To Tame a Highland Earl (41 page)

He ended with Grace and surprised everyone,
including himself, by giving her a brotherly kiss on the cheek, as
well.

“
You are in a fine mood
this morning,” his mother commented.

Yes, women knew too much. “What are you
ladies working on?” he said.

“
We are running low on
food,” she replied. “So we’re planning another menu and wondering
who we can bring in to help with the preparations.”

“
Do you expect that many
guests today and tomorrow?” he asked.

“
Aside from the thirty we
have housed in guest rooms and the dowager cottage, there are
thirty-six more who have said they will attend today alone. More
are sure to arrive, and that doesn’t include tomorrow.”

“
Why not have ladies
outside of Ravenhall prepare some of the food?” Erroll
said.

“
That is a marvelous idea,”
she said. “Eve, would you mind helping to recruit more
ladies?”

“
Of course, but should I
leave with so many guests in the house?”

“
Why not? It is our party,
we can do as we please.” His mother looked at him. “Would you have
time to escort your wife, Erroll? You will also need to arrange for
more supplies.”

“
I am at your
service.”

“
Perhaps Olivia is a better
choice for this task,” Eve said. “She must know the
ladies.”

“
Erroll knows them well
enough,” Olivia said, “and they will be glad to meet the newest
addition to our family.”

“
Shall we say one hour?”
Erroll said.

“
That will do perfectly,”
his mother said before Eve could protest, and Erroll could have
kissed her again. So he did.

Twenty minutes after they left Ravenhall,
Erroll rode alongside Eve and found himself thoroughly entranced.
Whether the shock of their marriage had worn off, or she had simply
resigned herself to the situation—or perhaps the fact that he had
bedded her properly—she was more relaxed then he’d ever observed,
and the change was miraculous. Her eyes shone and her cheeks
flushed. She looked happy. Did that mean she could be happy with
him?

“
I have never seen so many
sheep,” she said.

He looked west, away from the channel, at the
sheep grazing on rolling hills. “You will see more farther north,
deeper into the Highlands, or even in the Outer Hebrides,” Erroll
said.

She looked at him, eyes wide with laughter.
“More than are here on Mull? Impossible.”

He laughed. “This flock is but one of six or
seven tended by Reid Morrison. His wife is the first lady we will
visit today. “

“
Reid must do very well by
his herds.”

“
He does very well tending
them,” Erroll replied. “My father is a fair employer.”

“
Your father?”

“
Yes, he owns more than
half the cattle on Mull.”

“
I had no idea,” she said.
“That must keep you very busy.”

“
Not I. Until recently, we
had a man helping my father manage the properties and livestock,
but Ash has taken charge.”

“
Ah, you don’t care for
shepherding.”

“
On the contrary, amongst
other things, I manage the cattle in England.”

“
So you chose England over
Scotland?” she asked.

Erroll shrugged. “Not so much chose. My
training at Oxford prepared me for a life in England, so it only
made sense I would manage my father’s holdings there.”

“
Rubbish,” she
said.

He looked at her. “Rubbish?”

“
You obviously love it
here. As the marquess’ son, you could do as you please.”

“
On the contrary, it is
because I am his son that I am duty bound.”

She gave him an accessing look. “Duty-bound
to do what?”

“
No need for you to worry
about that. The marquess’ holdings are well in hand, I assure
you.”

“
Of that I have no doubt.”
She regarded him for a long moment, then faced forward. A cool
breeze lifted the tendrils of hair that escaped her chignon. “Mull
is so different from England,” she said. “Perhaps you simply prefer
a warmer climate? I imagine the winters here are raw.”

He imagined the truth of the matter was that
she thought he preferred England because of the ladies. “Folks have
ways of staying warm on cold winter nights.” He imagined one of
those long nights in bed with Eve responding to him as she had last
night, and felt himself harden. “There is a lovely waterfall not
far from here,” he said. “Would you like to see it?”

