Page 17 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
O’Donnell Castle came into view a little while later, and within the hour they were riding across the drawbridge and into the courtyard. Amara stiffened behind him.
“Easy lass,” Rhys said quietly so no one else could hear. “They may nae like ye, and certainly daenae trust ye, but they willnae harm ye without me permission.”
“Are ye sure about that?” Her breath teased the back of his neck, and he struggled to repress a shiver of excitement.
“Aye,” he snapped. Not because he was angry with her, but because he was pissed at himself for not being able to control his desire for her.
William and Myles continued riding to the stables, but Rhys stopped his stallion by the front doors of the castle. He swung down and then helped Amara down, removing his hands from her waist so quickly, as if touching her was burning him.
“Da! Da! Ye're home!”
A genuine smile broke out over Rhys’s face when he saw his daughter run down the steps to greet him. Daisy’s maid, looking harried and frustrated, followed after the child, several different colored ribbons dangling from her hand. Obviously, she had been in the process of fixing Daisy’s hair when the child realized her father was home and ran off to meet him.
“Daisy, me bonny lass,” Rhys said. He squatted down and opened his arms wide. His daughter threw herself in his arms.
“I missed ye, Da!”
“I missed ye more, me Daisy,” Rhys said, pulling her back to look at her. “Did ye grow again?”
The child laughed and shook her head. “Ye werenae gone that long, Da!”
“’Tis a good thing or else ye might be taller than me when I returned.”
Daisy laughed, her innocent joy ringing around the courtyard.
“Now, go with yer maid and let her finish gettin’ ye presentable. I’ll come find ye later and we can spend some time together.”
Daisy hugged him one last time, kissed his cheek, then rushed back to her maid.
“Me Laird! Welcome home,” several people called out as he and Amara walked up the stairs to the double doors that led into the castle. He nodded in response, then glared at a couple of women who were shooting daggers with their eyes at Amara.
The women quickly bowed their heads, but their faces heated with anger at having a Murdoch in their midst. Some of these women had lost husbands and sons six years ago during that fateful feast and they weren’t likely to forget it anytime soon.
Rhys ushered Amara through the great hall and up the narrow stone staircase that hugged the wall. He led her past two doors, then paused outside of one and finally turned to look at her.
He hadn’t realized it before, but she was a mess. Her hair had come loose from its braid and stuck out all over her head,reminding him of a rat’s nest. There were dirt streaks on her pale face and her skirts had grass and mud stains. Somehow, though, she still looked beautiful.
“This will be yer chamber for the time bein’,” he said as he opened the door and pushed it wide.
Amara looked up at him and hesitated before stepping inside. She turned, probably expecting him to follow her into the chamber, and opened her mouth. Whatever she was going to say didn’t make it past her lips.
“I’ll be back to check on ye later. I’ve got to meet with me council.”
Pulling the door closed, he turned and walked down the hallway. Myles came up the stairs just as Rhys was getting ready to go down them.
“Call the council to meet,” Rhys ordered. He didn’t wait for a response. He was still angry at Myles for shirking his duty last night. Thankfully, they’d been on the edge of Murdoch land and the likelihood of being attacked by warring clans or thieves hadn’t been great. But that was not the point. Myles knew better than to fall asleep while on watch. They were all taught that importance since they were lads.
Rhys continued down the stairs and into the kitchen. He paused long enough to order a maid be sent to Amara’s room and to grab a warm oatcake off the counter, before continuing through the door that led outside.
He immediately went to the barrel of water and dunked his head, coming up sputtering from the icy coldness. Shaking his head like a wet dog, he took a deep, calming breath, then washed his face and hands. At least the cold water served to cool his lust.
Damn but the lass gets to me. I cannae seem to be near her without me manhood standing up to join the conversation.
Rhys used his tartan to dry his face, ran his fingers through his hair to get out the tangles, then went back inside. Going to his chamber, he quickly changed into clean clothes, then headed to the council chamber.
Everyone was already there waiting for him.
Rhys took his seat at the head of the long table, as was his right as laird of the O’Donnell’s, and waited impatiently for the older men to settle down.
