Page 59 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
“It’s a pity they didnae think to make the staircases wider,” she continued in a breezy voice, not slowing her pace as she approached him. After all, she had planned it this way.
He halted. “Ye wouldnae be sayin’ that if the castle was attacked.”
“Nay, I suppose I wouldnae.”
She moved closer still and turned sideways to step past him, making no effort to press herself against the wall to leave some space between them. Instead, she murmured a soft “excuse me” and passed through the small gap between him and the wall.
She pretended to wobble and grabbed his arm for balance. “They’re so very slippery, too,” she gasped, slowly relaxing her grip and ensuring that she brushed against him.
As she proceeded up the stairs, she listened for the sound of his movements. He stayed still, and judging by the prickling sensation on the back of her neck, he was watching her, just as she had hoped he would.
Once she reached the hallway to her bedchamber, she allowed herself a small smile. It had been a week since the wedding, and her husband had done his best to avoid her, not realizing that she was on a mission to prevent that from happening.
Wherever he went, she found an excuse to be there too, though she never lingered long. She would apologize, find an opportunity to touch him or say something that might stir his imagination, and depart again. A measured attack on his willpower, slowly wearing him down. After all, Lennox had told her to be patient.
And I ken ye didnae mean what ye said about havin’ a white marriage. If ye did, ye wouldnae have come to me chamber on our weddin’ night.
She occasionally regretted not allowing him into her bedchamber that night, but there had been a good reason. He had demanded a “white marriage,” he had alluded to the fact that she would never be a mother, and she had not wanted a repeat of previous encounters. She had not wanted him to intrude in her bedchambers, take her virginity, then go back tobeing distant. Her heart would not have been able to bear it, so until she could be certain that he would not withdraw again, leaving her bereft and confused, she would denyhimwhat he might want too.
Although shedidworry that she might have missed her chance altogether, to know him intimately, her determination steeled her resolve. He would come to her again; she was certain of it. She just had to bide her time, to be sure that she would not regret lying with him instead ofnotlying with him.
She was almost at her door when she froze, hearing the sound of the staircase door opening and closing and footsteps thudding on the stone floor. Familiar footsteps.
“Husband?” She turned around, putting on her brightest smile. “Was there somethin’ ye wanted?”
She ran her teeth across her lower lip, standing in a way that accentuated her curves. The dress she wore had been chosen specifically to catch his eye. It was a simple piece of dark red wool, belted at the waist, with a low neckline and puffed sleeves. A reminder of the dress she had worn at the cèilidh.
Murdoch took a few more steps, keeping a fair distance between them.
He doesnae trust himself around me. That’s a good sign.
She smiled wider, pleased that her subtle tactics were working.
“Husband?” she prompted when he did not speak.
He shook his head slightly as if banishing a thought. “When is yer aunt leavin’?”
His voice was cold, but his eyes were not, shining with the embers of desire that she knew all too well. His hands were balled into fists, his back rigid, as if he were fighting against his base instincts.
“I dinnae ken,” Cecilia replied sweetly. “I think she wants to ensure that I’m settled in me new life as yer devoted wife before she returns to the convent. Actually, I was just about to change into warmer clothes so I could take a walk in the gardens. It doesnae make any sense for me to summon a maid when ye’re right here. Would ye mind helpin’ me?”
His eye twitched, and his lips pressed into a tight line. “I’ll send for a maid.”
“But there’s nay need,” she insisted. “It willnae take long. I just need ye to lace up the back of me winter dress.”
His eyes closed briefly, a long sigh making his chest fall. “Fine.”
“Excellent.” She walked the rest of the way to her room and then rested her hand on the door handle as she gave him a warm look. “Luckily, ye came to find me.”
He grumbled something under his breath, but she could not make it out.
Taking it as another sign that she was, indeed, wearing him down, she opened the door and stepped inside. She had been staging the room every morning, just in case hediddecide to visit her, and she smiled to herself at her ingenuity.
The coverlets and blankets were in disarray, her flimsy nightgown was draped over the foot of the bed, and two cups were arranged on the writing desk with a half-empty decanter of spiced wine beside them. Jealousy seemed to stir him, and she hoped to stir him now.
Murdoch entered the room and glanced around, his half-masked face darkening as he spotted the cups and the bed, probably putting all of the wrong pieces together.
“Ye had a guest?” he asked coolly.
