Chapter 25
That night, Skye dreamed of Dougal.
As they kissed, Dougal’s stubble tickled her face. She had grown to love that feeling and would have happily kept kissing him if he hadn’t stepped back.
“Ah, Skye,” he murmured, his voice low and rough.
“Height difference a little awkward?” she asked softly, a shy smile tugging at her lips.
“Nae at all, lass.” His large hand cupped the back of her neck, his thumb brushing her jaw with clear possession. “I just… I’m nae a good man.”
“Dougal,” she whispered, “that should be for me to decide.”
“I cannae stay away from ye.” His grip tightened slightly, his eyes dark with hunger and something fiercer. “Ye’ll have to be the one to end this. I daenae have the strength to walk away.”
“I willnae,” she breathed. “I want this… I want ye.”
No more words were needed. Dougal guided her back onto his large, comfortable bed. Clothes were shed and tossed aside. Skye barely noticed where they landed; her attention was entirely on him. There was nowhere else she wanted to look.
Soon, she was leaning back against the plush pillows, her legs spread as Dougal knelt between them. His stubble tickled the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, brushing against her cunt and coaxing a soft groan from her.
“Are ye alright, lass?” he purred, a hungry smirk curving his lips.
“I willnae be if ye stop,” she managed.
He let out a low chuckle. “Then I willnae stop.”
He dove back in, his tongue delving between her folds while his thumb firmly stroked her bud.
Her hips jerked, soft moans spilling past her lips as his ministrations grew relentless.
He sucked gently on the sensitive bundle of nerves and pushed one thick finger inside her, then two.
She clenched around him, her hands flying to her breasts and squeezing them.
“Dougal!” she gasped. “Please… I need ye.”
It was something she had never thought she would ask. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she had never wanted anything as much as she wanted this right now.
He gave her bud one last firm suck before pulling back, his eyes gleaming with dark satisfaction. “Impatient, me Lady?”
Even the way he said it felt possessive, like a mild rebuke wrapped in affection.
Skye’s cheeks burned hotter, but she nodded.
Dougal shifted, one of his strong hands gripping her hips as he pushed not two fingers inside her but three. “Ye’re mine tonight,” he growled softly. “And I intend to take me time reminding ye of that.”
He started pumping them in and out, slowly at first.
Skye cried out, her hands clutching at the bed sheets as he used his fingers. Dougal set a hard, demanding rhythm, fucking her with deep, possessive movements. Every time he slowed, she squeezed him tightly.
He moved his fingers faster, wanton growls escaping him.
“Are ye trying to test me, love?” His voice came out in a low growl that sent shivers down her spine.
She shook her head, breathless. “Nay… I just?—”
He cut her off with a deep kiss, his thrusts growing faster and more intense. The pleasure inside her swelled until she shattered around him, crying out his name.
Afterward, he stayed over her for a long moment, breathing hard, before slowly sliding out of her and lying beside her. Skye gazed at him with soft, sated eyes.
“I hope ye have no intention of leaving in the middle of the night,” she whispered.
He pulled her against his chest, one thick arm wrapping around her waist like a band of iron. “I’m nae going anywhere,” he said, his tone final. “Ye’re mine now, Skye. I’ll be right here when ye wake up.”
“Good,” she murmured, smiling as she snuggled closer.
Dougal pressed a kiss to her forehead, his hand stroking slowly up and down her back. “Sleep now, love.”
She woke up gasping.
She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, panting softly until the throbbing in her sex ceased. She rolled over onto her side only after it had dulled enough for her to be able to sleep.
It was a miracle that sleep came to her at all.
She woke up to the faint chirping of birds and the bleating of a goat.
She paused. The bleating sounded far too close to be coming from outside. Grabbing her shawl, she wrapped it around her upper half and poked her head out the door.
Another bleat sounded.
“Shh, Goat! If ye keep making so much noise, ye’re going to wake up the entire castle,” Lily hissed. “Daenae ye understand that Da wants ye to stay outside?”
Skye covered her mouth, barely able to stifle her laughter.
Not wanting to spoil the girl’s fun, she quietly stepped back into her room. She didn’t hear the goat again and wondered if, by chance, Lily had managed to get the creature to quiet down. It seemed improbable, but she supposed that stranger things happened.
Once she closed the door, she burst into laughter.
Lily had bounced back quickly after what happened the other day. She was faring far better than her father, who kept looking at Skye as if she were going to crumble right before his eyes.
But Skye would not break.
Later, Skye spent some time with Kenna and Lily.
The sitting room had become something of a refuge, and Skye found herself in it, with Lily curled up against her side, Blossom purring in the girl’s lap, and the goat dozing near the hearth despite Dougal’s insistence that it remain outdoors.
“Ye’re quiet today,” Kenna observed, pausing her needlework. “In the time I’ve come to ken ye, it’s rare for ye nae to have something to say. I wouldnae say ye’re quite a chatterbox like Lily, but ye have never been quiet.”
“Am I?” Skye forced a smile.
She had not realized how much Kenna had learned by simply observing her.
“Aye, ye are. Ye have that same faraway look ye had this morning at breakfast.” Kenna’s eyes were kind but knowing. “Thinking of yesterday, are ye? Nae that I blame ye. It’s quite a troublesome mess we’ve found ourselves in.”
“Perhaps.”
“Skye?” Lily tugged at her sleeve, oblivious to the tension in the room. “Ye’ve gone all far away again. Are ye all right?”
Even the little girl was picking up on the changes in her mood.
The last thing Skye wanted was to worry her. Lily did not need that burden. She was far too young and innocent.
