Chapter 25

25

" E wan," Bridget gasped.

The chaos unfolding before him was more than he had expected. With murderous intentions, Ewan yanked Paul off Bridget and threw him into the corner. Leaning down, he carefully pulled Bridget to her feet.

"He didnae hurt ye, did he?" Ewan asked, searching for any signs of injury. He couldn't forgive himself if he'd shown up too late.

"Get your hands off my wife," Paul demanded.

"Yer wife? Ha, I dinnae think so," Ewan snapped as Paul scrambled for the papers scattered about the floor.

"They forged a wedding contract," Bridget explained.

"Nay," Ewan answered. "That's nay weddin' contract."

"I assumed you had spies around the castle," Paul said as he rose to his feet with a pistol in hand.

"No," Bridget gasped as she threw herself in front of him.

"Just like a Scot to cower behind a woman," Paul jeered as Ewan curled his fingers around Bridget's shoulders.

The fact that she was willing to give up her life to save him was all he needed to know. Every doubt he had about how she felt about him vanished instantly. That one act proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bridget did indeed care enough about him to want him to live.

"Promise you won't hurt him, and I'll go with you peacefully," Bridget said, much to his shock.

"Over my dead body," Ewan growled as he pulled her to the side and lunged at Paul.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the small cabin. With his ears ringing, Ewan wrested the pistol out of Paul's hand.

Another gunshot went off, causing Bridget to scream.

Terror gripped Ewan as he glanced over his shoulder to confirm she wasn't injured. "Go to the top deck—Logan will be waitin' for ye."

"No, I'm not leaving you here," Bridget said and lunged at Paul.

As she grabbed him by the arm, Ewan gained the leverage he needed. Pulling back his left arm, Ewan smashed his beefy fist into Paul's nose. The sound of cartilage crushing and snapping was a symphony to Ewan's ears. With Paul now unconscious, Ewan halted and looked up at Bridget.

The panic and worry on her face nearly broke his heart. Ewan couldn't believe how disheveled she looked. Her wild, tangled hair and damaged dress reminded him of the first time he'd laid eyes on her.

"Are you all right?" Bridget asked, rushing to his side. Her roaming hands warmed his heart. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Should I nae be askin' ye that question?" Ewan asked as he gently brushed the back of his hand over her bruised cheek. Seeing the purple splotch made Ewan want to pummel Paul again.

"I'll live," she said.

"Logan has commandeered the ship," Ewan explained. "It's up to ye what ye want to do. I want…" He cleared his throat and tried to compose himself. "I would like it if ye would accompany me back home."

"That depends," Bridget said as she followed him out of the cabin and up the steps to the deck.

"Bridget," Augusta called, her voice strained and pleading. "Bridget, daughter, please, you can't just leave us here with these savages."

Bridget glanced up at Ewan, as though he had all the right answers for her, but deep down, he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make this right for her. She would have to make her own decisions about the fate of her parents. All he could do was stand by her side and give her the support she needed for whatever decision she made.

"Tell me something, Mother," Bridget began as she stepped toward Augusta. Pride swelled within Ewan as he watched her stand up for herself. "Did you ever love me? Was there ever a time when you saw me and thought nothing but good things?"

"Of course," Augusta said, her voice as clipped and nasal as if she were the one put out by the commotion. It made Ewan want to grab the woman by the collar and toss her over the side of the ship.

If she had been any other woman, he would have. But this was not his fight.

"Why don't I believe you?" Bridget asked. "Maybe because all you've ever told me my entire life was lies. Well, look around, Mother. Ewan came here for me. He wants me, and you know what? I want him."

It was the admission Ewan had been waiting to hear. Her words pierced through his heart as though they were beams of light chasing out the darkness from the depths of his soul. Despite all he was and all he'd done, she wanted him.

"I don't care what happens to you," Bridget continued as she turned to Ewan and found her rightful place at his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Go back to England, sail to Paris, I don't care. Just leave me alone. I don't want you in my life any longer. My Laird, if you'd be so kind as to take me home."

"Bridget!" Augusta cried out as Ewan led Bridget to the plank that attached the ship to his vessel. "You can't do this. I forbid it."

Bridget stopped on the gangway, her hand trembling in Ewan's. He watched her carefully, ready to defend her with everything he had.

"Tell me," she said through gritted teeth, "did you know?"

"What?" Augusta asked, her voice quivering with emotion.

"What the Viscount had planned for me?" Bridget asked. "Do you hate me so much that you'd accept my death as compensation?"

