Maggie Mine Read online

  Nicholas had just curled his hands into fists and stepped directly in front of the earl when the door to Maggie’s bedchamber opened. Her eyes were wide and her face pale as she stared in horror at the earl. There wasn’t a doubt in Nicholas’s mind she had overheard him. He wanted to kill the man.

  “I shouldna like that, I think.” Maggie caught Nicholas’s glance and he noted the tears in her eyes. She stood stiffly, yet he caught her slight tremble. She was horrified.

  Behind her the countess huffed. “It matters not whether you like it or not. A wife does whatever her husband wishes. You will get used to my son’s ways, just as I did to his father’s.”

  Fia looked ready to faint; her face crimson red in embarrassment. Clearly she had overheard as well.

  Nicholas grabbed the earl by the front of his tunic and jerked him forward. “You will gather your men and leave this night, you disgusting little bastard.”

  “How dare you talk to me this way! How dare you—”

  Nicholas’s fist connected with the man’s stomach. He enjoyed the immediate girlish squeal and would have hit him again except Maggie stepped closer and touched his arm, calming him.

  “Nay, my lord, ‘tis enough,” she said quietly.

  “Aye, he isn’t worth the effort.” He narrowed his eyes at the earl and released him. “If I were you, I’d scurry out of here like the rat you are before I change my mind.”

  It only took the earl a second to make his decision. He rushed toward the stairs, ordering his mother to follow, promising to let the king know how poorly he’d been treated here.

  “Ye willna get in trouble with Edward, will ye?” Maggie questioned in concern.

  “If I had killed the man as I wanted to, aye.” The tension left him as he watched Fia hurry away, probably eager to share the news of the earl’s being ordered out of Middleham. He met Maggie’s worried eyes and felt only relief. “Edward would never have approved of the match, not that I would have let it get that far. I had already decided to throw him out of my keep before he blurted out all of that filth.”

  She worried her lower lip and her cheeks grew pink. He wondered if she would turn and go back to her room now; try to put the horror of the experience behind her. He should not have allowed it to happen. He was ready to apologize but couldn’t find the right words to say. He wanted to find the earl and punch him again.

  But Maggie simply stood there, quiet another second before finally saying, “I have overheard maids talk about such stuff. N’ver in such a disgustin’ way.” She looked up at him, hesitated and then continued. “‘Tis what some couples do, ‘tisna it? Men takin’ their women like animals mating, I mean.”

  Nicholas didn’t really want to talk about this or sex at all. His body had hardened just at the mention of mating. He’d not been with a woman in too long a time. Being around Maggie was pure torture. And now he couldn’t stop thinking about laying her down on his bed and driving into her body. He would never be cruel, though.

  When he didn’t answer, she tilted her head curiously and pressed, “Have you taken a woman in such a way? Down on her knees, with her bottom in the air? In her….” She looked away and whispered, “In her other place?”

  God help him, she was making his situation worse. Why couldn’t she have let the subject go? Because his Maggie was far too curious at times. His Maggie? No! She was not his Maggie!

  His face heated. How did he answer this question? If he didn’t answer her, she would ask again. The lass was even more stubborn than him about things. With a sigh of resignation, he said, “Making love from behind can be quite pleasurable to both.” And now his mind pictured Maggie on her knees in the middle of his bed. Naked. With that pert little bottom of hers pointed up at him as she waited….

  Her forehead furrowed but his response hadn’t satisfied all of her questions. “In her…?”

  Again, he sighed. “A time or two, yes. But only if it was agreeable to the woman involved.” His rigid cock pressed against his braies. He held himself still when he felt desperate to pull her against him. If he did, if he touched her at all, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He would have her in his bed as quick as he could carry her down the hall.

  “Sounds unpleasant to me. At least the poking yer shaft in my back place.” She wrinkled her pretty little nose at the idea.

  “It can be, if the man has no care for the woman.” God’s teeth, he wanted to speak no more of this matter.

