Chapter 18

18

M agnus woke at first light, taking a moment to blink the sleep from his eyes. His memory of the wedding night slipped back through his mind. Erin was in his bed, sleeping beside him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and his arm cradled her. He watched her sleep, her hair splayed down his scarred arm, and the warmth of her body felt good against his. She was his wife, and they had spent the night together.

None of it was as he had planned, and Magnus reflected on how his life had changed since the morning he sent Scarlett off to wed. But his new life brought him a sense of happiness that he hadn't felt before. He felt complete. For the first time, he did not yearn to rise with the dawn. The heat of her body seemed to seep into his very bones and settle itself against his soul.

He held her tight against him for a fleeting moment, caught between the primal urge to protect and the stark reality of their situation. Aye, she was beautiful, as bonny as the blooming heather across the Highland moors, but beauty was a treacherous thing. He could not afford to let down his guard.

"Control yerself, Magnus," he muttered under his breath.

He would not succumb to a weakness such as love. He was a Highlander, as rugged and unyielding as the surrounding mountains. His past was marred by bloodshed and betrayal, and he had learned never to let his guard down. Erin shifted in her sleep, her soft sigh brought a smile to his lips.

"Ye can lie beside her, share her bed, and still resist," he told himself. "It's only physical. No' something ye haven't conquered before."

He could keep this woman by his side and smile at her beauty. He could lie beside her at night and give her the happiness she desired. But he could keep the walls around his castle and heartstring. She had been satisfied last night without the chance of fathering a child.

"I willnae lose myself to this arrangement," Magnus swore silently, his gaze tracing the contour of Erin's sleeping face. She deserved far better than a beast stained with the violence of his past. Aye, she was strong and determined, a lass who could stand her ground, but she too was trapped in this union neither of them had wanted. She deserved to be happy.

With a resolve as cold as the stone walls of his keep, Magnus slowly began to extricate himself from the bed, careful not to disturb the fragile peace of the moment. They would need to rise soon enough and face the day, the charade they must play as lord and lady of this ancient fortress.

"Control," he whispered to the empty room as he stood tall, his broad frame casting a long shadow. "Aye, I'll control my desires, even if it breaks me."

For a fleeting moment, Magnus allowed himself the luxury of simply watching her sleep, the rise and fall of her chest, the innocence of her face, so at odds with the harshness of his world. But she had known her own harshness, wearing her scars in the inside, without letting them define her. He had underestimated this woman, and here in her sleep, she still challenged him.

As the sun rose past his window, and he had still not risen, the guilt began to sink in. He was the laird, his purpose was to be out there, tending to his castle, his clansmen, his land. Yet, he wanted to be here, next to this woman he was to call wife for the rest of his life. Wife. It sounded alien, yet perfectly natural.

Erin's eyelids fluttered open, and her bright blue eyes looked up at him. Then she raised her arms, stretching out her lithe form.

"Good morn, lass," Magnus greeted with a smile.

"Good morn, husband," Erin replied happily. She pulled the covers up tight as she shifted around, turning so her body rested on his chest as she faced him. "We are married."

"Aye, we are married," Magnus confirmed.

"And last night…" Erin gasped a little, the memory colouring her cheeks.

"Aye lass, last night." Magnus nodded, a smile brightening his face, finding amusement in her shyness.

Her shyness slowly ebbed away as she shifted closer to him, pressing delicate kisses to his jawline, each one a tiny flame igniting along his skin. He stiffened at first, caught off guard by the tenderness of her touch, but as she continued, something within him unwound. Her lips were warm and insistent, and he responded to her touch.

"Erin..." His hand cradled her face, thumb tracing the line of her cheekbone. "What are ye doing, lass?"

"Reminding my husband that he's not as alone as he thinks," she answered firmly. "A wife has duties, ye ken."

She kissed him harder, and he responded in kind; the two of them shared a passionate moment in each other's arms.

The kisses became bolder, her actions weaving a spell that threatened to unravel all the restraints he had placed upon himself. For a heartbeat, Magnus allowed himself to forget the darkness that clung to him, to lose himself in the sensation of her touch.

"Everything is going to be fine after all," Erin whispered against his skin as if she sensed the turmoil within him and sought to soothe it with her presence.

"Is it, lass?" he questioned the words a mere breath as he searched her eyes for answers neither of them genuinely possessed.

"Aye," she murmured with a certainty that seemed to pierce through the shadows, offering a glimmer of hope where none had existed before.

