Read When a Scot Ties the Knot for Free Online Page B

legs.
    Perhaps that bedding part wouldn’t be entirely terrible. At the least, she would have the chance to satisfy a few matters of curiosity. She spent her days waiting on lobsters to have intercourse. Naturally, she’d wondered about the human equivalent from time to time.
    â€œI need your choice, lass,” he said. “Will you be marrying me, or will I be forwarding all these letters to the London scandal sheets?”
    She closed her eyes for a moment. “Do you promise me that no one will ever know the truth?”
    â€œI swear they willna know it from me.”
    â€œAnd I will be free to continue my own interests and pursuits.”
    He nodded. “You have your life, and I’ll have mine.”
    Maddie felt dizzy, as though she were standing on the edge of a precipice. She took a deep breath, gathered her nerve . . . then jumped.
    â€œVery well, I accept. We can be married as soon as it’s practicable.”
    â€œPracticable?” He laughed. “This is Scotland, lass. There’s no need to wait for banns or be married in a kirk.”
    â€œBut you promised no one would suspect the truth. That means you must appear to be fond of me, at least at first. I think if you were truly my Captain MacKenzie, and we’d waited all these years to be together, you would want me to have a proper wedding.”
    He closed the distance between them.
    â€œLass, if I were truly your Captain MacKenzie, and I’d spent years at war, yearning for the one woman I wanted to hold more than life itself . . . ?” He touched a lock of her hair. “I wouldna wait another night.”
    She swallowed hard. “Truly?”
    â€œAye, truly. And I would have done this an hour ago.”
    His head tipped to the side. His gaze dropped to her lips. And then his mouth did the strangest thing.
    It started drawing closer to hers.
    He couldn’t be—­
    Oh, Lord. He was. He was going to kiss her.
    â€œWait.” Panicked, Maddie put both hands on his chest, holding him off. “Your men, my servants . . . they could be watching us.”
    â€œI’m certain they’re watching us. That’s why we’re going to kiss.”
    â€œBut I don’t know how. You know I don’t know how.”
    His lips quirked. “I know how.”
    Those three little words, spoken in that low, devastating Scottish burr, did absolutely nothing to ease Maddie’s concerns.
    Thankfully, she had a reprieve. He pulled back and peered at her hair. He looked like a boy marveling at clockwork, wondering how it all worked. After a few moments, she felt him grasp the pencil holding her chignon.
    With one long, slow tug, he eased it loose and cast it aside.
    It landed in the loch with a splash.
    His fingers sifted through her hair, teasing the locks free of their haphazard knot and arranging them about her shoulders. Tenderly. Like she’d always imagined a lover would. Sparks of sensation danced from her scalp to her toes.
    â€œThat was my best drawing pencil,” she said.
    â€œIt’s just a pencil.”
    â€œIt came from London. I have a limited supply.”
    His thumb caressed her cheek. “It almost put out my eye. I’ve a limited supply of those, too. And it’s better this way.”
    â€œBut—­” Her breath caught. “Oh.”
    He bracketed her cheeks with his hands, tilting her face to his.
    Her pulse thundered in her ears. She stared at his mouth. A wave of inevitability washed over her.
    She whispered, “This is really happening, isn’t it?”
    In answer, he pressed his lips to hers.
    And Maddie went still. The lightning bolt of sensual expertise she’d been hoping for didn’t arrive. She was glued to his face, staring at his cheekbone. She had no idea what she was supposed to do.
    Close your eyes, ninny.
    Maybe, if she was very still and paid close attention, her idiocy wouldn’t be obvious.