"Aye."
"How...?"
He would delight in showing her, but that was completely out of the question. "We should nay be discussing this. You're an innocent."
"For now." She grinned.
He directed a warning look her way. She tempted him beyond sanity. But, he intended to send her back home a virgin. He refused to be the cause of clan conflict.
"Did you tell the proprietor we're married?" she whispered.
"Nay, betrothed. I rented two chambers."
"Oh." Catriona found that terribly disappointing, especially after Torr had mentioned that coupling could be done in several different ways. She didn't know why she was so curious about such scandalous things. That had to be Torr's fault. Simply looking at him made her desire him completely, in every way. She wanted him to be her husband and lover. She yearned for him to feel possessive about her. She needed to hold him close all night and sink into his warmth.
How could she persuade him to fall in love with her and crave her endlessly?
Thinking about her feelings for Torr made it challenging to eat. She hungered for him more than food. But she forced herself to eat most of her meal. It might be many hours before she could eat again.
"We'll sleep until evening," he said. "Then I'll take you back to Blacktower after dark. 'Tis unlikely my cousins will find us then."
A sudden fear reared its grotesque head. "What if they're lying in wait for me near Blacktower?"
He shrugged. "I can smell them."
"What do you mean?"
"When I'm in kelpie form, my sense of smell is acute. If my cousins lurk about in the wood, I'll smell them. Then I'll scare the devil out of them. They'll run back home."
She scowled. "I hope I'm nay causing a clan feud."
He shook his head. "'Tis unlikely."
"Why did they think I cast a spell on her? They must have found her and her lover in the root cellar. Why would they not simply think the two are in love?"
He shrugged. "Someone must have seen you slip the potion into her drink." He glanced down at the remains of her meal. "Are you finished?"
"Aye."
He stood. "'Tis time for a nap."
She truly hoped she could sleep, for she was exhausted. But she was also excited because of their adventure and simply being with Torr.
He ushered her up the stairs in front of him, which wound her up even more.
If only she could think of a way to share a room with him, she might convince him to be romantically interested in her.
***
WHEN WILONA AND ALPINarrived back at the manor house that night, she was too exhausted to think clearly. Shifting into the loch monster had drained her. She must visit Dolag—the wise woman who'd sold Wilona the keek-stane over a year ago and taught her the spells. 'Haps Dolag had a different incantation to strengthen magic.
The next morn, Wilona awoke without knowing how many hours she'd slept. She glanced aside, shocked to find Alpin asleep beside her. The upper part of his muscular chest was bare.
"What the devil?" she blurted, panic clutching at her throat.
Alpin jerked awake, eyed her, then grinned smugly.
"What are you doing in my bed?" she snapped.
