Highlander's Reckoning (The Sinclair Brothers #3) (8 page)

“I followed Lady Rona,” Malcolm said, barely above a
whisper. “She went to the village, but then walked south into the Galloway
woods. I saw her approach an isolated cottage, and…”

“And?”

“…And a man emerged and hugged her.”

Daniel’s heart squeezed, and a stab of jealousy and
rage pierced his stomach. “Who was this man?”

“He looked to be several years older than you, my
lord. He was dressed simply, like a peasant, though he appeared to be tall and
able-bodied.”

“Enough,” Daniel said, feeling the bile rise in the
back of his throat. He tried to organize his thoughts, but anger, jealousy, and
embarrassment tangled together into a knot inside his head.

“Can I trust you never to speak of this, Malcolm?”

Malcolm straightened his spine and locked eyes with
Daniel. “Aye, my lord.”

Daniel dug out a coin from his pocket and flipped it
toward the slender man. “For your trouble.”

“It’s not necessary, my lord.”

Daniel didn’t bother arguing with Malcolm and
instead simply waved him away, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other
hand.

So, this was Rona’s secret. This was the kind of
woman he was married to. He picked up the stone he had tossed on the ground and
threw it as far as he could with a roar of rage.

He would have the truth from her own lips, though,
if only to have that one sliver of respect from her. He stomped to the docks
just as the sun slipped below the hills to the west to wait for her return.

He didn’t have to wait long.

As Rona’s hired rowboat neared Loch Doon’s docks, a
shadowy figure emerged from the twilight. At first, all she could make out was
a tall, broad-shouldered form looming on one of the docks, but as she drew
nearer, she could see that the man wore a kilt.

Her stomach seized. It was as if her thoughts had manifested
themselves. Was he waiting for her? Would he embrace her without a word? Would
he kiss her again?

She took a steadying breath. Of course, he hadn’t
been privy to the enflamed thoughts that had consumed her since her
conversation with Mairi in the woods a few hours ago. He didn’t know that she’d
been thinking about his face and body during her walk back to the village, or
all along the boat ride to the castle. He couldn’t be aware that despite her
brain’s best efforts, her body was primed for him.

She was finally ready.

She was finally ready to soften toward him, to let
him in. She was still planning to guard her secret, but it was time to stop
fighting their situation—they were married, after all, and she was now willing
to begin opening up to him.

When the boat gently bumped into the wooden dock,
she looked up at him and smiled softly. She couldn’t quite make out his face in
the shadows, but she extended her hand toward him.

Like a vise, his hand clamped around her wrist and
hauled her out of the boat. As he turned them both toward the castle, she
caught sight of his face in the light of the rising moon. His expression was
flat and guarded, but the corners of his mouth were turned down ever so
slightly.

“Daniel, I think we should talk,” she said. Her
voice faltered slightly, unsure as she was of his state of mind, but she still
managed to sound soft.

He didn’t respond, but strode purposefully through
the portcullis and across the yard, his hand still firmly wrapped around her
wrist. She had to hustle to keep up with his long strides.

“I’m hoping that we can be more open and honest with
each other,” she went on.

He barreled through the great hall and toward the
stairs without acknowledging her words. When he reached his chamber, he threw
open the door and pulled her inside, then shut the door behind them.

He released her wrist and crossed his large arms
over his chest. “You are finally ready to talk, are you? Good, because I have a
mind to hear the truth from you—for once.”

Her warm thoughts and soft mood toward him vanished.
She frowned and crossed her arms as well, mirroring his stance.

“What do you mean,
for once
?”

“Don’t play games with me, lass. I am not a man to
be trifled with. You have been evading me since the moment I arrived, and you
have lied as well.”

“What have I lied about?”

“You presented yourself as a virgin, which you are
clearly not.”

She was preparing herself for a fight about her
disappearances and absences, not about her virtue. Her mouth fell open as she
fumbled for words.

“Don’t try to form another lie. I know you are
sneaking off to be with some other man.”

“What?” she managed to sputter. “What other man?
What are you talking about?”

He began pacing, and though he didn’t make a move
toward her, she could tell he was growing more heated with anger.

