Page 9 of Never Marry a Highlander

“Good.”She licked her lips again.“May I have some water?”

Craig laid the wet cloth next to the jug on the table near her bed and picked up one of the mugs on a shelf over her looking glass.He poured water into the cup, but it appeared she had fallen back to sleep, but he thought it best to awaken her so she could drink.

It didn’t take much to wake her up and turn her over, careful to keep as much of her lovely body covered as possible.He placed the cup next to her lips and with his other hand, cupped her head, lifting her slightly.She drank quickly, and he had to stop her.He pulled the cup away.“Doona take too much at one time.”

“I’m thirsty.”She looked at him and with her hair all tangled, falling onto her forehead, covering one eye, her shift slipping from her shoulder, and her sleepy-eyed look, he became quite aware of her, not as a wife he’d married to save his brother, but as his woman, who was very desirable.And here it was his wedding night.

There was no point in following those thoughts.‘Twould be a few days before he could make her his.“I ken ye are lass, but ye must take it easy.Ye doona want it to come back up again.”

She nodded and pointed to the cup he held.He put it to her lips again and she drank slower this time.She smiled and wiped her mouth with her hand.“Thank ye.”

“Go back to sleep, ‘tis the best thing for ye.”

He covered her back up again and after removing his clothes one more time, he crawled into the bed next to her.He laid on his back, his hands tucked behind his head, thinking about this new married state he found himself in.

He hoped—nay expected—not to change much of his life.He would bring her to Dun Ugadale, leave her there and then head out on the next assignment Robin had for him.

After a few minutes of rumination, Lorena rolled over in his direction and pressed her soft breasts against his side.

‘Twould be a long night.

***

Lorena woke from a sound sleep, still feeling hot, but not as bad as the last time she had awoken.Suddenly she realized she was not alone in her bed.

A man’s arm was wrapped around her middle.

She looked over her shoulder.The man was Craig.Her husband.

Ach.She’d forgotten that for a moment.

Then as she attempted to pull away from him, she realized he had no clothes on.Naked!Nude!She released his arm that she’d been holding, and pulling her arm forward slammed her elbow back into his middle.

“Fooking hell!”Craig shouted as he released her and pushed himself up onto his elbows, glowering at her.“What the devil did ye do that for?”

“Ye are naked!”

“Aye.‘Tis how I sleep.”

“Why are ye in my bed?”

He ran his fingers through his hair.“I am yer husband.”

“I dinna give ye permission to sleep in my bed.”

Craig leaned forward until he was nose-to-nose with her.“Where did ye expect me to sleep?”

“Where did ye sleep before?”

“In another room, but since I now have a wife who has a bedchamber, I decided to sleep with her.”

He hopped up and strode with absolutely no sense of modesty to the water bowl—her water bowl—and splashed his face with the refreshing liquid.He turned and looked at her, his hands resting on his hips.His slim hips below a muscular chest, and above a…” She licked her lips again.

Craig groaned.“Stop looking at me that way or I’ll be back in that bed in a second and I am no’ the kind of mon who takes advantage of a sick woman, even if she is my wife.”

As he struggled into his breeches, she lay back down, her head pounding.She felt a bit cooler than she had at the wedding breakfast the day before, but her stomach was still queasy, and her bones ached.It didn’t stop her from admiring Craig’s chest as he slipped into his leine.

His muscles rippled and a light sprinkle of black hair went down the center of his impressive chest, forming an arrow right down to the part of him she’d gotten quite a glimpse of when he was strutting around naked.She took a deep breath and noticed her fever was rising again.