He cupped his hand over hers, trapping it against his cheek. Then he turned his mouth inward and kissed her palm.

“Now that you’re awake, I will indeed sleep. But don’t be thinking that just because you’ve awakened that you’ll be scurrying all over the keep. You’ll stay abed until I say you can get up and not a moment before.”

She gave him a look of disgust but held her tongue. It wouldn’t do to start an argument with him the moment she awoke. After all, she could be accommodating on occasion.

Ewan laughed. “Aye, lass, it would appear that on occasion you can be very accommodating.”

“I really must learn to control my tongue better,” she muttered. “I can’t go about blurting out my every thought. Mother Serenity said I’d rue the day I ever began such a terrible habit. I’m thinking she has the right of it.”

Ewan leaned down and kissed her again. “I’m thinking your tongue is perfect.”

Both Caelen and Alaric laughed and Mairin was scandalized. “Ewan!”

Mortification tightened her cheeks and she yanked the blankets up to cover her head. Ewan joined in their laughter while she huddled there wishing the floor would open up and take them all.

Ewan eventually shooed everyone from their chamber and then ordered food brought up to them both. He sampled every bite of food himself before he passed it along to her.

In truth, it scared her spitless. She didn’t want him to die for her and she told him so.

He didn’t look impressed with her concern. “ ’Tis my duty to watch over you, lass.”

“And a fine job you’ll do if you die in the process,” she grumbled.

After they ate, she lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes. She really was quite weak, and it was the truth that the food didn’t settle all that well in her stomach. After three days of not eating, she supposed it was only natural.

She started when she heard the door open, and a parade of serving women came into the chamber bearing pails of hot water.

“I thought you might like a hot bath,” Ewan said.

In that moment she wanted to throw herself around him and hug him until he had no breath. And she would if she didn’t find that evenoving her arms was incredibly taxing. So she lay there like a pile of useless flesh and watched with mounting excitement as steam rose from the almost-full tub.

When the last of the water was poured from the pails, Ewan bent over the bed and began to unlace the ties on her sleeping gown. She didn’t have enough energy to protest, not that it would have done her a bit of good anyway. Soon enough he had the gown off her body and he gently gathered her in his arms and carried her over to the tub.

He eased her down into the hot water, and she moaned in delight as the heat lapped over her body.

Instead of leaving her as she’d anticipated, he knelt beside the tub. He reached for the pitcher on the floor and filled it with water before pouring it down her back to wet her hair.

When his fingers dug into the strands to wash her hair, she closed her eyes at the simple pleasure of having him take care of her needs. She was weaker than she could have ever imagined she would have been after her ordeal, and she was grateful for his regard.

She moaned softly as he turned his attention to the washing of her body. He took his time, rubbing her shoulders and her arms. His hands plunged into the water and he cupped her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over the hard tips.

He didn’t tarry overlong but continued his relentless quest to wash every inch of her body. By the time he reached her feet, she was shivering with raw pleasure. He picked up one foot and water sluiced up her leg. Then he began a meticulous massage of each part of her foot, going from bottom to top. When he reached her toes, she tried to jerk her foot away and shrieked at the tickling sensation.

He laughed but grabbed hold of her ankle so she didn’t slip away.

“I had no idea you were so ticklish, lass.”

He held her foot in both hands and ran his hands over her ankle and then, to her shock, he kissed the arch of her foot. He caressed a path up her leg, over her knee, and down to the juncture of her thighs.

His hands were like silk on her flesh. The combination of the soothing water and his heated caresses were a balm to her tattered senses.

He was thorough in his wash. No part of her went untouched. By the time he was done, she was limp, her vision hazy, and she was so lethargic that she couldn’t have risen from the tub if she’d wanted to.

Ewan picked her up and held her over the tub while the water rushed from her body. He set her by the fire and promptly wrapped a large blanket around her, tucking the ends between her breasts.

“As soon as your hair is dry, I’ll tuck you back into bed,” he said. “I don’t want you to get cold.”

Just when she couldn’t imagine being more shocked by his gentle regard, he began to dry her hair with one of the drying cloths. His hands worked through the strands and when he’d blotted the excess moisture from the heavy mass, he began to work a comb through the knots.

They sain front of the fire, her nestled between his thighs, facing the blaze. He was exceedingly patient, pausing when he reached a particularly difficult snarl.

The warmth from the hearth wrapped around them until her skin glowed pink. Heat seeped into her bones and she found herself nodding off as he combed her hair.

When he was done, he set the comb aside and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He pressed his cheek against the side of her head and rocked slightly as she stared into the glowing embers.

“You scared me, lass.”

She sighed and melted deeper into his embrace. “I scared myself, Laird. ’Tis the truth I had no liking of the thought of leaving you and Crispen.”

“Crispen slept in your bed each night you were ill. He on one side, I on the other. He was just as determined as I that you not die.”

She smiled. “ ’Tis nice to have family.”

“Aye, lass, it is. I think you and Crispen and I make a fine family.”

“Don’t forget Caelen and Alaric,” she said with a frown. “And Gannon, Cormac, and Diormid, of course. They do annoy me, but they have good intentions and they are ever so patient. Oh! And Maddie and Bertha and Christina.”

Ewan chuckled against her ear. “Our clan, lass. Our clan is our family.”

Oh, she liked the idea of that. Family. She gave a contented sigh and leaned her head back on his shoulder.

“Ewan?”

“Aye, lass.”

“Thank you for not letting me die. ’Tis the truth I was close to giving up, but your bellowing made it quite impossible to give in. You do like to bellow. It probably made you happy to have an excuse to carry on so.”

He squeezed her to him and she felt the tremble of his body that signaled silent laughter.

“When you are well, we’re going to have a long talk.”

She tried to sit up but he held her tight. “Talk about what, Laird?”

“Words, lass. Words I intend that you’ll offer me.”



CHAPTER 29


Yet she’d never spoken of loving him. She was free with her comliments, he had to give her that much. She told him in the sweetest tones that he was handsome, bold, arrogant … though he wasn’t certain that she meant all of these as compliments.