Free Aidan by Elizabeth Rose Page B

brown but bodice was made from the same beautiful purple and greed tartan that he wore.
    Her hands reached out instinctively, and she took them. “What is this?” she asked.
    “Yer own clothes are soiled and ripped. Ye need somethin’ clean and nice te wear on yer birthday, lass.”
    “But . . . these are the clothes of someone from yer own clan.” The thought of it warmed her heart and scared her at the same time.
    “ They are only clothes, lass.”
    “But . . . it is the same purple and green tartan that ye wear, as well as the rest o’ the MacKeefes.”
    “Our auld weaver only kens how te make one type. Thet’s why the MacKeefes all have the same plaid.”
    “But the dyes for the wool alone must be so expensive.”
    “Nay, our weaver dyes them herself. She uses things such as nettle and bracken fer the green and her favorite is makin’ the purple dye from bilberries, whortleberries and even seaslugs, believe it or no’.”
    “ Seaslugs?” she asked, laughing.
    “Come on, Effie, jest put them on.”
    “But . . . I am no’ part o’ yer clan, Aidan.”
    “But y e will be part o’ the clan as soon as I talk te our chieftain when he returns, and ask him if ye can join the MacKeefes.” He smiled and looked so happy that she thought she was going to die.
    “Aidan . . . I dinna think I could.”
    “O’ course ye can, me angel.”
    “Where did you get them?”
    “They are extra clothes o’ me sister, Kyla, but she willna mind, I assure ye.”
    She looked down to the clothes, thinking how much she wanted to belong to a family again. To his family – his clan. She missed that sense of belonging somewhere. But she couldn’t take them and wear them. Not when she was about to deceive him, and be a traitor to Scotland as well.
    “I’d rather no’ wear them.” She pushed them back into his hands.
    “Then I will dress ye meself,” he said, reaching out to touch her. She was going to object, until she felt his hot breath on the side of her cheek as he placed sensual kisses on the back of her neck and then around and down to her collar bone.
    She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath. It felt good. Too damned good, and it scared her.
    “What’s the matter, lassie, dinna ye want me te do this?”
    “I . . . I’m fine,” she said with a deep sigh. She looked into his eyes , seeing that he trusted her. That he had feelings for her as well. She felt the same way about him. If only she could tell him about her sister and what she had to do to save her. But if word got out, her sister’s life would be endangered.
    Besides, if Aidan knew the truth, he was just mad enough to go with his friends to Liddel Castle and try to save her sister himself, and in the process he would most likely be killed. She couldn’t have that. These men didn’t deserve to lose their lives, especially for someone they didn’t even know.
    No, she decided. She’d keep her secret and just go forward with the plan. Once her sister was free, she’d be able to tell Aidan everything. Only, by then, sadly, it might be too late to save what they had between them.
    “Jest say the word, and I’ll stop,” he told her, his mouth now on her chest with his tongue shooting out to taste her. “Ye are me angel, Effie, and nothin’ can change thet. I have waited a lifetime te find someone like ye.”
    “How can ye say thet , when ye’ve jest met me?” Her breathing deepened as he took his finger and drew a circle over her nipple right through her clothes.
    “I ken ye are special and thet ye were meant te be with me, becooz ye came te me in a dream.”
    “Mayhap it was someone else.” She felt her nipple tighten, and a bolt of desire shot through her as he slid his hand inside the neckline of her bodice and his cool fingers caressed her breast. The hot skin of her body against his cool hand made her arch her back, pushing herself further into his embrace.
    “Nay, it was ye, I am sure.”
    “How can you be sure?” She let out