Page 52 of A Plaid Case of Loving Ye
Her lips curled upward. “And ye still beat him.”
Of course, he beat MacDonald; there was no way he’d allow the bastard to win and turn on Nicola. But Ramsay was determined to make light of the encounter.
“Best day of my life? I get to make love to the woman I’m hoping to marry, and then wipe a shite-stain from the arse of this beautiful world.”
She sniffed theatrically. “That was…the most beautiful marriage proposal a woman’s ever heard.”
His arm tightened around her, the wounded one dangling forgotten now that her hands were pressed against his chest.
“Marry me, Nicola,” he whispered, lowering his lips within inches of hers. “Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world.”
“Firstye’re going to kiss me. Then ye’re going to wrap yerself back up in yer auld kilt—I ken ‘tis dirty, but ye cannae use the bloody one.Then we’re going back to McIlvain Keep, where yer mother and I will fuss over ye and stitch ye up. Then ye’re going to climb in bed and allow me to fuss over ye more, and if ye’re verra good, I might allow ye to put that thing that’s poking me in the belly to good use.”
Hiding the way he wanted to laugh, Ramsay nodded solemnly. “I thought, as a medical professional, ye’d appreciate my efforts to draw the blood away from my wound, by pooling it in a more convenient part of my body.”
“Oh, I do, I really do. Although ‘twould be embarrassing, parading ye through the courtyard arse-naked, yer cock waving about proudly.”
He shrugged modestly. “I do what I can to bring my people joy.”
A giggle escaped her lips before she could plaster a stern expression on her face once more. “Andthen”—she poked him in the chest—“tomorrow morning ye’re going to send word to the King about what happened, and tell him Lady Helen and the Douglasses have been avenged.”
“Aye, of course.” He’d also send someone back here to fetch MacDonald’s body. “And then?”
She stretched up on her toes to kiss him.
“And then…” she whispered, smiling, her fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck, “thenI’ll tell ye I’ll marry ye.”
His smile felt as if ‘twould knock off the top of his head. “Ye will?” He squeezed her around the middle. “Ye’ll marry me, Nicola?”
“Aye, I’ll marry ye. I’d be honored to be yer wife—”
“And spend the rest of my life telling me what to do?”
She grinned and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “And spend the rest of my life caring for ye and Relic and any other children God grants us—although if ‘tis a lad, we’ll just no’ mention it to Da for a while, eh?”
“Nay, love. Ye’ll spend the rest of yer life beingcared forby me and Relic and my family, the way ye should be.”
He saw her expression melt from joy into wonder, and he knew he’d said the right thing.
“I love ye,” she whispered.
“And I love ye…” He landed a quick, hard kiss on her lips, then straightened. “Now,healer, I believe ye promised to drag me home?”
Grinning, she shifted so they could begin walking, although she kept her arm around him as if she could hold him upright. “Ye’re so anxious to feel the sting of my needle, milord?”
“Nay, love. ‘Tis just that ye listed a plan, and in order to get to theshowing ye what my cock is good for, I have to get through the fussing and stitching.”
“And healing.”
“Och, lass…” He squeezed her middle and grinned as she dragged him toward the keep. “Ye’ve already healed me. And ye’ll heal me for the rest of my days, I ken it. Because I love ye.”
Chapter 11
Ramsay couldn’t stop smiling.
“Ye look like an idiot,” groused George, who was nursing a mug of ale as he watched Paul spin a laughing Thelma to the beat of the music. “Like ye got hit on the head.”
Ramsay chuckled, his gaze brushing over the crowd of gathered to celebrate his wedding. “That’s because Ididget hit on the head. Where’s my wife?”
