Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

T he great hall of Laird MacIver was impressive. Intimidating even, Alana thought, as she walked on Tadhg's arm to take their places as honored guests of Blaine MacIver, to dine at the laird's table. Even though the laird isnae here.

If she were being honest with herself, she was glad to have Tadhg at her side, whatever her feelings for him. His imposing presence made her feel safe. It did little, however, to allay her feeling of foreboding.

"Ah, here are me special guests." Blaine got up from his seat and greeted them heartily. "Come and join us," he added, gesturing for them to be seated. "This is tae be a celebration tae welcome ye tae where ye belong, Lady Alana."

"How kind of ye," Alana said, allowing Tadhg to pull out her chair and then push it in for her, just as an attentive husband would do.

"Ye're already acquainted with Laird Stewart, I think," Blaine went on.

"Aye, Tadhg and I have met all right," Knox put in with a chuckle, "earlier, on the trainin' ground."

"Aye, I heard about that," Blaine said, nodding and smiling with obvious interest. He glanced over at Tadhg and raised his tankard to him in a toast. "I hear congratulations are in order, Mr. MacTavish."

"Aye, he was way too fast fer me," Knox lamented jokingly.

"I reckon ye let me win by deliberately bein' too slow," Tadhg quipped, eliciting laughter all round. He had filled Alana in on his spar with Knox just before they came down for dinner. Looking at the impact he had made already, she could not help being a little proud of him for being such a fine fighter, while also humble.

The meal was excellent, as were the wine and the company. Alana could not fault her absent father's hospitality. An atmosphere of celebration permeated the hall. She was on the verge of actually relaxing when, during a lull in the conversation, Blaine suddenly leaned forward on his elbows, smiled directly at her, and asked, "So, how long have ye been married tae Tadhg here then?"

Taken aback, she looked at Tadhg for help.

"Och, long enough," Tadhg piped up, laughing heartily at his own joke and making the others laugh too. Unfortunately, it did not seem to distract Blaine from his mission.

"'Tis just that we ken ye were married before, tae a soldier in the Lennox army who was killed in battle called Sloan," Blaine said, his friendly smile fixed in place. "So, when were ye married tae Sloan?" he persisted. "The records show he died two and a half years ago."

"What records?" Alana asked, tamping down the panic staring to rise inside her as she realized they were in trouble. "Whatever they are, they're wrong," she insisted, once again looking to Tadhg for assistance. "Are they nae, me darlin'?"

"Aye, she's right, they're wrong. She's been married tae me fer the last two years," he said.

"I was married tae Sloan over four years ago now," she lied to Blaine.

"Is that a fact?" Blaine replied, titling his head to one side inquiringly. "The records must be wrong then, as ye say."

Alana met his gaze, and though he was still smiling, she saw something flicker in his eyes that told her he suspected they were lying. Maybe Tadhg saw it too, for he suddenly turned to her and grinned, pulling her to his side.

"The happiest two years of me life, tae be sure, eh, me darlin'?" Then, to Alana's surprise, his lips landed on hers, and he kissed her. Her first instinct was to push him off and demand what he thought he was doing. But she noticed his eyes were open, and they were pleading with her to understand and play along. Realizing he was attempting to add authenticity to their lies, she had no choice but to kiss him back and look as if she was enjoying it.

It had been many years since their last kiss, but now, with the firm warmth of his mouth enclosing hers, the cold ashes of desire for him inside her flickered disturbingly into life once more. Her mind fought against it, but she succumbed as, without her volition, her mouth opened beneath his, and she found herself returning the kiss with something of their former passion. Moreover, she sensed from the way the kiss grew in intensity, that Tadhg was feeling it too.

When the kiss continued, she heard laughter and playful jibing start up around them. When their lips finally parted, despite her flustered state, she was forced to join in the laughter along with Tadhg, praying fervently that they had been convincing.

Later that night, with dinner finally over and their chamber door firmly shut, she whirled on Tadhg. Before she could stop herself, she made her displeasure obvious by giving him a resounding slap around the face.

