Page 41 of The Laird's Unwanted Wife
After a few moments of simply being, an apology began to work its way into Aileen’s mouth. But before she could get it out properly, Gerald’s gaze tilted down to meet hers. “If ye go and try to apologize for yer appearance, I’ll send ye to yer room for a good, long think.”
A startled snort escaped Aileen instead, and she quickly sat up, covering her mouth as embarrassment raced across her face. “I … I’m nae a child!”
“Aye, but I sense ye’ve been told otherwise.” Gerald’s hand continued to run through her hair, and Aileen found herself being pulled back into his embrace once more. “Folk around ye never paid proper respect to yer womanhood, and it shows.”
Aileen’s legs curled upward, her arms beginning to hide her lack of chest once more. But Gerald’s hands found hers, intentionally keeping them in place to keep her bosom on display.
“There isnae a thing to be ashamed of. This body of yours is one forged from survival; ye refused to let the odds beat ye, and that is something to be admired for.” Gerald’s voice was stern, though Aileen could sense it came from a place of reassurance. It was not a command, but a simple stating of the facts. Her vulnerability—one she hadn’t even consciously registered until this moment—wasn’t being taken advantage of.
“And maybe one day …” Gerald’s sentence trailed off, and Aileen found her curiosity piqued. She stared long and hard at his expression, trying to find any hint as to where he meant to take the conversation. “And, maybe one day …” His body shifted,easily lifting Aileen to her feet as he took a step back. “Ye willane need me to tell ye that.”
Aileen blinked, suddenly feeling quite cold. She glanced around for her bodice, only for Gerald to suddenly drape her in his night coat. When he had crossed the room to fetch it for her, she couldn’t rightly say.
“Now, ye should be off,” Gerald instructed, hastily clearing his throat. “We daenae want Mollie to worry about the … noises ye made in here.”
Aileen’s face burned terribly, and she tightened her grasp around the night coat.
“Hopefully ye ken I willnae be sendin’ ye off so easily,” Gerald added. “And ye ken where ye stand within this keep.”
The euphoria of their unexpected intimacy began to fade from Aileen’s mind, and she blinked furiously, realizing she, in fact, still hadn’t the slightest clue where her relationship with Gerald stood. “Ye’re an enigma, ye ken that? I still havenae gotten any closer to gettin’ an actual answer out of ye.”
Gerald’s brow rose slightly. “Was that nae answer enough?”
A spark of irritation rose in Aileen’s voice. “I … yer head’s full of mince, ye ken that? How can ye be so willin’ to have a moment like that with me, but refuse to clarify what we are?” She pulledhis jacket tighter, huffing loudly. “Well, fine! If ye daenae wish to be straight with me, I willnae make things easy, anymore!”
Gerald snorted with laughter, clearly bemused. “Aye? Is that so?”
“Aye, it is!” Aileen insisted. “I tried to explain meself to ye, but clearly, this is nothin’ but silly fun for ye. So, that’s the last time ye’ll be havin’ yer way with me, me Laird.”
He cocked his head toward her, and for a moment, Aileen wondered if he’d truly kiss her again. Desire clashed with her irritation, with the latter winning out as she ducked beneath him and started toward the door. “Fix yer lock, and this willnae ever happen again!”
Before she could properly reach it, Gerald rounded out from behind her and stood between her and the door, his hand pressing against it to keep it closed.
“Is that an order, sweet wife?” Gerald asked, his smirk a perfect match for the dangerous glint in his eye. Beast of Braeriach indeed; it was like staring into the face of a stalking wolf, one who had just cornered the prize he’d been hunting for days on end.
Aileen exhaled loudly, her lips tightly formed into a frown as her gaze remained steady. “A suggestion, dear husband. As to nae cause any further mishaps between us.” Every part of her wanted to break down and run, but she stood firmly in place, postured in a way she was certain a more confident lady would have. A long,terrible moment passed between them, but eventually, Gerald reached down for the door’s handle and tugged it open. His eyes never left Aileen as she dutifully stepped out, and she refused to glance over her shoulder while she made her way to their room.
Much as she desperately wanted to.
As Gerald closed his study door, he found himself completely taken in by the mess. Papers and books still lay scattered across the floor, now with the addition of Aileen’s bodice crumpled beside his desk.
The buzzing thrill had finally quieted in his head, and the realization of what he’d just done with Aileen hit him with the weight of an axe against the trunk of a massive tree. Boundaries—where had all of his boundaries gone?
“Completely out the window, apparently.” Gerald scolded himself, bending down to try to clean some of the mess he’d made.
He hadn’t meant to be so intimate with her. He hadn’t meant to beanythingto her but a vague protector, yet the memories of Aileen bent over on his desk remained in Gerald’s mind. Each stack of papers he made reminded him of her silken gown beneath his fingers, each book against his chest mimicking the weight of her body against his once it was all said and done.
There was more to her now, he realized; no longer was she the thin husk of a woman he’d found half-starved in Marcus’ study. Her body had far more definition, even if she couldn’t see it herself. But he had seen it—he had felt it with his own hands—and it burned him to think that others in her past had denied her pride in her womanhood.
The face he’d been carving … he could try to deny it all he wanted, but Gerald knew he’d long since been bending the terms of their arrangement. Since the moment he met Aileen, that resolve to uphold it began to waver, and as he stared at her visage on the wood, he let out a far more gentle sigh. “I didnae think this would be so hard, Ewan. I wish …”
He wished his brother was here, instead. Wished it was Ewan coming tohimfor relationship advice, wished he could be the one to poke and prod at him as his older brother struggled to maintain his visage of lairdship.
Gerald often pushed the thoughts aside when they resurfaced in his mind, but this time, he allowed what could have been to linger a bit longer. Imagining what could have been, if only Marcus hadn’t done what he did.
If only he had been stronger that day.
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