“Ethan,” she whispered. “Dear God, he cannot be returned to my uncle. If naught else, he must remain here in your care.”
“Both of you will.” James knocked on the door, and Tavia answered, her eyes rounding as she saw Eilis and Fia.
James’s mother looked just as surprised.
“How is the lad?” James asked, not wishing to discuss the conspiracy of his people to ferret Eilis away without his permission.
Eilis rushed into the chamber before Tavia could say. Ethan jumped off the high bed and he, and Eilis ran into each other’s arms. “El!” he cried out. “Ye are alive!”
“Aye, Ethan, my darling. Aye.”
James’s mother smiled, but her expression shifted as she looked at James’s grim look.
“Dunbarton will not release Dougald,” James said. “But I did not have high hopes he would. I will come up with another plan.”
James’s mother paled. Tavia hurried over to her and held her arm.
“What is the rush? This is an ungodly hour to be taking a wife,” the old priest grumbled from beyond the chamber. “And what are we doing here and not in the chapel?”
Ian said, “Father, circumstances are such that the laird must wed at once to avoid bloodshed.”
“Bloodshed ye say? Verra well. Where are you taking me then?”
“The solar,” James said, intercepting them. “Come, we will have another ceremony where all of our people will celebrate, but for now, those of us here will witness the event in my solar.”
His mother’s pale face brightened slightly but then she frowned. “Eilis should change out of the traveling gown.”
“No time, Mother.” He offered his hand to Eilis.
She hesitated while Ethan’s arms were wrapped around her legs.
“Come, Ethan,” Fia said, pulling him away and lifting him into her arms. “Your sister is marrying Laird James.”
Ethan smiled shyly at him.
James inclined his head then turned to speak to Eilis. “Come, lass, and be mine.”
“But Dunbarton…”
“The devil with him, Eilis.” James softened his scowl. ‘Twas not the way he wished to coax his bride to married bliss.
“If this is a mistake…” She took his hand, and he pulled her out of the chamber at a brisk pace, heading for his solar, not risking that she might change her mind.
The mistake was in letting Broc take the lass away from him the first time so many summers ago.
Chapter Nineteen
After the abbreviated wedding ceremony, Father Rivers grumbled something about marrying at a more decent hour while Fia carried a sleeping Ethan to Eilis’s chamber. Lady Akira kissed Eilis again, bidding her a good evening with a look at James to be gentle, and took her leave. Niall, Eanruig, and Ian went below stairs to celebrate, though the bigger celebration would take place on the morrow.
And James looked like he had won a battle, triumphant, a smile playing on his lips, yet when he escorted Eilis to his chamber, he seemed a little apprehensive. He stoked the peat fire, his back turned to Eilis so that she could remove her gown in privacy.
His sensitivity charmed her, and she cleared her throat to get his attention. He looked over his shoulder and raised his brows when he saw she had only removed her socks, garters, and shoes, her feet bare. “I…I need a maid to help me with my gown. Would you…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish her question but straightened and stalked across the floor. She was reminded of the way he took charge of situations, regally, full of strength of purpose, his shoulders thrown back, chest out, his focus on her and nothing else.
And he was hers this night and always. She tried to ignore the nervous jitters twisting inside her belly, the way her heart fluttered when he drew close, the inane fear that suddenly shook her to the core.
He’d made love with Catriona, Eilis was certain, and the woman would be well versed in how to please a man. Whereas, Eilis had not a clue as to what she needed to do. He reached out to her, and she forced herself not to step back. She gave him a small smile of encouragement, but she was afraid it wasn’t at all convincing.
He smiled even more and took her hands in his, brought them to his lips, and swept his mouth across them in the gentlest of caresses. “Naught to be afraid of, my siren from the sea. You have captured my heart, and I am yours now, this night and forever.”
“I…” She straightened, looking up into his eyes, trying so hard not to appear as nervous as she felt, until a shiver rippled through her.
