Seducing the Highlander (13 page)

He was never wrong about women, and Miss Cameron, he sensed, would make a passionate partner. In fact, despite his fatigue, he felt himself harden at the thought of bedding her.

Her glorious body at his disposal
and
new ships, a reckless voice in his head reminded him.
One hell of a bargain, laddie
.

Well, he was a gambler at heart, and he almost always won.

“I believe we might,” he answered with a wicked smile.

E
dward Gibbons paced across the room, for once unmindful of the shabby rug and worn furniture. His face was pale and puffy from a night of excess, and his hands shook slightly as he reached for the half-empty bottle of claret that sat on the sideboard. “I cannot believe I allowed you to talk me into this . . . this madness,” he muttered.

“How is it madness?” Therese, his sister, asked in her usual deceptively placid voice. “Julia is gone and everything is falling into place.”

He turned, lifting the glass in his hand to his mouth with a shaky, convulsive movement. Taking a drink, he coughed slightly and narrowed his eyes. “Where is she?”

At the table, her plate nearly empty, Therese calmly helped herself to another slice of jellied veal. “I have no idea. The pretty little bitch has decamped and that is all that concerns me. Poor Adain must be beside himself.”

Edward asked haltingly, “You are certain you’ve done nothing to her? We’ve taken enough risks as it is, and another body washing up—”

“You worry like an old woman,” Therese interrupted shortly, taking a generous bite of her food. She chewed and swallowed, making him wait for her reply. “I haven’t touched the silly chit.” With a ladylike touch of her napkin to her lips, she added sweetly, “More’s the pity. Her slender neck would snap like a twig. I’ve pictured it more than once.”

Inelegantly, Edward dashed away the sweat from his upper lip with the back of his hand. “I am still not completely convinced Adain will marry you.”

“When we stand by him in the face of the accusations, giving our stalwart support, he’ll be most grateful.” A feral gleam in her eyes, she continued. “Of course, it would have been easier to convince Randal, but he isn’t ever predictable; he never has been. That branch of the family has always been volatile, hasn’t it, Edward?”

Not bothering to answer, he drained his wineglass.

“Don’t lose your nerve now.”

When he didn’t comment on her admonishment, she took another generous bite.

 

 

Outside, in the crisp autumn air, the sky was so deep a blue it seemed surreal. The countryside was beginning to deepen in color, growing rich and mellow, but the city looked the same in all seasons: sprawling, busy, and crowded. Usually Julia despised the bustle and incessant noise, but as the carriage rattled along, she found she barely noticed anything except the tall man sitting across from her.

The man she had just married minutes before. The ring was there on her finger; she could feel the hard, round, unfamiliar shape of it.

Her
husband
. . . The undeniably handsome, wickedly wild Robbie McCray was her husband. Julia had the uneasy feeling she might have sold herself to the devil, but Adain was checked, and that was all that truly mattered.

She certainly hoped her father’s liking for the rogue sitting across from her reflected his usual keen judgment.

“We’ll stop by and pick up those papers before we head out,” Robbie remarked, stretching out his long legs, one dark brow arching upward.

She said nothing but just nodded, sitting still and covertly studying him from under her lashes. It had taken three days to iron out the details of their arrangement, days in which he had visited her father’s solicitors, consulted with builders on the costs of construction of his precious ships, and even dragged her to a meeting with the minister who would marry them. The clergyman—she suspected he was an old friend of the McCray family—had lectured her at length on wifely duty. During that particular stern sermon, her intended had lounged lazily next to her, an arrogant smirk on his well-shaped mouth, his dark eyes openly mocking.

She hadn’t found it nearly as amusing. In fact, she was quite horribly nervous now that all was said and done and their vows exchanged. It was one thing to bribe a known profligate rake into marriage, and quite another to imagine lying with him. He was used to the experienced women usually associated with the whispers about his exploits. She was neither experienced nor a flirt, and his easy assurance shook her.

But she
had
prevailed. And while she was apprehensive about the upcoming wedding night, she was certain of one thing: If a woman had to sell herself into marriage for protection and the preservation of her family fortunes, surely it was prudent to choose a man celebrated throughout Scotland as a talented lover. McCray’s physical appearance too was a boon. He was well above medium height, wide shouldered, and athletically graceful when he moved, his chiseled features the epitome of male beauty, with a lean, straight jaw, firm mouth, and those infamous dark, seductive, long-lashed eyes. Julia had lived a sheltered life in some ways, but her father had been laird, and there had been a constant flow of visitors and members of her clan through Castle Cameron, so she had seen her fair share of men. There was no doubt of McCray’s potent attraction, and she felt the powerful magnetic pull just as had the legions of women who had come before her.

“You are remarkably quiet, Mrs. McCray.” His deep voice softly interrupted her reverie. “Having regrets already?”

Sitting up a little, Julia looked him in the eye and said in firm—but not honest—denial, “No.”

Her new husband looked amused, his arms crossed over his wide chest, his booted feet carelessly brushing her skirts. The corner of his mouth lifted in a cynical smile. “I know you are anxious to reveal your devious plan to all and sundry upon our arrival at Castle Cameron, so I arranged for us to leave Edinburgh at once. After our stop at the solicitor’s office, we will collect our baggage and be on our way. There is a small inn that I know of a few hours from here. We can spend the night there.”

Unable to keep from blushing, Julia did manage to hold his gaze, though it took all of her bravado. “That sounds fine.”

What a lie. A host of butterflies danced in her stomach.

“You must tell me,” he asked reflectively, “during the past several days in the proper company of my aunt, who I must say was stalwart at suddenly finding herself chaperone to my unknown intended, did the two of you discuss the actual wedding night?”

