The Bedeviled Heart (The Highland Heather and Hearts Scottish Romance Series) (16 page)

“‘Tis a gift from my lady’s protector!” Kate replied with a puzzled look. “He’s a right generous man.”

His dark lashes lowered, roving over her figure in a way that made her heart skip.

“And what does he expect from ye in return?” he asked in a suggestive tone.

Astonished at the implication, Kate’s lips parted in surprise. “I’ve never met the man, Cameron!”

He moved closer, so close that she could feel his breathe on her neck.

“Are ye sure, lass?” he asked.

His behavior puzzled her a moment, and then the understanding dawned. He was jealous! Secretly pleased, she frowned outwardly. “Are ye calling me unfaithful?”

As soon as she said the words, she blushed. He had never promised himself to her. Why was she acting as if he had?

Cameron laughed. It was a deep, rich, rumbling sound.

“Ach, but ye are acting right strange, Cameron,” she retorted and averted her eyes. Once more, the room caught her attention. The earl must be decadently rich. She’d never seen such luxury. But then her momentary interest faded, and she glanced back up into Cameron’s eyes once more, insisting, “We’d best go. The earl might return straightway and find us here!”

“He’ll not return this night.” Cameron shook his head. “I swear upon my life, Kate. Trust me!”

“Ach, but ‘tis getting harder to trust ye, Cameron.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Ye’ve no reason to be here, and—”

“I’ve something for ye, lass.” He interrupted, moving across the shadowed chamber to return holding out a small earthen flask. “’Tis water from the Pilgrim’s Well.”

In that moment, Kate forgot everything else.

She stared at the flask in his hands, speechless.

“Take it, lass.” There was a warm smile in his voice.

Wondrously, Kate lifted her eyes to his face. “Is … this why ye came here, Cameron?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

He hesitated. His eyes seemed tortured. “I’ve other matters to attend to here, Kate, but this is the one I enjoy the most.” Gently, he placed the flask in her hands and cupped her fingers around it.

Heaving a deep sigh, she confessed, “I worry for ye so.”

“Kate, I … have words that must be said.” He frowned, clenching his jaw tightly once again. “I should have told ye long ago…” He struggled for words a moment, but then fell silent and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek softly with his thumb instead.

“I
do
trust ye, Cameron,” she whispered, overwhelmed with a flood of compassion. “Ye dinna have to tell me your true name. I trust your heart.” Throwing her arms about his neck, she meant only to give him a comforting hug, but he was so distractingly handsome.

Ach, no man should be that handsome.

She couldn’t resist pressing against his hard chest and as the desire flared in his dark eyes, she parted her lips for his kiss. He pulled her mouth to his, seizing it in a manner that all but took her breath completely away. For several splendid, intense moments, time stood still, and then he let out a ragged moan.

Tearing himself from her embrace, Cameron stepped back and struck the wall with his fist. “’Tis perilous for ye to stay here, lass,” he swore, swallowing hard.

Dazed, it took her a moment to collect her thoughts, but then panic returned and she gasped, “I thought ye said the earl was gone for the night?”

She whirled as if to flee, but he caught her arm and pulled her against his chest.

“Forget the earl, lass. I meant ‘tis dangerous to be here … with me,” he groaned against her throat. And then he was nuzzling her neck, his chiseled lips burning paths of fire.

Sliding her hands up his muscled arms, she ran her fingers through his raven hair and whispered, “Ach, ye aren’t dangerous, ye fool!”

“I’m cursed,” he said huskily, and then drew back grimacing, dropped his hands as if to push her away.

The man’s presence was overpowering, and she suddenly thought of nothing but the desire to feel the heat of his skin under hers. As he moved back, she locked her arms about his waist and swore fervently, “I’ll break your curse! I’m not letting ye go, Cameron.”

For a moment, she thought he would still push her away, but then he brought his lips to hers once more in a devastating, ravishing kiss, a kiss with a dark and rough edge to it. She gasped in surging desire and he stopped his exploration of her lips at once.

“I cannot indulge in these sweet imaginings!” He inhaled bitterly and cursed under his breath. “Ye’d best leave, lass, afore I go too far and make ye mine.”

“I already am yours, Cameron. We both know it,” she confessed. With a fingertip, she traced the dash in the middle of his chin and melded her body against his.

She felt him shiver against her, and then finally his chest heaved, as if he had laid down some great burden. With his dark eyes burning hers, his lips slowly descended, brushing against her cheek in a touch as soft as silk before capturing her lips in tender caresses.

Her breath quickened and his own matched it as the kiss deepened, and he plundered her lips with a raw, urgent hunger, and then crushing her against him, he lifted her in his strong arms and carried her to the adjoining chamber to lay her down on the magnificent, curtained bed.

Once again, he seemed to hesitate, appearing caught in some internal battle, but she would have none of it. Unleashing a wild passion that she had been aching to set free, she pulled him down and confessed, “I do believe I love ye, Cameron.”

With a hoarse cry, he caught her close, his lips once more claiming hers in a masterful way that swept all other thoughts aside.

Chapter Seven - What Have I Done?

Kate stretched languorously, reveling in the softness before slowly opening her eyes.

She squinted in the darkness of the dimly lit chamber and frowned, unable to place herself. Heavy velvet embroidered bed curtains blocked the view of the window, but she could see enough of the pale pink dawn to know she had overslept.

Suddenly, she became aware of an arm curled lightly over her hip. Drawing back, she caught a glimpse of Cameron sleeping peacefully at her side.

Jolting bolt upright, she half screeched, “What have I
done
?”

Cameron sprang to his feet, his raven hair falling to half cover his face. The hard angles of his fiercely muscled chest and the masculine perfection of his powerful thighs posed bare for her to see.

