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Devils Highlander (Clan MacAlpin 1)

Page 55

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She was so soft and so sweet.

And she was his.

He knew in that moment that it had always been that way. Ree had been his when they were children. And now that he was a man, she belonged to him more than she ever had.

After years of numbness, she made him feel such violent emotions. More than that, Marjorie made him feel.

There was a commotion outside — shouts bantered across the alley, followed by a clattering.

Reluctantly they parted. She whimpered a protest, but Cormac forced himself to focus. He needed to remain on alert.

He went to the window, sensing her following even before she touched him. For a moment, he held his breath, savoring only the heat of her at his back.

A pale and tender hand stroked up and under his arm. And another, from the other side. Gently, Marjorie wrapped her arms around his stomach, and standing behind him, she rested her head on the side of his arm. “The sweepers. ” A handful of raggedly clad men were clearing offal and refuse from the alley below. Left unsaid was the distant memory of gazing out a different window, at a different brand of sweepers. “Aye, just the street sweeps. ”

“Would that the city could sweep the docks clear of all its horrors,” she said.

“Aye. Would that. ” Cormac brought one of her hands to his lips, kissed her palm, and replaced it at his belly.

She'd only just begun to lose her innocence, and it pained him.

In the meantime, there was much work to do to prepare for their next meeting with the bailie. “It seems we've a dinner to attend tomorrow. ”

She deflated. “We need to think up names for my imaginary sister and her husband. ”

“Don't fret on account of that. 'Twill be easy enough. New money and enterprising new faces abound in the Indies. We've simply to choose a common enough name and then bandy it about with all the confidence of a preacher on Sunday. ”

“Is that a skill you learned in the wars? How to deceive?”

He thought for a moment she was speaking facetiously, but Marjorie waited attentively, still hugging him from behind.

Deception. She had no idea the treachery he was capable of. It was a gulf that would be forever between them.

Sometimes it felt like a gulf that lay between him and the rest of the world.

“I don't know that I'd call it a skill so much as a curse, but aye, deception is some of what I learned at war. ” He reached around to pull Marjorie by his side. He'd bridge that gulf as best he could. Only for her.

Tucking her under his arm, he kissed her lighdy on the crown of her head. After a while, he chuckled. “Now, what I didn't learn was birds. It looks as though I need to brush up on my mallard facts before tomorrow evening. ”

“I know. I'm sorry. ” She turned her head into him, hiding her face for a moment. “But, you know, a man can never know too much about the world around him. ”

He laughed outright, and it felt strange and good. “I see. ”

“And besides, if women will be there, mayhap there will be dancing, too. ” She reached up to pat his cheek. “I do fancy a good reel. ”

Possessiveness coursed to life in his veins. “You're only allowed to dance with me. ”

“Oh really?” She shook her head, but there was humor in her voice. “Cormac MacAlpin, is there any man in this world whose company you do accept? You detest Archie, and you seemed ready to throttle the bailie. ” Anger flared, recalling both of those fools. “Forbes smiled too much. It wasn't right. He struck me as overfamiliar. They both do. So, no, lass. I'm afraid there's not a man in the world I'd let you dance with. But I'll not be accused of small-mindedness. ” He paused for a moment, letting himself truly think on it. “Fine, I suppose you could dance with my brother Declan. In a pinch. If you must. ”

“Not Gregor?” She practically purred the question, and envy clenched his chest. Women adored his older brother, for whom life, love, and many a reel came easily.

“Och, never Gregor. You stay away from Gregor. The man's a rakehell. ”

“I see. ” She grew reserved. Just when Cormac feared his response had been overly vehement, she asked, “But you?

Will you dance with me, then?” Her voice was deceptively mild, and he imagined he heard some uncertainty there.

The bold and lovely Ree, insecure? He couldn't credit it.



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