Nine
“Well, let us sit down. Kiel woke up and is eating in his room. I always said that the only thing that can wake him from his slumber is an empty stomach. Oh, Maddie, where is Katie?” Miriam asked in a softer tone.
“She’s on her way, Lady Miriam,” Maddie said, looking around at the table. A frown creased her forehead. “This won’t do. Nay. We must move up and all eat in Kiel’s room. ‘Tis a family dinner and all members of the family must eat together. No one must be left out.”
Connor stared at her silently. There was more to her words than anyone thought. He recalled her saying how she used to eat in her room alone. It had been her choice, she’d said, yet here she was saying that the family could not eat apart with one member eating alone in his room.
“Great idea, Maddie!” Miriam said getting up. “We must hurry before Katie sees us!”
Maddie’s smile was radiant. Connor forgot how to breathe. Her golden eyes twinkled.
“I shall stall her,” Maddie said and hurried out of the room.
“Go on! Take yer food!” Miriam said, taking her own and rushing out of the room.
The family made their way up the stairs and into Kiel’s room.
“To what do I owe this?”
“Maddie had a wonderful idea to eat as a family. Considering all that’s happened with Katie, we havena eaten like this in a long while. It is a surprise arrangement for Katie. She-” Miriam stopped when she heard voices.
“Come on, Katie. Kiel was asking for ye.”
The family all looked at one another, smiles present on their faces. Excitement permeated the air. Maddie opened the door and came in. Katie walked in behind her and gasped.
“Come in, darling. Come in.” Miriam looked happily at her daughter.
Katie’s smile was gigantic. Maddie stared at her contentedly.
While everyone was looking at Katie, Connor was looking at Maddie. She had a warm smile on her face. With every laugh she heard, she stepped farther away from the family. She was at the door and turning to leave when Miriam called for her.
“Come here, Maddie. Where are ye going?”
Maddie looked up with a blush on her cheeks.
“I’m leaving you alone. This is a family dinner.”
“Aye, Maddie, and we would like ye to join us. Eat with us,” Miriam urged.
Connor saw hope and longing in her eyes. Tears formed in them.
“I can’t, really. I have to clea-”
“Maddie, I simply willna take no for an answer. We’ve brought up yer food.”
“Y-you did?” Maddie said lifting her teary gaze to Miriam’s.
‘Of course. Sit! Come.”
Maddie slowly took her food and stood in the corner farthest away from them.
“Maddie, why are ye standing so far away in the corner?” It was Iain who asked.
“Umm…there’s no seating and I, ah…I didn’t want to be a nuisance,” she said, flushed. It was obvious to Connor that she wasn’t used to so much attention. It made her uncomfortable.
“Nonsense. Never. Come, there’s seating next to Connor on the chest,” Iain said grinning.
Maddie kept fumbling for words but finally gave in and sat next to Connor. It was tight, so she had to get close to him. Connor looked at his family and their smiling faces. They had arranged it like this.
The devious bastards.
The conversation was lighthearted, and Maddie found herself laughing. They talked about all of the brothers’ pranks and Katie’s endless naiveté when it came to her brothers.
“I’ve never laughed so hard,” Maddie said smiling, wiping tears away.
“But ye havena eaten anything,” Malcolm said, concerned.
“Oh, I couldn’t eat another bite. I’ll take this all down, though.”
“Nay, we are capable. Go on, it will be fine,” Miriam told her.
Maddie had a sudden sad look in her eyes. It was so brief that only Connor saw it. She looked at them all and left the room. After a couple of minutes, Connor left in search of her. He tried a few areas, but he couldn’t find her. Where had she disappeared to now?
Connor went outside for air. He was so confused about what to do with her, and about how, and what, he felt for her. He filled his lungs with the fresh evening air. It had been growing stuffy in Kiel’s room, especially next to Maddie. Her fragrance overpowered his food, and every time he tasted his food, he wondered what she tasted like.
His attraction for her grew to a feverish point. His self-control was dwindling. On the way to and from England, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, about the kiss they’d shared, or how she had tasted.
His thoughts were obsessed with Madeleine Wynton.
Iain was right. He couldn’t let her go back to England, could he?
Connor looked over to the loch. He saw someone swimming. Hands were coming up, out of the water. It looked like the person was struggling!
Connor quickly removed his clothing. It would drag him down trying to rescue the person. As he prepared to enter the loch, he noticed the dress that Maddie had worn was lying on the bank. His heart stopped beating. God! Had she attempted to swim when she didn’t know how?
