Fortune could feel the tears pricking at her eyelids. She blinked quickly to keep them from escaping. James Leslie had never spoken so candidly, or so lovingly to her as he just did. "Are you sure you are not trying to get rid of me?" she teased him softly.
He smiled a slow smile. "Aye," he said, "I want ye gone, lassie, but only if it is to a man who will love ye even more than I do." Reaching out he brushed the single tear that had somehow managed to escape down her pale cheek.
"My lord." Adali appeared in the entrance to the hall. "Master Devers has just arrived. I thought Lady Fortune would want to know."
"Oh, he did come!" she half-whispered.
"He would hae been a fool nae to come, but I somehow thought he would," the duke of Glenkirk said, rising from his place at table. "He is every bit as intrigued wi ye as ye are wi him, lassie."
"Papa, how can you know that?" she said.
"Did ye nae see the glances he gave ye when he was last here? I saw them, and 'twas then I knew he was already half in love wi ye, lassie. 'Tis fortunate his silly stepmother has whisked her little rooster chick off to England, isn't it?" The duke chuckled richly.
"Aye," Fortune agreed with a small smile. "It 'tis, Papa."
"Good morning, Lady Fortune. My lord." Kieran Devers came into the hall, handing his rain-soaked cloak to Adali. "When I began my journey from home the rain was hardly a mist. Now it is falling quite heavily."
"I will see your garment is properly dried, sir," Adali said. He hurried from the hall.
"Yer welcome nonetheless, Kieran Devers," the duke said. "Do ye play chess by any chance?"
"Aye, my lord, I do," was the reply.
"Then why don't ye and my daughter while away the time until the rains stop in that pursuit? Fortune plays quite well, don't ye, lassie?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'll hae Adali fetch the chessboard and its pieces, and perhaps some good whiskey to take the chill from yer bones." He walked briskly from the hall.
"Are ye really a good player?" Kieran asked her.
"Aye," she responded, "very good. My mother taught me, and she used to play with her father when she was a girl in India."
"We'll play a game, and then if I find you a worthy opponent," he told her, "we'll wager perhaps, eh?"
"You won't need to test my mettle, Kieran Devers," Fortune told him. "We'll wager from the start. What would you have of me-if you win?" Her eyes twinkled mischievously, but his answer caused her to gasp.
"A kiss," he said, his handsome face serious.
"You're bold," she said, recovering her equilibrium.
"If you win, what will you have of me?" he asked her.
"A kiss," she responded, surprising him mightily. "I hope it will be worth it," Fortune finished with a wicked smile.
He laughed aloud. He couldn't help it. " "Tis you who are bold, I'm thinking, m'lady," he told her.
"Why?" she demanded. "Because I didn't blush, and demur, and ask you for a bonnie blue ribbon for my hair? I've been playing with boys my whole life, Kieran Devers. Be warned. I play to win, and am no simpering lass."
The dark green eyes narrowed speculatively as he reassessed her. "No quarter?" he said softly.
"No quarter," she answered him as softly.
"The chessboard, my lady," Adali said, coming upon them. He set a pewter dram upon the table where they would play.
"Damn me, man! You walk on cat's feet," Kieran said.
"Aye, I do, sir," Adali replied, flashing the young man a wide smile. "I was taught to do so when I served in the harem. I find it a useful trait. I often appear where I am least expected." He set the board up on the small square table before the hall's fire. From a rectangular silver box studded with green malachite he removed the pieces carved from ivory and green malachite, placing them with careful deliberation upon the board. "If you will choose your pieces, sir."
"I'll play the green," Kieran said, seating himself, and quickly swallowing down his whiskey.
Fortune sat opposite, immediately studying the board. Then she made a rather ordinary and common move with one of her pawns.
Standing near them Adali smiled softly, then left the hall.
They played at a fairly rapid pace. He was quite pleased by her skill. She was far and away the best player he had ever played with, but nonetheless he was winning. Chuckling he moved one of his two knights. Fortune laughed, and then with a deliberate movement checkmated his king.
"I belive I win, sir," she said sweetly.
His jaw dropped. "How the hell…" He looked questioningly at her, surprise all over his handsome face.
"I'll show you if you like," she said, and when he nodded his head quite vigorously she reconstructed their play to demonstrate.
"Madame, that is positively devious," he told her. "Set up the board, and we will play again."
"You owe me my wager," Fortune told him.
Taking her hand in his he kissed it tenderly.
"Nay, sir," Fortune cried, jumping to her feet. "If I had lost, would you have accepted such a paltry reward? I want a proper kiss! I have never had one before, but I want one now!" Leaning forward over the table she closed her eyes, and pursed her lips at him.
God and His Holy Mother help me, he thought. Then Kieran Devers took Fortune Lindley's small chin between his thumb and his forefinger to steady her as his lips brushed her gently, gently. "Is that more satisfactory, m'lady?" he said, releasing her.
Her heart had jumped when he first touched her. Then it had plummeted as his mouth made contact with hers. Opening her eyes she said, "I want more, sir. 'Twas pleasant, but surely there is more to it than that."
"If there is," he teased, "you must win again to find out. Now that I have seen your mettle, I shall not be so easy to beat next time. Sit down, Fortune, and let us set the pieces aright again." His heart was hammering in his chest, and to his shock he had felt a distinct tingling in his nether regions as he kissed her. It was impossible to concentrate although he tried his best to do so. She beat him a second time much to his mortification.
"Pay up, sir," Fortune said, "and this time you will do it properly as I have seen my father and mother kiss. You will put your arms about me, and hold me against you." She stood up, coming around the table.
"Very well, you clever vixen," he growled in a fierce voice, rising. Then he pulled her against him hard, his arms wrapping tightly about her. His mouth found hers, and he kissed her with passion, feeling his lust rising, his heart exploding within him.
She soared! The hunger he communicated, aye, hunger! sent her senses reeling. He wanted all of her, she realized, in that kiss. She might be a virgin, but Fortune Lindley knew desire when she faced it. She had seen it in men's eyes often enough. Her arms slipped up around his neck as her lips softened, and she kissed him back with an equal hunger. This was what she had been seeking her entire life. It was delicious!
Suddenly he pushed her away. He was almost trembling. "No!" he said to her.
"Yes!" she countered as quickly.
"You don't know what you are doing to me, sweetheart," he half-whispered.