A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (18 page)

He waited for her to pull away, to ask him why, so when she leant into his embrace he didn
’
t know quite what to do, or what to say either, when she quietly whispered
thank you
.  So Lachlan simply remained perfectly still, enjoying the feel of her body pressed lightly against his own, the warmth and softness that enfolded him.

He must have shut his eyes and dozed off, because when Lachlan opened them again it was dark and he was ravenously hungry.  He knew that he
’
d given the driver clear instructions where to stop however, so he wasn
’
t overly concerned.  The nights were drawing in, and he was simply still recovering from being a
‘
guest
’
of the Camerons.

Muira was asleep beside him.  Her breathing was deep and contented, and she was snuggled against his side more securely than she had been when he dropped off.  One of her arms had drifted around his chest, and was holding onto him tight.  She looked so calm, so peaceful when she was asleep in his arms.  Lachlan wished that he could see her look like that when she was awake
…

The coach reached The Three Oaks much sooner than Lachlan would have like, even given his gnawing hunger.  He was enjoying holding his wife.  He wasn
’
t ready for her to revert to the shy, unreachable woman that she was when awake.  With a heavy sigh, he tried to nudge her awake, but when that didn
’
t work Lachlan couldn
’
t resist the temptation of dropping his lips to claim hers.

She kissed him back.  It was the lightest little reply imaginable, but before her eyelids fluttered open, Muira lips moved against Lachlan
’
s mouth in answer to his gentle buss.  It felt like the most delicate whisper of silk against his skin.  Lachlan felt a thrill of triumph, a sizzle of encouragement that would have spurred him on to deepen the kiss, had the carriage door not been opened by one of the footmen just at that moment.

Lachlan growled his displeasure as Muira
’
s eyes snapped open and she broke away from him.  She retreated over to the other side of the coach, her cheeks reddening furiously.  He opened his mouth to apologise, but then thought better of it- he
wasn
’
t
sorry that he
’
d kissed her, and he intended to do a damn sight more than kiss her before very much longer. 
So Muira could just start getting used to that fact
, he thought grumpily, stung by the way she had recoiled.

“
We
’
re here,
”
he said gruffly, and somewhat unnecessarily. 

Lachlan stepped out of the carriage and offered his arm to Muira, pleased when his wife simply took it without a fuss.  She was still blushing however, still casting him furtive little glances, as he led her into The Three Oaks.  The landlord of the establishment greeted them cordially, and showed them through to one of the private back rooms where they would be served a simply, but hearty, meal, while their things were carried up to the best room that the inn had to offer.

“
You know, this is the furthest from home that I
’
ve ever been,
”
Muira said in a quiet, thoughtful voice.  It was the first time she
’
d spoken since leaving the carriage, bar a polite little word to the landlord.

Lachlan looked up from his bowl of stew and dumplings and automatically reached for his wife
’
s hand.  He gave it an encouraging squeeze, heartened when she didn
’
t pull it away.  He let his large hand rest there, tenderly covering her own.

“
And how are you holding up?
”
he asked carefully.

Muira licked her lips while she considered her answer.  Lachlan found himself watching the tip of tongue with rather too much attention.  It caused a quickening in his body that he tried desperately to ignore.

“
Better than I thought I might,
”
she said eventually, offering Lachlan a small smile before turning back to her own meal.

She was quite something
, Lachlan decided, smiling to himself as he watched Muira as she tucked into her food hungrily.  She was attractive, beautiful in fact, but she was also incredible brave, smart- and perhaps just a little bit reckless, he decided, his smile widening.  She was still wary of him at the moment- and given what had happened to Muira, Lachlan couldn
’
t really blame her- but once she did learn to trust him than Lachlan saw no reason why they couldn
’
t make the most of their marriage. 

Attraction and certain level of compatibility were the only qualities that he
’
d ever thought to look for in a wife.  Love had never entered into the equation.  He could be quite content with Muira as his wife, Lachlan decided, able to be more objective and cheer up considerably now that he was headed for home.

“
Why are you smiling?
”
Muira frowned uncertain, looking up from her plate to find her husband practically beaming across the table at her.

“
I
’
m happy,
”
Lachlan chuckled, laughing to realise that it was the truth.

..ooOOoo..

He was happy?  How could he possibly be happy?
  The questions had been turning themselves over and over in Muira
’
s mind ever since Lachlan had made the announcement at supper.  It was now a couple of hours later, and she was in their room, a small, but very cosy, and surprisingly well furnished, space, getting ready for bed.

Her husband had gone out to the stables to see to his prized horse.  He
’
d mentioned that he was thinking about riding Faidhiach for the next part of their journey.  Muira couldn
’
t say that she wanted him to; it had been
…
pleasant
…
sharing the carriage with Lachlan, and she certainly didn
’
t want to arrive at Eilean Donan
alone
, but she didn
’
t know how to ask him to travel with her without sounding ridiculous.

But he was happy
.  Muira sat down in her nightdress and dressing gown in front of the roaring fire and picked up a book that she had no intention of reading, waiting for her husband
’
s return. 
He was happy, and he had kissed her again
.  Muira pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled softly, tingling at the pleasant memory.  Perhaps she did please him, or could; there certainly seemed to be things about her that he liked, didn
’
t there?

She was started to realising that there was a lot about Lachlan that
she
liked
…
she liked how strong he was, and yet how gentle, she liked the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, she liked his thoughtfulness and his compassion-

“
You look lost in thought, lass.
”

Muira jumped when she found that the object of those thoughts was standing over her chair, gazing down at her curiously.  She hadn
’
t even heard the door open.

“
Something bothering you?
”
Lachlan frowned.

Muria shook her head. 
“
No, nothing, I don
’
t even know what I was thinking about,
”
she lied,
“
just daydreaming I suppose,
”
she murmured, looking away from her husband so that she didn
’
t have to encounter his disbelieving stare.  Her eyes fell unintentionally on the bed, but Lachlan had followed her gaze and his frown darkened.

“
You do know, Muira, that I don
’
t plan to do anything that you
’
re not ready for?
”
he said slowly.

“
I- I
’
m not sure I know what you mean,
”
Muria admitted awkwardly, drawing a sharp breath when she was suddenly tugged out of her chair, onto her feet and into Lachlan
’
s arms.

“
He hurt you, didn
’
t he?
”
Lachlan growled angrily.  And once again Muira wasn
’
t entirely certain that she understood him.  She was saved from revealing her ignorance this time though, because her husband continued speaking. 
“
It doesn
’
t have to be like that you know, Muira,
”
he murmured.

His breath was whispering hotly against her ear.  It was making her feel the strangest butterfly feeling in her stomach. 

“
I can make it good for you,
”
Lachlan promised huskily. 
“
Really good,
”
he panted, and Muira
really
didn
’
t have a clue what he was talking about, and didn
’
t much care so long as he didn
’
t let her go.  She wasn
’
t quite sure that her legs would take her weight any more; being this close to him was intoxicating.