“All those trips you’ve been making to the village?
I know you’re actually sneaking off to some cottage to meet with your lover.
Don’t try to deny it. I had you followed. I would just ask for a little honesty
from you. As your husband, it’s the least I deserve.”

The gears slowly ground to a halt in her head. He
knew about Ian and Mairi’s cottage. And he thought she had a lover. And he’d
had her followed.

“You spied on me?”

She realized that her hands had dropped to her sides
and she was clenching and unclenching her fists. What a fool she was. Mere
hours ago, she had convinced herself that her bodily attraction to this man was
enough to warrant extending him some trust. And here she was learning he
trusted her so little that he had her followed to see if she was cuckolding
him.

“What else was I supposed to do?” he demanded,
rounding on her. “I’ve commanded and cajoled, and yet you won’t give me an
answer about where you’ve been sneaking off to.”

She felt a hot blush of embarrassment and shame wash
over her face. He was right. She’d refused to tell him what she was up to. How
could she expect him to trust her when she behaved in such a way?

“I do not have a lover,” she said, returning to his
initial accusation.

“Then who was the man you were seen hugging in the
woods earlier today?” His eyes appeared darker in the light from the fire that
burned in the brazier nearby.

She averted her eyes. Now she knew that she couldn’t
trust him with the secret of her falconry. But how would she convince him that
she wasn’t conducting some illicit affair?

“That was a friend.”

“A friend?” Daniel said acidly. “Come, Rona, the
truth!”

“That is the truth! He is a friend. And he’s
married.”

“And a married man has never had an affair with a
younger maiden before?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said
tartly, spinning on her heels and giving him her back to avoid those searching
blue-gray eyes.

“You wouldn’t? Isn’t that why you’ve been denying me
my husbandly rights? You’re afraid I’ll realize that you’re not a virgin, that
you’ve been gallivanting with some peasant—”

She spun back around again to face him. She knew she
was taking his bait, but she had to convince him somehow.

“I am a virgin! I can’t tell you why I go to the
woods, or who that man was, but—”

“Why? Why can’t you tell me?” He wrapped his hands
around her arms and lowered his head so that their faces were mere inches
apart. He locked her in place, both with his hands and his eyes. “Why, Rona?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to escape him.
“Because. Because I don’t even know you. Because you were sent here by the
King.”

“What does the Bruce have to do with it?”

Because what I am doing defies a King’s
authority
, she thought silently.
And because if you serve
the King, you’ll have my eyes gouged out for violating the law, and you’ll cut
off Ian’s hands
.

She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of such
thoughts and also to brush Daniel away.

“I am a maiden still,” she said lamely. She had that
horrible, desperate feeling again, like she was being cornered and had no
escape.

He released her and took a step back in disgust. “I
am not a tolerant man, but I could have forgiven you, if only you’d have told
the truth.”

“The truth?” Something about his icy, dismissive
tone was the last straw. She felt her temper boil over, but it was more than
just anger and outrage at his accusations. In the pit of her stomach sat a
stone of fear—fear that he would turn away from her forever, that they would
both be doomed to a cold, cruel marriage, that she would never again know the
feel of his lips on hers.

“Here’s the truth,” she began, jabbing a finger into
his broad chest. “I never wanted to marry you. My life was just fine before you
showed up. I always knew I’d have to get married, but I didn’t imagine it would
be to a Highlander who stomps around in a kilt giving orders all day.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “And I didn’t ask to be
married off to a Lowland chit who has a tongue and a temper as sharp as my
sword. So at least we can be honest about that.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “I gather you are
the kind of man who is used to being in control. Well, you can’t control me.”

“Oh no?” he said, a wicked look coming into his
eyes. “You said it yourself, lass. You hardly know me. Perhaps I will lock you
in my chamber and find some way to draw the information out of you.”

Rona was suddenly very aware of his body, which
loomed over her. He stood so close that if she inhaled deeply, she would almost
brush against him. Instead of frightening her, though, his words made her feel
hot and restless. She took a step back to try to clear her mind.

“You’re no tyrant. You can’t force me to tell you
what you want to know.”