"What in hell was that fer?" he demanded, frowning and rubbing the red hand mark on his cheek.

"What d'ye think? Fer kissin' me like that, of course," she berated him, unaccountably furious in her confusion. "I'm warnin' ye, Tadhg, dinnae ever try anythin' like that again!"

"But it was necessary tae make them believe we've been wed these past two years," he defended himself, still rubbing the sore spot. "Besides, it's nae like we've never been intimate before, is it?" he added, starting to unbuckle his sword belt.

"That was before!" she remonstrated, sitting on the bed and kicking off her shoes. "It serves ye right tae be sleepin' on the floor." She grabbed a pillow and the coverlet and threw them at him as she had earlier in the day.

To her added annoyance, as they fell onto the rug, he simply shrugged and said, "I've slept in worse places."

She watched, silently seething, while he slung his sword belt over a chair and took off his coat, hanging it over its back. Determined he would not see her undressing, she fetched her nightgown from beneath her pillow and got under the bedcovers. With great difficulty, she managed to undo the front lacing of her gown and wriggled out of it. When she laid it aside carefully on the vacant side of the bed, she glanced at Tadhg and noticed he had taken off his boots, his stockings, and was now removing his neckcloth.

Looking away, she fumbled off her garters and stockings and put them with the gown, careful not to show any flesh. Unlacing her stays proved tricky also, but she finally managed it after a lot of fiddling about. Now down to her shift, she moved further under the covers and pulled it off over her head, clamping the covers to her chest before she tried to put on her nightgown.

She let out a few low curses as she struggled with the long garment, which refused to cooperate and tangled itself awkwardly around her legs. Soft laughter coming from Tadhg made her embarrassment worse.

"Ye find the situation amusin', dae ye?" she snapped at him pettishly, finally managing to get the nightgown down over her legs.

"Aye, I dae," he confirmed, and she saw with alarm he was taking off his shirt.

She froze. "What are ye doin'?" she asked suspiciously.

"What does it look like?" Now bare-chested, he tossed the shirt on the rug and started to undo his trews. "I'm undressin'."

Alana stared at him aghast, panic beginning to rise inside her as more and more of him was revealed. "Why have ye taken off yer shirt? And now ye're takin' off yer trews!"

"Why nae?" he retorted, stepping out of the trews and boldly turning to face her, hands on hips, completely stark naked.

Alana gasped and, feeling her cheeks flare, she averted her eyes. However, the image of his tall, powerful body and fine, rippling musculature was indelibly seared into her mind's eye, and more so the sight of his half-erect manhood standing out from its dark nest of hair.

"Ye bastard, ye're doin' this on purpose," she hissed accusingly, refusing to look in his direction.

"I dinnae ken why ye're pretendin' tae be so shocked. We've seen each other naked before, even if we didnae lay with each other."

"Pretendin'? Ye think I'm pretendin'?" she retorted furiously, her eyes screwed shut, feeling strangely hot all over and unable to rid herself of the image of his magnificent naked form imprinted on her retinas.

It frightened her to realize how much a part of her yearned to go to him and once more explore his rugged, masculine beauty, to trace his tattoos with her fingertips, and run her hands over his broad, darkly-furred chest and lean belly. At the same time, she felt the old desire stabbing at her.

Desperate not to let it out, her only recourse was anger. "And it daesnae matter if we've been naked together before. That was a long time ago, when we were tae be man and wife. That's nay longer the case, so 'tis nae decent. Cover yersel' up, will ye?"

"Ye're angry because ye ken ye want me, is that it?" he asked, and she knew without even looking that he had made no move to cover his nakedness. "Aye, ye dinnae want tae admit it, but I felt it when ye kissed me before."

Alana, now in a state of extreme mortification, literally growled and clenched her fists. "Ye didnae," she spat, hating the fact she was lying, "because I felt naethin' fer ye. Ye forced me intae it, and I went along with it only because, as ye keep on sayin', we have tae convince Blaine we're really married."

