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Her family now.
The thought concerned her. Would they like her or think her a shrew as her family thought of her?
“Alyce.”
She startled once again still not accustomed to him referring to her by her given name, but spying the bundle in his hand meant he had to have spoken with Piper. And she didn’t know what excuse Piper had given Lachlan for their nightly escapade.
She was about to walk out of the river but instead froze, worried that he would notice the slight round of her stomach.
“Leave my clothes and turn around,” she demanded sharply.
He laughed. “I don’t think so.”
She slapped her arms across her chest covering her breasts. “I do not feel comfortable naked in front of you.”
“Why? What has changed?”
“Everything,” she said curtly.
“I disagree. You’re simply being obstinate.”
“And it will do you good to get used to that,” she said then ordered: “Put the bundle on the ground and turn around.”
“No,” he said firmly. “We are husband and wife. We have no secrets, which makes me ask, where were you tonight?”
“Piper must have told you,” she said, not wanting to be caught in a lie.
“You’re shivering,” he said, avoiding her remark and waved her out. “You’ll catch your death. Come out of there now.”
“Put my clothes down and turn around,” she insisted.
“Do as I say,” he ordered.
“You dare dictate to me?” she challenged.
“I dare to love you,” he said and dropped the bundle to the ground, quickly shed his plaid and sandals, and stepped into the river.
She backed away, slipped on a rock, and was about to fall beneath the water when his hand reached out and caught her. He had her in his arms instantly, her body pressed firmly against his.
She felt not only her own desire surge between her legs but also his. And damn if she didn’t want him to bury himself deep inside her and make her forget, if only for a while. However, she fought against surrendering, fought her own rising passion.
“We stand naked in each other’s arms and that is the way it will always be…we hide nothing from each other; we trust and we love and then nothing can ever come between us.”
How lovely to think that could be so, but there were things between them; her secrets and his lone decision.
She felt the sudden change in him just before he took a step away from her, though his one hand took firm hold of her wrist. She knew then that he had felt the bulge in her stomach and wasn’t surprised when his hand moved gently over it.
“Our child,” he said with such gentle reverence that she almost fell into his arms in tears.
She merely nodded, unable to take her eyes from his; they were filled with such joy and love.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He shook his head. “Did you ever intend to tell me?” He shook his head again. “Tell me now. Tell me what you intended to do.”
She shivered.
“Damn,” he muttered and scooped her up and carried her out of the river.
He took the towel her clothes were wrapped in and briskly dried her off, though was ever so gentle when he came to her stomach and she smiled inwardly. He didn’t get dressed himself until he saw that she was fully clothed and had stopped shivering, only then did he slip his plaid and sandals on.
She thought he would demand an answer to his query then, but instead after wrapping her soiled clothes in the towel he took her hand and walked her through the woods. She was surprised that he knew where he went and in the dark, but soon they were both walking through the door of his cottage.
Once the door shut he turned to her. “Tell me now.”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I had no plans. I didn’t know what I would do.”
“Did you once think of telling me?”
She smiled though it faded quickly enough. “I dreamt of telling you, but it was no more than that…a dream.”
“Didn’t you think of me?” he asked with a thump to his chest. “How I would feel? What I would want?”
“Did you think of me when you made the decision to wed me without asking?” she accused.
“That’s different.”
She laughed. “It’s always different when it comes to a man’s opinion.”
He shocked her when after a pause he said, “I’m sorry. You must have worried over what you would do.”
She was too stunned to reply. She had expected him to rant at her, perhaps even shake his fist, but never had she thought he would apologize.
He smiled then, though not that charming grin he so often wore and that could entice. No, this smile made him look like a young lad overjoyed with a gift he had just received.
“I’m to be a father,” he said proudly. “This is wonderful. We are wed and we are to have a child.”