Connor dove into the loch in his naked glory. He swam to where he thought he saw her but she wasn’t there. He turned every direction but didn’t see her. He wiped the water from his eyes in frustration. Connor tried to ease the panic that rose within in him. When had she become so important to him?
“Maddie?”
No answer.
“Maddie!”
Silence.
“Maddie? Maddie!” His voice was near a roar now.
“Hold on, Connor! I’m coming!”
He saw her swim hurriedly to him. She stopped right in front of him and placed her right arm in a headlock around his neck.
“I’ve got ye,” she said panting. “Don’t worry! I’ll save you, Connor!”
Maddie struggled to pull him through the water to the bank. Connor placed his hands on her waist.
“What are you doing? You must be delusional! Oh Lord!”
“Maddie, I’m alright. I’m nay drowning. I thought ye were and that’s why I jumped in.”
“I was just swimming, Connor.”
Maddie responded in a casual, nonchalant way. Her feet slipped beneath her and she momentarily went under. She emerged from the water laughing hysterically. She looked like another woman when she did. It wasn’t that she never laughed, but when she acted so carefree, she was even more intoxicating. Her chemise, he noticed, was completely transparent.
Maddie turned her head towards him and laughed anew. He found himself laughing and smiling with her. As the laughter quieted, he decided to ask her a question that had been nagging him.
“Why were ye sad when ye left Kiel’s room after supper? It was when Mother told ye not to clean up after us.”
She shook her head shyly.
“Tell me,” he urged softly.
“I didn’t feel needed or wanted.”
“But why? Ye knew that my mother wanted ye there. She said that.”
She kept her gaze downcast.
“Or is it that ye only feel loved and wanted, Maddie, when ye’re doing things for others? Slaving after them?”
“I do not slave after anyone, Connor.”
“I beg to differ, Maddie.”
Silence stretched between them. She couldn’t meet his intense stare.
“How is it at home?”
She knew he asked about servants.
“We have some,” she said defensively. “‘Tis just that you’re used to having so many servants, Connor. How many do you have?”
“A sufficient number to make certain no one is overworked and that duties are accomplished fairly. I should ask ye that same question.”
“There are only two servants. The cook and Saydie. Of course, me. I always help.”
“Only the three of ye for a large castle? I’m surprised ye arena in a grave, Maddie. Why do ye clean? Ye’re a lady.”
“We manage fine, Connor…and efficiently. There are no stations in the eyes of our Lord. A housemaid is treated the same as a lady. He loves us all equally. I work because hard work is good for the soul. I need all the help I can get.”
Another mysterious comment from her, but it was forgotten in the next moment. She turned her golden gaze onto him and their gazes locked. Connor stopped breathing. It seemed as if everything stilled. The birds quieted. The water no longer gently stirred around them with the subtle wind. All he heard was their breathing. The air sizzled between them. The chemistry was keeping their eyes locked onto one another.
The moonlight was bright and cast a blue overshadow on them. Her eyes twinkled and glittered gold. It looked as if her eyes were glowing from within. Their luminescence was vibrant. Her creamy skin looked even more luscious and otherworldly. Her shoulders were perfectly shaped and her neck was sumptuous.
For Maddie, Connor’s eyes were like crystals, drawing her in. They were the clearest blue she had ever seen. When he looked at her, it felt as if she were bare in front of him. His hair hung down his shoulders. A scar between his left eye and ear added to his handsome appearance.
“I didn’t notice that scar before,” she whispered, lifting a hand to touch it.
His hands came up and captured hers. He turned his head and kissed her palm. Her gaze shifted back to his eyes. Maddie’s mouth opened as if to say something but no words came out. Her lips were wet from the water. Droplets came down her face, as the sponge of her hair couldn’t hold anymore.
The heaven’s opened up and it started to rain.
Neither noticed.
Maddie’s black hair framed her face as the water pelted down. He swore her eyes became brighter as they stood motionless, staring at one another. When lightning flashed, Maddie swore that his eyes took in its light and reflected crystal beauty.
He was panting, and she couldn’t seem to draw enough air through her open mouth.
He couldn’t take it.
And then he kissed her.
The lightning crashed and the air crackled between them. His hands expanded around her waist, drawing her closer. His kiss was demanding. His mouth slanted over hers again and again hungrily. Maddie didn’t pull away. Nay. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she grew wild in his arms. Her moans made him crazed.