It was true; to her surprise the notorious McCray had insisted that she be protected from scandal by staying with his elderly aunt, and had dumped her off on that poor but resilient woman with little more than an introduction and an announcement of their impetuous engagement. More surprising was the fact that such a respectable matron was related to a roguish scoundrel and also fond enough of him to accept the arrival of his heretofore unknown fiancée with admirable aplomb.

Julia said truthfully, “She was very kind, but obviously off balance at the notion of her rakehell nephew wanting to marry anyone. I assume she thought that we had already . . . that is”—good heavens, she was blushing again—“that you had seduced me. The speed at which you arranged the wedding didn’t help.”

His brows shot up, but if he took exception to the term
rakehell
, he didn’t say so. “You
wanted
speed.”

“Yes, indeed. The sooner Adain learns of our union, the better. I am not particularly concerned over what people think.”

“I am going to venture a guess that when word of our marriage leaks out, society in general will expect us to have a seventh- month child,” Robbie said, rubbing his jaw, his dark eyes narrowed.

“When we don’t, that will take care of that rumor.”

“Yes, I suppose so. Are you always this practical, lass? It seems to me, upon our short acquaintance, that you approach matters in a very straightforward fashion for a woman.”

Not bothering to hide her flash of irritation, Julia responded, “Since when is directly dealing with a problem a trait regulated only to men? I am intelligent, educated, and—”

“Very beautiful,” he interrupted smoothly, “and I usually find the more beautiful the woman, the more spoiled, clinging, and demanding. I was giving you a compliment, not deriding your sex. Since you have apparently listened to reports of my scandalous conduct in the past, I am sure you know I am a great admirer of women in general.”

With a falsely sweet smile, Julia retorted, “When one’s name becomes synonymous with skilled seduction and the hot-blooded pursuit of passion, there has to be a germ of truth somewhere in all the whispers.”

His laughter rang out, and suddenly he looked more than starkly handsome; he looked dangerously attractive and all large, potent male, filling the small space inside the carriage. Still smiling, a wicked, sensual curve to his mouth, he said, “I can’t wait to fuck
you;
that’s for certain, Mrs. McCray. I, for one, am looking very much forward to tonight.”

Blinking at his deliberate use of a word she had never heard before, Julia could easily guess what it meant,
and
that it wasn’t something a gentleman would ever say in front of a lady.

But then again, she hadn’t married a fine gentleman. She had married an infamous Border rogue.

Lapsing into shocked silence, she looked pointedly out the window, trying to ignore his amused stare.

Good God, he was right. It would be nightfall soon.

Robbie watched his beautiful bride take her last sip of wine and set aside the glass next to her empty plate.

And then he moved. In a flash, he was on his feet and around the table, pulling her out of her chair.

Sweeping her into his arms in a flurry of pale skirts, he ignored her outraged gasp and grinned at the other startled occupants of the inn’s small dining room. “It’s our wedding night,” he announced loudly as he carried Julia toward the stairs.

“McCray,” she hissed, clutching at his jacket as people chuckled over their abrupt exodus and his declaration.

“I hope, in bed,” he said, ducking through the low doorway and starting to climb, “when I am between your undoubtedly very lovely legs, you will call me Robbie. I guess we’ll find out in a few moments, won’t we?”

“And you have made sure everyone staying here knows what we will be doing,” she said furiously. Julia’s cheeks were pink as she stared at him with those tantalizing green eyes. “Are you just living up to your reputation, or are you truly so impatient you had to drag me publicly upstairs?”

Their room was one of the first doors in the upstairs hallway, and he shouldered his way through it, kicking it shut with deft skill behind them. “Both,” he said succinctly, and deposited her on the large four-poster bed. Stepping back, he surveyed her sprawled figure with pure male appreciation.

She had chosen a soft pink gown for the wedding, the color a perfect complement to her creamy skin and dark, shining hair. The neckline was modest, but the fullness of her breasts still mounded over the top, revealing the enticing upper swells. She wasn’t technically what he considered to be voluptuous, but because she was so slender, the very narrowness of her waist and slim hips made her appear to be opulent and lushly female. Even if she weren’t beautiful in every other way, her body alone would make men want her, he decided, not bothering to hide his deliberate perusal.

Nor could he hide his burgeoning erection. He’d been told he was well-endowed more than a few times—it wasn’t just his reckless charm that made women appreciate him in bed—and when he slipped out of his jacket, the bulge in his tight breeches was already very visible. Even his untutored bride noticed, her soft mouth parting as her long-lashed eyes widened in alarm.

“See?” he said, elevating one brow and sitting down to tug off a boot. “My reputation aside, I am
definitely
impatient.”

“It’s rather hard to miss confirmation of that fact,” Julia retorted, still staring at his crotch, but to his surprise, she didn’t try to sit up and edge away or do anything except lie there and watch him begin to undress. Other than the arousing quiver of her breasts as her breathing quickened, she didn’t move. At all.

Like a damned virgin sacrifice. From the look in her eyes, she was more intimidated than she was willing to admit.

In his heedless youth, he’d bedded a virgin or two, but it had been a while. A wedding- night deflowering certainly posed a unique challenge, for beyond all else, he wanted his bride to enjoy it.

Truth was, he intended to have her begging beneath him, so hot for his hard cock inside her she would be wild in his arms.

Since he’d tied himself to one woman for the rest of his life, he certainly didn’t intend for her to be anything except willing and even eager in bed. He was just the man to educate the delectable new Mrs. McCray in the art of love, beginning with this evening.