Page 49 of Highland Jewel
“Niall,” she repeated, touching his chin and drawing his face toward her. “You went to London. Is that where they’re keeping her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who did you meet when you were there?”
Her breath caught in her chest when he lifted her feet onto his lap. Her bare toes rested on his thighs. Maisie pressed her back against the chair as his fingers gently rubbed each foot, from the ankles to the heels to the arch of each foot to the toes. Heat pooled in her belly.
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“I’m trying to warm you.”
She held tightly to the seat of the chair as his strong hands moved slowly upward along her legs, kneading her calves as far as her knees. His eyes were on her exposed ankles, and he seemed to see nothing else and hear nothing she said. The cold she’d been feeling was gone, replaced with a feverish heat. Excitement prickled through her limbs, and she felt hot dampness forming deep in her belly, and then between her legs. But as Maisie focused on Niall’s face, she realized he was barely with her. He was in a world of his own.
The truth came to her like a splash of icy water, awakening her. She freed her feet from his grasp, took his hands, and dropped onto her knees in front of him. “What have they done to you? What have they asked you to do?”
Maisie looked steadily into his eyes, recalling the stories Fiona used to tell about Niall. About his courage. About his wit. About his value to the British Army. About how reluctant they were to let him go when he’d announced that he was resigning his commission. Maisie remembered hearing of the offers that government officials had made to him since he’d returned to Edinburgh. She knew he’d refused, but he had never told her any of the specifics.
“Niall, did they arrest Fiona to get to you?”
He didn’t admit or deny it, but from his dark expression Maisie guessed she’d touched on the truth.
“What do they want you to do?” she asked again.
“I can’t talk about it.”
“How long will it take… whatever it is that you have to do for them?”
“Maisie, don’t ask.”
She raised herself on her knees until they were eye to eye. “You told me you love me. You asked me to marry you. To share a life with you. Don’t you think I should share in what gives you pain?”
“Pain? Do you want to talk about pain?”
Of course, he was in pain, Maisie thought.
“I didn’t ask for this.” His voice shook, his fingers closed around her wrists. “The life I wanted to share with you was simple. Love, respect, raising a family away from the madness of wars and politics. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I wanted our life to be about you and me.You and me. And my sister. And two innocent children who right now don’t know if they’re ever going to see their mother again.”
Tears fell on her cheeks. The guilt she’d been trying to stifle for weeks scratched to the surface. “I’m sorry. I am. It was all my fault. You warned us. It was because of me that Fiona was arrested.”
“No!” His roar of anguish silenced her. “They took her to get me.Me. It was my past that made my sister vulnerable. I’m the one who has to take the blame.”
“Niall. Don’t. Please don’t. You have to stay strong. I believe in you. Fiona trusts you.”
One moment he was looking into her eyes, the next he was kissing her. His lips were desperate, hungry. He quickly broke it off and pulled back, but she wouldn’t let him. Her arms slipped around his neck, and she drew his mouth back to hers. Maisie’s tears continued to fall. But she needed him. She needed to know that he wasstill hers. That they had hope. That they could undo all that had gone wrong.
“Kiss me, Niall. Please kiss me.”
Her lips softened, and he thrust into the opening, exploring her mouth. Excitement raced through her like a summer storm. A thin gauze separated grief from passion. Pictures formed in her mind of lying back on this floor and pulling Niall’s body on top of her. She wanted him.
He tore his mouth free again. “I can’t. We shouldn’t. I cannot ruin your future. Don’t you see, my life is no longer my own.”
Maisie’s hands clutched at his back. “Your life is mine and my life is yours. I won’t let them take you away from me.”
She pressed her lips to his, increasing the pressure of her mouth. She had no experience, but she was not a child. She knew the man in her arms loved her. Wanted her.
“We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we have now. Give me this moment, Niall.”
His lips touched hers again. His legs spread, and she moved closer to him.