  She studied him, seemed to come to a conclusion, and nodded thoughtfully. “I doona think that would be the case with ye. Ye can be determined with yer disciplining, making a woman’s bottom suffer greatly.” Her small hands moved back to cover her backside. “This I know from experience. But I doona think ye would ever harm a woman while making love…however you chose to do it.”

  Her assessment of him pleased him. She saw him as a strict disciplinarian, which he could not deny. But, while she pouted a bit after a lessoning, she soon moved past what had happened. She accepted her due and didn’t dwell on it. That pleased him as well. He also liked that she believed he wouldn’t hurt a woman while making love, as opposed to Dunston, who apparently took pride in doing so.

  While he contemplated all of this, she stepped in front of him. He tensed, wondering what she was up to now. Then she slowly moved her arms around his waist for a hug. His heart pounded and his eyes widened in alarm.

  “I’m thankin’ ye fer no’ making a marriage contract with the earl.” She pressed her face against his chest and breathed in contentment.

  Don’t put your arms around her! Move her away. Now! But his brain and his body weren’t in agreement at the moment. He didn’t move her out of his reach. Instead his arms thwarted his mind’s orders and swept around her. She felt soft and womanly snuggled against him. Right. And she smelled good after her bath and with some soft scent in her hair that tickled his senses.

  His hands wove their way into the long blonde hair streaming down her back. His fingers played with it. Silky. Soft. Stop this! Put her away!

  A tiny moan of pleasure slipped from her. Dangerous. Holding her was dangerous, wasn’t something he should be doing. But, Dear God, he wasn’t strong enough to let her go just yet.

  “Yer a good mon, Nicholas. Ye will do right by me. I doubted it before, but no more.” She gave him a final hug and eased her head from his chest, although she didn’t move out of his embrace.

  “I’ll find another man for you, Maggie. A far better man.” The words left a disagreeable taste in his mouth.

  Now she started to pull back. “I ken ye will. I just ask no’ to be tested again. I doona think I can stand fer it a second time.”

  He’d barely stood for it the first time, and the experience had been, of course, much worse for her. “No, there will be no more testing of your innocence.”

  Nicholas sucked in a breath, inhaled her scent a final time, and set her aside. “I will go make sure Dunston, his detestable mother, and his men leave. Do you wish me to send Fia back up to help you prepare for bed?”

  She seemed ready to say something else and then nodded. “Aye, ‘twould be good. I am no’ in the mood to go back below this night and face the others.”

  He understood. And he fully intended to make sure no one dared mention to her what the earl had insisted upon. Then, knowing it would be a horrible mistake, he pulled her to him. Mistake or not he had to kiss her.

  Her eyes widened in surprise, but softened as he lowered his head. She should have resisted, should have pushed him away. But she didn’t. The instant he pressed his lips to hers, her sweet mouth melted against his. Her lips were as soft as he’d thought they would be, as tempting. And he was lost.

  His tongue slipped between her teeth, found the warmth of her mouth. Again, instead of resisting, her tongue sought his, danced with his. His heart raced and when she pressed even closer to him, he was desperate for even more.

  He deepened the kiss, cupped her bottom to hold her to him. Never had he tasted such sweet
ness, felt such passion.

  She curled her hands around his neck and held her to him with surprising strength. She matched him kiss for kiss, breath for breath. He’d wanted this since the first time he’d seen her. Well, maybe not the first time, when she’d glowered down at him from the parapets and shot him with her arrow. But soon after.

  Her breasts crushed against him and he thought his cock would burst through the fabric of his braies. His whole body shuddered with need. Too much. This was too much.

  Somehow he managed to pull his lips away. Still, he couldn’t let her go. He looked down at her, saw the haze of desire in her wondrous eyes, and saw the way her small body quivered. “Maggie, sweet Maggie,” he said on a sigh of frustration.

  A throat cleared behind them. A woman’s. At first he didn’t recognize it and couldn’t manage to move away from Maggie as he should have upon being caught in such a manner. The throat cleared once more, making him frown in recognition. Mary.

  “I came up to see if Maggie was all right,” Mary said, disapproval ringing in her tone. “Apparently she is fine.”

