“Aye, it does,” he said, and his voice was heavy. His eyes were dipping between her eyes and her lips. “Mary, leave me Faither’s meals to someone else.”
“Why?” She asked. “Leith, he is passive and calm. He’s on the mend, why not let me carry it still?”
He pondered. She did have a point. “I’ll let ye carry them, but ye are nay to enter his room. Give them to Dugald or Finlay, the guards at his door. Only those two are allowed in me Faither’s room until we are certain he is sound in mind.” Pulling away he added, “This evening, go to the same seat in the gardens we shared the other night. I’ll come for ye this evenin’. We need to talk about other matters. Now, let’s go back to the kitchens.”
Though unable to fathom why he was going back there, Mary followed him sheepishly. She actively hid behind his broad back when they stepped in, as she could feel the many eyes on them.
“All of ye ken about me Faither’s situation,” Leith said. His head swung slowly from side to side looking at all who were in the room. His voice was deep and authoritative and his posture strong and majestic. “He’s been through a lot and now that he’s getting better, I plan to have a ball for him the moment I ken for sure he is healed of the malady. I dinnae suspect it will be too long from now but be ready for it.”
For the first time, Mary truly saw the leader in him. The day he stepped into the Lairdship; she knew he would be a leader to be reckoned with. The moment he shifted and let the servants free from under his gaze, the whole room exhaled.
He nodded to Mary and then left the room. Feeling the eyes on the back of her neck, Mary scurried over to her washing position. She was praying for them to find something to give their attention to and leave her alone while her heart was singing. Leith loved her. He had said it himself.
I wonder what he’s planning for me tonight. What do we need to talk about?
* * *
The smell of rain was brewing in the air when Mary got to the gardens. She was nervous again as she kept wondering what they need to speak about. Perhaps it had rained already somewhere in the mountains as the air was crisp and was laced with a hint of pine from the forest.
She sat with her hands twiddling on her lap. The chirps and scuffles of the night animals were around her and she sat with growing unease. Every rustle of the leaves around her had her head shifting from side to side.
“Dinnea be so uneasy, lass,” Leith said from the bushes. His attempt to calm her had gone the opposite way as she jumped a foot off her seat at the sound of his voice.
He sat with her and reached out, but she slapped his hand away. “I’m mad at you,” she hissed. “You scared me! My heart nearly leaped from my chest!”
Grinning, Leith grabbed her without a problem, and though she tried to resist him, he hauled her unto his lap anyway. He grabbed her flailing hands and pinned them with one of his. He pinned them to his chest then dipped his head to kiss under her ear. “My apologies, Mary. But we do need to talk. Ye dinnae need to give me a black eye.”
She shifted on his lap but he grabbed her hips. “And nay wigglin’.”
Mary huffed, “What is it?”
“I ken there’s a conspiracy afoot,” Leith said. “Me mother spoke to ye about marrying yesterday and this mornin’ she spoke to me about marrying. She even asked me if it was ye why I dinnae marry. I ken she wants to keep us apart.”
“But why?” Mary was confused. “She does not know what is between you and me and I’m not a threat to you. As far as she knows you only rescued me.”
“She told me that she could count the few times she had seen me smile in the past few years on one hand, and four of them were after ye had arrived,” Leith said dryly.
“Oh…oh…” Mary blinked, “should I be flattered or ashamed.”
Leith’s hands pressed her back and she lay on his chest, “Flattered, lass, ye should be flattered.”
The heat from his body behind her was warmer than a blanket. She felt safe, protected and desired while resting in his arms. The fire he stirred up inside her always surged when his skin touched hers and settled to a smolder when they parted. It was always there burning inside her, waiting to be awakened again.
Twice had she been on the verge of feeling the full assault of his pleasure and twice had she been denied. This time, this close, with the scent of his skin and the warmth of his body, she felt the need surge up again. Did Leith feel it too?
His nose was under her ear and his lips parted. He sucked on her skin and instantly that fire inside her blazed alive. Canting her head to the side to give him more room, Mary bit her lips as his mouth moved. When he bit on her throbbing pulse point, she could not hold back her gasp.
Her fingers dug into his thigh and she could feel his arousal stiffening under her bottom. His hands were flat on her belly, pressing her back unto him. She knew he must be feeling her heaving chest and her pounding heart.
When he pulled away to another spot her tender skin almost hurt in the cold air. Leith was kissing marks into her skin, marking her like any animal would mark his territory…but she did not care. She would wear his marks like a badge of honor.
Leith spun her and his kiss was hungry, possessive, yet surprisingly gentle. She could not help but give
