Page 25 of Mending a Highland Heart

Chapter Thirteen

Angus was standing in front of her, watching her hungrily. His eyes were roving over her body, and she could feel her body respond to his look. The heat of desire consumed her, and she took a step towards him. All she knew was that she wanted to feel her hands on the bare skin of his chest, and she moved forward, her hands lifted up.

They were in the Great Hall again, and a fire was roaring in the hearth. Shadows danced across the walls, and she could smell the delicious scent of food, and then when she got close enough to him, she could smell the aroma of him.

Finally, she stood before him and slid her hands over him and began to pull at his linen shirt. Grinning, he followed the instructions of her hand and pulled it over his head. Charlotte gasped as she took him in, the half-naked form of his godlike body. He stepped forward and wrapped his large hands around her waist. She melted into him as he placed soft kisses along the line of her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, the pleasure all-consuming. When he returned his mouth to her ear, he whispered, “I want ye, lass.”

Charlotte could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest, and she moved her hands around the skin of his back. So muscled, taut, and smooth. She wanted to explore every inch of him. His body felt just as she expected, and it only increased her desire for more. More of him. This man was here, in front of her, heating her blood.

When he moved to her face, he took her mouth in a kiss that sent shivers through every vessel, and she felt it all center and pool in her core. His lips were savoring and caressing as if they could not get enough of her. She wanted him too. More than anything. She could not believe that it was actually happening. When he pulled away from his kiss, she got lost in his deep, brown eyes. “Come. I want more of you,” he whispered, his voice husky with need as he laid his forehead on hers.

Charlotte felt her hands begin to sweat, and her whole body tingled. He took her hand, and they walked through the castle slowly, tantalizingly slowly, until they reached his room. She felt like she was floating at the thought of his strong hands touching her, covering every inch of her. He turned around at the door and said, “I want to see all of ye.” His eyes indicated just what as he looked her up and down again. It made her ache with desire for him and only him.

Charlotte nodded, desperate to see all of him as well, all anger and frustration forgotten. He pushed open the door, and she followed him inside, her eyes not leaving him. As he shut the door behind them, he trapped her with his arms on either side of her, her back to the door. He took her mouth again, but this time there was no slowness, no gentleness, only a drive to taste and savor.

Charlotte felt all her muscles turn to butter as she leaned forward, fitting her form against his hard body. When her breasts touched his chest, he growled in his throat, and pulled her tighter to him, and began to pull at the edges of her gown.

Her body screamed yes as he was able to pull down her gown enough to expose her shoulders. His mouth followed the path of skin, and she began to moan at the beautiful way his lips sent fire from her head to her toes. He kept pulling, and to her surprise, her breasts were smoothly freed from their trap, and with another growl, Angus made his way there. Holding one, the other he placed his mouth over her nipple.

Charlotte leaned back, breathing heavily. The pleasure was too much to bear. And then she heard him. Between lavishing his tongue on the skin of her breasts, he whispered, “Lass, ye are already perfection itself.” Perfection.

Charlotte’s head sank bank, and she felt herself lifting out, up and away. Perfection. The word repeated over and over in her mind untilthe image of him disappeared, and she sat up in bed, bursting out of her dream. “Perfection,” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

She was breathing heavily, and she could feel a sheen of sweat on her forehead, between her breasts, and moisture between her legs. She laid back and groaned.

It was the same dream every night, dreams of his arms, his skin, his mouth on hers, and everywhere else. And then she would wake up. She was hoping the day would come when she could wake up smoothly and easily without thoughts of a certain wild Scotsman, but it didn’t seem yet possible. This time the dream was different. She had heard the words she so desperately needed to hear from his lips again. He wanted her, and he thought she was perfect.

But it was all fake. She would not hear that again. To her comfort, she had other things to occupy her today. She thought instantly of the vegetables that were to be sent. At dinner the previous day, her father had told her of his success in finding quite a few bundles, and Charlotte had handed over her note excitedly, which he signed with a flourish. She also handed him an envelope containing a written letter for Mrs. MacLean at long last.