“Forgive me, sweetling. What were ye saying?”
“I was saying that Blossom wants a story. She likes it best when ye tell them, nae Grandmaither, though daenae tell her I said that,” Lily admitted. “But I still love Grandmaither’s stories. They are always fun!”
“I heard that,” Kenna said mildly, not looking up from her needlework. “But I would also like to hear Skye tell us a story. Is it nae what ye have been doing for the past few weeks?”
Skye blushed, unsure of what to say.
Lily giggled, burrowing deeper into her side. “Tell us the one about the selkie again. The one who left her skin on the rocks. I like it.”
“I’ve told ye that one three times this week. Do ye nae want to hear another?”
The second Skye said those words, a stubborn expression came over Lily’s face. There was no convincing the little girl that she should hear another story.
“It’s a good one. Please, Skye?” she begged, pushing out her bottom lip.
The pout was very effective at melting even the most hardened of hearts. It often worked on Dougal, even though he would never admit it to anyone. She had him wrapped around her little finger. Stephen, too. Now he might be more willing to admit it.
“Very well, but only because ye asked so nicely.”
“I’m always nice.”
“Ye are when it suits ye,” Kenna drawled, and Lily gasped in mock offense, though she was smiling too wide to sustain it. “Daenae deny it, little one. It doesnae mean I daenae love ye.”
Lily giggled.
Skye began the familiar tale, and only by the time the selkie found her way back to the sea did Lily’s eyes grow heavy, her breathing slow and even against Skye’s arm. She had indeed remained awake the entire time, as she had insisted.
It was truly something.
“She’s asleep,” Kenna murmured. “She always falls asleep so easily to that story. Ye must tell it to her more often. Perhaps then she’ll go to bed at a reasonable time.”
“Aye, it seems so.” Skye smoothed a stray curl back from the girl’s forehead, careful not to wake her. “She looks so peaceful when she sleeps. Like an angel.”
Kenna smiled softly. “She tires quickly after mornings with that goat.” She set her needlework aside, studying Skye with open attention. “Ye’re good with her, lass. Better than I think ye realize. Ye said ye daenae have much experience with children, but ye are a natural, I can assure ye of that.”
“She makes it easy to be good with her,” Skye whispered, tucking another curl behind Lily’s ear.
The girl shifted, mumbling something about Blossom and the still-unnamed baby goat under her breath.
She was determined to wait until her father helped her name it. She didn’t want anyone else to help her name the goat. Skye had offered, but Lily had her mind set. No one could convince her otherwise.
“Nae every lass would think so. Some would find a child underfoot a burden, nae a joy.” Kenna’s voice gentled further. “I’ve watched ye with her these past days. Ye’ve a gift for it, whatever ye tell yerself about only being here for a month. Have ye thought about that?”
Skye’s cheeks warmed. “I’m only trying to bring her some happiness after everything.
She was born into this world so violently.
All I want to do is give her the best of everything.
Though it is obvious that her faither does that enough on his own.
Ye too, Lady Kenna. Both of ye have Lily’s best interests at heart. That is never up for debate.”
“Ye’ve done far more than that, and ye ken it.” Kenna’s gaze sharpened. “Ye’re still thinking of yesterday, are ye nae? Of what Dougal did.”
And there it was, her thoughts being dragged back to Dougal.
Skye almost preferred to think about the dream. It was easier than considering what his protectiveness meant for both of them.
Her hands stilled where they rested against Lily’s sleeping form. “I daenae ken what ye mean, me Lady.”
“Ye ken exactly what I mean, lass, though I willnae press ye on it.”
Kenna’s smile was soft, almost sad. Skye felt guilty for refusing to discuss the subject, but it was not one she was comfortable speaking about at the moment.
“I’ll only say this. A man doesnae do what me son did yesterday for a woman who means nothing to him. Whatever ye tell yerself about yer arrangement, I think ye ken that well enough.”
Skye said nothing, only looked down at Lily’s peaceful face, unable to meet Kenna’s eyes.
“I will consider it,” she said carefully.
“That is all I ask of ye, Skye. I ask nothing else.”
She smiled softly. “Thank ye, me Lady.”
“Rest, if ye can,” Kenna said gently, rising at last and gesturing for a maid to carry Lily up to bed. “Ye’ve had a fright yerself, whatever ye claim otherwise.”
The maid crossed the room and gathered Lily into her arms, the girl stirring only enough to mumble something about Blossom before settling back into sleep, her head tucked against the maid's shoulder as she was carried from the room.
Skye shook her head. “I am fine. It happened yesterday, and today is a new day. I am nae thinking about it.”
Well, she was now, but only because Kenna had brought it up.
“Are ye nae?” Kenna arched an eyebrow, entirely unconvinced. “Because ye’ve gone rather pale just saying so, lass.”
“I havenae.”
Skye wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself or the woman. It was hard to tell.
“Ye have. I’ve raised a son who tries the very same trick on me, and it doesnae work.” Kenna settled back into her seat, studying her patiently. “There’s no shame in being frightened, ye ken.”
“I wasnae frightened for meself.” Skye’s hands twisted in her lap. “I was frightened for Lily. For what might have happened had things gone differently.”
“Aye, I ken. But ye were grabbed too, Skye. Ye neednae set that aside simply because it wasnae the worst of what could have happened.”
“I daenae want to make more of it than it was.”
Kenna only hummed softly, speaking no more of the subject.
Skye was grateful. She already had enough to think about and didn’t want to think about it anymore tonight.
“Goodnight, Lady Kenna.”
Kenna smiled. “Goodnight, Skye. Sleep well.”