Dark Side of the Laird (Highland Bound) (3 page)

Emma frowned, wrinkling up her pert little nose. I leaned down, kissed the tip of it.

“I could try, but truth be told, I don’t know much about greenhouses, or designing a building.”

“I’ll send for a master builder.”

She shrugged. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try.”

“And then ye’d have a nice project to work on.”

Her interest suddenly flared into irritation. I could see the sudden shift in her eyes before she pushed it aside.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You’re trying to give me hobbies. Keep me busy. Why?” She sounded suspicious.

“I am not trying to divert ye, lass. Ye mentioned yourself that ye enjoyed gardening. I’m but giving ye a way to do it every day, if ye like.”

Still
, she frowned. She looked so adorable. Marred brow, flushed red cheeks, pouty lips and her red hair wild from where I’d threaded my fingers into it while we made love.

“I promise there is nothin
g untoward about my suggestion,” I said, leaning forward and nuzzling her neck. She smelled delicious, and my cock responded, lifting and nudging her thigh.

Emma sighed, shifting her thigh back and forth, making me hot for her all over again.
“All right,” she murmured.

I trailed a finger down her arm, swirling in the crook of her elbow.
“A lady of the castle often has projects that make the castle a better place. My mother loved to sew tapestries. Her mother before that made cushions and blankets. Many of those items still grace the chambers of Gealach today. But ye, what will ye do?”

She raised an impertinent brow.
“I’m not mistress of the castle.”

“Not, yet. But ye will be.” I pressed my palms to her c
heeks and kissed her thoroughly, pulling back only with regret. “Now, I must be off. Ewan is most likely waiting in my solar for me.”

“I’ll go and see Cook,” Emma said, her voice showing a bit more enthusiasm than before.

I gripped her by the hand and we stepped to her chamber door, glancing up and down the corridor before exiting. “All clear,” I murmured.

Sadly, we had to look before leaving any room in hopes of catching spies and would-be attackers.

“Not really,” Emma said.

I turned to see that she watched Isabella making her way toward
us from the opposite end of the corridor.

Coldness settled around my heart. Every bit of warmth and happiness I’d found inside the room with Emma was leached from me in the moment I met Lady Isabella’s eyes. She was a ruthless woman. Calculating, and from the triumphant look on her face, she was
confident she’d already won.

I gritted my teeth.
“Damn.”

Chapter Three

Emma

M
y heart leapt into my throat, choking me.

Slow suffocation by nerves and hate.

I tugged my hand from Logan’s, observing the triumphant smirk on Isabella’s face. My fingers automatically curled into a fist I longed to use and knew all too well, I’d never be allowed to.

What did she have to be triumphant about? That she’d caught us?
At this point, who gave a shit if she knew?

I swallowed, feeling Logan stiffen beside me, as bunched up and tense as I was.
I forced my face to remain placid, certain every thought raced over my features. I never wanted to reveal myself to her.

“There ye are, Logan,” Isabella purred.
The heels of her slippers clicked softly on the floor, muting as she walked over a tapestry rug. The jewels on her gown glinted in the torchlight as did the ones dripping from her ears and neck.

Logan grunted.

“I’ve been looking for you since ye were not outside to wish our king well.” Her glossy hair swayed softly, seductively as she came to a stop in front of us. If I didn’t hate her, I might be mesmerized by her. She was beautiful, elegant, the very picture of what young girls who dressed up for tea parties wanted to emulate—all except her cruel and sad heart.

“We spoke before he departed. Did ye need something?” Logan’s tone was brusque, dismissive.

I couldn’t help feeling a little triumphant myself, and hid the smile that inched up the corner of my lip with a little frown. Isabella’s confidence swayed physically, her face as open as a book—as open as mine had been moments before. The corner of her eye twitched as did her lip as she flicked her gaze at me for a split-second before turning back to Logan.

“Aye
, there is something I need.” The book of her emotions closed, and the ice queen returned. I would like to ride the grounds. I thought mayhap it best if I were to ride with ye. I’d get a better account of everything if ye were to show me.” Her voice ended on a suffocating purr.

Why did women feel the need to lure men in with seductive voice changes? Made me feel a little less feminine, though I shouldn’t be. Logan was attracted to me because I was me. Because I wasn’t afraid to show my true colors, and because I didn’t tempt him with fantasies—other than ones I was willing to see met out.