Tadhg sighed. "All right, if that's the way ye want it," he said heavily. Alana kept her eyes screwed shut until she heard rustling. She peeped then, to see Tadhg naked from behind bedding down. The sight sent desire rippling through her once again, so she quickly leaned over and blew the candles out before burying herself under the covers.

It took her a long time to fall asleep. Images of Tadhg in all his manly glory kept flickering through her mind, as if he were mocking her, testing her resistance, even though she could hear his deep, regular breathing and knew he was asleep. As far as she was concerned, it was just another reason to be angry with him.

The following afternoon, after luncheon, an excited crowd gathered at the training ground. Word had gotten around that Tadhg and Knox Stewart were about to spar again, and as Alana made her way there, she felt the excitement in the air. It seemed everyone was eagerly looking forward to the entertainment but her. However, earlier that day, in the privacy of their chamber, she and Tadhg had agreed that, as his wife, it would look odd if she did not attend.

She was walking across the grass when she saw Blaine and Roger Huston already standing on the sidelines. The pair were talking, but when Blaine saw her, he ended the conversation and hailed her. Feeling unsettled in Blaine's company now she suspected he did not believe she and Tadhg were married, Alana nevertheless forced a cheerful smile as she went to join them.

She and Roger exchanged smiles and courteous nods, while Blaine greeted her warmly. "Good day tae ye, Alana," he said, taking her hand and kissing it, snagging her gaze with his dark eyes as he straightened up from his bow. She could not deny he made an attractive and imposing figure, with his long fair hair, boyish good looks, and dark gray eyes. However, though she felt uncomfortable admitting it to herself, he paled beside Tadhg.

"Good day, Blaine," she replied, maintaining her smile, hoping to disguise the unease she felt in his company. But it only grew as his eyes raked over her from head to foot. There was a new boldness in his look, and Alana felt her cheeks growing hot under his scrutiny.

"Ye're nae doubt lookin' forward tae seein' yer husband fight, just like the rest of us, eh?" he asked, his voice laced with enthusiasm.

"Aye, of course," she replied. The memory of Tadhg's naked body flashed into her mind again. Added truthfully, but also for Blaine's benefit, "But I dinnae wish tae see him get hurt."

"Of course nae! What lovin' wife would?" Blaine said softly. Alana thought she detected a hint of mockery in his tone, but she ignored it and looked back to Tadhg instead.

As he and Knox came closer, amid greetings and encouraging cheers from members of the crowd, Tadhg spotted her and waved. Alana waved back, secretly pleased to see him. The two warriors began strolling towards them. She awaited their arrival in hopes the coming spectacle would distract Blaine from her presence.

Despite herself, her heart started racing to see Tadhg.

He began walking over to her and was only a few feet away when Blaine suddenly turned to her, grinned, and said clearly, "May I say how lovely ye're lookin' today, Alana?"

Alana's skin prickled with unease. Feeling horribly awkward, conscious that Tadhg must have heard him, she tried to hide how much the comment disturbed her. Blaine had never before spoken to her that way, and she could not fathom what he meant by doing it now when Tadhg was nearby.

Seeking to shut him up, she replied lightheartedly, "Thank ye, Blaine, I'm always ready tae accept a compliment."

But he did not stop. "Aye, ye look very lovely. And that's a very pretty gown ye're wearin'."

"Thank ye again," she replied, growing increasingly flustered. It seemed as though he was actually flirting with her!

She was sure of it when he added, "The color sets off yer eyes perfectly. Ye have very fine eyes, ye ken?"

"That's kind of ye tae say," she murmured, nervously glancing over his shoulder at Tadhg, who had halted a few feet away and appeared to be listening. She saw the smile vanish from his face.

"I'd be delighted if ye'd allow me tae give ye a tour of me holdings sometime," Blaine said loud and clear, though she knew he must be aware of Tadhg's presence. It was almost as if he did not care.