Chapter 6

6

Mary could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she followed him out towards the stables, the moon casting a long ray of light across the grounds of the Keep. Stealing a glance back towards the main building, she half-expected to find people staring down at her and watching her as she made her way after him, but there was nothing, nobody.

Just her. And him. In the quiet of that night, it was as though nobody else existed.

She stared at his hand wrapped around hers, marveling at how big it looked beside her own fingers. She was distinctly aware, all of a sudden, of how easy it would have been for him to just take control of her completely, to push her up against the wall and…

Her heart stuttered in her chest as she imagined it, how he could have taken what he wanted from her. Arran’s words flooded back into her mind, and she slowed, stilling her feet beneath her just as they reached the stables.

He seemed to sense her hesitation, and glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Ye alright, lass?”

She didn’t reply. In truth, she hardly knew the answer herself. She felt as though speaking it out loud would give away something she was not yet ready to share, but she supposed, if she was to trust him, then she should at least tell him what she knew of him.

“I… I heard this isn’t the first time you or your family have turned up at this Keep uninvited,” she replied, finally. He tipped his head to the side, clearly amused.

“Ye’ve been asking after me? My, I’m flattered.”

Her cheeks heated at once.

“That’s not what I meant. I didn’t—I mean, I haven’t.”

He laughed and took her hand once more, guiding her towards the stables. Inside, it was quiet and a little warmer. The horses stood either side of them, most of them asleep, paying them little attention as Kiernan rounded on her.

“I ken that Arran has nae time for me," he replied, lowering his voice. “And I dinnae blame him. After what my father did…”

He shook his head, but he hardly seemed apologetic about it. She searched his face for some sign that he regretted it, some sign that he wished that he could go back and undo everything that had been done, but she didn’t find it.

“So what are you doing here, then?” she asked him. She was distinctly aware, all of a sudden, of how close they were standing. Between the door and the stalls of the stables behind them, there was only a matter of yards, and he stood just a few inches from her. Unlike the last time, when they had been watched over by Arran’s men, it was just the two of them, nobody to interrupt, nobody to stop them.

He stared down at her.

“I could ask ye the same thing,” he replied. “You could have raised the alarm when you saw me in that kitchen. You could have called for yer guards to come and carry me away. But ye didn’t, did you?”

She bit her lip hard. She hated this, but she couldn’t pull herself away. She couldn’t deny how badly her body cried out for him, how deeply the want seemed to get the better of her. She wished she could conjure some resistance to his charms, but she was melting into him, all the distance she had tried to put between them falling away at once.

“No,” she whispered as she gazed up at him. “I didn’t.”

He reached up, planting a finger beneath her chin and guiding it upwards, so that she was looking into his eyes. Her knees were trembling helplessly, and she felt like she might faint on the spot. She could feel his breath on her skin, the promise of it, the temptation it held. As though he were the devil himself, and she was nothing more than a helpless sinner unable to resist his temptations.

“I came here tonight because I always get what’s mine,” he told her softly, his voice dropping to a low growl.

“You think I’m yours?”

“You think ye’re no’?”

Her breath hitched in her throat. It felt as though all the desire, all the want, all the need, was finally spiraling down into this moment. She needed him, so badly she couldn’t think straight, so desperately her whole body was pushing her forward. She had never wanted a man the way she wanted him, but she couldn’t deny herself this any longer. Whatever attempts she had made to control herself in the face of everything he was asking for.

Finally, she sank her lips into his, giving in and giving herself to him at last.

He pushed her against the wall of the stable, his hands on her hips, his grip tight and intoxicating, as though he never intended to let her go. She gasped against his mouth, and he slipped his tongue past her parted lips, kissing her deeply. She reached up to plant her hands on his shoulders, resting them there for a moment, tentative. One wrong move, she felt, and it would shatter this moment entirely, leave this falling apart around them, but she needed more.

She needed everything.

His hand shifted down, towards her skirts, and he gathered them up with ease and pulled them into his grasp. She moaned against his mouth, the sound surprising even her. She didn’t know she was capable of such lust, but the rush of sensation coursed around every inch of her body. Something was tightening in her belly, reaching down between her legs, a deep, craving need that she had never felt before.

His fingers carved a line along the inside of her thigh, and she shivered again. Just a matter of yards away, everyone else was slumbering, and if they’d had any idea of what she was doing in here, with him, her whole reputation would have been forsaken in that instant. But, somehow, that only excited her more, and she pushed her hand into his hair, pulling him closer, as his fingers traced to the crease of her hip, teasing her lightly as a heady desire started to throb between her thighs.

Then, all at once, he pulled back. She gasped in shock, reaching for him again, but then she realized what had drawn his attention; the sound of footsteps, approaching the stables. Her heart dropped, and she pulled away from him, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. But, in this small space, she knew the chances of convincing anyone that this had been some innocent encounter were virtually nil.

“Aye, I’m sure I heard something out here,” Gregory’s voice cut through the quiet. He must have heard Kiernan sneaking around out there and, by the sounds of it, he had brought someone else with him, too. Her cheeks were flushed, her breath coming hard and fast, and she knew she stood little chance of being able to convince Gregory—or anyone—that this was utterly innocent.

Then, to her surprise, Kiernan stepped out of the stables. Before she could stop herself, she followed after him, moving so that she was just behind him, his broad shoulders and strong frame blocking her from what was waiting on the other side.

“Gentlemen,” he called to them. “I think ye’re looking for me.”

With that, Gregory and his companion turned, and when they saw Kiernan standing just a few yards away from them, Mary cowering behind him, something in the air shifted.

Something Mary knew would never return to normal again.