Page 60 of Taken By the Savage Highlander

Even Gavin had abandoned him, wandering off with claims of alliances.

“Perhaps I should be more concerned with the social aspect of this entire event,” Cameron grumbled as he settled heavily in an armchair near the hearth.

His mind, as it had been since he had taken her into his life, kept drifting back to Margo. He had spent half the night staring at the door connecting their rooms and the other half with his back to it, pretending that it did not exist. Even though he had not given in to the temptation, it was still draining.

And now I will have to see her, dance with her. Put on a show for the crowd that came to see her.

He did not know how he had kept the feeling of her lips out of his mind. Now that he had declared they would be lying together, it was nearly impossible to think about anything but the way she had gasped into his mouth. Even now, his palms ached to hold onto her waist and pull her firmly against his body. He longed to taste each breath she took, to drink her in from the source.

“This is a mistake,” Cameron growled before finishing his drink in one long gulp.

As he slammed the crystal goblet on the table next to him, Lachlan’s words echoed in his head.

Ye are nae yer father.

It seemed that everyone around him believed the sentiment, but Cameron just could not accept it. He saw every single similarity up close, and hid the ones that were too damning. No one understood the pervasive desire that coursed through him to claim Margo, to make her irrevocably his in every single way.

Some days, he understood his father’s savage hold on his mother. His own heart felt much more settled when he knew where Margo was, when he knew that she was safe. He was sure that if he confessed it to Lachlan or Gavin, they would say that was different.

Any sort of controllin’ a person, takin’ from them… It is all the same.

A single, sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. As he looked away from the rim of his empty cup, Marian stepped in, looking entirely too pleased with herself. She waited until she was sure she had his full attention before speaking.

“Your wife is ready,” she announced giddily. Her eyes swept over the empty Solar, the corner of her mouth ticking up as if she had just told herself a joke that he was not privy to. “Everything is prepared. We shall all be waiting for your arrival downstairs.”

Cameron stood. He cleared his throat, preparing himself to thank her for relaying the information. Marian spoke once more before he was able to respond.

“Try not to look too stunned, Laird MacLeod,” she said, her voice dripping with suspicious innocence.

Her declaration stunned him for a moment. In that time, she turned on her heel and slipped out of the door once more, the hem of her dress swishing as she rounded the corner. Shaking his head, Cameron ran a hand over his face.

I daenae ken what that woman has planned, but I am already regrettin’ agreein’ to it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cameron’s world stopped the second he stepped inside Margo’s chambers.

The blue dress followed every graceful line of her figure. Embroidery along the neckline seemed to make Margo’s collarbones look even more enticing. Her hair spilled in soft curls around her shoulders, the candlelight catching golden highlights that he had somehow never noticed before.

“Cameron?” Margo asked softly, her voice forcing him violently into the present moment.

He nearly stopped breathing. Hearing her call his name in that sweet tone was almost enough to undo him. Without thought, he took another step into the room, letting the door close behind him.

“Margo,” he responded, her name escaping his lips like a prayer.

The air in the room seemed unnaturally warm. It made the space feel sacred. Cameron was not sure someone like him was meant to experience such warmth. This was for Margo; this atmosphere of softness was the kind she deserved to live in.

She stayed where she was, her hands twitching at her sides as if she were trying to keep from wrapping her arms around her body. She moved so quietly he had to strain to hear her; she asked, “If my father had offered no lands… if you had no debts…”

His eyes tracked the subtle shake of her fingertips. It was taking all of her strength to ask this, and it would take all of his to give her the answer she deserved. Margo swallowed hard, the noise coming actross as too loud in the quiet space around them.

“If you had not made that deal, the… stipulations in the contract, would you still be here?” She tore her eyes away from him then, staring at a point on the floor. “Not before. Not when you made the deal. But now, would you?”

How do I tell ye the truth?

“Ye’re talkin’ about the condition he gave me, aye?” Cameron asked, resisting the urge to cup her cheek, to bring her gaze back to him. “Thirty days to give me an heir. It was one of yer father’s tricks. I agreed because of the debt.”

“My father’s clause?” she asked, taking half a step back, one hand coming up to rest on her chest. “I read the letter. He thanked you for the suggestion.”