Some Like it Scot (Scandalous Highlanders Book 4) (42 page)

Behind her the door closed, and then warm, strong arms wrapped around her waist. “Ye jumped on Lachlan, ye wildcat,” Bear murmured into her hair, chuckling.

“Of course I did,” she returned stoutly, turning to face him and lifting up on her toes to catch his mouth in a kiss. “I couldnae see ye outnumbered, even though ye shouldnae have punched Torriden. He's nae the first man to insult me.”

“He'll be the last one to try it.”

She smiled. “Yer sister hugged me, Bear. Most women won't even look at me straight on. We had a chance.”

“Nae. We
have
a chance, if pretty Torriden has any brains in his head. If he wants to keep breathing.”

“Stop threatening people, giant. Ye were lucky that ye bloodying Torriden's beak made Elizabeth want to go tend him. If she hadnae…”

“But she did.” He held her a little away from him. “Did I mention that there's nae a man or a woman in the world who can order me aboot, except fer ye?”

“I'm beginning to realize that some people might find ye difficult to manage,” she returned.

He sighed. “Aye. And I suppose that MacDonald fool could refuse the idea. If he's here to begin a war with yer side of the clan, he'll nae take yer sister. Whatever happened, I should at least have demanded we spend the night here. I want ye in a proper bed. I want ye beneath me in soft sheets, with goose down to cushion ye.”

Catriona laughed. She couldn't help herself. “In all of this mess, that's what concerns ye?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. “Ye want me to have a cushion for my arse?”

“I want ye to have the life ye want, where ye can wear trousers or a gown, sew or hunt, and have a damned soft bed to lie in. Is that so mad?” he demanded, frowning.

She kissed him again. “Nae. It isnae mad. It's wonderful. Ye're wonderful.” Another kiss, softer and slower as his temper cooled. “Ye said I have yer heart, my giant. Ye have mine, ye ken.”

His springtime-colored eyes held hers, and then he took both her hands in his and sank to one knee.

Good heavens.
She'd known they would be together, but to see … this. And now, when for the first time she felt some optimism about her future … It was almost too much. Almost.

“I told ye I'd keep ye safe,” he said quietly. “That isnae enough. What I should have said is that I'd do everything in my power to see ye happy. That I will love ye from my first breath in the morning to my last breath at night, and all through my dreams. That ye've made me a better man than I thought I was. Wherever we end up, Catriona MacColl, I want to be with ye there. Forever. Will ye marry me, my lass?”

She sighed, slowly and happily. “Ye're a brave, stubborn man, Munro MacLawry. Ye're the first man ever to see … me. I never thought I'd fall in love at all, and I tried nae to fall in love with ye, but I couldnae help myself. Ye've already seen me happy. Aye, I'll marry ye. I'd marry ye twice, if I could.”

He pulled her down onto his knee and kissed her, wrapping his large hands around her and holding her hard against him. She couldn't even breathe, but she didn't care. It wasn't a dream any longer. Munro had said he was hers, and she his, but now it was real. They were real. Their future was real. She had no idea where they might find themselves, but they would be together. After she'd thought she would always be alone.

“Well, ye dunnae mean to make anything easy fer me, do ye?” Ranulf MacLawry said from the direction of the doorway.

She hadn't even heard the door open. When she tried to rise, though, Bear only scooped her into his arms and off her feet completely as he stood. “Just so ye realize that this is how it will be,” he said, the humor leaving his eyes. “Cat and me. Together.”

“Ye made that fairly clear, Bear.” The marquis turned his gaze to her. “Yer sister saved ye, ye ken.”

She tried to gain her feet, knocking Bear in the shoulder until he relented and set her down. “She and Lord Torriden … Goodness, I cannae even say it.”

“I'll say it, then,” Glengask returned. “They came to an agreement. I thought she was helping ye oot all this time, keeping the viscount distracted. Now I'm nae so certain she didnae have someaught in mind all along.”

“I never gave her enough credit,” Catriona said, wondering if the smile she felt pulling at her mouth was at all proper, under the circumstances.

“Neither did I,” he said. “She may have just caught on quickly to Bear's plan, or she may have been playing a game, but she's nae a woman to cross.” He paused. “May I have a private word with ye, lass?”