"Bridget, I swear, dear, you pick the worst times to talk about such things. Why don't we all get back to shore and we can discuss these things in greater detail," Augusta said in a sing-song voice that grated on Ewan's nerves.

Bridget glanced over her shoulder, stealing one last look at her family. It pained Ewan to have to stand aside and let the events unfold. He was a man of action and wanted to jump in to help.

"What's the point? You never listen to me anyway. Well, I'm certain that after today, you're going to keep an ear out for news about me. But just like the years I spent living under your roof, you won't hear a peep out of me. Ewan, my love, please, I'd like to go."

"Bridget," Augusta called out.

Ewan whipped his head around, tearing off his mask in the process. The horrified expression on Augusta's face warmed the cockles of his heart.

"Ye'll do as me wife says if ye ken what's good for ye," he warned. "And right now, she doesnae want anythin' to do wit' you. And seein' as how I dinnae want anythin' to do wit' ye either, ye'll do well to leave. Now."

With one arm around Bridget's waist, Ewan guided her across until their feet landed on the deck of his ship.

"Are ye sure ye want to cut them off like that?" Ewan asked as Logan and the rest of his men disembarked from the Earl's ship.

Bridget clung to him as she watched her parents rush to the side of the ship, pleading for her to return.

"I'm sure, for now at least," she said. "But the real question is, are you sure you want me to stay? After all, you've said I'm nothing but trouble and a nuisance."

"Aye, but ye're me nuisance," Ewan said as he hooked a finger under her chin, titled her head up, and crushed his lips to hers.

The hunger in her kiss sparked desires he didn't want to ignore any longer.

"I love you, Ewan Gibson."

"Aye, I ken," he answered as he felt the slight sting of her slap on his arm. He couldn't help but smirk as he glanced at the deck of her family's ship. "And I love ye too. But there is one thin' we need to do. I cannae have ye stay wit' me as a guest. That willnae do."

"Ewan?"

"Under different circumstances, I supposed I'd ask yer parents for yer hand. But since I dinnae like them any more than ye do, I'm just goin' to ask ye outright," Ewan said, breaking into a wide grin.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" Bridget asked breathlessly.

"If ye dinnae want me, I'll understand."

"I never took you for a fool, Laird MacCartney, so don't make me look like one," Bridget said as she rose on the tips of her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Wouldnae dream of it," Ewan said. "Are ye ready to come home wit' me then?"

"Yes," Bridget said.

Logan gave the order to turn the ship around. As they sailed back to the island, Ewan ignored the pleas of her parents and kept an eye on the horizon.

"Do you think your family will like me?" Bridget asked.

"Nae even a little," Ewan answered as he planted a kiss on her forehead. "I think they will love ye."

Bridget's heart raced as she studied Ewan's naked body under the silver light of the moon. She already admired his strong physique and rugged features, but after witnessing his immeasurable courage and strength… well, she was smitten.

"I'm nae goin' anywhere," he whispered. "So ye can stop lookin' at me like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not looking at you any differently than I did when we first met," Bridget said as a smile curved the corners of her lips.

"That so? I've seen ye petrified, and ye dinnae look the part one bit," Ewan teased as the flames danced in the fireplace and cast long shadows on the back wall.

"When did you see me scared? I've been nothing but brave since the moment I came here," Bridget answered. "After all, it takes a brave woman to stand up to the likes of you. Have you seen yourself, lately? You're terrifying."

"More so than when ye ran from me and sprained yer ankle?" Ewan asked. He wrapped his arms around her before she could answer and pulled her onto the mattress. As he showered her with kisses, Bridget couldn't help but feel as though her heart would burst with joy.

"Stop," she pleaded as his fingers trailed down her ribs, tickling her. "You win."

"Say it again then," Ewan demanded as he pinned her to the bed.

She tilted her head and lifted her hand to his face. Tracing the scar that ran from his brow to his chin, Bridget smiled at him seductively.

"I love you," she whispered so quietly that he had to lean in to hear her.

She inhaled deeply, savoring his scent as his manhood poked her inner thigh.

"What was that?" he whispered in her ear, his hot breath cascading down her neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. The was no denying Ewan. He knew how to stoke her desires.

"I love you," she said once again as she opened her legs wider.

Ewan's eyebrow rose in acknowledgment. He didn't have to be told what she wanted from him.

"I want ye too," he mumbled. The naked longing in his eyes only heightened the lust raging within her.

Bridget grabbed his hand and placed it on her bare breast. A smile curved her lips as she whispered, "Then take me. I'm yours."