Page 73 of The Outlaw's Bride
She rested her head upon his chest and listened to the thunder of his heart. She stroked the hard planes of his chest and belly, her breath catching as she did so.
Was this what Rhona felt for Taran?
She remembered their kisses, the heated looks she’d seen pass between them, when they thought no one was looking, and the expression on Rhona’s face the day after their wedding: a blend of serenity and excitement.
Adaira had never known such pleasure could exist; magic lived after all.
“Are ye well, Adaira?” Lachlann asked.
Adaira heard the rasp of exhaustion in his voice and smiled, lifting her head so she could meet his gaze. “Aye, very … but are ye? I haven’t worn ye out already have I?”
He huffed, feigning offense. “Already. Just let me have a breather, ye saucy vixen, and we’ll see who’s worn out.”
Adaira laughed. “It was an innocent question.” She reached up and stroked his chin. He’d shaved that morning, but she could feel the rasp of new stubble under her fingertips. Continuing her exploration, she traced the sculpted lines of his face: his straight nose, full mouth, and high cheek bones. The first time she’d ever set eyes on him, she’d been struck by Lachlann Fraser’s comeliness. Now her attraction to him went far deeper than that.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered. “I never thought such happiness was possible.”
His green eyes darkened, gleaming as he stared back at her. “I never thought so either … but here we are.” His voice turned husky. “I’ve never been in love before … but that all changed with ye, Aingeal.”
Adaira smiled. She’d once hated him calling her his ‘Aingeal’. She’d found the name mocking. She no longer thought so. The endearment was sweet, heart-felt.
He reached out and cupped her cheek tenderly. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for ye, my darling Adaira.”
Tears pricked at Adaira’s eyes, and her vision swam. The intensity in his face as he spoke, the way his voice shook slightly, filled her with a surge of love so fierce that she was momentarily struck speechless by it. A surge of protectiveness filled her; the bond they shared went both ways.
When she finally found her voice, it trembled from the force of her feelings. “I know,” she whispered.
Chapter Thirty-one
Secrets
LACHLANN WAS SHOEING a horse when he saw Malcolm MacLeod lumber across the bailey toward him.
Letting down the horse’s hind leg, Lachlann straightened up. The grim look on the clan-chief’s face made him wary. A couple of days had passed since Lachlann and Adaira’s handfasting, and although MacLeod had been civil to Lachlann, relations between them were still strained.
“Afternoon, MacLeod,” Lachlann greeted him. He kept hold of the iron file he’d been using. Surrounded by MacLeods and MacDonalds at Duntulm, he liked having a weapon in his hand.
Frasers weren’t well liked here.
Malcolm MacLeod stopped, his iron-grey eyes narrowing. “I’ve just received word from the south. Yer father’s men have been searching my lands.”
Lachlann tensed. He shouldn’t be surprised, for he knew his father wouldn’t let things lie, but he still didn’t welcome the news. “And?”
MacLeod’s frown deepened to a scowl. “We’ve sent them back across the border with their tails between their legs.” He folded his thick arms across his chest. “Now … why would Frasers be riding across my lands?”
Lachlann shrugged, feigning confusion even as his pulse quickened. “Maybe they’ve heard I escaped Dunvegan dungeon and have come looking for me.”
“And how would they learn that?”
“It’s been two months … folk travel and tongues wag. News could have reached Talasgair.”
MacLeod snorted, although the suspicious look in his eyes ebbed.
“Was my father with them?” Lachlann asked, keen to steer MacLeod onto a safer topic.
The clan-chief’s heavy-featured face screwed up. “After the wound I dealt him, I’d be surprised if he still breathes, and he certainly won’t be traveling far again.”
Lachlann swallowed the impulse to tell MacLeod that the last time he’d seen Morgan Fraser the man could ride a horse and was about to wed. He wisely held his tongue. There were some facts it was best Adaira’s father remained ignorant of.
