Kilted Sin (Brethren of Stone 3)

She still hadn’t opened her eyes but she heard the scrape of furniture as he dragged a chair across the room. The wood creaked as he sat down.

“Why?” she whispered.

“I have a proposition fer ye,” he said.

“No,” she said, sitting up and opening her eyes while still clutching the covers to her chest. He sat leaning back in a wooden chair, one arm draped down the back. The position only seemed to emphasize the breadth of his shoulders and how his chest tapered into lean hips and muscular legs. She’d seen that body, it rippled with muscle. Her throat closed and she swallowed to clear it.

“Ye haven’t heard it yet.” He arched his brows.

Grudgingly, she nodded. She didn’t have a lot of options. Never a situation she wanted to be in. One of the only ones she had now was to listen.

He cleared his throat. “Not only did ye steal my horse. Ye managed to take every last loose bit of coin I had.”

Inwardly she winced. How could that be true? “But yer a laird.”

“I’ve only just purchased this fine mess, I won’t bore ye with the details. But the housekeeper and the cook are all the staff I’ve left. I can barely feed them, let alone pay them or anyone else. What I am offering ye is a chance to work off yer debt.”

Her eyes narrowed. She’d be damned if he thought to use her body. “I’m no one’s whore.”

His eyes widened as he stared at her. “What is it with ye and all the sexual suggestion? That isn’t what I’m asking at all.”

She coughed, nearly choking. It was her turn to stare. Had he just accused her of being overly interested in coupling? “What is it with me? What is it with the entire male race?”

He leaned forward in his chair. She watched as his muscles rippled and bunched with the movement. All right, she could confess, at least to herself, that she might be a bit more keen on the idea of relations in this man’s presence. In fact, yesterday, stealing his horse had been a fair bit easier since she didn’t have to pretend to be interested in him personally.

“I can’t speak fer all men,” he rumbled. “Only fer me. Let me be clear. I am not trying to take advantage of ye or anyone else. I only want what ye owe me and, since ye can’t just pay it back, I’ll need to be repaid in labor.” He took a breath. “I need someone to help a bit around the house. But mostly I need ye tae take care of the children.”

“Excuse me?” He wanted her to be a nursemaid?

“I’ve only got two staff. They can’t care fer them. Until I can figure out what tae do with them, they need someone tae look after them.”

Her mind must still be fuzzy because this simply didn’t make sense. “What will I have tae do wit’ them?”

He took a deep breath through his nose, his jaw clenched. “Can we not go into lengthy explanations now?”

“Fine,” she answered. She didn’t want to ken anyhow. “The answer is no. I’ve already returned yer horse. As soon as I see Mr. McLean, I’ll get you your money back.”

William sat back in his chair. His raised his hands to his face and scrubbed it several times. “What’s yer name?”

“I told ye, already. It’s Gemma McLaren.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well, Gemma McLaren. I didn’t want tae have tae do this but yer not leaving me much choice.” He leveled her with a stare, his supple full lips thinning. “Either ye nanny the bairns or I turn ye into the authorities fer horse thieving.”

Her gasp cut across the room. “You can’t be serious.” She gripped the covers about her chest. “Ye don’t have a very high opinion of me, why would ye want to put me in charge of your children?”

“Unfortunately, I am serious.” He gave his head a small shake and then rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I didn’t expect to have two little ones dropped on my door and I’m fairly certain ye’ll be a great deal better at caring fer them then where they’ve just come from. I’ve no money

and no time and a whole lot of people depending on me to keep their families fed.” He stood then, towering over her. “Do ye accept, Gemma McLaren?”

Chapter Four

Will looked down at her, her wide green eyes and white-knuckled grip on the blankets making her look terribly vulnerable. He ignored the tugging in his chest that said he was the devil for doing this to her.

“Do I have a choice?” she answered softly as her voice quivered and her lips trembled. Damnation, she’d better not cry. He might renege if she did.

“Not much, I’m afraid.” His gut clenched. He could call this whatever he wanted. Necessity. Looking out for the welfare of children. Trying to keep all the people on his lands fed. But what he’d just done was blackmail. Granted, she deserved it. But still, forcing a woman into his employ didn’t sit well.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the urge to swallow down the lump rising in throat. What would his brother Stone think?