A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (53 page)

“
For a breath of fresh air,
”
he snarled. 
“
I
’
m really not in the mood to be nagged by you.
”

“
I
’
m not nagging!  I
’
m trying-!
”

“
Muira, I
’
ve had a long day.  I don
’
t need this, I
’
ve been working hard on
…”
but Lachlan let the sentence trail off unfinished.

Muira
’
s eyes narrowed suspiciously. 
“
Yes?
”
she smirked nastily. 
“
You
’
ve been working on
what
?  Why can
’
t you tell me?  What is it that you
’
re in there plotting and planning for days on end?
”
she demanded, her voice rising in pitch and volume with every question.

“
I don
’
t have to answer that,
”
Lachlan spat, reaching for the door handle.

“
Are you going to attack the Camerons?
”
Muira blurted. 
“
Is that why you won
’
t tell me?  Are you-
”

“
For God
’
s sake, Muira!  I
’
m not listening to anymore of this rubbish!
”
Lachlan bellowed. 
“
You don
’
t have a clue what you
’
re talking about!
”
he sneered, throwing the door open and then slamming it shut behind him.

Muira stared at the dark wood for a moment, seething furiously at her husband
’
s dismissal, and physically shaking with anger and upset. 
“
Fine!
”
she hissed. 
“
Fine!
”
  If Lachlan wouldn
’
t tell her what he was up to then she
’
d just have to find out herself!

The study door was shut, but not locked.  Lachlan had never expressly forbidden her from entering
…
but it was a given understanding between them since he
’
d starting working on
whatever
it was that he
was
working on inside the chamber.  Muria blatantly ignored that fact as she marched inside.

The desk that stood in the study was cover untidily with papers.  Muira assumed that her husband had left everything just as it was when he
’
d heard her in the bedroom crying.  She felt a pang of conscious, but steeled herself, remembering Lachlan
’
s harsh, bitter words and the way he
’
d left her, she crept around to the other side of the desk and looked distrustfully over the papers.

“
Maps?
”
she murmured, looking over them more closely.  They
were
maps of the borders between Cameron and MacRae territory, but they seemed to have been redrawn
…
and in favour of the Camerons?  Muira squinted and looked harder, surely that couldn
’
t be right?

“
Find what you were looking for?
”
hissed a familiar, yet deadly, voice.

Muira gasped and looked up fearfully into the face of her husband.  Lachlan was standing in the doorway of the study.  He looked so furious that Muira barely even recognised his face.

“
I
’
m sorry!
”
she gasped.

“
You will be,
”
Lachlan promised darkly, stepping into the room and closing the door ominously behind him.

“
Lachlan?
”
Muira whispered, feeling a real tinge of fear. 
“
I didn
’
t mean-
”

“
To spy?
”
he snarled, advancing on her. 
“
You just accidentally wandered in here did you?  Get lost on the way back to the bed, did you?
”
he spat sarcastically.

“
I wasn
’
t spying!
”
Muira cried. 
“
I
’
m sorry, Lachlan!
”
she repeated. 
“
I know- I know that I shouldn
’
t have come in here snooping, but I just wanted to know what was going on,
”
she argued miserably. 
“
Please, please- I
’
m sorry,
”
she gasped, looking up into Lachlan
’
s stony face. 
“
Say
something
?
”
she begged weakly when he remained silent.

“
I can
’
t believe I trusted you,
”
Lachlan breathed callously. 
“
A
Cameron
,
”
he sneered.  Muira physically flinched.  If he had hit her, Muira didn
’
t think that Lachlan could have hurt her any worse. 
“
Going to send your findings back to your brothers were you?
”
he hissed, grabbing Muira by the shoulders and shaking her.

“
No!
”
she sobbed, trying and failing to break away from her husband, fully realising how very much bigger and stronger than her he was
…
 
“
Please, Lachlan, let me go?
”
she begged, struggling feebly.

“
Oh, I
’
ll let you go,
”
he rasped. 
“
Just after I
’
ve shown you all that a Cameron whore
’
s good for,
”
he snarled viciously.

Muira shook her head, weak with terror and misery, as she choked on her tears.  He didn
’
t mean that, he
couldn
’
t
mean that, but one glance at Lachlan
’
s face seemed to confirm Muira
’
s very worse fears. 

“
Don
’
t,
”
she begged, as she was pushed back roughly against the table. 
“
Please, don
’
t, Lachlan
”
she wept, jumping as he violently cleared the top of the desk, throwing papers and ink down onto the floor in a careless mess.

“
But you
’
re my
wife
, Muira,
”
he spat the words at though they left a nasty taste in his mouth. 
“
A position you worked very hard to secure- and that means I don
’
t have to stop,
”
he whispered darkly, sweeping her off the floor and tossing her uncaringly onto the desk.

“
Lachlan-!
”
she croaked, but his hands were already plucking harshly at her body, prying apart her legs so that he could stand within the cradle that he
’
d created for himself.

She wasn
’
t going to like this
…
Muira promised herself, she wouldn
’
t enjoy anything that Lachlan did to her.  She couldn
’
t stop him from taking her, but she wasn
’
t going to participate- she wouldn
’
t give him that pleasure, not after the things he
’
d said
…
she bit her lip to try and keep herself from crying out loud. 

She tried to ignore the greedy weight of Lachlan
’
s hands, but her treacherous body didn
’
t seem to be in league with her heart or her mind.  His fingers delved under her nightdress, probing her slit, Muira was humiliated when he found her hot and wet despite herself.