She looked at him, anticipation sparkling in
her eyes. “Do we have time?”

He would make time. “We do.”

Five minutes later, they turned a bend
between rocky hills and a modest waterfall came into view up
ahead.

“
It is beautiful,” Eve
cried.

They stopped where the mossy ground gave way
to rocky terrain. Beyond lay the pool created by the falls. Erroll
helped Eve from her horse, and she took two steps toward the water,
then angled her head left.

“
There is a cave behind the
falls.”

“
There is,” he
said.

“
It must be too cold to go
into the water?” She looked at him, excitement dancing in her
eyes.

“
In August, perhaps July,
if it is a particularly warm year, you would be able to brave the
water but, as I said before, the waters here are never truly
warm.”

She slanted him a mischievous glance. “I
wager you have braved that water.”

Erroll grinned. “I have, indeed. This was a
favorite spot of mine.” And one he suspected was about to become a
favorite for another reason entirely.

He retrieved the tartan he’d tucked in a
saddlebag and spread it across the ground. “Shall we rest for a
bit?”

“
Absolutely. It is too
lovely a day to hurry, do you not agree?”

“
I agree
wholeheartedly.”

He took her hand while she lowered herself
onto the blanket, then sat down beside her. “That is a lovely
riding habit you are wearing,” he said.

“
Your sister was kind
enough to loan it to me.”

“
You should have purchased
more clothes during our visit to Belfast,” he said. “But never
mind, you can easily buy any essentials in Tobermory, or have my
mother’s dressmaker make you anything you like.” Erroll stretched
out onto his side and levered himself onto an elbow.

“
I will, thank you, my
lord.”

“’
My lord’? Have I fallen
in your esteem since last night?”

She looked sharply at him. “My lord, I—”

“
I see I shall have to
redeem myself.”

Erroll grasped her arm, pulled her down, and
rolled onto her.

*****

Eve’s body melted when her husband’s warm
chest pressed against her breasts. She spread her legs enough for
him to settle between her thighs and flushed warm when his engorged
member dug into her belly. He covered her mouth with his. For an
instant, memory flashed of him entering the ballroom from the
privacy of the balcony, a beautiful woman on his arm, then Eve did
exactly as she had last night and wrapped her arms around his neck.
She tangled her tongue with his and he groaned with deep, rich
desire.

She plunged the fingers of one hand through
his thick hair. He kissed his way along her cheek to her neck, then
pushed up and made quick work of the buttons on the pelisse. He
nearly tore the last button free, then covered a breast with his
palm and kissed her again. She arched into his warm hand, her body
already aching with desire.

Wanting him so badly last night had startled
her. He’d kindled her passions, but she hadn’t realized the depths
to which she could need him. Was this love? He stroked the breast,
his fingers grazing the sensitive nipple and sending a jolt
straight to her sex. She wanted him inside her. Eve slipped her
arms beneath his, flattened her palms on his back, and slid them
down over the firm curve of his buttocks. When she squeezed and
arched into his erection he shuddered.

“
Eve, if you keep this up,
I’m liable to embarrass myself.”

“
As long as you embarrass
yourself while you’re inside me, I will be satisfied.”

He bolted up and stared down at her. “You are
cheeky, Wife.”

A tremor rippled through her at the name of
wife. She squeezed his buttocks again. “Am I too bold, my
lord?”

“
Eve.”

Her name came out as a growl that sent a
flush of warmth through her. Her heart beat fast and before her
embarrassment could censure her impulses, she wrapped one leg
around his hip. Eve jammed a hand between them, cupped his
erection, and massaged. He hissed a breath and thrust into her
palm. She massaged faster. He muttered something unintelligible,
then sat upright so quickly he broke free of her hold. He undid the
falls on his breeches, then yanked up her skirt.

“
Not very eloquent, madam,
but you did say as long as I was inside you when I embarrassed
myself you would be satisfied. You shall have your
wish.”

