Chapter 13

Ever since Billie had doused him in cold water, Domnhall couldn’t stop thinking about her and everything he had done to tease her. Perhaps he had taken it too far, he thought. Perhaps it had been a little cruel to call her into his chambers when he wasn’t wearing a single thing.

Perhaps this entire game is cruel.

When Hugo had first suggested it, Domnhall had jumped at the chance to have some fun with Billie, considering her one of his greatest enemies to date. He had been eager to show her her place, to embarrass her, maybe even to force her to back out of this marriage. He couldn’t imagine himself married to a deceitful woman, and Billie had proven herself to be deceitful from the very first night he had met her.

So, what if she was easily embarrassed? It was either an act, an elaborate performance put on to blind Domnhall to her trickery, or it was a part of her true character, the remnants of an innocence.

But if she is as experienced as she seemed that night, why does she always startle when I go near her?

Domnhall couldn’t make any sense of it. Billie was a mystery, one he didn’t even know how to begin to unravel.

“In what world are you lost?” Hugo asked, waving his hand in front of Domnhall’s face to get his attention. Domnhall looked at him from across his desk, rolling his eyes as he reached for his cup of wine only to find it empty.

He put it back down without refilling it. He still held onto his strict rule, never allowing himself to drink more than he could easily handle.

“I was thinkin’,” he said.

“About?”

“Things.”

Hugo gave him an unimpressed look. “Things pertaining to a certain woman?”

It was Domnhall’s turn to be unimpressed, glaring at his friend. How could he deny it, though? Hugo was right. The only things on his mind those days were the mysterious men sighted within his borders and Billie.

“It’s not too late to change your tactics,” Hugo said. “Perhaps this arrangement between the two of you didn’t start as pleasantly as you may have hoped, but you seem to enjoy her company. Must you cling onto your ideals like this?”

Domnhall gave Hugo and incredulous look. “O’ course I dae! What is the point o’ havin’ ideals if I willnae honor them? Dae ye expect me tae simply stop believin’ in them because… because…”

He couldn’t even finish the sentence. He could not admit out loud, not even to himself, that he was starting to grow fond of Billie. There was something about her that drew him to her. There was this spark, this boldness that he had seen in few people before. She knew what she wanted and she was prepared to do anything it took to have it, but none of it was for her sake. Everything she did seemed to be for other people; to help them, to take a burden off their shoulders. Domnhall could appreciate that. Simply seeing her help other people made him want to be a better man.

Across from him, Hugo laughed softly. Domnhall didn’t even have it in him to be annoyed anymore. A part of him knew Hugo was right and that he was only being stubborn by refusing to simply have a conversation with Billie. But what else could he do? Surely, Billie already hated him and their marriage would be nothing short of torture.

The soft knock on the door distracted Domnhall from his thoughts. “Come in,” he said.

He expected to see a servant, but it was Abigail instead, much to his surprise.

“Forgive me,” she said. “I hope I’m nae interruptin’ ye. Billie sent me tae fetch ye. She’s waitin’ fer ye in her chambers.”

“Me?” Domnhall asked with a frown. “What does she want?”

All this time, Billie had avoided him whenever possible. She only spoke to him if there was an important reason, like the men she had seen at the market, and he couldn’t help but worry she had news about them.

“She says there is a matter she wishes tae discuss with ye,” Abigail said. “She didnae specify what.”

With a sigh, Domnhall pinched the bridge of his nose, preparing himself for the inevitably awkward meeting. He slid out of his chair and made his way to the door, his footsteps heavy and reluctant, as if his body was refusing to move.

When he knocked on Billie’s door, it opened almost instantly. Behind it, Billie stood in nothing but her undergarments, the thin layers of fabric leaving little to the imagination.

Domnhall’s eyebrows rose up to his hairline as he looked at her, too shocked and confused to say a single thing, even as Billie grabbed him and pulled him inside, pinning him against the wall.

