Page 56 of Deception of a Highlander

The ledgers and journals he had swept to the ground the night before had been piled in a neat stack. A cool breeze filtered in through the open shutters and filled the room with the salty, wet tang of the ocean. His gaze wandered to the edge of the desk where he’d held Mariel last night.

Kieran looked out the window to the crashing waves below. He recalled her surprise when he had made her come that first time, the euphoric wonder at the pleasure he’d brought her. Damn it. He should have known.

Kieran braced his hands against the wall until the stone bit into his palms.

She had been right. He knew nothing about her life. With the little bit that he did know about her past, he could not imagine what she’d had to endure to preserve her virginity but was certain it had come at an exorbitant price.

Mariel’s voice echoed down the hall, and the few words he caught were certainly nothing that would come from a lady’s mouth. The door burst open, and in walked Alec with Mariel flung over his shoulder.

Her fists peppered Alec’s large back with futile abandon. “Put me down, or I’ll…”

“Ye’ll no’ do anything.” Alec set her to her feet. “We’re already here.”

Mariel flung her thick black braid over her shoulder and straightened her gown. Brilliant red cheeks were the only indication of how humiliated her arrival had left her. Her gaze settled on the desk and immediately flicked away as though the very sight of it burned her eyes.

Kieran nodded to Alec, who quickly took the offer to escape and closed the door behind him. Silence shrouded the room, and once again Kieran found himself face-to-face with Mariel, lacking the words to express what he wanted to say.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss away the hurt he’d caused her, to gently right the wrong he had so roughly done.

Bitter anger laced her glare. What he wanted was not what she needed.

“Mariel, we need to talk about last night,” he said more gruffly than he had intended. Apologizing had never been his strong suit.

He recognized the stubborn lift to her chin. She was not going to make this easy.

He cleared his throat, trying to figure out where to begin. “I dinna know ye were a maiden—”

She held up her hand. “Save your petty apology for someone willing to listen. You’ll find naught but deaf ears with me.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in a pathetic attempt to hide the frustration of his failed start. Brennan had always been the stronger of the two when it came to conversation and charisma. What would he have done in this situation?

“Mariel…” he began again, unsure of what to say beyond that.

“Save your lies,” she said vehemently and wrenched the door open.

His palm slapped against the heavy wood with a force that wrenched the latch from Mariel’s hand and slammed the door shut. Mariel stared up at him in silenced shock. Her fingers were still locked in front of her where she’d held the door.

“I should no’ have let ye leave last night, and I will be damned if I let ye leave now.”

She backed away from him and let her hand drop. “I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

“I hurt ye,” he stated, trying to let her know he understood.

She did not attempt to hide the raw pain in her luminous gaze. Or perhaps she did. He drew a deep breath to clear the ache in his chest.

“You have no idea how much you’ve hurt me,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

“I dinna know.” He moved forward, his hand poised to cradle the softness of her cheek. “But I want to.”

She flinched from his touch.

He focused on keeping his voice level. “Had ye told me ye were a virgin, I wouldna have been so rough. Ye have to understand that I dinna mean to hurt ye.”

She regarded him with icy contempt. “And what of your wife? Did you mean to hurt her when you took me last night? Did you mean to hurt me when you lied to me and said you had no woman?”

Kieran stared at her for a moment and tried to think around the throbbing in his head. What the hell was she talking about?

“Wife?” He shook his head to clear it. “Mariel, I dinna know what ye mean.”