Page 59 of His Forgotten Highland Bride

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ronan bore the cheers and clapping with good humor and was pleased that Brenna was not too upset by the attention they’d gotten coming to dinner late after hiding away in their room the whole day.

But they had a lot of time to make up for it. It was a lot of pleasure, yes, but many conversations as well. They had missed a lot of each other’s lives, and he found for everything she shared, he wished he’d been there next to her, good and bad. It had been his place as her husband, and he’d not been there.

He sat next to Will, noticing how Malcolm and Gabe scurried to Brenna’s side. He gave her a thorough inspection before relaxing into their meals. They were both young and didn’t know Ronan at all. He couldn’t blame them for their concerns and was grateful they were such watchful protectors.

“Ye seem unsteady on your feet, laird,” Hugh teased.

“I’ll remind you I arrived home that way, and it’s not any fault of my wife’s attentions.”

“What about the shadows under your eyes from lack of sleep?” Will asked with a slight grin.

“Now, that is my wife’s fault,” he whispered so as not to embarrass Brenna further. “I hope you have reason to miss some sleep someday as well.”

“I’m glad the two of you have found happiness. I wasn’t so sure when you arrived.”

Ronan frowned. “I was an arse.”

Will shrugged. “I’ll not be accused of disagreeing with my laird.”

Ronan looked over to Brenna, who requested a second helping of stew for both of them.

“Thank you, wife,” he said as he dug in. “I might think ye have a reason to keep our strength up.”

Her cheeks pinked, and it was all he could do not to scoop her up and carry her back to their room despite the laughter that would surely ensue. They remained below stairs for the meal and entertainment, though he couldn’t say what songs the man might have played, for he was paying more attention to his wife and thinking of what he wanted to do when they returned to their room.

He glanced around at his clan and saw a number of smiling faces that had previously looked at him with suspicion and anger. It appeared his clan approved of him treating his wife as a husband aught.

When they finally turned for their bed, his wife paused at the top of the stairs.

“What is it?”

“I have a surprise for you, though now I’m unsure if you will like it.”

He pulled her hand from the other, where she twisted her fingers nervously. “Why don’t you tell me what it is so I can show you how thankful I am?”

She let out a breath and nodded. Instead of continuing down the corridor to their room, she stopped at the double doors with the Grant crest engraved in the wood.

“The laird’s chamber?” he said.

“When you were speaking with your men, I had the maids prepare it for us. I thought…” Her cheeks flared with another blush, and he could hardly stand not knowing what she was thinking.

“You thought what?” he encouraged.

“It is only that the bed is much bigger in this room.”

His grin grew into a full smile. “And ye thought we could use more space for our activities?”

She shrugged but looked up at him, a coy smile of her own tilting her lush lips. “I also thought to get some rope.”

“Dear Christ Almighty, woman, you are going to be the death of me, and I won’t even mind.”

He picked her up, despite the soreness of his leg and carried her into their room like the proper groom carrying his virgin bride. But as soon as the door was shut behind them, they became the ravenous lovers they’d been the night before.

They slept until late in the morning, and Ronan was grateful not only for the larger bed but also for the heavy curtains surrounding it, which kept the sun out.

“I must go about my day,” she murmured as he woke her with kisses. “We can’t spend another day in our chamber. I’ll not be fodder for the men’s jests again this evening.”