Free Kilts and Kisses by Victoria Roberts Page B

around the torch, he shot her a withering glance. “I wouldnae get too close.”
    “I’ll take my chances.”
    Luthais actually meant “close to the fire” but had no desire to correct what she thought. Perhaps that’s what had gotten him into all this trouble in the first place. She sat beside him, and the scent of lavender invaded his senses.
    “I need to explain, and I wish for ye to hear me out.”
    He shook his head at her audacity in coming here to try to give a reason for why she’d lied in the first place. He took another sip of whisky and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He couldn’t help it when he chuckled nastily. “What good would that do me now, eh? Believe me, I donna need to hear any more of your words. I’ve heard enough.”
    “Mister MacK...er, Luthais, in my defense, I ne’er knew ye were Laird MacKay’s son. I thought ye were a guard, the same as the giant man with the red hair.”
    “I want to know why ye told me ye were the laird’s daughter.” He spoke between clenched teeth and she gazed down, fingering her cloak with a nervous gesture.
    “I ne’er said that I was. What I told ye at the loch was that ye’d better take your leave before my father’s men came and found ye.” When he looked at her like he didn’t believe a word she said, the lass continued. “My father was laird. He was killed two years ago, along with my mother. Men attacked their coach on the road, robbing my parents and leaving them for dead.”
    Although it took an inordinate amount of strength not reach out and throttle Ceana, he felt a moment of sympathy for her. They shared a common bond. “Please accept my apologies for the loss of your parents. My mother passed as well and some days ‘tis difficult without her, but that still doesnae make this situation even close to being better.”
    She reached out to touch him and then, as if she had second thoughts, withdrew her hand. “After my parents passed, Uncle John, Father’s brother, became laird. He wasted nay time removing all of my parents’ belongings, even taking down my father’s portrait from the wall.” Tears fell down her cheeks, and Luthais resisted the urge to wipe them.
    “The manner in which my uncle banished all the memories of my parents was as if they’d ne’er existed. My sire was such a caring laird, a doting husband, and a loving father. I cannae say the same for my uncle. For the past two years, he’s ne’er wanted—nor has he felt the need—to worry or concern himself about Anna, my sister, or me. ‘Twas if we were being punished because our parents died and left us behind.”
    As if Ceana realized she’d wandered far from the path of the conversation long ago, she shook her head. “When ye found me here at the stones, I thought ye were a guard chasing me off MacKay lands. Then when ye told me your name was Luthais MacKay, I thought the same.”
    This time she reached out, and the touch of her hand was almost unbearable in its tenderness. He grasped her fingers and couldn’t find the strength to pull away, even though he knew he should. He rubbed his thumb gently back and forth.
    “The truth is, Luthais MacKay, I didnae care then and I donna care now if ye are the laird’s son or a MacKay guard. I favor ye, and I ne’er meant for any of this to happen. I seem to have a way about me where everything in my life goes awry.”
    He almost laughed at the irony.
    “My uncle has taken everything away that I hold dear. I want ye to know that I’ve ne’er kissed—nor have I ever been with—another man. I need ye to understand that I—”
    “God’s teeth, Ceana! Do ye think I want to wed your cousin? I wanted to wed ye ! I have been placed in a horrible predicament. I will be laird of the MacKays one day. I have to think of the best interests of my clan and nae look at what I want or what I desire to have. An alliance between the Gunns and the MacKays would—”
    She placed her fingers to his lips. “Luthais,”