Page 35 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

Certainly not a woman with bright eyes and a laugh that had somehow found its way into every corner of his keep.

He mounted again, trying to forget her.

By midday, he had almost succeeded.

Then, late in the afternoon, he returned to the keep and heard the commotion from the great hall even before he neared it.

The instant Gordon stepped through the great doors, he knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Or terribly right.

The hall was louder than he had ever known it. Voices rose over one another. Servants hurried between the tables carrying baskets and steaming pots. Someone was singing near the kitchen passage, badly enough to make three children laugh but well enough to keep the servants moving in time.

Beth stood in the center of the commotion with a wooden spoon in one hand and an expression Gordon had never seen upon her face before.

It was delight.

His brows drew together.

A basket nearly collided with him.

“Mind yerself, lad,” Beth snapped at the servant carrying it.

Then she saw Gordon and brightened up again. “Me Laird!”

The hall quieted by degrees as Beth announced his presence and marched toward him, her face flushed with triumph.

“Miss Ailis has organized meals for every person repairin’ the patrol walls,” she announced. “And she did it without exceedin’ the budget.”

Gordon stared at her, blinking as he tried to make sense of her words.

Beth lowered her voice, as if she were about to reveal a secret. “I swear the lass is magic. I daenae ken how she did it, but this is the happiest the clan has ever been.”

Gordon’s eyes moved past her and found Ailis immediately. That familiar tingle that she invoked in him returned.

She stood near the great table with her sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her light brown hair had escaped its pins, soft curls framing her face. A smear of flour marked one cheek. Another dusted the sleeve of her gown.

Her cheeks carried that impossible pink flush that made her look warmer, softer, brighter against the dark stone of the hall. She was laughing again, and the sound danced across the hall to him, tickling his ears.

A cook passed her a bowl, and she accepted it with both hands before turning to instruct a younger maid. Then she glanced up and saw him. Her smile thinned a little. It didn’t completely disappear, but there was a cautiousness to it now.

She looked alive, like she had lived here all her life and knew his people. The worst thing was, his men seemed happy she was there.

And Gordon… Gordon wanted to walk toward her.

The thought came with such force that he nearly stopped breathing.

Nay.

He forced himself to stay back, but Ailis moved and walked toward him anyway.

“Me Laird,” she said brightly, her nearness bringing that sweet scent of flowers to him.

Her eyes shone, and her lips widened into a smile that made him forget himself. Gordon looked at her mouth before realizing it.

That was a mistake.

The memory of the kiss struck instantly. He recalled his hand at her waist and that breathless little sound as her mouth opened beneath his.