“No?” he queried.
His tone was oddly tender and yearning.
Yet his touch was firm as he rolled her back to him, suddenly straddling her in the darkness.
“Then it seems that I will have to seduce you,” he promised her heatedly. “And I will want you. Again and again…”
He did want her.
And he did seduce her.
Expertly. Shedding his clothing that time.
And sleeping naked beside her when he was done, holding her close to his warmth through the hours of the night.
CHAPTER 11
Naturally, David was gone come the morning. Shawna hadn’t actually expected to see him when she awoke, and she was glad for once that he’d disappeared. As the sun filtered into her room, she tried to make sense of the tempest his most recent visit had created within her heart. She had thought him dead once and the pain had been so intense she had hardly wanted to go on living herself. And now it seemed that he was intent on arousing every conceivable emotion within her again. Revenge. He didn’t know it, but he’d had his revenge against her years ago. She couldn’t begin to imagine what he’d been through—especially since he wouldn’t speak about those lost years—but neither did David know what he had left behind for her to deal with alone. Did he use her now? Was making her want him the vengeance he sought? Or was his passion caused by a deeper, far different feeling? She didn’t want to admit how deeply she felt for him now, and she didn’t want to admit that nothing had really changed. She had always loved him. When she had believed him dead, she had been half-dead as well.
A light tapping at her door brought her flying out of bed and hurrying to it. She leaned against it, listening. “Aye?”
“Shawna? It’s Mary Jane. I’ve brought you fresh water. Is something amiss?”
Feeling foolish, Shawna started to slide the bolt. She realized that her nightgown had wound up on the floor during the night, and she raced for it, quickly slipped it back on, and returned to the door, sliding the bolt and opening it. Mary Jane offered her a curious smile, her pretty face speculative. “What on earth is going on with you, Shawna? I don’t remember you bolting doors before this last week!”
Shawna shrugged. “I—I hadn’t even realized that I’d bolted it,” she lied.
Mary Jane stepped into the room, bringing a fresh ewer of drinking water. She set the water down, then walked to the window, looking out. She shivered but offered Shawna another smile. “Maybe we’re all a little excited.” Her eyes widened, and she said dramatically, “The Night of the Moon Maiden draws near!”
“As it has every year since just about forever,” Shawna said dryly.
“You seem unnerved by Laird Douglas’s appearance.”
“Umrnm…possibly,” Shawna agreed, thinking that it was the understatement of all time. But since Mary Jane didn’t know that a different Laird Douglas had actually arrived straight from the grave, she couldn’t understand just how seriously unnerved Shawna could be.
“Well,” Mary Jane told her, “You are usually the most ardent supporter of tradition and ceremony, so I hope you’ll not forget what an important occasion the night is. Actually, I’ll not let you forget!” she promised. She walked back to Shawna and kissed her cheek. “Shawna, smile!”
So, Shawna offered her a smile and assured her, “I’m quite enthusiastic about the coming occasion, I promise. We’ve gueststhis year as well. Not guests—since Skylar Douglas is actually lady here.”
“You will always be lady here,” Mary Jane said loyally.
“Skylar is Laird Douglas’s wife,” Shawna said. “But the point is, we must involve her and her sister in the festivities.”
“We will embrace them fully!” Mary Jane promised happily. “Well, let me leave you to dress then. Don’t let the men—your kin or the new arrival—wear you down!”
“I’ll not,” Shawna promised her, and Mary Jane departed.
As soon as her maid had gone, Shawna bathed and dressed quickly. When she went downstairs, she saw that Andrew Douglas and the men of her family had already breakfasted. She spent the morning in the office with Hawk, as Andrew preferred to be called, Gawain, Lowell, Aidan, Alaric, and Alistair. It was a good meeting, she thought. The MacGinnises had kept sound control of Douglas interests, showing a profit in the various enterprises, while also managing the domestic affairs of the properties equally well. Hawk listened during most of the meeting, asking a question here or there, then remaining thoughtful as he considered the replies he received. When the meeting broke up, it was decided that they would have dinner in the great hall together, then Hawk would spend the afternoon showing his wife the haunts of his Scottish youth. As Shawna’s kin departed the office first, she and Hawk were left alone for a matter of minutes.
Shawna was startled when he leaned across the desk to her and bluntly told her, “If you know anything about what happened, you had best speak now.”
Shawna was alarmed and dismayed by his tone of voice. She had expected his anger and his scorn for her once he knew she had played a part in the events that led his brother’s “death,” but nonetheless, a wave of despair settled over her. Rather thandissolve into tears, she straightened her shoulders and stared at him fiercely in return. “If I don’t? Shall I be scalped on the spot?”
Hawk leaned back. “I expected far more from you.”
She lowered her eyes to the desk and whispered desperately. “I don’t know what happened.”
He reached over, lifting her chin. “If you betray him again, it will not be me you have to fear,” he warned quietly.