Page 26 of Kilted Seduction
But that, again, was not something he could say aloud. So he joined the toast, and smiled as the laird sat down across from him and signaled for the feast to be served.
He was just settling in to enjoy his meal when the lady closest to Thora spoke. She was already red-cheeked with wine, and uninhibited. “Tell me, dear lass… whatever did ye dae taeconvince this solemn laird tae look twice at ye? He’s so dutiful that nay other woman has had any luck, and surely a bit o’ herb didnae dae the trick.” She laughed, tipsy giggles filling the air, along with the scent of her wine-soaked breath.
“Och, well, I…”
Aedan kicked Thora in the shin before she could make something up. Or worse, mention her ‘magic’. He had no idea why she’d avoided it earlier, but he didn’t want her to bring it up, not now or any time soon.
Thora jumped, and started to glare at him, before remembering her role of demure, shy maiden. “I… I cannae say… I… I didnae dae anything in particular... Laird Cameron ‘tis the only man who could answer that question, I think.”
Aedan winced as the gazes of everyone near enough to hear the conversation turned to him. He was sorely tempted to kick her again. “All I can say is that she fair enchanted me… in more ways than one, in the end.” He smirked and winked at one of the nearby lairds, a tip of his head and a twist of his lips suggesting things that no gentleman could say in mixed company. “I’d always sworn I wouldnae fall fer just any pretty lass, but it seems a lovely wood nymph I couldnae resist.”
Given that nymphs were legendarily somewhat amorous, he wasn’t surprised to see smirks and smothered laughter start around the table.
He also wasn’t entirely surprised when the toe of a sturdy dancing slipper smacked into his shin, even as Thora flushed and looked down. “Me laird… ye shouldnae say such things…”
“And is speakin’ the truth such a concern fer ye, little trickster?”
More laughter, and he took another kick to the shin for it, but he considered the jibe well worth it. Then the edge of her mouth quirked up in what he recognized as the wicked grin she wore only when she was about to cause him mischief.
“Me laird… faith, I didnae trick ye… ‘twas nae me fault ye happened by the stream where I was doin’ me washing…I was so mortified that ye saw me wet like that…”
Now there were snickers of an entirely different nature flicking through the room. Aedan kicked at her again. “I thought ye didnae wish tae speak o’ things like that, me little enchantress.”
“Me laird… ye’re sure tae give people the wrong idea o’ me…”
The lady across from him yelped, and he realized from the sound, and from the startled and apologetic expression on Thora’s face that she’d tried to kick him again, and missed.
Enough was enough. Aedan rose and offered Thora his arm, along with a sharp, beckoning smile, and drew her to her feet. “Then perhaps a moment o’ privacy, so I can say all I wish tae say.” He bent close to whisper in her ear, doing his best to ignore the snickering in the background.
“Laird Cameron…” He looked up to see Lachlan Ross watching them with an amused expression. “This is a Yule feast, and ‘tis only just begun. Perhaps a turn about the garden tae cool yer blood, and yer lady’s blushes.”
“A fair suggestion, me laird. If ye’ll excuse us…” Aedan dipped his head in a bow, then led Thora away.
He’d seen Lachlan’s eyes. Somehow, incredibly, they’d managed to convince him they were truly a couple. Whether it was the things they’d said, or Thora’s acting, somehow he’d believed they were wed. It was clear in the way in which he’d said ‘yer lady’.
Aedan exhaled in relief as they passed into the short corridor that led to the garden door. Still, he waited until they’d collected their cloaks, then stepped out into the snowy night before he spoke. “That went well.”
“If ye say so.” Thora sniffed at him. “I was terrified one o’ us would say something.”
Aedan snorted. “Ye werenae the only one. I was worried, when ye said it was ‘fate’ that ye were about tae start chatterin’ on about yer magic visions again.”
“And why should I?” Thora’s indignation was real when she turned to face him. “What business is that o’ Laird Ross’s?”
“Ye were determined enough tae speak o’ them tae me. Is it nae one o’ those gifts that most want others tae ken about?” He’dmet more than one of the roving Romany clans that had ‘fortune tellers’ among them. Not a one of them was shy about speaking out and trying to tell every man and woman within earshot that they could ‘answer any question’ and ‘reveal the messages of sun and moon, wind and stars’.
“’Tis different with ye. And mayhap some like tae speak, but nae all. There’s nae such thing as a gift that doesnae have a cost. I’m nae willing tae risk the cost o’ mine by bein’ too free with it.” Thora glared at him.
He was tempted to argue the point, but the wind was growing colder by the second, and neither of them were truly dressed for the weather. He sighed. “Fair enough. I’ll say naething more about it. But best we get inside afore we both freeze tae death, and all our destinies come tae naught.”
Thora huffed but made no response besides a slight shove.
In normal weather, he wouldn’t have even noticed it. But the footing was treacherous, slick with snow and the new-formed ice. Aedan staggered, then fell as his foot slipped out from under him for the second time that day.
Thora caught his arm, but all that did was cause her to fall with him as she lost her balance in turn. The two of them once again went down in a flurry of cloth, snow, and flailing limbs. Aedan just missed getting an elbow to the nose, and came uncomfortably close to a knee in his groin as well.
When the chaos of the fall ended, Thora was on top of him, both of them tangled quite thoroughly in her dress and both cloaks. Her hands were on his chest, and one of his was resting on her hip, just shy of cupping her buttock.
There was a moment of scandalized chaos, and then Thora scrambled up. Or tried to. The entangling cloth hindered her movement, and some of it seemed caught under him as well, and when he tried to shift to let her free, all it did was overbalance them both to the point that he landed back on the snowdrift.