  Nicholas kept his arm around Maggie’s shoulders but moved her to his side. He remembered how determinedly Mary had insisted the earl would be a suitable husband for Maggie. She could be too willful at times. She needed an older husband, someone who could take her in hand and guide her well in marriage. He knew Mary had heard the rumors about Dunston, yet she still had been certain Maggie and the earl would get along fine. Nicholas would not trust her judgment again. And he would start looking for a husband for her as well. He should have before now.

  “Aye, I’m fine,” Maggie stated, easing from under his hold. “No thanks to ye.”

  “I’ll send Fia up,” Nicholas said and moved to turn Mary back toward the stairs. He wasn’t sure of the undercurrent running between the women, but they needed separation. Before he followed Mary down the stairs, he glanced back to find Maggie still watching him, touching a finger to her swollen lips. “I’m sorry.”

  He walked away wondering if she understood him to be apologizing for the indignity he’d allowed her to suffer, or if she would assume he was apologizing for kissing her. He should have apologized for both. It wouldn’t happen again, the kissing. He couldn’t allow it to happen.

  Chapter Five

  From her seat at the laird’s table on the raised dais, Maggie watched the long trestle tables in the great hall being abandoned. Where only moments ago the large space had been filled with conversations and boisterous laughter, now it was too quiet. The sixty some soldiers had broken their fasts quickly. An excitement had been in the air. Before sitting down for their own morning meals, Nicholas and Gerald had announced they would be teaching the men some new tricks today they had learned while fighting in the Crusade. The men appeared eager to learn something different. She knew how tedious practicing at sword play on a daily basis could be, as she’d overheard the men at Urquhart grumble on more than one occasion. Yet a Highlander lived to fight, lived to protect their own even more than these English soldiers.

  She took another bite of bread and her heart pinched as it always did when thinking about the Crusade. The very thought of the foolish battles still made her angry and bitter toward the English king. He’d cost her so much: her father, her oldest brother, her betrothed, and possibly Brodie.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and fought down tears that were ever near the surface when she thought about her brother. She missed him so very much. He wasn’t dead! She would never believe it, no matter how many times Nicholas told her there was little hope her brother had survived. Nicholas. He, too, had cost her much. At Edward’s orders, Nicholas had hauled her here to England. She wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but too close, in her opinion. She missed the freedom she’d had at her home. She missed going out riding—with guards, of course. She missed her beloved Loch Ness, the beauty of it, and swimming in it now and then.

  Servants bustled about cleaning off the tables, overstepping fallen food on the rushes that would be picked up later. The cook yelled at someone over something. A sharp disagreement started. Most days she would have gotten up to go see what the matter was and try to settle it. Today she didn’t care.

  Across the table from her, Mary pressed her mouth together in annoyance. If the argument continued much longer, the woman would go see to it herself. Generally, she made the situation worse. Again, today Maggie didn’t care. Mary could deal with the kitchen staff; they could deal with her. But Maggie would not get involved.

  Nicholas arched one thick eyebrow at her, apparently wondering why she hadn’t gone to take charge. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since they’d sat down to break their fast. Actually, he’d said as little as possible to her since that stolen kiss a week ago. He’d kept his distance. She had as well. Neither was anxious to dare the temptation that sparked between them. She dreamed of him…of them being together. But could only ever be a dream.

  When he continued to look at her in question, she heaved a weary huff. “They can work the problem out themselves.”

  His brow furrowed and twin lines of irritation settled there. “Mayhap they need a mediator.”

  “Mayhap not.”

  Something heavy dropped in the kitchen and the cook roared in outrage. A pair of young women’s voices ranted in return. Nicholas’s irritation intensified. “Well?”

  He was used to seeing her hurrying about doing this or that to make sure the keep ran smoothly. At least as smoothly as it could with Mary’s frequent interference. But Maggie wasn’t in the mood to hurry about, nor to spend another day with Mary snipping at her for whatever reason, and then acting all sweetness and kindness whenever Nicholas could be seen. She also didn’t have the interest in settling a kitchen war that would quickly end anyway, as it generally did.

