Page 93 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
She was free, but not really. The time to leave would soon come, and she was not ready for it. She needed more time with him. She needed to understand what she truly felt.
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Archer lay in his bed with Eileen in his arms. Her head rested on his chest, while her index finger twisted in his chest hair. He had one arm wrapped around her, his hand stroking her shoulder and the other tucked under his head.
The blankets only came up to their waists, leaving their upper bodies bare.
The night was not warm, but what they’d just done had warmed their bodies just fine. When the sweat on his brow dried and he grew cold, he would pull up the blankets and wrap his body around her before they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
“I ken I’ve said it a dozen times, but ye do things to me that nay other woman can,” he murmured.
“And ye can tell me that a hundred times more because I’ll never tire of hearin’ it,” she replied.
Archer hadn’t wanted this before. When he’d bedded women, he had only wanted to fall asleep after in the hope they would see themselves out before he had to ask them to leave. What point was there in anything more when the deed was done?
But there was something about the way Eileen’s body fit against his and the way he felt with her that caused him to linger.
Perhaps it was the time they had spent together, but he would miss her when she was gone. He’d never missed a woman before. Still, there was always a first time for everything.
A part of him wondered what it would be like if she stayed. It was not what he planned, but there was a benefit to having her around, and that could continue. Yet he knew he could not let it happen.
He’d lived six years mourning his father and blaming himself, and even after what Mack said, he still blamed himself. He couldn’t take the risk. He couldn’t endure years of suffering if something happened to her.
He’d put her in far too much danger already, and that wouldn’t stop. As the lady of the castle, she’d always be in danger. And what about after that? She’d want children, and he’d need an heir, and there would be more people who could get hurt.
“I liked bein’ by the river with ye, but there’s somethin’ more soothin’ about being in yer chambers,” Eileen suddenly said.
“Less chance of gettin’ caught with our trousers down.”
Eileen looked up at him, her features soft, her eyes doe-like. “I didnae even think about it until after. When we were makin’ love, I couldnae think about anythin’ else, and it was only when I was puttin’ on me dress that I realized anyone could have stumbled upon us. They would have been shocked.”
“They might have liked it,” Archer suggested.
“I wouldnae have.”
“Then it’s a good thing we were all alone, and it’s a good thing we’re all alone now.”
Eileen rubbed a hand up and down his chest. “Aye, it is.”
The cool night air seeped through the window. The moon was full outside, providing enough light for them to see by in the darkness. Archer was famished, but nothing would drag him away from Eileen, not even?—
A scream rang out from somewhere in the castle. It came from far away, distant enough not to be loud, but it was unmistakably a scream.
They both sat up in bed. Archer turned his ear toward the door. There were no more screams, but muffled shouts came from the other end of the castle.
“Stay here,” he muttered. “Dinnae leave this room.”
“I want to come with ye.”
“Nay,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’s happenin’ elsewhere in the castle. I dinnae need ye runnin’ toward it.”
He leaped out of bed and snatched his clothes from the floor. Underwear first, then trousers, shirt, socks, boots, and his sword. He darted to the bed and kissed Eileen before running for the door. He opened it, took one last look at her, and then closed it. He pulled a large key out of his pocket and locked the door.
“Here!” he shouted to the two guards. “Nay one but me goes in and out. Do ye understand?”
“Aye, Me Laird,” they said in unison.
Archer nodded, then took off, his boots thudding down the hallway. When he descended the stairs to the first floor, the shouts grew louder, and as he hurried through the passageway that led to the healer’s chambers, it grew brighter as if the sun had risen for only a part of the castle. It became warmer too, as if the sun was shining directly on him.