But this time he leaned down and kissed her lips, his large hands gripping her shoulders, holding her fast so she would not melt into the rushes. For that is the way she felt with his lips on hers, heating her to the core, like the flame warming the tallow, slowly melting it into a puddle of hot liquid.
She barely remembered his lifting her gown over her head, except that his lips separated from hers for the briefest of moments and then his arms were around her, holding her tight against his body, keeping her warm and protected.
He was still fully dressed, although he lifted her off her feet and carried her to his bed, his gaze sweeping down her nakedness, his look full of admiration.
With great anticipation, she waited for him to remove his clothes and hoped she would be as good as Catriona in bed, if only she could make the right moves.
She only got a glimpse of his nakedness, the powerful muscles in his arms and chest and legs, the lance that stretched out to her as hard as any spear, and the dark curly hairs surrounding it before he joined her in the bed.
She vaguely worried about what her uncle and Dunbarton’s response would be to learn she had married the MacNeill.
But then James was on top of her, kissing her into submission, making her forget about anything but him. His powerful body pressed against hers in the chilled air. His mouth pressured hers for a response that effectively stole her thoughts. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him back with enthusiasm. Her tongue danced with his, soliciting a groan from deep within him. The sensuous sound spurred her on, made her experiment more, touching his skin, exploring every inch of him.
“Siren,” he huskily mouthed against her lips, his fingers sifting through her hair as if each strand was the most beautiful thing he’d ever experienced.
He made her feel precious, desirable, lightheaded, and awash with joy. He shifted lower and captured her breasts in his hands, massaging and suckling the nipples with his mouth. A new sensation instantly sprang up between her legs, a sweet ache that begged for relief. Please finish me off, she wanted to plead with him. But she said naught and moaned low with the pleasure he stoked deep inside her.
‘Twas naught like anything she’d ever experienced, and she wanted to feel the same delicious pleasure over and over again. She reached down and seized handfuls of his satiny locks, gripping them as he kissed her belly, sending a thrill straight through her. When he inserted his fingers between her legs, she sighed— ‘twas the most sinfully exciting sensation she’d ever had. He was killing her.
“Please, James, do something to make the ache stop.”
He groaned and pushed her legs apart, lowering himself slowly in between. “You might feel a wee bit uncomfortable in the beginning…”
She slipped her hands down to his firm arse and pressured him to get on with the lovemaking. He smiled, his dark eyes clouded with desire. “Marsali, my pearl.”
He speared her with his lance, slowly, allowing her time to accustom herself to his size. Then a prickle of pain and he was inside her fully. ‘Twas the most erotic pleasure, his entering her the way he did, his staff diving in, the friction pushing her to the top of the cliff, to a headiness she’d never felt before.
The heat of his rubbing against her, despite the coolness of the room, stoked a fire burning deep inside her, building until she felt she could take no more or would explode. Ripples of pleasure washed through her, and an exhilarating peace settled over her.
“I love you, James,” she whi
spered, remembering the boy of her youth who had lain between her legs at the top of the cliff after rescuing her, only they’d both been dressed and soaking wet to the skin. Her James, partly a blurred memory from the past, now so real, she could scarce believe he was hers.
Yet a trickle of fear wormed its way into her heart. What if her uncle and Dunbarton vowed to kill her new husband?
James feared his new bride would faint away she’d been so tense, shivering with expectation, partly because of the cold and partly because of never having been with a man. He was grateful his kisses had stirred up her basic primal needs, the desire to be loved and the need to love in return. Generous with her kisses and an eager learner, she was a bonny bride. Her touching him triggered his need to prove she had made no mistake in choosing him.. He wanted to please her in the worst way.
Now, she gripped his shaft inside her tight, lithe body, her mews stirring him to completion, and with a final thrust, he spilled his seed deep. He rolled over and pulled her into his embrace, and she cuddled against his chest, her arm wrapping around his waist. “Hmm,” she said, slipping her leg over his.
He knew he would get no sleep this eve, not the way the woman so innocent in his arms awakened his needs.