He groaned as she threaded her fingers through his hair.
The rain continued to fall down on them but they were completely oblivious, aware only of each other.
His mouth slowly lowered to her neck and he began to suck on it. Her moans drove him wild. She had a death grip on his hair as her head leaned to the side to allow him to kiss her neck. Although the rain was cold, the heat between them kept them warm.
Connor’s gaze narrowed below the water to her breasts. He was hungry for them. His lips traveled down. He was now underwater and when he took in her nipple into his mouth, her hands tightened around his floating hair. Her head rolled back and a loud moan bounced from tree to tree around them. He heard it from beneath the water.
Connor was hard and throbbing now. He felt every pump of blood; it resounded in his ears. He sucked on her nipple, now a hard bead in his mouth. Her skin was deliciously smooth.
Maddie felt herself throbbing below her stomach, in her private region. It was a pulsing need she’d never felt before. Her stomach felt like it had butterflies.
Connor surged out of the water with ferocity. Droplets fell down his face as he stared down at her. Her eyes were aglow with passion and had become a honeyed yellow. Her eyes were mystifying.
Maddie’s eyes were wide as she studied him. His watchful eyes were a darker shade of blue, and his gaze was hot enough to scorch her. She slowly got a case of goose pimples on her skin.
Connor palmed her neck his left hand and brought her lips closer to him. He devoured her. He couldn’t get enough. His hands grabbed her bottom and hauled her forward so that her legs wrapped around him. She felt his manhood and pulled back, gasping.
“You’re naked?”
He nodded, not able to open his mouth to speak just yet. He looked down at her mouth again and consumed it. He brought her closer against him.
Maddie tried to pull away but he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth and she suckled it. He groaned. A pure animal sound emanated from his throat and echoed in her head, heightening her own passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck again.
Connor slowly started walking through the water towards the bank with her legs still wrapped around him and his lips still seducing hers. He laid her on his clothes. Connor knelt on his knees and looked down at her. Her slip was soaked and transparent. He almost found his release from looking at her body. It was curvy, sensuous, and generous. She was so soft.
Connor’s gaze slowly traveled up her body. His ravenous eyes touched upon her delicious thighs, flat stomach, and perky, full breasts. Finally his eyes locked with hers again.
Maddie was amazing. The word didn’t do her justice, but she was indeed, perfect. She was intelligent, sly, honest, witty, frustrating, trusting, beautiful, stubborn, giving, tantalizing, innocent, and sensual. One description completely negated the next. She was one thing, and its opposite at the same time. His adjectives, and her virtues, could go on and still, they would not fully describe her.
Connor had never felt this way for a woman. He had never been on fire like this. He covered her with his naked body.
“I shouldn’t be here like this with you. I-I feel so strange, Connor.”
“How?” His shaky hand came up and moved hair out of her face.
“I feel as though no matter how fast I breathe, I can’t take in enough air. My stomach feels jittery and I’m throbbing down…there…” she said breathless.
Rain pelted down his back as he looked down at her. The massive expanse of his shoulders blocked a good amount of the rain from her.
“It’s passion, Maddie. The heated passion between us is as powerful the lightning coming down from Heaven and illuminating the sky.”
“Heaven?” she repeated.
Awareness crept into her head. She began pushing him away. Her eyes were wide with panic and fear.
“I’m sorry, Connor! I can’t! I’ll drag you down with me and you won’t be saved!”
The drops on her cheeks were not caused by the rain. Maddie looked afraid. Connor drew back, still on his knees, as he watched her frantically get up. She bent down to get her dress. It was soaked and she had a hard time putting it on.
Connor reached out to her. “Maddie, ‘tis alright. Ye-” He stopped speaking when she shook her head no. Connor stood up and tried to assist her. She looked down at the ground and turned away, blushing furiously as he helped her.
How could she have acted like this? Especially when she knew that he would never marry. Even if he did, she was English and he’d never want to marry her.
“I have to go!”
Maddie turned and ran off to the castle. The echoes of her sobs reached him and squeezed his heart.
Connor stood on the bank looking after her. Worry, confusion, and lust raged in an internal battle. His needs brawled against each other. He needed to comfort her, soothe her. He needed relief. He needed to satiate his appetite. He could go and seek it, but he had a suspicion it would end like it did the last time. It was futile. The only woman he wanted was Maddie, and he feared that she would be the only woman he’d ever want.