Chapter 9
Amara jumped to her feet as the door shut closed behind the maid. She stared at Rhys for a moment, surprise widening her eyes.
“Ye dinnae have to speak to her like that,” she chastised Rhys.
He said nothing as he walked over to the window and stood there, looking out to the courtyard below.
“She wasnae doin’ anythin’ wrong,” Amara continued. “She was here at yer bequest, to bring me a clean gown and some food and preparin’ the bath.”
“I ken well enough what she was doin’ here as I sent her.” His voice was soft, calmer now. She wondered why his mood had changed so quickly. He’d come into her chamber looking ready to battle, then just as quickly, he’d calmed down.
Without turning from the window, he apologized. “I shouldnae have taken me foul mood out on the maid.”
Amara was stunned. She stared at his broad back for a long moment. “Has somethin’ happened?”
“The meetin’ with me council dinnae go as planned.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she said nothing.
Stepping over to the small table, she poured herself a glass of ale and took a sip.
Her fingers toyed with the rim for a while as she tried to figure out the best way to approach him, to tell him how she wanted to stay at O’Donnel Castle, to make it her home.
“I ken me faither isnae comin’ for me,” she finally said, her voice whisper soft. That got his attention, and he turned to look at her. “I’ve kent it all this time. I daenae need ye to confirm it for me. Nae anymore.”
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, just watched her and waited for her next words.
“I thought…” Amara took a fortifying sip of ale and cleared her throat. “I thought mayhap I could make here, O’Donnell Castle, me home.”
When his mouth dropped open slightly and his eyes narrowed, Amara rushed on. “It’s yer fault I have nowhere to go!” Her voice rising with the accusation.
She hadn’t meant to attack him so, but he looked like he was about to argue, and she couldn’t let that happen. She truly had nowhere else to go, and as bad as it might be here with the clan not wanting her here, she was sure in time they would come to accept her.
He took a step toward her, and then another. Amara countered by taking a step backward for each one he came toward her. She wasn’t sure she trusted the fire in his eyes. Nina’s warning about his temper rose to the top of her thoughts and she was determined not to test it.
“Ye dragged me here for vengeance, as a tool to get yer kinsman released,” she continued, watching his approach warily. “Ye took me from the only home I’d ever known and now I cannae go back.
He continued his slow stalking without a reply.
“So… aye,” she continued, taking another step backward. “’Tis yer fault I’m in this situation. Ye owe me—”
“Owe ye?” Rhys said, raising a dark eyebrow.
Amara took another step backward, then gasped when her back came up against the wall.
His eyes traced her movements, and he smirked.
He closed the distance between them with one long-legged step and leaned forward.
Placing his hands on either side of her head, he leaned forward, so close she could see tiny golden dots in his dark brown eyes.
“I daenae owe ye anythin’, lass,” he said, his voice deceptively soft. A shiver ran down her spine at the heat blazing in his eyes. At his nearness. “We negotiated. Now the field has changed. Time for renegotiations.”
What were they talkin’ about?
All thought flew from Amara’s mind as she stared into his eyes. His hands, palms pressed flat against the wall, trapped her. He towered over her, his large body an immovable barrier.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. And stayed there. Her lips tingled, swelled, grew warm and dry as he continued to stare. The tip of her tongue shot out to moisten her bottom lip, and his eyes darkened, the muscles in his arms tightening.
Is he thinking about kissing me? Do I want him to kiss me?
She looked at his mouth, at his full inviting lips.
Aye, I do. I want to feel his touch. His mouth on mine. I want it so badly, I cannae think straight.
As she silently willed him to kiss her, he just continued to stare at her mouth, driving her mad.
Finally, she could take the tension no more.
Standing on the tips of her toes, Amara pressed her mouth to his.
She didn’t know who was more surprised, her or Rhys.
He hesitated, but only for the briefest moment, then returned her kiss.
Amara moaned against his mouth. This, her first kiss, was more than anything she’d ever expected. His lips were indeed soft, and masterful as they moved over hers, gentle and coaxing.
One large hand slid from the wall, down to her waist. His grip was tight, but not painful, and it had the added advantage of helping Amara stay on her toes.
The heat of it there was so intense she shivered.
The other hand curled around her neck, his fingers slipping under her hair to tease the sensitive flesh there.
Amara was lost in sensation and wonder. Her thoughts were like butterflies, flitting in every direction. But that was fine. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel, to experience his touch without worry, without her conscious telling her this was wrong.
Her eyebrows drew down at the thought and she quickly pushed it away. She would worry about her bold behavior later, for now she would enjoy the moment.
She raised her arms and wrapped her hands around his neck, unsure what to do with them.
When her fingers buried beneath his hair and she tugged at some of the curls, he growled in pleasure and pulled her closer to him.
So close she could feel the hard muscles of his chest. The flatness of his torso.
And something hard, growing harder in the space between them.
Amara wasn’t completely ignorant of the ways between a man and a woman. Her mother had sat her down one day and explained it. So, she knew what she was feeling pressing so insistently against her middle was his…male member.