Logan shook his head. “No one leaves Gealach walls.”

Isabella looked taken aback. No doubt the tart had wanted to get Logan alone. I could only imagine what she had up her sleeve. I’d told her before that Logan enjoyed the company of pigs in bed—he didn’t, but it had been the only thing I could think of at the spur of the moment to turn her off. I wouldn’t be surprised in her haste to ensnare him if she didn’t have a whole slew of piggies waiting in her chamber.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the image that brought to mind.

Isabella scoffed, cocking her head to the side, a delicate hand resting impudently on her hip.
“Not leave the walls? That’s absurd. Ye canna expect me to remain within.”

Logan tilted his head, gave her th
e look I’d seen him make toward someone he thought might be a bit on the witless side.

“Lady Isabella, there is no one forcing ye to remain.
” He swept his hand toward the stairs. “Ye are free to leave Gealach whenever ye please. But ye canna return. If it pleases, I will even provide ye escort all the way back north.”

Her mouth fell open, but she quickly recovered, switching back to seductress. She batted her lashes, cocked her shoulder
showing off how silky her skin was, how her plush breasts could easily spill from her gown at that angle. The way she opened her eyes a little wider, giving Logan a doe-eyed gaze, made me nervous. The bitch was good. Damn good. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got what she wanted every time.

“Oh, darling, dinna be angry with me. I dinna want to go home. I simply wanted to get to know your lands, your clan.” She didn’t need to add that they would one day be hers, it was evident, dripping from every word. She stared past Logan, and at me, her eyes dark with venom.
Isabella wanted to make sure
I
understood she intended to win.

I kept my face as blank as I could—the look I used to use with my
ex-husband or his mother when either of them berated me. I wouldn’t show her that her words and actions stung. That would only mean she’d won, and there was no way in hell this bitch was going to steal away my man.

Logan was silent for a moment as he observed Isabella, but when he did finally speak, his voice was low and chilling. “Dinna play coy, Lady Isabella.
I know why ye’re here. Ye will not leave these walls unless it is to return to your people.”

Sharp pain stung from my palms as my nails dug in.
I wanted him to say,
when
, not
unless
. Wanted to grab his arm, shake him and hiss my need, but I didn’t. I stood still as a statue, hoping and praying that all of this was a bad dream and I’d wake up cozy in Logan’s arms.

Lady Isabella glared at Logan, all coyness gone, replaced by the she-devil who’d confronted me the week prior, threatening to have me whipped if I touched him.
Warning that she’d have me branded a whore in front of the whole clan. I didn’t doubt that she might try. I had no power in this place, except what power Logan gave me. I’d made friends, but in the end, I was the outsider. More so than Lady Isabella, for she was actually Scottish. Kin and country meant everything to the people here. A wanderer from the new world could never be embraced as much as a fellow countryman or woman.

Isabella was a noble-born lady. Her uncle a powerful man, and she had the ear of the king. I was quickly learning that being Logan’s lover left me only close to the bottom of the
barrel with no hopes of having any sort of power to climb out. Knowledge that left me cold, fingers numb.

The woman straightened her back, not to be cowed by Logan, though if she knew him well, she would have simply nodded and walked away.
Anyone daring to challenge the master of Gealach would have hell to pay.

She licked her lips, a move meant to entice, and I couldn’t have been more happy with Logan’s lack of reaction. I flicked my gaze to the hand on her hip, watched as her nails dug a little harder into her gown. She, too, was trying to hide her anger.

With a toss of her head, she spoke dismissively, the hint of caution not at all concealed. “The king wishes me to remain, my laird. I but obey the edicts of my sovereign. ’Twould be dangerous, deadly, to go against King James.”

Dear Lord, the vixen was insinuating that Logan was treasonous.
Even I picked up on that. A serious accusation. One that could end up with him getting executed. A chill rushed over my skin. A dark sense of foreboding. This was not good.

Logan shifted away from me
, stepping forward so that he was nearly nose to nose with Isabella. She was tall, taller than me, and her eyes were at his chin-level. She tilted her head back to look up at him, a flash—less than a second—of fear in her eyes.

