Page 50 of A Laird and a Gentleman

“Aye.” Mariam’s shoulders slumped. “I apologize. I am on edge. So much has happened in the past few days.”

Nessie nodded. “You are strong and capable, Mariam. Your mother knew that even when you were a child, and I know that the woman you are today would only make her proud. You’ll soon have all the answers you need.”

“Thank you for those kind words.” Mariam managed a half smile. “Though I am still concerned for your welfare, I am pleased to have you with me on this journey. Your knowledge about my mother’s past will be an asset as we pull together the puzzle she left for me to solve.”

After offering a reassuring squeeze upon Mariam’s arm, Nessie dropped her hand. “I will help in any way I can, but until we arrive, I think it is best that I rest.”

“Do you have a cabin?”

“I have a bunk, and for now that is sufficient,” the older woman said. “Enjoy this respite, Mariam. Once we arrive on the isle, there will be many demands placed upon you.”

Mariam had wanted to ask what she meant, but was cut off from speaking as the boat carrying Cameron’s men pulled aside The Fortune and the men came on deck.

Within minutes, the ship set sail. Time and again, Mariam’s gaze shifted from the waters of the Firth to where Cameron stood on the forecastle. His hand on the tiller, he guided them steadily as the wind filled the sails.

When Cameron’s gaze suddenly met hers, he turned to the seaman beside him and said, “Take the helm. I’ll be below deck.” He strode down the steps and across the deck.

Mariam watched as gusts of wind tossed Cameron’s dark hair about his face as he came to her. “The wind is sharpening. Allow me to take you to your cabin.”

“Now I understand why you like the sea. Out here it feels as though you are at one with the world. If that is the way it feels on the Isle of May, I wonder why my mother ever left its shores at all.” Mariam tipped her face up into the wind and closed her eyes. “If she had stayed, never ventured to the mainland, she never would have met my father. Her life, and the lives of her family, would have been different.”

“She wanted something more. She got that in you.”

Mariam opened her eyes, but kept them fixed on the horizon. “And it cost her everything.”

“Nay,” Cameron said, taking her hands in his. His warm fingers curled around hers. “It gave her everything she ever dreamed of in you. Somehow she realized she had to leave her home in order to fulfill her destiny as your mother.” The passionate intensity in his voice brought her gaze to his.

“You think it was her destiny to bring about the end of her people? Or for her to be murdered by her husband, my father?”

He released her hands. There was a sudden chill where his touch had been, a tiny shiver. He did not move away. He stood close, so close she could see the pulse of his heartbeat at his throat. “I don’t pretend to know any of the answers. All I know is that I am grateful you are beside me.”

“I—” She didn’t want to talk about her mother anymore. “I’m grateful to be here . . . with you,” she said, trying to steady her trembling fingers and the quick, loud pounding of her heart.

His eyes were dark with emotion that pulled at her, making her feel warm and shaky. He extended his hand to her. “Will you come with me belowstairs? There are things we need to discuss—personal matters—that deserve privacy.”

He led her below deck, to the captain’s chamber. He didn’t release her when they entered the room. He simply shut the door behind them before turning to her. In the flickering light of a candle that sat on a table near the bed, he met her gaze.

Her heart fluttered at the look of desire in his gray eyes. His thumb moved over her hand, stroking as it went, then he released her and stepped closer. Raising both hands, he framed her face, tipped it up to his. He looked down for one long moment before he bent his head and kissed her with a sweetness, a tenderness, that was devastating.

Mariam gasped at the longing that curled inside her. Cameron caught the sound in his mouth, muffling it with a groan of his own. When their lips finally parted, they were both breathing hard. Warmth crept from her chest to tingle through her limbs. “You wanted to talk?” She tried to pull away, but could not find the strength.

“I need to tell you something,” Cameron replied as he caught her lips. His hand slid into her hair, cradling her head.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to focus only on the exquisite sensation of Cameron’s caress. She clutched his shoulders, totally unprepared for the intense pleasure of his touch. His fingers flared across her ribs and teased the fullness of her breasts. A shiver of yearning rocked her when his hands stroked the sides of her torso, then down her thighs. Never had anything felt so enticing and unnerving all at the same time.

“Look at me, Mariam. Before we take this any further, I must know . . .”

She opened her eyes and felt a spark of amazement lancing through her desire. No one had ever looked at her with such longing before.

“Be with me, not just for now, but forever,” he said. “The two of us can share this life, never having to be alone again. Together, we will be happy, and you will be safe.”

Stunned by his words, Mariam drew a breath then another before she spoke. “Are you asking me to marry you?” Her voice was faint to her own ears and hoarse with emotion.

“I can no longer imagine my life without you.” He pulled her close, kissing her forehead, resting his lips against her hair. “Aye, Mariam, I want you as my bride, my love, and the mother of my children.”

Mariam’s mind was reeling. Her throat went dry. “I cannot marry you.” She released him and stepped back. Looking into the turbulent tumult of his gaze, her heart stumbled, and for a moment she reconsidered her words, until she steeled herself. “I cannot bind you to me in such a way when so many things remain uncertain.”

“Nothing we discover on the isle will change my feelings for you.”