His heart beat so fast he feared Billie would notice. For the first time in years, he felt the tell-tale heat of a blush spread over his face and he sputtered as he tried to come up with something to say, but no matter how much he tried, his brain seemed unable to form a single coherent thought.

This was so unlike Billie—at least the Billie he knew—that he didn’t know what to make of it. Was she finally showing her true colors to him? Was this who she had always been, the kind of seductress he had thought of her as when they first met?

Her hands came to rest on his shoulders, warm and gentle, and Domnhall’s throat bobbed as he swallowed drily, his gaze following the path her fingers tracked over his chest as they moved lower and lower. There was a slight tremble to them, though, a kind of hesitation he wouldn’t expect from an experienced woman. Not for the first time, he wondered if perhaps he had been mistaken to think of her as someone who had a lot of history with other men.

“Is this nae what ye wanted?” Billie asked, her voice low and husky. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and she pressed herself against him in a way that was almost too tantalizing for Domnhall to resist. He could feel the soft press of her breasts, her breath ghosting over his neck as she leaned ever closer. It would be so easy to close the gap between them, to grab her and pull her into a kiss, but no matter how much he wanted it, Domnhall was too shocked to make a single move.

His body seemed to have other ideas, of course. His manhood pressed insistently against Billie’s thigh, his desire for her and the frustration of not sleeping with a woman in a long time getting to him. He couldn’t even remember when the last time was that he had brought a girl to his bed, but he knew it had been a while, even before this arrangement. With all the work he had to do, he had little time for such pleasures, and now the promise of a release was tantalizing.

Billie must have felt it, too, as she shifted her hips away from him in a way no woman who was truly trying to seduce him would. For a moment, his gaze searched her face for any telltale signs of the truth, and it took him only a few moments to realize what it was she was doing. She was getting satisfaction from seeing him crumble under her hands.

“I see,” he said, letting his head fall back against the door with a grin. “Ye should have thought twice before ye tried tae tease me, lass. What if I act on it?”

As he spoke, Billie’s expression morphed into a stony one, her hands falling off him. When he reached for her, resting his own hands on her hips, she pushed them away and put some distance between them, wrapping herself tightly in a blanket to conceal her body from him.

“Abigail assured me ye wouldnae,” Billie said bitterly. “I thought it would show ye that ye cannae toy with me, it would shock ye, so I wouldnae have tae worry about that.”

“It’s nae so easy tae shock me,” Domnhall pointed out. Suddenly, now that he didn’t have Billie’s warmth against him, the room seemed colder. He missed it more than he had thought he would. “Ye should ken that.”

Billie let out a hollow, humorless laugh. “Ye’re right, I suppose I should. I should have kent ye wouldnae fear a lass after all the lasses ye’ve brought tae yer bed. Even now, ye still love tae spend yer days an’ yer nights with a lass.”

Now Domnhall was more confused than ever. He frowned at Billie, trying to figure out what she could possibly mean, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t understand. It was true that he liked women—perhaps a little too much. But Billie had been the last woman to be in his chambers, and even then, he hadn’t managed to do anything more than kiss her.

“I dinnae think I understand ye,” he said. “If ye think I still bring lasses tae me chambers, then ye are mistaken.”

It was Billie’s turn to be confused, evidently. “What dae ye mean? I saw ye with that maid. Dae ye think ye can simply lie tae me?”

Domnhall searched his memory for the last time he had been with a maid, but Billie couldn’t have possibly seen them together. It had been weeks before they met, and she couldn’t have known about it.

“I’m nae lyin’,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. It would do little good to argue once more, no matter how much he wanted to. It was better to approach her as gently as possible and maybe try to get to the bottom of all this. “I promise ye… nae matter what ye think ye saw, it wasnae true. I havenae touched another lass in a long time.”

Billie scoffed. “An’ the maid who was in yer study? What were ye doin’ with her?”

Domnhall thought back to when Billie had entered his study and Ailis was there, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter was cut short, though, when he saw the rage in Billie’s gaze, the way she glared at him with such hatred that he almost flinched.

