Page 11 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

Tadgh suddenly burst out, “But did ye have tae go and marry him?”

“I waited fer ye fer two years, with nae so much as a single word tae explain yer absence. Yer betrayal shattered me. Me maither was anxious tae see me settled, and I wanted tae make her happy and put her mind at rest. That’s why I married him.”

“Aye, and I suppose he was a better man than me,” Tadhg shot back.

“Aye, he was, so ye’ve nae right tae be jealous,” she accused him.

“I’m nae jealous!” he exclaimed. “I just dinnae want tae hear about ye bein’ with another man. Is that so hard tae understand? Ach, can we just drop this? I’m nae in the mood fer arguin’.”

“Ye started it,” Alana replied, secretly aghast at how childish she sounded. But that was how Tadhg affected her. Her pain, her unhappiness, her vow to steer clear of love, all of it was his fault.

Tadhg made a sound of disgust and rode slightly ahead for the next part of the journey, maintaining a chilly silence. Well, that suits me just fine, she thought, angrily, watching his long dark hair flowing over his broad shoulders. He had no idea how hard it was for her to keep him at arm’s length, for secretly, she still cared about him. But she could never trust him again.

Silence fell once more between them. They stopped to refresh the horses and eat some of the provisions Tadhg had brought at around noon. Then they rode on for several hours, until dusk began to fall, and a thick mist began to descend from the mountains that made it hard to see.

“Ach, we’ll nae get much further tonight in this without gettin’ lost,” Tadhg finally said. “There’s an inn nearby I ken. We’ll head there and stay the night.”

“All right,” Alana agreed, glad at the prospect of spending the night in relative comfort after such a long time in the saddle. She followed Tadhg through the fog for a mile or two until the inn appeared in front of them at a crossroads. A stable boy took the horses from them, and they entered the inn together. The innkeeper was behind the counter and looked up at them with a welcoming smile as they approached.

“Good tae see ye again,” he greeted Tadhg. “’Tis a while since we’ve seen ye round these parts. What can I dae for ye?” He eyed Alana speculatively, making her feel very uncomfortable.

“We need a bed fer the night,” Tadhg replied, leaning his elbows on the counter.

“We need two separate rooms, please,” Alana interrupted. Tadhg glanced at her and rolled his eyes. She gave him thin smile and whispered so the landlord could not hear, “I’m nae sleepin’ in the same room as ye. And dinnae so much as breathe anywhere near me door either. I’ll be more than fine alone, thank ye.”

Tadhg sighed. “Very well. Two separate rooms then,” he said, turning back to the landlord, who was looking at them with keen interest.

“Two rooms it is,” he said. “And will ye be wantin’ dinner? It’ll be served in the dining room shortly.”

“Dinner?” Tadhg looked questioningly at Alana. She was hungry, so she nodded.

“Aye, but I’d like tae be shown tae me room tae freshen up first,” she said. A lad was dispatched to show them upstairs, and Alana was not best pleased to find that Tadhg’s room was right next door to hers.

He saw her frowning and said, “What if someone tries tae get intae yer room durin’ the night? I need tae be close by tae defend ye.”

Huffing because she knew he was right, she quickly shut herself inside her own quarters, prepared to wash off the dust from the road, rest a little, and make herself presentable for dinner. She was lying on the bed, thinking about what would happen when they got to John MacIver’s castle, when she heard a horrid little scratching sound somewhere in the room.

“Ach, nay, nae a mouse!” she murmured, gripped by the familiar terror. She pulled up her legs and crouched on the bed, shaking, her ears straining for the sound, hoping she was imagining it. But it came again, and again, and after a few minutes, there was no doubt in her mind that she was sharing her room with some sort of rodent.

“Tadhg!” she shouted, trying to keep panic at bay. She tried calling him a few more times, to no avail. The scratching continued, and she realized she would have to get off the bed and risk running to the door to get help. Taking a deep breath and picking up her skirts, she flew from the bed, barely touching the floor as she ran for the door. Hysterical with fear, she flung it open and ran immediately to Tadhg’s door, battering it with her fists so hard, she feared she would break it.

After a few panicked moments, the door was wrenched open, and she was confronted with the sight of Tadhg without his shirt on. He was wiping soap from his chin with a cloth. A wave of heat washed over Alana at being faced with the dark, lightly furred expanse of his muscular chest and arms and the intricacies of his many tattoos. Though she knew it was not the time to care much for modesty, she was consumed by embarrassment and averted her eyes.

“What is it?” he demanded gruffly.

“A mouse, in me room,” she cried in distress, clasping her hands before her chest and trying not to look at him in case he saw how much she was blushing. “Ye have tae get it out fer me.”

“Is that all?” he grumbled.

“Ye ken how scared I am of them,” she said, hating the pleading note in her voice, but she had no choice. “Hurry, please!”

“All right, I’m comin’.” He finished wiping his chin and tossed the cloth aside before joining her in the hallway.

Desperate to conceal the alarming effect his half-naked, powerful body was having upon her, she stood on the threshold of her room and pointed inside. “’Tis in there somewhere, near the bed,” she explained.

“Is that so?” he replied, hanging back from the doorway.

Seeing he made no move to go in, she demanded, “What are ye doin’? Are ye nae going in there tae catch it?”