Chapter 8

While Kira wallowed in the water, Alec crossed the room to the large table, to where the tray of tea that had been left for him stood.

“Besides anythin’ else, ye could have caught yer death of cold. That water’s frreezin’ all year round,” he chided. He lifted the teapot lid and looked inside. “This tea’s still hot. Would ye like a cup tae warm ye up?” asked, replacing the lid and looking at her inquiringly, seeming to forget his former anger.

Kira was a little wary of his sudden change in demeanor. Even so, she could not help smiling at him for the welcome offer.

“Och, yes, I’d love one, thank ye. Ye were right about the loch bein’ freezin’!”

“How d’ye take yer tea? I dinnae even ken” he said, a trace of regret in his voice. He looked away long enough to set out two cups and saucers on the table and pour the fragrant liquid into them.

“A dash of milk, please,” she said, realizing it was true. For some reason, it made her feel rather sad. She watched him happily going about the menial task of adding the milk to the tea and stirring it. He was far from the brute she had accused him of being.

This sudden show of concern and thoughtfulness took her off guard. It was a side of him she had not seen so far. It was intriguing. Despite herself and her vow to punish him for her father’s death, it was hard to fight the magnetic pull of his rough, masculine beauty, his air of command.

“Yer hair’s drippin’ all over the floor, let me get that,” he suddenly said as she was staring at him over her cup, unable to take her eyes off him. He put down his cup on the side table and grabbed a cloth from the small stack sitting nearby.

“Give me yer cup fer a minute,” he said, holding out his hand. Kira gave it to him, and he set it down next to his own. When he turned back to her, he said, “Now lift yer head up an inch.” The next moment, Kira could hardly suppress the thrill that ran from her head to her toes when he gently lifted it from the rim of the tub, scooped up her soaking hair and wrapped it in the cloth.

“There ye are. That should hold it,” he said, artfully arranging the cloth so it would not come undone.

“Thank ye, again,” she murmured as he rested her head gently back down on the rim of the tub. He handed her back her teacup, took his own, and then sat down cross-legged on the rug next to the tub.

As she watched him sipping it, Kira could not help thinking that if they lived in another world, things might have been very different between them. As it was, he was her husband and her sworn enemy at the same time. It was just too confusing!

“Why are ye bein’ so kind tae me when ye hate me so much?” she asked, genuinely curious by his change of attitude towards her. She was not sure she could trust it.

“Wheesht! I ken what I said before, but I was angry. I dinnae hate ye, Kira. Neither of us had any choice but tae marry the other, all because the King says the feud between our clans must be settled. I didnae like it anymore then ye.” He gazed deeply into her eyes as he spoke, and she could not doubt his sincerity when he continued. “But the situation is what it is. Ye’re me wife now, and I would nae want tae see me wife suffer. There might have been a feud tae divide us, but now we’re bound to each other fer life. That changes things.”

Kira was moved by his words despite herself. She drank some tea and then said, “I suppose I’ve behaved a bit childishly about it,” she admitted. “I can see now that by actin’ that way, I’ve made mesel’ look foolish.”

Alec gave her a lop-sided smile. It was unexpectedly endearing. When he showed this side of his nature, she could not help but warm to him.

Suddenly, he took her by surprise by looking at her scarf and asking, “Why will ye nae take it off?”

“I told ye, I never take it off,” she replied softly, her fingers automatically going to the silken material around her neck. Her heart began beating loudly in her hears.

“Why nae? What is it ye’re hidin’ under there? Will ye nae let me see?” His vice was gentle, as was his expression.

“’Tis nae somethin’ I like tae look at, and I dinnae like anybody looking at it either. ’Tis ugly,” she said, not realizing she was holding her neck protectively.

“I dinnae believe anythin’ about ye can be truly ugly, Kira,” he said, his voice low and beguiling. He leaned on the rim of the tub and gave a little nod at the scarf. “I’m yer husband. Ye can trust me. We should nae have such secrets. Ye can take it off. I’m nae gonnae run a mile, I promise ye.”

His soothing voice and words seemed to vibrate through Kira’s body, and when he leaned in and said, “Here, let me untie it fer ye,” she found herself dropping her protective hands and letting him. He gently unwound the scarf and bared her neck.

As his eyes took in the long, jagged, disfiguring scar marring her throat, she waited in silent, painful anticipation for the horrified exclamation, the sudden recoil. But there was only the crackling of the fire and Alec’s quiet breathing to break the silence as he examined her neck.

Finally, he leaned back and looked at her, resting his arms on the edge of the tub, his eyes level with hers. “Now, tell me, why d’ye go coverin’ it up like that all the time? ’Tis nae so bad.”

Even in the hot water, Kira felt herself flush. “I despise it. I’ve had it since I was small, and I’ve always been insecure about it. I dinnae want tae be thought as some sort of freak because of it. ’Tis better tae cover it up and forget about it.”

To her surprise, Alec suddenly rose on his knees and leaned towards her, tilting his head.

“What are ye doin’?” she cried, moving back as far as she possibly could in the tub in alarm. But he only reached out with a finger and tilted her chin before softly pressing his lips to her scar. Delicious shivers ran up and down her body to feel the gentle yet insistent warmth of his butterfly kisses on the hated flaw she had always hidden from the world. It was the most vulnerable yet the most desirable she had ever felt.

“How did ye get it?” he asked, drawing away and releasing her chin.

