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“What?”
“My cock was as hard as a rock, nae matter what I did.”
Amber’s lips curved in a smile. She pursed them to stop it from spreading, but a small laugh soon burst out.
“So she gave you Viagra?”
“Uhm…”
“In my time, Viagra is a medicine that allows men to have an erection for a long time. Usually older men or those with problems. You didn’t have problems in that area, I take it?”
Owen suppressed a growl. “Nae. I didna.”
And he would verra much like to show her that he’d never had any problems in that area, especially not in her presence. In fact, she had a Viagra effect on him.
Their eyes locked, and her lips parted a little, so full and so kissable. He started growing hard again.
Damnation. He was still like an adolescent with her, and not a man of twenty-nine.
He shook his head and looked straight ahead. “So I arrived home with a stiff cock and nae gold. I passed by the great hall, didna even greet the king or my da. I went directly to my bedchamber. I didna know it at the time, but Alasdair must have known about the plan all along. ’Twas his job to point out that I didna have the gold and blame me. Aileene and the man who’d ‘attacked’ her brought the gold to Innis Chonnel secretly, and Alasdair hid it in my bedchamber. ’Twas all planned beforehand. He came into my room with my grandfather Colin, the chief of our clan back then. My da and my brothers and cousin all came in as well. And the king. They all saw my humiliation.
“And when I told them about the stolen gold, Alasdair pointed at a sack under my bed. ’Twas the same sack that had been stolen from me in the woods.”
Amber shook her head. “Someone set you up.”
She believed him… Relief flooded him. “Aye. Alasdair blamed me for stealing the gold.”
She shook her head. “Why did the MacDougalls betray your clan?”
“King Balliol gave a part of their lands to our clan for good service. They wanted us to fall out of his good graces and take their lands back. But what they did started a feud. ’Twas the beginning of the end. ’Twas a trap, and I fell for it.”
“Not just you, your family, too. Did they believe Alasdair, or did they believe you?”
“Alasdair.”
“See, they fell into the MacDougalls’s trap, too.”
“It wasna their fault, though. Given my reputation, it wasna surprising. I was a troublemaker. Unpredictable. The black sheep.”
“Yes, but couldn’t your father see you were incapable of stealing no matter how unpredictable you were?”
Anger rang in her voice, and her beautiful eyes threw daggers. His own clan hadn’t believed him, and yet this lass, a stranger from another time, did. Elation radiated through his whole body. He couldn’t be more thankful to the faeries or destiny or whoever sent Amber here to him.
“Nae. My da couldna. But it doesna matter anymore. My brother Craig and my cousin Ian came to believe me; although, Domhnall and Da still dinna completely trust me. Rightly so. I’ve done other shite I’m nae proud of.”
He meant Inverlochy, of course. Getting Lachlan killed. Losing the siege to the English. Getting caught. Getting Amber tortured. That was all on him.
“But now that I ken where the MacDougalls and the English are going to attack, I can help the clan. I just hope they take my words seriously this time.”
He hoped that when they saw a beautiful woman at his side, they wouldn’t assume he’d been duped again. He had to keep his mind and hands off Amber long enough to do the responsible thing and warn his king.
Chapter 17
Two days later…
“What now, lass?” Owen said.
They sat on their horses on top of a small hill. Amber stared at Glenkeld, the small castle on the shore of the loch. The loch was still, and the castle, hills, and mountains were reflected on its smooth surface. Tiny compared to Stirling, it had one large, square tower and four curtain walls, more or less like Inverlochy. Smoke rose from somewhere behind those walls. Sheep and cows grazed around the castle walls, and the air smelled like manure, grass, and flowers.