A thrill of excitement and power shot through her. That she could have this kind of effect on a man such as the laird was a heady feeling. It made her feel even more bold, wanting to see if she could draw more responses from him.
Dropping one arm, she let her hand trace the plains of his back, down his side, and lower, onto the upper part of his waist. She stopped there, though. There were limits to how bold she could get.
“Open yer mouth for me, lass.”
Amara didn’t hesitate or even ask why he made such a request. His voice had been so smooth and rough at the same time, like warmed whisky. It shot through her like fire through her veins and she immediately obeyed, opening her mouth to him.
She jumped when his warm tongue entered her mouth and caressed her own tongue. She had not expected that. Had not even known that was part of kissing.
Do all men kiss like this?
If someone had told her a man would stick his tongue in her mouth, she would have been appalled and disgusted. She didn’t feel either of those things now. Every stroke of his tongue sent waves of pleasure through her body.
“Aye, lass,” Rhys whispered. “Just like that.”
Amara became aware that she wasn’t supporting herself on the tips of her toes anymore. He was holding her, lifting her with the arm around her waist. It was a good thing too, since she doubted she had the strength to stand on her own.
When he broke the kiss, Amara moaned in frustration. She tried to pull him back, pressing against his neck, but then she stilled when his mouth traced kisses across her cheek. Down to her jaw, then the side of her neck.
Goosebumps broke out on her arms as he nipped, licked, and kissed his way down her throat, across her shoulder, moving her dress sleeve aside to get better access. An unfamiliar tightening sensation began low in her belly. Her breasts swelled. Her nipples tightened to the point of aching.
Is this what women whisper about when they think they are alone? A woman’s pleasure at a man’s touch?
“God’s blood, ye are so sweet, lass.”
“So are ye,” Amara said before realizing how silly that sounded, telling a man he was sweet.
Rhys chuckled, then used the grip on the back of her neck to position her head, then claimed her mouth again.
She thought she was going to die from pleasure when he started moving his hips.
Pressing against her then withdrawing just to repeat the process over and over again in rhythm with his tongue stroking hers.
Sparks formed behind her closed eyes. It was difficult to catch her breath and Amara briefly wondered if she was going to faint.
Rhys suddenly pulled away from her, so abruptly she nearly fell. She looked at him questioningly until she heard what must have alerted him. Knocking at the door. Her heart thumped so hard against her breast, she was afraid it was going to break through.
“Da?”
The sound of a little girl’s voice calling for her father, for Rhys, shocked Amara out of her passionate stupor. Her face flamed with color as she frantically swatted at her clothing, trying to make sure everything was in place.
“Da? Are ye in there? Mister Billy told me ye were here.”
“Aye, Daisy,” Rhys called out, his voice rough and a little breathless. He crossed the chamber, tossed a look back at Amara, his eyes tracing from the top of her head to her toes, before nodding in satisfaction and opening the door.
Amara remained where she was, leaning against the wall. She doubted she would be able to stand on her own if not for the wall against her back. Her legs shook and felt as weak as a newborn colt’s.
“I’ve been waitin’ for ye,” the little girl said. “Ye said ye would come see me.”
“Aye, sweetheart,” Rhys said. He knelt down and picked up the child, then strode back into the room. “I wasnae finished with business yet.”
Amara didn’t hear the rest of their conversation.
Still reeling from Rhys’s kiss, she was stunned to see how his whole expression and demeanor changed in the presence of his daughter.
The ever-present grim line of his lips had morphed into a fond, easy smile that transformed his face, smoothed some of the rough lines.
Made him look more approachable, and somehow more handsome… impossibly so.
It was obvious he loved his daughter very much, and she him. It was hard to see this man as the same hard warrior she knew. Or the man who had kissed her until her thoughts had scattered to the wind.
Daisy swung her little arms around Rhys’s neck, gave him a hug, then squirmed in his arms. Chuckling, he lowered her to the floor, then mussed the top of her blonde head.
The little girl laughed then finally caught sight of Amara. Her smile slipped and she moved behind one of Rhys’s legs, shyly peeking around it to look at Amara.
“Who is that, Da?”
Rhys finally looked at her. The loving smile that had been on his face since he’d seen his daughter faltered. Their eyes met, but Amara couldn’t read his expression. She forced herself to push away from the wall to meet the little girl, but Rhys didn’t introduce them.
“Come along, Daisy,” he said as he picked her up in his arms again. “’Tis time to get ye ready for bed.”
Amara watched Rhys and Daisy leave her chamber. After a moment, she walked over to the bed and sat down.
What just happened?
Rhys’s mood had changed the instant Daisy had asked about her.
Did he regret kissing her?
She raised trembling fingers to her lips, surprised at how warm and swollen they were.
A pit started to form in her belly. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life?
Amara wasn’t sure what terrified her more – how much she wanted to be kissed by Rhys again, or the feelings he’d invoked when they were kissing.