Her anger was mixing with something else now,
something that was making her voice breathier and her stomach flutter.

He took a step toward her, and to maintain what
little space there was between them, she was forced to take a step back.

“You’re right about one thing, lass,” he said lowly.
“I am used to being in control. I won’t be made a fool of, and I damn well
won’t have my wife cuckolding me.”

“I won’t tell you where I go or what I do,” she said
defiantly, though her heart beat in her throat furiously. “But you wanted the
truth. The truth is, I am a virgin. In fact, you are the first and only man I
have ever kissed.”

His eyes flickered in surprise for the briefest
moment, but then his face resumed its hard look.

“And why should I believe you when you refuse to
tell me what you are about, and then in the same breath profess that you should
be trusted?”

“I don’t know. There’s no way I can prove to you
that I am still a maiden, except—” She felt her eyes go wide as she realized
what she was about to say. She should bite her tongue! She cursed herself
silently for such brazenness.

“Aye, except for
that
way,” Daniel said
darkly.

He took another step forward, and Rona bumped into
the edge of the bed. She hadn’t realized it, but he had slowly backed her
toward his massive bed, which was pushed against the far wall of the chamber.
Her eyes flickered up to his, and her mouth went dry at the look on his face.

Anger and frustration battled with hungry desire
across his features. She had never seen his face so expressive before. She
guessed dimly that he was so distracted, so close to letting go of his tightly
held rein on himself, that he didn’t have the energy to mask his face as he
normally did.

But instead of scooting around him and away from the
bed, as any sane and proper lady would do, she rose onto her toes and brushed
her lips against his. She had no idea what inspired that action, for by all
measures she should be terrified to be alone with her infuriated husband, a man
who looked like he couldn’t decide between anger at her or desire for her.

But she felt so tired—so tired of fighting him, so
tired of fighting her own desire. The image of Mairi and Ian walking hand in
hand earlier that afternoon flitted across her mind. That’s what she wanted.
Not all the lies and secrets and mistrust. She wanted Daniel to look at her the
way Ian looked at Mairi—with utter trust and devotion. And she wanted to look
at him like that, too.

“Let me show you that you can trust me,” she
whispered against his lips.

“Is this a trick?” he said, but instead of icy
suspicion, there was a note of desperation in his voice.

“I wouldn’t know how to trick you, Daniel,” she
replied, locking eyes with him. “All I know is that I am…drawn to you, despite
my best efforts to keep you at arm’s length. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“I am drawn to you too,” he breathed. “Bloody hell,
you’re driving me mad. Who are you, Rona?”

She didn’t know how to answer. Was she a liar and an
underhanded sneak, or was she a loyal friend and protector? Was she all flaming
temper and stubbornness, or was she the liquid pool of desire she became in
Daniel’s presence?

“I am your wife,” she replied.

He was watching her face closely, no doubt
registering all her tangled thoughts, which she didn’t bother trying to hide.
His body was taut as a bowstring in front of her. She couldn’t bear the silence
that stretched as he regarded her, trying to hold himself back and yet so
clearly struggling with control.

Slowly, she raised her fingertips to his face, which
was set firmly. Ever so softly, she brushed against his darkly stubbled
jawline.

It was like her touch broke the dam of his control.
His body slammed into hers, his rock-hard arms wrapping around her and holding
her in a demanding embrace. His lips crashed down onto hers in a savage kiss.

She was completely swept away by his sheer force and
the power of his desire. And she didn’t want to fight it. The last coherent
thought she could manage was that perhaps this was what she had wanted from the
minute she’d laid eyes on him nearly two weeks ago. She’d resisted him,
resisted herself, but no more.

She let herself melt into the hard contours of his
body. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt soft and yielding—willingly.
She’d been hard and bristly for so long, but it felt very right to dissolve in
Daniel’s embrace.

And yet even as she softened and yielded, a fire
inside her kindled. But this was more than the flames of anger and frustration
that had consumed her earlier. This was a fire that sparked at each point of
contact she had with Daniel’s hard body. Heat built in her lips, her breasts,
which were crushed against his chest, and lower, deep in her belly.