“Nae,” Bear uttered.

“Aye,” she said, glaring up at him and then walking across the room to his brother. “I'm listening.”

“I've been trying since he was eight years old to get him to do as I say,” the marquis commented, keeping his voice low. “He listens to ye, though. Ye calm him, I think.”

“I love him,” she returned.

“This isnae at all what I expected, ye know. At first I thought Bear had found some English-bred lass he wanted to rescue. We all assumed he meant to marry yer sister.”

“I tried to get him to do that, to save her from Visford,” she admitted. “He was surprised. And then he got mad at me.”

“I should have paid closer attention. I knew he'd been restless, but I thought all I needed to do was send a likely lass in his direction.” The marquis looked past her shoulder. “Before he comes over here to knock me on my arse again, I want to apologize to ye. I've become accustomed to seeing things my own way. Ye made me see through yer eyes fer a moment there, in the dining room. I misjudged ye.”

Catriona imagined that Lord Glengask was not a man who apologized often. She nodded. “My father either never realized, or at least never admitted, that he'd made a mistake, and he had far more cause to apologize to me than ye do. I … The idea of being a part of a family that's willing to go to such extremes for each other warms me to my toes, m'laird. I hope I
can
be a part of it.”

“Ye already are.” He took a step backward. “I was apologizing, Bear. Dunnae pummel me.”

“It's settled, then? Torriden has the MacColl he wants, and he'll leave us be?
Ye'll
leave us be?”

“Aye, and nae. Aye, Torriden has said he wishes to marry Elizabeth. And nae, I'll nae leave ye be, because ye're a part of this family. As is the lass to whom ye've just proposed. So kiss her, and then come doon to the dining room so we can find some clean plates and finish eating whatever ye didnae smash.”

“I'll kiss her after ye leave the damned room, Glengask.”

Despite his words, Bear offered his hand to his brother, who shook it promptly.
Thank heavens.
With another glance at her, the marquis turned on his heel and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“And now fer ye, wildcat.” Bear swung her up in the air, twirling her about and kissing her.

“Stop flinging me aboot like a sack of potatoes, ye heathen,” she ordered, laughing. She felt so light inside she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if she could fly through the air. This was joy, she realized. The first of many moments of joy.

“Very well,” he said, setting her back on her feet again, but not releasing her. “Did ye know those workers saw ye the other day? I saw them looking up at the roof, but ye were gone by then. They must've been the ones gossiping to Torriden.”

She frowned. “I didn't go outside. I havenae yet, with the workers there and me trying to look like a lady. I dunnae know what they were talking about.”

“But…” He trailed off. “It doesnae matter, I suppose. I have ye, and if ye wish it, we'll have Haldane fer ourselves.”

She already fallen half in love with the old ruin, even with only one livable room inside. Even if it was haunted. After all, that was where she'd met Munro. And where she'd realized that a man like him could love a lass like her. “I do wish it,” she said. “As long as ye give me a big, soft bed.”

He roared with laughter. “I'll give ye a big, soft bed, my wildcat. As long as ye share it with me.”

“Then we have an accord, giant. Now kiss me again.”

 

 

A native and current resident of Southern California,
Suzanne Enoch
loves movies almost as much as she loves books, with a special place in her heart for anything Star Wars. She has written thirty Regency novels and historical romances, which are regularly to be found on the bestseller list. When she is not busily working on her next book, Suzanne likes to contemplate interesting phenomena, like how the 3 guppies in her aquarium became 161 guppies in 5 months.

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Also by
SUZANNE ENOCH

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid

Rogue with a Brogue

The Devil Wears Kilts

The Handbook for Handling His Lordship

A Beginner's Guide to Rakes

Taming an Impossible Rogue

Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke

 

 

PRAISE FOR
SUZANNE ENOCH
and her bestselling romances

“A joyride of a novel … a sensual romantic caper sure to win applause.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Reading a book by
Suzanne Enoch
is like stepping into a time machine. She so adeptly transports readers.”

—
New York Journal of Books

“A highly gifted author.”

—
Romantic Times

“With her carefully drawn characters and plot chock-full of political intrigue, greed, and scandal, Enoch has put a nifty Regency spin on the Beauty and the Beast story.”

—
Booklist