next door.
A giddy excitement overtook her as she changed out of her day dress and into her favorite nightgown.
A knock on the door drew her attention. She rushed to it and cracked it open enough to peer out and see who was there. Thankfully, it was Alexander.
“The food is gettin’ cold, lass.” He motioned to the next door with a nod of his head. “Come on.”
Helena stepped out of her room and hurried to his, all the while hearing him following close behind. The table by the window was laden with food and drinks. They ate in relative quiet, but her nerves were getting worse and worse by the moment that she ended up picking at her food.
“Nae hungry?”
“Nae really.” Shaking her head, she sat back in her chair and wrung her hands in her lap. “Just tired, I guess.”
“I doubt that’s all it is.” Alexander stood up and stepped around the small table to kneel beside her. “Are ye nervous?”
“I feel like I’m bein’ ridiculous. I ken the responsibilities of a wife.” Her eyes pleaded with him for patience. “I’m just nae sure how to go about this. How to even… ye ken.”
Taking her hand, he stood up and pulled her to the bed, wrapping his arms around her and lying down beside her.
“Well, lucky for ye, I’m a good teacher.” He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, before tossing it onto the floor and lying back down. “Just touch me anywhere ye’re curious about. I’ll even close me eyes so ye dinnae feel like I’m starin’ at ye.”
He settled into the blanket with his arms over his head and his eyes closed. Helena gawked at his muscular chest for a long moment before hesitantly touching her fingers to his breastbone. She withdrew her hand when he shuddered, mistaking his pleasure for discomfort.
“Did I hurt ye?” she asked.
Alexander responded with a laugh. He blinked his eyes open, realizing that he wasn’t helping her uncertainty. He cleared his throat and sat up, cupping her face in his hand and holding himself up with the other.
“Nay, lass, ye didnae hurt me. Do ye trust me?” he asked sincerely.
“Aye,” she said hesitantly, giving him a suspicious look.
“Good.”
Wrapping his hand around to the nape of her neck, he pulled her lips to his harshly, taking them in a kiss that left them both breathless. Leaning in, he encouraged her to lie back down, then he bent over her, careful not to smother her with his weight.
He ran his fingers down her neck to the top of her breasts, where they peeked from beneath her neckline. Her body responded to his touch, her back arching, her fingers curling into the bedsheets.
“Spread yer legs,” he ordered, his hand slipping down to the hem of her nightgown and lifting it to her hips.
She complied slowly, shivering when his fingers brushed against her inner thighs.
“Dinnae worry, I just want to make ye feel good.”
She simply nodded as his fingers slid over her skin and began to roughly stroke and tease her pulsing sex. She let out a cry, biting her lip as her hips moved against his fingers.
“Good lass… enjoy it…”
“A-Alexander… p-please… I cannae…”
“Feels good?” he breathed against a nipple before nibbling on it.
“S-Stop!”
He paused, pulling back to look into her eyes. “I will stop. Do ye nae want me to pleasure ye?”
“I’m nae ready,” she panted, closing her legs. “I’m nae… I dinnae understand this feelin’.”
“We can stop, Helena.”
“I want ye to touch me. I want more,” she admitted frantically, surprising even herself. “I just…”
“I will touch ye,” he promised, his fingers sliding up her thigh again. “And ye will feel pleasure. That is what I want ye to feel.”
“Aye,” she whispered as his fingers moved to her mound.
She moaned into his shoulder when he resumed stroking her, the sensations bursting in her belly and behind her eyes as she rocked against his fingers.
“Alexander,” she whispered.
His relentless fingers found the very sensitive spot that made all sensation explode within her. The fire spread through her, and she cried out in ecstasy, capturing his lips as she rode her climax.
He waited until she caught her breath and gathered her in his arms, kissing her neck lightly.
“I will wait until ye’re ready,” he promised, surprising her by tightening his arms around her.
She exhaled shakily, her breathing evening out as he held her. For the first time since she’d gotten there, she felt truly at ease being so near him.
Michael sat on the edge of the wooden table in Alexander’s chambers, his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed his brother with a knowing look.
“Ye have that look about ye,” he muttered. “The one that means ye’re about to ask me somethin’ I wouldnae like.”
Alexander leaned against the stone wall, his arms folded. “I need ye to take over an investigation.”
Michael’s eyebrows rose. “Aye? An investigation into what?”
“Broderic and Ian’s deaths.”
Michael let out a low whistle. “Now, that is troublesome. What is it that ye hope to find?”
“The truth.”
Michael scoffed. “The truth? I doubt her clan would be willin’ to part with it, even if they had it.”
Alexander pushed off the wall, stepping closer. “That is why ye willnae ask them directly. Start with the prisoners we took in the last skirmish. They may ken more than they let on.”
Michael tilted his head, considering. “Ye’ve always claimed ye had nothin’ to do with their deaths. Why now?”
Alexander’s expression remained unreadable. “It is time to clear me name.”
Michael studied him for a moment. “And if ye find somethin’ ye dinnae like?”
“I will deal with it.”
Michael let out a slow breath. “Where were they last seen? I cannae remember.”
Alexander exhaled sharply. “Near the border. Their bodies were never recovered.”
Michael frowned. “So ye dinnae even ken if they’re truly dead?”
Alexander’s jaw tensed. “Nay, I dinnae.”
Michael scratched his chin. “Alright, then. I will start with the prisoners.” He eyed Alexander, a slow smirk forming on his lips. “But tell me, why the sudden urgency? Why now?”
Alexander’s lips curled into a cold smile. “It will make me marriage easier if me wife kens I didnae kill her braither and cousin.”
Michael let out a dry chuckle. “Ah. Now, there’s the true motive.”
Alexander’s expression did not change. “Find the truth, Michael.”