She and her father had engaged in lively conversation throughout dinner. They had tried to get their guests to participate, but they were generally silent and taciturn, and Elizabeth often tried to read from her book. Charlotte was shocked at the behavior. This was the King’s man who they so desperately wanted to send to Fort William to assist against war? He had seemed cold and menacing at first, but after she had spent a few hours in his company, he did not seem to care one whit about his duties at the Fort, and so the fear that had built in her stomach was slowly dissipating. She had tried to befriend Elizabeth but to little avail.

Once she was dressed, she rushed to her father’s study to discuss the vegetables with him. She wanted to make sure the delivery was sent as soon as possible across the Sound. Ever since the large rainstorm that had racked the Isle and sent her clanging to the ground, the weather had been beautiful and serene as if warning them of spring’s quick approach. She knew that on the isle, they would be starting to plant soon. Perhaps one day, she could send seeds for them to add these new foods to their field list. Her father had acquired potatoes, apples, carrots, and cabbages, and she was so grateful to him for his efforts.

She arrived in his study hastily, her hair threatening to come undone, and her face reddened with excitement and movement. “Father! Oh, I am sorry to intrude.” She saw that Lord Darling was leaning over her father as he scribbled upon the desk, mouthing the words to him as he wrote.

At Charlotte’s hurried entry, Lord Darling straightened slowly, eyeing her once again in his haughty manner. Charlotte would have felt that his behavior was rather rude, except that she was the one who had bounded in on her father’s study, knowing that he had a guest staying with him. Lord Darling nodded tersely, almost imperceptibly, and Charlotte bent into a quick curtsy.

Her Father turned towards her and smiled weakly. She said, “Oh, I am very sorry. Do forgive me. I nearly forgot that we had a guest.” Lord Darling raised an eyebrow slightly at her comment.

General Andrews replied, “’Tis no matter, my dear. Lord Darling has a daughter of his own.” The lord made an expression that Charlotte supposed was an attempt at a smile, but it didn’t quite work.

“What is it that you wish, Charlotte?” Her father said again.

Charlotte moved her eyes away from the cold gaze of Lord Darling and said, “Oh, yes, Father. I was wondering if the vegetable bundles were sent already. I would like to send them out as soon as possible.”

Her father opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly interrupted by the silvery smooth yet menacing voice of Lord Darling. “Yes, Miss Andrews, your father has sent the delivery already with that young Scottish boy acting as the transporter. But, I’m afraid I have advised your father to consult me on such matters in the future. I feel that we cannot do such…charitable acts in the future towards the people we are trying to control.”

Charlotte was shocked into silence for a moment. She glanced between her father and Lord Darling, and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Trying to control?

She found her words at last. “I’m sorry, but despite politics, do we not have a duty to those under the jurisdiction of the Fort? While I was on the Isle, many of the members of the village were ill, and I could not find a solution. But, I hope that fresh fruits and vegetables will help give them the strength they so desperately need so that they can return to work. Remember, these people are paying taxes to the Crown, and my father and I wished to thank them for hosting me.”

A tiny muscle flexed in one side of Lord Darling’s cheek. Her father looked down. Lord Darling spoke again, “My dear Miss Andrews, are you saying that you actually went to visit the ill villagers on your own? Why would a lady of your status do such a thing?”

His expression was intended to make it seem as though his concern was real, but in his voice, Charlotte could tell that he was sending warnings like daggers towards her with each word. Charlotte could feel her anger beginning to grow within her belly, but she did not want to embarrass her father in front of his superior. “I was doing my duty as interim Lady MacLean. My cousin and her husband left for London and left us to do our duties in their stead.”

“Us? You were not alone in Duart Castle?”

This man was relentless! And impertinent. He had also done his research, citing the name of the castle. She wondered for a moment what else he might know, and it made her feel a slithering fear. “There were servants, of course, and the interim laird is the absent laird’s younger brother, Angus.”

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