As they lay there, entwined in the early morning light, the outside world faded away, leaving only the two of them bound by a fate neither had chosen but both were beginning to accept. It would not be an easy road ahead

"Let us break our fast then," she suggested, her cheeks blooming with a rosy hue as she rose nervously from the bed, clinging to the linin covers for as long as she were able. Magnus sat back in bed with a grin as she gathered up her clothing from the floor and slipped her things on.

"It would be easier if ye let yer wife share yer room," Erin scolded hopefully.

"Aye, it would. But let's take one step at a time, shall we?" Magnus rolled over, climbing naked from the bed. Erin may have blushed when he watched her, but when he walked around the bed, her jaw all but hit the floor. He smiled at her reaction and she blushed once more.

"I will… be… going… my room," she stumbled over her words before fleeing back to her quarters.

Magnus could not deny the amusement Erin brought to his life.

He lingered in the hall outside his room, playing with the laces on his boots as if he were not actually waiting for Erin's return. When she reappeared, she was fully dressed and every part the lady that McCormack Castle deserved. It had been too long since the estate had a mistress.

They descended the staircase together and entered the dining hall. Hayden and Scarlett sat together, speaking in hushed voices, but they fell silent as Magnus entered. As he approached the table, they both rose to their feet.

"Sit," Magnus ordered. Scarlett grinned at Erin, welcoming her into the seat beside her, and Magnus took his place at the head of the table.

"Morning, brother," Hayden called politely. "Are ye eating with us?"

"Aye, brother, that I am."

Hayden's face explored every expression under the sun, from confusion to fear, finally settling on joy. "Good to have ye join us, brother."

His siblings waited for Magnus to be served his food before they continued eating. Magnus couldn't ignore the fact the meal was resumed in silence.

"I need to find Reggie Hogg," he announced after barely four bites of his food. "If ye will excuse me."

They all rose from the table as he left, but as Magnus paused at the door, he heard the soft sound of voices in his absence. He drew in a deep breath and battled back the feeling of jealousy that bloomed within. This was what he wanted, what had to be to keep them all safe.

The great hall was abuzz with the clan's morning activities as he entered, but Magnus's focus fell on one man—Reggie Hogg. The councilman stood near the hearth talking with another councilman, his expression already one of disapproval, but his face soured when he noticed Magnus enter. The rest of the hall fell silent as Magnus greeted them with a nod before striding towards Reggie, his boots thudding heavily on the stone floor.

"Reggie," Magnus barked, his voice low and menacing. "A word."

The councilman turned, his expression darkening further at the order. Magnus leaned in close enough for his breath to brush against Reggie's ear.

"Disrespect my wife again because she's younger than ye think fitting, and it'll be the last act ye commit on this earth," Magnus seethed.

"It was merely a word of the council, m'laird. If the fair lady took offence to me tone, it was not intended." Reggie huffed. "An event of this size needs more than pretty strings and bows on the wall. Ye should be min mind to put guards around the green. Who knows what coup is being planned against ye."

"Ye would have a greater knowledge of that than I!" Magnus snapped. Reggie seemed so keen on the idea of a coup that Magnus wouldn't put it past him to be behind it himself.

Reggie bristled, his mouth opening to retaliate, but Magnus was already turning on his heel, dismissing the councilman without another glance. He would not tolerate insubordination, especially not against Erin.

He returned to the high table and snatched up a scone from the table, seeking out Caelan Ward, his man-at-arms, who stood guard by the door. Their eyes locked, and an unspoken conversation passed between them.

"Reggie's growing bolder," Magnus muttered once he was within earshot of Caelan, breaking off a piece of the scone with more force than necessary.

"Ye have my sword, Laird McCormack," Caelan replied, his loyalty unfaltering. "Whatever course ye chart, I'm with ye."

"Good," Magnus said, nodding stiffly. He trusted Caelan; though the man was as cunning as they came, it had been an asset to Magnus on many occasions.

"Shall we discuss it later?" Caelan suggested, his voice barely above a whisper, giving a nod to where Erin entered the hall.

"Aye, at sundown." Magnus's reply was terse, and his thoughts were already spiralling toward the potential conflict ahead.

He glanced back at Erin, who watched him with curiosity and concern. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she saw him, and her direction was set. Magnus turned to her, his face smiling like he didn't have a care in the world, while in the corner of his vision, Reggie twisted the knife of doubt.