Page 58 of Married to the Highland Devil
Elspeth’s laugh was a short one, and that made Amelia sigh then squeeze her hand.
“I ken he will,” Elspeth said and whimpered. “It is just hard to sit still and do naethin’.”
Amelia knew how hard it was more than anyone. Her entire life, she had sat still and waited for someone else to do it all. Even if she wanted to help, she couldn’t.
Her dowry was not needed anymore. Duncan needed to go to war, and she did not know what else she was needed for.
“She will be all right,” she consoled again then sniffled too and pushed back her own tears.
Elspeth came closer to Amelia and hugged her a little before they continued enjoying the tea served to them in the garden. Unlike in England where they had teatime in the drawing room with other ladies of the ton, here, the ladies were not bound by any of those rules. Also, Amelia preferred the minty and oaky taste of Scottish tea more than the English sweet one.
She indulged in some more of the tea then finally decided to go look for Duncan.
Elspeth walked her to the grand hall, but he was not there, so they headed for his study instead. When they walked in, Amelia stood in a corner and waited for Elspeth to speak.
“Ye have been locked in here for days unendin’, Duncan,” Elspeth said to him. “Ye havenae eaten… Ye havenae done anythin’ other than plan yer war.”
“I dinnae have the time right now, Maither,” Duncan said gruffly, and Elspeth sighed.
Amelia touched her shoulder then and whispered, “Let me talk to him.”
Elspeth cupped Amelia’s cheek tenderly then walked out of the study and closed the door behind her.
“Duncan,” Amelia began. “You need your strength now. You need to rest, and you can come back to this later. We all worry about you.”
When he said nothing, she walked towards his table, not caring that she could bump into something in her path.
“Amelia,” Duncan said when she finally touched the sturdy mahogany of the table and leaned over it. “Ye shouldnae be here.”
“You are angry,” she continued, ignoring his earlier words. “You are scared, but we are all scared, and locking everyone out is not going to help you feel better.”
When he still did not answer her, she stretched out a hand, hoping to take away whatever he was reading. Duncan grasped her wrist before she could, and she yelped.
“Amelia,” he warned, “ye shouldnae be here.”
“Why?” she challenged. “Because you are too afraid to let anyone know that you are scared and struggling too? You might not need me anymore, Duncan, but I still care about you and what happens to your clan. You said I am part of your family now. I care about what happens to Yvaine too… But you working yourself tirelessly will not bring her back. You must plan, but you must also preserve your strength—”
“Yer drivin’ me insane,” Duncan cut her off, raising his voice, and she heard the scrape of his chair before he released her hand and came to her.
His hands were on her shoulders now, and he shook her slightly. “I need my clan to be safe for ye. I need to be able to protect ye. This isnae just about Yvaine or my maither. All my life, I have given all I can for them, but I havenae taken anythin’ for myself until ye came along. Ye dinnae ken what I want… Ye cannae tell me that I dinnae want ye.”
His confession made her pulse skip a beat, and she gasped when he drew her closer to him and took her lips in a passionate kiss. His lips clamped over hers, and she parted for him. His tongue swooped into her mouth, and he toyed with her till she was breathless and shaking with the need for him to do more.
“Night and day, I think of ye and crave ye,” he whispered before he took her lips again for another soul-melting kiss.
“Duncan…” she gasped when he drew his lips down the side of her neck and began caressing her all over.
Duncan’s harsh breaths filled the study, and before she could wrap her mind around what was happening, he lifted her off the ground, pushed aside every scroll on his desk, and set her down there.
“I want to make love to ye, Amelia,” he growled, his hot breath fluttering down her neck to the swell of her breasts.
Amelia’s breasts grew heavy for him, and she moaned again when he began undoing the hooks of her earasaid to free her of the garment. Her legs parted when he nudged them aside, and he kissed her again, tilted her head back, and ravished her neck.
Her pulse beat steadily for him, and her fingers dug into his arms because she needed to hold onto something.
Amelia was spinning, and her body felt different. These tantalizing tingles were new to her. She cried out when he made her lie back on the desk then he pushed up the skirts of her earasaid and began kissing her thighs.
“Duncan…” Her right hand moved to his head, and her fingers stroked his hair.