He levered himself over her and drove inside
her channel with one powerful stroke. Eve cried out. His eyes
remained locked with hers as he thrust over and over. Muscles in
his arms corded as he drove deeper. She grasped his arms and
brought her knees up to meet him thrust for thrust. He growled and
pumped faster.

Need tightened her sex and she thought she
would go mad before reaching for her release. Over and over, he
thrust until a fire burned inside her. Then she burst apart. Hot
moisture gushed from her core on a rush of pleasure so intense it
swamped her mind in gray. Eve called out his name as he collapsed
on top of her. She gulped air. Holy God, she’d had no idea she
could feel this way.

He jammed his arms between her back and the
blanket and hugged her so tight her breath caught. Another spasm
rocked her and this time he captured her cry with his mouth. He
suddenly went rigid, his breath hot on her ear, and a strange
emotion flooded through her. A shudder went through him, then he
went limp.

Moments later, Eve became aware of her
husband’s weight on top of her. He rolled off onto his back.

“
Madam, I have not
forgotten myself so shamefully since I was nineteen. I hold you
personally responsible.”

“
Me? Really?”

He looked at her and grinned. “Who else?”

The first of the ladies they visited received
them with warmth, and Eve realized the marchioness had been right.
Folks were curious about her. Mrs. Reid agreed to bake a dozen
pies, and Erroll said he would purchase the supplies in Tobermory
and have them delivered soon after.

They visited three more ladies, each
delighted to accept the work, and even more delighted, Eve thought,
to meet her.

They reached Tobermory, and her husband
sought out a butcher, then met with a shopkeeper with a store large
enough to supply all their needs. Erroll promised her tea at a
small inn where he said the cook could rival any in London and not
long after, they settled in a private dining room of the inn with
an array of foods spread out on the table, enough to feed a
king.

“
I vow,” she said after
taking the last bite of a piece of shortbread, “I will not be able
to eat another thing for the duration of the party.”

“
Perhaps we should stop at
the waterfall on the way home and work up another
appetite.”

“
I doubt seeing the
waterfall will—” Eve broke off, suddenly realizing his meaning.
“Sir,” she said in a whisper, “you shouldn’t talk that way in
public.”

“
You had better grow
accustomed to it, madam. Folks are likely to figure out what we’re
up to when we stay locked in our bedchambers.”

Her stomach felt like jelly. Would she always
feel this way with him?

The front door banged open in the hallway and
a man declared, “I know he’s here. Where are ye, Rushton?”

Several booted feet approached.

“
Are you sure, Jean?” said
another man.

“
Prepare yourself, madam,”
the earl said. “More relatives are about to descend upon
us.”

“
Aye,” the first man
replied, and three large, kilted men appeared in the doorway.
“There,” the oldest said. “Phillip was right.”

Lord Rushton stood as the three men
approached. When they reached him, the eldest pulled him into a
bear hug and the other two followed suit.

“
That’s the wife,” the
eldest said. “What is a pretty thing like you doing married to a
scoundrel like this?”

Before Eve could react, he seized her arm and
pulled her up and into his bear-like warmth. Strong fingers grasped
her arm.

“
Jean,” Lord Rushton said,
and gently freed her from the big man’s embrace, “at least let me
introduce the lady before you maul her.”

“
You’ve been in England too
long, lad,” the man said. “I just introduced myself.”

“
Eve, I would like to
present my cousin Jean, and his son.” The earl nodded to the young
man on Jean’s left. The boy nodded. “And this is Ferguson and his
nephew Boyd.” He motioned to the young man on Jean’s right.
“Gentlemen, my wife, Lady Rushton.”

“
Lady Rushton my arse,”
Jean burst out. “Eve, ye said.” He looked at the earl. “We have no’
had a chance to make it to Ravenhall. We had a bunch of randy rams
early last autumn that got the ewes with babes. Damn things. So
many lambs were born early this year.”