“And my sisters?” she asked suddenly, her voice sharp with worry. “What will happen to them? I wasn’t thinking clearly when I accepted your proposal.”
“Ouch,” Alasdair said, clutching his chest in mock offense. “Ye wound me.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I ken why ye’re worried. But listen to me: they’re Lady Grisham’s daughters by blood. But they’ve also got Oakmere watchin’. And me. I’ll do what I can.”
“But she’ll punish them, Your Gr—Alasdair. The moment they stop obeying, she’ll turn cold. She’ll chip away at them the way she did to me.”
“Then we’ll protect them,” he said simply. “As best we can. But ye—ye were the one in trouble. I ken that. That’s why I acted.”
Elizabeth looked at him. His eyes were steady. She believed him. And yet…
“You threatened my reputation.”
“Aye, I did,” he admitted. “But only because I kenned it would work. She’d never let it go that far.”
She nodded, not entirely soothed, but understanding the strategy.
“Tell me what ye want, Elizabeth,” he said, his voice softer now. “Tell me what ye want as my wife, and I’ll give it to ye.”
She met his eyes. There was no jest in them. Just sincerity.
And perhaps a little hunger.
“Anything?” she whispered.
“Aye. My word on it. Jewels, books, travel… even a bloody hedgehog if that’s yer fancy.”
He leaned closer. The scent of him filled her senses—pine, smoke, and something sharper. Her pulse fluttered in her throat.
“Kiss me,” she breathed.
Alasdair’s mouth curved into a wicked grin. “That’s me good girl. With pleasure, wife.”
The kiss was a firelit promise.
His mouth met hers, slow at first, then deepening as his hands cupped her face. His rough palms cradled her gently, grounding her even as her world tilted. His tongue swept into her mouth, claiming, coaxing.
She melted into him, a soft sound escaping her throat.
“Ye like that, do ye nae?” he murmured against her lips. His hands slid from her face to her neck, one pausing over the pulse there.
“I do,” she admitted, trembling.
He pulled her closer until she was almost on his lap.
“What about your staff?” she managed to whisper.
“They know better than to disturb us durin’… dinner,” he said, his grin wicked.
One hand trailed lower, finding the laces of her bodice.
When he swept the plates and wine aside with a crash that echoed across the room, Elizabeth gasped. “Alasdair!”
“They won’t come,” he assured her, lifting her with both hands and setting her gently on the table.
Her skirts rose around her as his body came between her knees.