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“My sentiments exactly.”
She looked and saw his eyes open and her heart gave a quick catch. “You waited.”
“I’ve slept on and off, each time hoping when I opened my eyes you’d be there.”
“And now I am here…but—” Another yawn demonstrated what she was about to reluctantly tell him. She was tired.
“I am as tired as you,” he said,” though I’d love you to sleep beside me.”
He eased the blanket back just enough to invite and not tease.
She smiled at his thoughtfulness and his invitation and without hesitation she joined him, though she kept her clothes on. She rested her back to him and he in turn wrapped her solidly in his arms.
“I’m glad you came even though you were tired,” he whispered and kissed her cheek.
“And I’m glad you waited,” she murmured as they both drifted off to sleep together.
Chapter 14
Lachlan watched Terese sleep. She purred like a contented kitten and he smiled. She felt good in his arms, so good that he wanted to keep her there, not let her go. Not now, not ever.
He rested his head back on the pillow and drank in the scent of her hair that simply intoxicated him, but then everything about her made him drunk with joy. These feelings were strange to him; while he enjoyed many women none had the affect on him that Terese did, and right from the start.
Lord, but he thought he would suffer for his unholy thoughts about a nun and how relieved he was and pleased, ever so pleased, to discover that she was simply a woman, though simply did not describe Terese.
No, she was complex, courageous, thoughtful, beautiful, and…his.
He shook his head. He had always reserved his opinion on women after he bedded them, not so with Terese. He cared for her more than he wanted to admit. He truly enjoyed time spent with her and it mattered not what they did. They could sit in silence and watch the sun rise or set, it didn’t matter; it was being with her that made the difference.
He had found himself looking forward to each and every day because he would see her, talk with her, laugh with her, tease her, and kiss her. He loved kissing her. She tasted so sweet, and she was as hungry for him as he was for her.
Damn, could he be falling in love?
He had no plans to fall in love, but then Cavan’s wife Honora had warned him often enough that love arrived in its own time. He, however, had objected, insisting he would be spared love’s burden. Had he tempted fate?
He buried his face in her wheat-colored hair and blessed fate, for the heavens had been generous to him. He grinned, thinking he sounded like his love-besotted brothers, and he almost laughed aloud envisioning their responses to his predicament.
She stirred in his arms and began to stretch her limbs, moaning as she surfaced from sleep. He gave her room and enjoyed the view, watching her arch her back, her round breasts almost greeting his face. She raised her legs in a lazy stretch and rounded her ankles, hearing a crack or two. A huge yawn preceded her eyes fluttering open and once she caught sight of him peering down at her, she startled and crumpled into herself as if trying to hide.
“Forgot where you were?”
She nodded, her eyes wide.
He smiled. “You are beauty and grace when you wake in the morning.”
“Truly?” she asked astonished.
“My word on it,” he whispered and was about to kiss her when his door crashed open.
Andrew rushed in. “Megan is—”
He blanched. “Sorry I interrupted, but…” He looked to Terese and she bounced out of bed.
“Has Megan grown worse?”
“She has a fever. She’s burning up,” Andrew ranted.
Terese fled the cottage without a backward glance.
Lachlan shook his head and glared at Andrew. “How bad truly is it?”
“Rowena told me Megan had a fever.”
“And that she was burning up?”
“Fevers do that,” Andrew said in his defense.
“So you assumed Megan was burning up,” Lachlan said and got out of bed to dress quickly.
“What difference does it make, Megan is ill.”
Lachlan placed a hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “I know you’re beside yourself with worry, but you stole Terese from me.”
“Would you not have done the same if it were Terese ill with fever?”
Lachlan nodded slowly and led Andrew out of the cottage. “Let’s go see how Megan is, though I must ask. What would you have done to me if it was you in bed with Megan?”
Terese was panting and had a stitch in her side by the time she reached the common house. She entered to an empty room and immediately grew concerned. This was the time the women would be gathered for the morning meal with more than one busy preparing the food.
She made her way down the hall fearful of what she would find, and when she heard a shrill cry from Megan’s room she ran the last few feet.