Quickly, she averted her gaze, gasping in shock. “Ach, ye haven’t a stitch of clothing on, Cameron!”

“Look to yourself, lass!” He swallowed visibly, turning pale.

Kate glanced down, and then the memories of the night flooded her all at once. Blushing furiously, she covered her blazing cheeks with her hands and gulped, “
What
have I done!”

Cameron’s eyes flickered with dismay. “What have
I
done?”

Gathering the coverlets about her, Kate scrambled from the bed, searching for her shift and gown on the chamber floor.

“And Lady Elsa! How could I be so foolish?” she wailed. “She’ll banish me for certain! What will become of my father now, and what if they catch us here, Cameron? We must leave at once! How could I have fallen asleep?” Close to tears, she wriggled into her shift. “My mother was right! I never stop to think! I’m such a careless, foolish—”

“We won’t be caught.” Cameron’s voice sounded oddly muffled.

Glancing over, she saw him shrugging into his shirt. Ach, but the man was a brawny one, and his clearly visible, well-defined muscles succeeded in making her pulse quicken once again.

“Ye’ve naught to fear, Kate,” he said in a restrained undertone, his head emerging through his fine, white shirt.

His dark hair stood on end and Kate smiled. And then nothing else mattered. In a slow, teasing manner, she approached him, walking her fingers up his arm and playfully tweaking his nose, before letting her finger trail down his cheek and along the dash in his chin. Suddenly, she pulled his head down and caught his lower lip between her teeth.

He responded at once, and the kiss was timeless, lingering, and sensual.

But then he pushed her firmly away and swore, “No more kisses! My touch is death!”

Astonished at his response, she frowned and stepped back. “Ach, ye fool, what has ye so worried? ’Tis not like ye are the Dreaded Earl of Death now, is it?”

She expected him to laugh, but he turned white. His expression was grim and his lips drawn into a thin line.

Confused, she slid into her wrinkled gown with a growing sense of dread but then spied the rumpled bed. “Ach, we’ve ruined the bed!” she gasped as her panic resurged. “We must tidy the chamber! And Lady Elsa—”

His strong hand caught her wrist and she looked up, startled.

“Ye’ve naught to fear, Kate,” he said tightly. “At least from Lady Elsa and the like … ye have every right to be here with me. ‘Tis your own doom ye must fear now…” His voice trailed off and he shuddered, closing his eyes.

Kate scowled at him, bewildered. “Ye make little sense, Cameron! And ye seem rightly displeased!”

“Aye, I am,” he grated. “Last night should … never have happened.”

At these words, a wave of shame and anger washed over her, and she found herself strangely silent.

As the silence between them lengthened, she tied her gown and slipped into her shoes. Glancing again at the bed, she repeated, “We canna leave the chamber so untidy—”

“I will see to it,” Cameron whispered, abruptly moving to peer out of the window.

She could see the tense line of his jaw outlined in the dim light, every muscle in his body was taut as a bowstring.

“Ye must forget me! Do ye hear?” His tone was commanding, aloof. “I’ll never wed ye, Kate.”

Kate gulped at the unexpected words.

“Forget last night. It never happened,” he continued. “I’ll never touch ye again. Aye, I’ll never see ye again, I swear it!” And then his voice broke.

Covering her ears, she whispered, “I canna understand ye now, Cameron.”

Not knowing what she should think, she fled the chamber, grabbing the small container of water from the Pilgrim’s Well on her way out.

Mercifully, the corridor was empty, and she quickly ran down the length of it, encountering the guards only upon exiting the royal apartments.

They scarcely looked her way.

Apparently, it was a common enough event to witness a maid scurrying away from the royal apartments in the light of the early morning. And, she thought bitterly, for precisely the same reasons she herself was flying across the courtyard.

The magic of the night now seemed only a dream. Cameron’s riveting dark eyes and his rich, deep voice that had warmed her very soul had already faded, replaced by memories of his cold anger. Now, she could only hear his words over and over again in her mind.
I’ll never see ye again, I swear it!

The night had been a precious one, and she recalled Cameron’s lean, hard body and tender kisses with a pang. What ailed the man? And his kiss, just moments ago, belied the words he had uttered only a moment later, and oh how harsh his words had been!

Confused, she made her way to Lady Elsa’s chamber and stood staring at the latch, her courage failing her. The woman was probably furious. Most likely, she’d toss her out of the castle, or have her beaten for disobeying, or both.

Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and timidly pushed the door open.

The chamber was dark, the weak gray light of the morning unable to penetrate the shadows.

“Kate?” a voice queried sleepily from the bed. “Is it morning already?”

Could it be that Lady Elsa hadn’t noticed her absence? Cautiously, she cleared her throat and murmured, “Aye, my lady.”

Lady Elsa sat up slowly and stretched. “Did you enjoy the music?”

An enormous sense of relief washed over Kate. She expelled a grateful breath and knelt before the fire, stirring it into life as she meekly answered, “Aye, my lady.”

She should feel guilty in deceiving the woman so, but she could scarcely confess she had spent the night in the Earl of Lennox’s chamber rolling on the bed with a brawny outlaw. She blushed, scarcely able to believe it herself even as she felt a deep ache in her soul for how it had ended. Aye, and the end made little sense. She’d have to speak to Cameron, to understand what ailed him. Something was not right.

But first she had duties to attend to.

Yawning, Lady Elsa sat down in her chair, allowing Kate to brush her soft, lustrous hair with a fine, silver-handled brush. After a time, she eyed Kate critically. “You shouldn’t sleep in your dress, ‘tis far too rumpled for the feast. You’ll have to change.”