Page 80 of Bride of Fire
As mad as it was, Jenefer couldn’t get past the feeling she was stealing the husband of a much better woman than herself.
Morgan awoke briefly as Jenefer stole out of the nursery, just enough to miss her warmth and feel a hollow ache in his chest.
He’d been so sure he’d never love again. So certain the fracture in his heart was beyond repair.
Yet what he’d had before with Alicia paled in comparison to the way he felt now.
This was an entirely new emotion.
It wasn’t only because Jenefer was engaged and interested in him. Expressive of her desires. Free with her passions.
It wasn’t only because her appetite for swiving rivaled that of her appetite for food.
Not as impulsive and bloodthirsty as she pretended, Jenefer was honest and honorable. Generous and kind. And whether she was defending his reputation to his maid or stubbornly insisting on calling his son “Miles,” her strength of character and outspoken ways were refreshing.
She was an uncommon lass, full of fire and wit. He found himself drawn to her, wishing to be consumed in her lusty flames. And he was chagrined to admit he might be falling in love with the fiery maid.
He could guess why she’d sneaked out of the nursery.
She didn’t wish for Bethac or Cicilia to find their laird in a compromising position.
He grinned. The same lass who had once claimed ravishment at his hands was now protecting his honor.
Her concern was completely unnecessary. He intended to make things right. He’d never been more certain of a decision in his life.
As much as he’d resisted her temptation, he realized now that Jenefer held the key to his future.
He meant to marry her.
It was the natural solution. She could be a mother to his son. They could share the castle. And the two properties of Rivenloch and Creagor could become powerful border allies against invasion.
Content that the matter was settled, he drifted back to sleep, dreaming of sharing his bed, his clan, his fortune with the desirable Scots lass.
Chapter 39
Jenefer sighed as she stole past the snoring guard and into the laird’s bedchamber. The decision was the most painful she’d ever made. But she knew she’d made the right choice.
In the end, her conscience had gotten the best of her.
Gazing at the sweet, sleeping babe in the moonlight and remembering Morgan’s adoring face as he looked down at his son, her heart had cracked, and she’d realized she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t trick the trusting Highlander into wedding her.
Morgan Mor mac Giric was decent.
He would have done the right thing.
He would have willingly accepted the consequences of his actions.
And he would have thrown away his entire future to pay for one night of reckless passion.
But she couldn’t bear to think that his heart wasn’t in it. That he’d only be agreeing to marry her out of duty. The knowledge that she’d tricked the laird into wedding her would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Nay, she decided, if she couldn’t win his affections honestly, she’d rather win the keep in battle than betray him in bed. So she’d slipped out of Morgan’s arms, dressed, and left the nursery before the maids could return.
“Where have you been?” Feiyan whispered when Jenefer climbed into bed beside her.
“In the nursery.” She didn’t intend to confide in Feiyan, not after the argument they’d had.