  “They’re fine.” She picked off another small bite of bread.

  “Need I go check on the matter myself?” he asked in a sharp tone.

  She wasn’t impressed. She shrugged. “If it pleases ye, My Lord.” Why was she baiting him this morn? Because this was the most time he’d spent around her in days and her foolish heart enjoyed even this small battle between them.

  “Nay, it doesn’t please me to see to your duties.” He shoved away from the table and scowled toward the continuing ruckus behind them.

  “Settling all disagreements isna my duty.” She blew out a breath and stiffened. “My duties are to plan the menus with the cook, which I have already done fer the remainder of the week. My duties include making sure the maids ken what needs to be done, which I have already talked with them aboot.”

  His eyes flashed with frustration, but he realized there was nothing to argue with her about. “Fine. But if someone is injured in there, I will hold you responsible.”

  Again, she shrugged. Then she glanced across the table at Mary and saw the woman’s tightly pinched mouth. “If their argument so bothers ye, go find out the problem and deal with it.”

  “It’s not my place to do so.” Mary sent Nicholas an apologetic look.

  “Oh, right. Ye only interfere when I’m tryin’ to—”

  “Enough!” Nicholas growled. “I will not hear an argument in the kitchens and one out here as well.”

  Maggie nodded toward the doors to the keep. “Then ye’d best go join yer men.”

  “Maggie.” Her name was said as a warning. He stood and frowned down at her.

  She frowned right back at him. They stared at one another for an uncomfortable minute. As they did, the anger in his expression faded and the heated look she’d witnessed other times when she’d caught him watching her replaced it. He drew in a ragged breath. Her body reacted as well. The familiar warmth her body experienced when she first spotted him in a room filled her again. Her breasts ached and she remembered how he’d brushed up against her during the kiss, how her nipples had hardened. It had been a new experience at the time, one she’d thought about again and again since then. She wanted to feel that brush now, feel the tingl
ing response once more. She wanted his lips to press over hers.

  Nay! What foolishness had possessed her? She didn’t want any of that! She huffed and straightened her shoulders. She must stop this strong reaction to him.

  Hearing her angry breath seemed to break the awkward moment. The heated look in his eyes disappeared. Yet he studied her mouth a second longer, which only made her think about that kiss all over again in spite of how ridiculous the notion. He looked ready to say something yet he remained silent.

  “I am sorry. I am feelin’ restless today is all.” She picked up her mug of honey mead and took a last swallow, trying desperately not to remember how he’d tasted when he’d kissed her.

  Mary gave her a pitying look. “I imagine it is her woman’s time, My Lord. Dear Maggie hasn’t been in the best of moods the last couple of days.”

  Red crept up his neck at such intimate talk of women’s matters. “Perhaps you should rest today. I am sure Mary can deal with any matters needing to be addressed,” he said uneasily.

  Maggie rolled her eyes heavenward and silently prayed for the strength not to reach across the table and strangle Dear Mary. When she focused on Nicholas, she shook her head. “’Tisna my woman’s time. I am restless is all, like I said.”

  “Are you coming, Lord Middleham?” Richard called out from the open doors. “The men are ready.”

  “Aye, I will be there in a moment.” Nicholas all but shot to his feet and nearly knocked over his chair in his hurry to get away from a discussion he wanted no part of. He hesitated and looked down at Maggie, concern creased his brow. “If you are still worried about Sir Gillam’s arrival tomorrow, don’t be. I received word yesterday he has decided not to come.”

  Relief poured through her. She’d been trying not to think about the arrival of her newest potential husband. After the Earl of Dunston, she much dreaded further visits of men considering her hand in marriage. She had heard mumbled talk amongst the maids about Sir Gillam of Montrose. He was older than her father had been, recently widowed. He’d loved his wife dearly and had only considered offering for her hand in marriage out of friendship with Edward. All were certain he didn’t truly want another wife and they were certain she’d suffer many long years of loneliness instead of true marriage or happiness. Yes, she didn’t care at all that he’d changed his mind.