“Dinna threaten me, Lady Isabella. Dinna dare.” He spoke through his teeth, a guttural sound that had goosebumps rising on my arms. Murderous.

Isabella took a step back and Logan stepped around her heading toward the stairs. But he stopped halfway, perhaps realizing he’d left me alone with the lioness who looked ready to rip me to shreds. I could take her. I’d learned a lot in these past months. The insecure woman I’d been before was long gone. If Isabella wanted a fight, I’d plenty of pent up anger to unleash on her.

“Emma, Cook has requested your presence.”

Isabella lifted her chin, giving me a look that made me want to slap her. If the bitch made it through the week without me backhanding her, we’d both be lucky.

I nodded toward Logan, expecting him to walk with me down the stairs, but he remained rooted in place. When I stared at him expectantly, he dismissed me with a nod of his head toward the stairs.

I couldn’t deny the twist in my gut, the feeling of loss, jealousy, anger, all of them jumbling up inside me. He was going to stay behind with
her
, and send me to the kitchens. Lady Isabella wouldn’t be caught dead in the kitchens.

I whirled toward the stair
s, unable to watch as Isabella sidled up to Logan. I knew he wouldn’t give in, that he wasn’t going to agree. I blew out a breath as I took the stairs as quickly as I could. At least, I thought I knew he wouldn’t.

He swore he’d go to the king again, that he’d never marry Isabella. But… The king was the king and his word law.

At that moment, I wished we’d been in present day instead of the sixteenth century. In modern times, it wouldn’t have mattered. He could have ridden off into the sunset with me. And in modern times his king wouldn’t have asked for him to marry the enemy. His castle wouldn’t be attacked nearly daily either by those who wished to discover the secrets of Gealach or take down the Guardian of Scotland.

Didn’t his position warrant a say in his future? Despite the fact that he was the secret brother of the king, as the Guardian, he should be able to choose his wife, or at least implore the king to choose another.

Marrying Isabella would be taking
keep your enemies close
to the extreme.

So deep in thought, I didn’t see Ewan and ran smack into
him at the bottom of the stairs, my nose jabbing into the pin that held his plaid in place. He steadied me, hands gripping my upper arms.

With a raised brow, he said, “Everything all right?”

Logan’s second-in-command was a handsome devil. Intuitive, and had given me his shoulder to lean on a few times since I’d been there. He resembled the brother I’d lost in a plane accident a decade before, in such an uncanny way, it gave me chills every time I looked at him.

“Not really,”
I confessed.

“What is it?” He held up his finger
, pretending to be deep in thought. “Wait, let me guess. Is it a person?”

I nodded, trying to hide my smile.

Ewan pursed his lips. “A woman?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded again.

“Does her name begin with an I?”

I smacked his arm and let out a little laugh.
“You know exactly who it is, Ewan. Don’t play games with me.”

He chuckled. “Only trying to lighten your mood. Where
are ye headed?”

“To the gardens to help with picking and other womanly duties.”
I couldn’t help the sarcasm that dripped from every word.

“Womanly duties? I’ve never heard ye describe gardening in such a way before.” He steered me through the great hall. “Is it because
of
the
woman?”

I stopped and faced him. “Do you think—” I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t ask Ewan. He wouldn’t know the answer and he rarely, if ever, talked about his laird’s choices.

“I think ye’d do best to steer clear of her.”

I nodded. “Good advice.”

Ewan stepped closer and spoke in low tones. “I dinna know her well, but her family is dangerous, so I’m inclined to believe she is dangerous.”

I frowned. “Has the security alert increased?”

Ewan raised a questioning brow. “If ye’re talking about reinforcements, aye. We’ve had to with her here. The lady could decide to find a way for her uncle to gain entrance.”

“You don’t trust her
,” I stated.

“No one does.”
The way he said it, as though it were common knowledge, was a comfort to me.

Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was.

I chewed my lip and glanced toward the doors to the kitchens. “What am I supposed to do?”

Ewan was silent for a moment, and then he said, “I think ye should just go about your day. Do the things ye normally do. When faced with a situation ye canna change, ye must adapt.”

Not comforting in the least. I wanted to change the situation. Wanted to change Isabella’s location. Not adapt to it all. I lifted my chin. “Sometimes, we have to make our own fate.”