****
Something vaguely stirred Eilis from her sleep, although she couldn’t recall what. ‘Twas James’s fault she was so muddle-headed, waking her two more times, nay three, to make love to her again in the middle of the night.
She smiled as she ran her hand over her naked belly, thinking how even now she might have a babe growing inside her. She didn’t know how many times he’d have to join with her to make it happen, although Fia had once told her one time could be enough. And she should know because one of the milk maids had sworn she’d had only one transgression, and she was with child.
Eilis reached out to touch James, but her fingers only grappled quilts and furs. She frowned to learn he was no longer in bed with her. Why did he not wake her? Then she again heard the noise that must have disturbed her sleep.
“Our laird said to wake her and get her dressed.”
“But we tried to, and she shooed us away thrice already. Let the poor lady sleep.”
Eilis didn’t recognize the women’s voices.
Someone pounded at the chamber door, and one of the women scurried to answer it, her feet hurrying across the floor. “Aye?”
“Lady Eilis, is she not dressed yet?” Niall asked, his voice perturbed.
“Laird James wore her out last night. We have tried to rouse her from the bed, but she is verra tired.”
“Laird James’s wife is needed at the celebration. I will wait here for her as I am to escort her to the hall.”
“Aye, at once,” the lady said, and the door squeaked closed.
Eilis groaned and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She couldn’t possibly get ready quickly enough to suit anyone.
One of the older women pulled the curtains aside and smiled brightly at her.
“Where is Fia?” Eilis asked, trying not to grumble, still too tired to move very quickly.
“She has taken the wee bairn down to break his fast. Laird James gave him an amber rock that the lad carries around like ‘tis the greatest treasure,” the woman said, helping Eilis into a shift. “Lady Akira has taken your brother under her wing. I have never seen her so happy. Well, and also since she has you to call daughter after all those boys to raise, Niall included.”
Nesta hurried into the chamber and grinned. “I brought you another gown. Lady Akira said we will go to the village to find some new material and fashion new gowns for you, my lady. But His Lairdship also said he left something on his chest for you.”
Nesta brought the cloak over, the silver brooch still fastened to it, the one Eilis had worn when he’d rescued her from the sea. She touched it tenderly and remembered that experience as if it had been yesterday. She sighed.
But what about Broc? And Dunbarton? And James’s brother and Gunnolf? Although Eilis knew that ‘twas important to celebrate life even when undercurrents of danger lurked all about them. Life was too short to focus only on adversity.
And then she wondered, what about Catriona? The woman would want to poison her, to be sure.
“An amber stone?” Eilis queried.
“Aye, the tale His Lairdship tells is that he found the most exquisite treasure fishing for stones at the edge of the sea. Only he had to rescue the siren before she retrieved the amber stone. When he went looking for what she had tried to free from the rocky beach at low tide, once her cousin had stolen her away, he found the amber stone. He told the wee lad, Ethan, that ‘twas from his sister, Eilis, a gift from her heart.”
Eilis smiled.
“Think you our laird could be such a poet?” The old woman shook her head.
“Aye, ‘tis the pearl from the sea that brought it out in him,” Nesta said, helping to plait Eilis’s hair. “My da was never one for poetic sentiments, I did not think. Until one day I heard him speaking alone to my mother. Hearing his sentimental words, I cried a few tears. ‘Tis a bonny lass that will make men do the strangest things.”
Eilis glanced at the other woman, strangely silent. She was busy with the linens, pulling each of the comforters back, the furs, the pillows. What a mess Eilis and James had made of the bedding in the throes of passion. She wished she could have straightened the covers before the women had to see such a shambles.
Then the woman pulled off two of the linens, whispered to the older woman, and scurried out of the room. Nesta seemed to have heard and smiled. “Mayhap Laird James did not realize where this would lead to. The servants knew from the moment he carried you from his horse and back into the keep, the way he held you close to his heart, although his face wore a scowl like when he was ready to do battle. But we knew he was worried more about your health and…” She sighed. “We knew. ‘Twas all the talk amongst the servants, the betting going on as to when he would finally take you to wife. Although many of us believed he would have done so earlier and sent word to Lady Catriona that she was already too late.”
