A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (75 page)

He chuckled to himself, and then glanced up at the face of the castle
’
s clock tower as he passed it by.  He had a few more duties to attend to, but he would have time to go back and take lunch with his wife before his meeting with the Laird that afternoon.

With the lure of an hour or two in his wife
’
s company to bait him, the next couple of hours dragged by slowly for Lachlan.  He
’
d managed to catch Liane as he rushed about, organising the running of the castle and seeing to the care of their guests, and so he asked the maid if she would see that lunch was served for himself and his wife in their private chambers.

He was therefore expecting Muira to be waiting for him when he walked through the door of their room, and was really extremely disappointed not to find her sitting at the little table that they had position by the window.

Lachlan strolled into the room with a slightly glum, heavier heart, and then stopped in surprise when the bed came into view.

Muira was curled up asleep on top of the mattress.  She was fully dressed, she hadn
’
t even taken off her shoes, but she was fast asleep.  Lachlan walked over to her curious, and more than a little anxious.

“
Muira, lass?
”
he whispered, reached out a hand stroke her hair back of her face. 

Her skin was warm to the touch, not feverish, nor chilled.  She actually looked wonderfully content
…
but Lachlan had never known her nap in the middle of the day before- and certainly not without changing out of her rigid corset and dress.  She looked like she
’
d sat down for a moment
’
s rest and then slipped into a heavy slumber.

Lachlan frowned worriedly.  Could this be something else that was to do with her sickness from the day before?  A sudden, violent fear gripped his heart- supposing that it was?  Supposing Muira was really ill?  Supposing she should die? 

He wouldn
’
t be able to live without her
…

Lachlan couldn
’
t say from where that thought had sprung, but he felt its truth right down to the very marrow of his bones.  He sat down hard upon the edge of the bed- his legs suddenly protesting against the strain of holding his weight- and dropped his head to his hands.  It wasn
’
t until he felt the flutter of fingers on his back that he realised that he
’
d woken Muira.

“
Lachlan?
”
she yawned. 

He turned quickly to see her stretch and sit up.  She didn
’
t
look
unwell- that was the first thing to strike her husband.  In fact, Muria looked a picture of perfect health.  She smiled at him warmly, and then leant towards him so that she could dap a kiss against his cheek.

“
I was just dreaming about you,
”
she purred sleepily, moving her lips from his cheek to his mouth.  Muira kissed him softly, still slightly hazy from sleep as she thoroughly sampled his lips.  She flicked her tongue against their seam and was immediately granted access inside. 

Lachlan knotted his hands in his wife
’
s hair, and returned her advances soundly until she was flushed and breathless.  However, then he pulled back, and looked down at her with worried eyes. 

Muira had made a little whimper of protest as her husband drew away.  She tried to follow him, but Lachlan caught her hold gently by the shoulders and held her still, forcing her to return his gaze.  He watched her blink with some confusion when she saw the serious set of his face.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
she asked, instantly anxious.

“
That
’
s just what I was going to ask you,
”
Lachlan said, running his eyes worriedly over her body.

“
What
’
s wrong? 
With me?
Nothing
’
s wrong with me,
”
Muira said quickly. 

A little too quickly?
  Lachlan couldn
’
t help but wonder. 
“
Aye,
”
he nodded, laying a hand against her cheek.  Muira leant into the touch and Lachlan
’
s lips curved in a small smile despite his concern. 
“
Are you feeling ill again?
”
he pressed.

“
Oh heavens no!
”
Muira exclaimed sharply.  Lachlan cocked an eyebrow in surprise. 
“
I mean- I feel fine, just a little tired, but I
’
m sure that
’
s just because of-
”
she paused and blushed, and Lachlan experienced a definite quickening in the pit of his stomach.

“
Just from our
exertions
yesterday?
”
he murmured huskily, leaning forward a little so that his breath whispered against Muira
’
s ear. 
“
Has your inconsiderable husband been wearing you out?
”
he rasped, nipping playful at the lobe.  His wife drew a sharp gasp and then gave a small, coy little nod. 
“
And how are you feeling now?
”
Lachlan murmured thickly, his worry for the moment forgotten. 

All the time he
’
d been force to spend without Muira in his arms- in his bed, coupled with the very real fear of the past week that he would never again have her, had left his body in a state of near constant need.  He wanted her again, but his efforts to have her were thwarted by a knock at the door. 

Lachlan cursed softly under his breath, causing Muria to giggled, and then bid whomever it was to enter.

Liane entered with a tray of food, chattering away happily, almost speaking to herself, as she laid everything out on the table by the window.  Muira cast the maid an indulgent smile, but Lachlan was feeling far less charitable.  He dismissed Liane rather too curtly once she was finished, which earned him a look of reproach from his wife.  Muira made to get up off the bed, but Lachlan held her still.

“
Not so fast,
”
he breathed, capturing her hand.  He dotted its palm with a kiss and then gently dragged it lower down his body, forcing her to feel the huge bugle in his kilt.

“
Now?
”
Muira gasped.  Her eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and desire. 
“
Your lunch will get cold,
”
she pointed out breathlessly.

“
Then we
’
d best get started,
”
Lachlan growled thickly, pushing Muira back down upon the mattress and then moving to cover her body with his own.

Muira gave a little squeal of delight as she felt the hard, solid weight of her husband
’
s body push her down into the bed.  She had missed him
so
much!  And somehow, the memory of how much she had missed him was even more acute now, when she once again had him close and able to demonstrate exactly what it was that she had been denying herself.

I love you
…
that words very nearly bubbled forth from Muira
’
s mouth.  She was sure that the only thing that stopped her from uttering them was the fact that Lachlan had chosen that precise moment to smother her lips beneath his own.  She wondered at her relief.  Was it still too soon for her to make that confession? 

He had said that he loved her
…
and she had told Ewan that she loved him- but, although she adored Lachlan, Muira still didn
’
t trust his declaration of love.  It had never been repeated after all
…
at least, not to
her
, there had been the incident with his mother
…
Muira shook her head, not wanting to spoil the perfection of the moment by over thinking things.

She had her husband back
…
and she thought that she had their baby cradled in her womb
…
 

Muira shivered as Lachlan began to hike up her skirts.  Her husband ran his hands heavily, possessively, over her shapely legs, even as he continued to rain kisses down upon her face and neck, gradually dipping lower as he followed the scooped neckline of her dress.

“
I want you naked,
”
he panted, nuzzling at her corset.

Muira wanted that too, but she was also aware that they didn
’
t have time.  There were other important demands on Lachlan of course, but quite apart from that, she didn
’
t think that either of he was in the mood to wait, she knew that she wasn
’
t- she was already wet and aching for him.

“
Later,
”
Muira promised, knotting her hands in Lachlan
’
s hair and dragging his lips back to her mouth.

“
I
’
ll do this properly tonight,
”
Lachlan groaned, lifting Mura
’
s skirts up around her waist and exposing her sodden sex.  Muira whimpered an unintelligible question;
it felt like they were doing everything right now
. 
“
I
’
ll take you slowly,
”
he grunted, dipping a finger into her sheath.  Muira arched up off the bed into his hand, driving him deeper.