“Forgive me, lass,” he said. “But Ailis is naething but a maid. She was only helpin’ me sort out the tasks that need tae be done around the castle. I swear it tae ye… I havenae touched another lass an’ I never will. It doesnae matter tae me if our marriage will be one without love. I will still be faithful tae ye, as I would be tae any wife.”

It took a while for Billie to respond to him. She only stared, wide-eyed and uncertain, as though she couldn’t quite believe what Domnhall was telling her. He was entirely honest, though; he saw no reason to lie to her.

“Ye’re tellin’ me the truth?” she asked.

“Aye,” Domnhall said. “I promise ye.”

Billie nodded slowly, seemingly believing him, much to Domnhall’s relief. “Ye were mistaken, too,” she said. “I have never been with another man. That night… it was all a mistake. I thought it was me last chance tae choose fer meself, tae see what it’s like tae be with a man before I married, but I couldnae dae it. When I realized me mistake, I fled. But I swear tae ye, I have never touched another man. If ye wish tae think me a liar, then I have naething else tae say tae ye, but I wish we could stop all this fightin’.”

Billie sounded not only honest, but also tortured. Domnhall didn’t think any of it was an act this time. It was easy to believe her when she appeared so earnest, so saddened by the situation.

Besides, he was tired of fighting too. He would much rather have a marriage that was at least civilized, the two of them finding a way to work through their disagreements and everything that had brought them to this point, even if it turned out they couldn’t fall in love.

“I believe ye,” Domnhall assured her as he approached her, taking Billie’s hand and holding it gently in his. For a few seconds, they did nothing but stare at each other, but the open look in Billie’s gaze, the way her breath caught in her throat when Domnhall came close, were too enticing for him to resist kissing her. He leaned closer and captured her lips in a kiss, his other hand coming up to cradle her cheek.

Sighing softly against his lips, Billie relaxed, not only accepting, but returning the kiss. Scantily dressed as she was, even with the blanket still around her shoulders, Domnhall could feel the curves of her body against his, a fire igniting inside him.

And then there was a knock on the door, followed by a maid’s voice asking permission to come in. Billie pushed Domnhall away so hastily that he almost lost his balance, his hand shooting out to find something to hold onto. The first thing he grabbed was the edge of the bed, holding onto it for dear life.

“Quickly!” Billie whispered as she pushed him even closer to the bed. “Get under it!”

“Why would I get under the bed?” Domnhall demanded, even as he let Billie push him. “Everyone kens we are betrothed!”

“It doesnae matter!” Billie insisted. “Get under the bed right the now!”

With a long-suffering sigh, Domnhall did as he was told and crawled in the space under the bed. Only once he was hidden entirely did Billie call the maid inside, and Domnhall heard the door open slowly, footsteps sounding in the room.

“Is everythin’ alright, miss Robertson?” the maid asked.

“Aye,” Billie said, though she sounded out of breath and startled. “O’ course everythin’ is fine. Why wouldnae it be?”

“It took ye a while tae respond,” the maid said. “I feared somethin’ may have happened tae ye.”

“Nay, nay… naething happened,” Billie assured her, though she didn’t sound particularly convincing. “Ye can leave the tray tae me, thank ye. Ye may go now.”

There was a moment of silence, and though Domnhall couldn’t see the two women, he was certain the maid wasn’t convinced Billie was as fine as she claimed to be. Still, she soon left, closing the door behind her. It was Domnhall’s cue to crawl out from under the bed, and he did, dusting himself off as he stood.

“Was that truly necessary?” he asked. “What dae ye think would happen if she saw me in yer chambers?”

“She would have told everyone in the castle,” Billie said. “An’ I dinnae want that. We’re nae married yet.”

With a soft chuckle, Domnhall approached her once more, giving her a soft kiss. “I look forward tae our weddin’, then,” he said, and then left the room with a smile on his face.