“Catriona,” Eilis said.
“Aye, she is wanton. We guessed she would chase after Keary or some other, mayhap even your cousin, Broc. But what is she up to? Plying her feminine ways on our Laird James. Polecat. He should send her back whence she came now before new rumors begin to fly.”
And Nesta would be just the one to give them wing. For once, Eilis was glad of it. “Then I must put a stop to her wicked ways.”
“We will help,” Nesta said, and the older maid nodded, her eyes smiling. “We serve you as well as we do our laird, and we know what kind of a woman Lady Catriona is to work for. Her servants are terrified of her. So we will help you in anyway that we can.”
“Then come, ladies, before the rumors begin in earnest.”
Nesta and the older woman giggled and followed her out of the chamber. Niall bowed his head to Eilis. “You are looking verra bonny this morn, my lady. Wedded bliss becomes you.”
She tried to quash a blush, but as heated as her cheeks were, she fear she failed. “I understand Catriona is causing trouble.”
“Fia is giving her a difficult time and so is Lady Akira. One of the servants burned Catriona’s portion of the veal, and another gave her the sour mead at the bottom of the barrel. Most of all, James has been too busy speaking with your cousin, Broc, to pay the woman any mind.”
Eilis let out the breath she’d been holding. She didn’t think she’d be worried about the woman’s attentions to James so soon after their marriage, but then again, what if he was just like his father? Taking a wife then finding any maid to satisfy his sexual needs beyond the marriage bed.
As soon as she walked into the hall on Niall’s arm, everyone grew quiet. Her face flushed anew, and the heat spread all the way through her. Why didn’t James wake her earlier this morn so she wouldn’t be subjected to this humiliation?
He hurried from his chair and joined her, which helpe
d somewhat. “You are looking lovely this morning, my beautiful wife,” he whispered in her ear then kissed her cheek.
His kinsmen were smiling, and several raised mugs in salute. ‘Twas only the sour-faced Broc, some of his men, and the most dour Catriona that dimmed the happy celebration.
“I understand Catriona is vying for your attention overmuch,” Eilis whispered back and gave her husband a kiss on the lips, which caused a roar of cheers and mugs and knives tapping on the table.
James chuckled. “Once I found my siren, the woman lost the chance to be my wife. My mother and most of my people, even Niall, knew it from the beginning. I was the only one too thickheaded to realize it at first.”
“Nay, my laird. You knew not who I was and could not make such a commitment, risking your people’s safety. ‘Tis your kindness and care for your people that made you hold back.”
“Aye, my sweeting.” He led her to the table and whispered again, “Did I disturb your sleep overmuch?”
She grinned at him. “’Twas for a verra good reason. But I apologize for arising so late.”
“No apologies needed.”
Catriona glared at Eilis as she took her seat. Ethan waved his amber stone at his sister and grinned as he sat between Fia and Lady Akira. Broc bowed his head to Eilis as if acknowledging she’d played her game well and won.
Catriona said, “Do you oft sleep away the day”
“Only when her husband keeps her up overmuch,” James said with a gleam in his eye. He slipped his hand around Eilis’s in her lap and squeezed.
She smiled at him. If it had been someone else he’d spoken to, Eilis might have been embarrassed. But Catriona deserved worse, the witch.
“Aye, and he promises much more of the same this eve.” Eilis offered her a coy smile.
“If he is not away battling Dunbarton,” Catriona said, her voice chilly and calculating. “Seems someone has told him that you are here, and he wishes you turned over to him at once. Then he’ll release James’s brother. I never thought James would prefer a woman over his blood relation.”
Eilis stared at James in disbelief. “Is what Catriona says is true? Has Dunbarton ordered my exchange for your brother?”