She took a deep breath and said, “I was about six. All I remember was playing with one of our wolfhounds in the garden at home, and the dog was so much bigger than me. I was making it excited, and it accidentally knocked into me, and I fell against some metal palings. They left me with this.” She touched the scar with her fingertips, but it no longer seemed necessary to hide it. Alec had not recoiled in horror. “Apart from me family and close friends, you are one of the very few people tae have seen it.”

Alec was down at eyelevel again, his elbows on the tub. “Well, I like it,” he declared, apparently serious.

Kira could not suppress a small smile, amazed that she was caught up in this intimate conversation with him. “Dinnae be daft. How can ye like it? ’Tis ugly.”

“’Nay, Kira, ’tis nae ugly at all. ’Tis part of ye. In fact, ’tis the part I like most about ye. Because it shows me that ye’re nae perfect. One of the things that annoyed me most about ye when we first met was how perfect ye always looked. Even when I had tae chase ye and carry ye tae the chapel, and then when ye fought me, it didnae ruffle a feather.” His voice was a deep and husky whisper, sending thrills shooting through Kira, making her tremble as she lay in the cooling water, forgetting her nakedness. She thought of his kisses and found herself craving more.

“Ye always ended up with nae so much as a hair out of place. Ye’re just way too beautiful.” He began to get up. Before she knew what she was doing, Kira was sitting up and reaching out for him. Forgetting herself entirely, she took hold of two large handfuls of his shirt and wrenched him towards her… and planted her lips firmly on his.

The kiss took Alec by surprise. He had been about to force himself to move away from the tub, to relieve his growing arousal. The hardness at the front of his trews was becoming uncomfortable, but he could not help looking at Kira’s beautiful, milky body on full display in front of him.

Her breasts were bobbing enticingly in the water, and the shadowed triangle between her legs attracted his gaze, inflaming his senses. Her lovely face was flushed and damp. A few wet, curling dark tresses had fallen from their wrapping and fallen down to provide a soft frame for her delicate features. Blood was rushing to his head, and it suddenly became all too much. He had had to move before he lost control!

But as he had gone to stand up, the most unexpected thing had happened: Kira had suddenly sat up in the tub, grabbed him by the shirt, and then kissed him.

After a moment’s surprise, he had lifted her out of the tub, dripping, into his arms. Oblivious of the soaking he was getting, he cradled her head in one hand, her behind in the other, and plunged headlong into the kiss. He was elated at having somehow provoked such a passionate response. He gripped her slippery body against him, his hands eagerly cupping and squeezing her damp, warm flesh, its luxurious, silken feel and the pressure of her hardened peaks pressed against his shirt. The throbbing inside his trews increased.

He was already half dazed with lust when he felt her arms around his neck. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, her open mouth on his, her tongue flickering between his lips, and it all sent a lightning bolt of pure desire though him.

He clutched her tightly, hungry to taste more of this gift she was offering him. He covered her lips with his and opened his mouth wider, meeting her tongue with his own, twisting and sliding it together with hers in an erotic spiral of passionate mutual exploration.

The desire he had for her was like nothing like he had ever felt before. It rocked him. He was swept away by her tantalizing sweetness, thrilled by the firm, questing insistence of those soft, full lips as they caught at both of his teasingly. The tip of her tongue caressed the outline of his mouth, showing him that, in that moment, despite all, she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“Ye’re so beautiful, Kira,” he murmured when their lips parted for a second, but their noses were still touching. He gazed into her eyes and stroked his hand across her breasts, belly and thighs for the second time in less than a week since their wedding. This is very different to the last time, he thought. “I love yer scar. ’Tis beautiful. Ye never need tae cover it up when ye’re with me.”

“Och, Alec…” she breathed against his mouth as he peppered the jagged mark with small kisses. Unable to help himself, Alec trailed them down her throat to her collarbone, then with one hand, he cupped the globes of her breasts, massaging them and luxuriating in their round, yielding firmness. The flame already burning inside him flickered higher still to hear the small moan that escaped Kira’s lips at his touch.

His almost unbearable hardness had him yearning to enjoy the long-delayed pleasures of the marriage bed with his new wife. With the way she was making him feel, he thought it worth the wait. But he could wait no longer to make her his.

“Kira, I dinnae think I can hold back from makin’ love tae ye much longer,” he told her, hearing the wavering control in his voice.

“I dinnae want ye tae,” she breathed, pulling his mouth to hers, her kiss hot and passionate as she pressed her whole length against him.

“Mmm,” he was murmuring as he nuzzled and nipped the tips of her breasts lasciviously when there came an urgent series of raps at the door.

“Alec, I need tae speak with ye at once,” came a loud, clear voice from the hallway outside.

’Tis Bran,” Alec hissed, stopping what he was doing. “What the devil does he want?” He shouted back, “Can it nae wait? I’m busy.”

“Sorry, braither, it cannae wait. I’ll be in yer study. I have news ye need tae hear right away,” Bran called back.

“I’m sorry, Kira, it looks like I have tae go,” Alec said, inwardly cursing his luck. “But I’ll be back later.”

“All right, I hope ’tis naethin’ serious,” she said, letting go of his neck as he placed her gently on the bed. He planted a kiss on the end of her nose before drawing the bed curtains around her. He wished no prying eyes to peep in and see his wife naked again. She was his.

“Bran wouldnae call me out fer just anythin’. I’m hopin’ it might be somethin’ I’ve been after fer the last three years.” He prepared to leave, strapping on his sword belt. “I’ll tell ye about it later. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He forced himself to leave her, cooling his interrupted ardor as he headed for his study. He tried to put thoughts of Kira aside for the moment and focus on the news Bran promised him. He prayed it was the proof he coveted to show that laird Shaw was indeed the man who had been behind his father’s murder.