Makenna swatted playfully at his shoulder. “A hundred men! Gorten and Brodie are more than enough and listen to me—nothing is going to change. I will be more careful, but I am not going to sit about through the winter. I would go mad. Do you hear me, Colin? Nothing is going to change.”
Colin stopped his foray, his eyes dancing. “Nothing, Makenna? Then, I guess we should continue with my most favorite time of the day.” Just the thought of burying himself within her sent another rush of desire through his veins. Tonight he was going to indulge himself in a detailed exploration of her body. Every inch of her would be recommitted to his memory.
“And which time is that, husband?” Makenna asked, trembling as he traced the lines of her jaw with his fingertips.
His smile broadened. “The times I get to ravish your body again and again throughout the night,” he reminded her as he lowered his mouth to her breast. The taste of it sent a shudder of excitement through him.
“As I said, nothing is going to change,” she affirmed between gasps as his mouth trailed down past her navel. Sexual tension seized her insides. She shuddered again as Colin tasted the very heart of her. Tonight she would remember for the rest of her life.
Chapter Sixteen
Late the next morning, Makenna met Laurel and Ceridwin in the great hall. Immediately, Laurel could tell the previous night’s events had continued quite favorably for her friend after she had left the party.
“So you have finally arrived. I take it Colin knows about the expected expansion of the McTiernay clan?”
Ceridwin turned in the chair abruptly. “You are going to have a baby?”
Makenna’s grin broadened even farther. “Indeed, I am.”
“And Colin is happy.” Laurel’s statement was more a question than clarification.
“Colin is more than happy,” Makenna confirmed, turning to face Ceridwin. “I have decided that you and Drake shall move into my sister’s old room. I doubt Ula will be returning, and there is no reason it should collect dust from nonuse. Besides, she had the most wonderful view from her window.”
Ceridwin sat in shocked silence, her hazel eyes wide with surprise. Drake didn’t want to delay their marriage, but neither of them wanted to stay with her aunts, and as a soldier he had never had a need for his own cottage. “Really? I mean, to live in the castle…it’s such an honor.”
“Nonsense. It’s silly not to make use of those rooms, and I am feeling incredibly generous today.”
“But what about the laird…?”
“It just so happens Colin is feeling just as generous as I this morning,” Makenna remarked. “Shall we go now and see what must be done?”
Nodding, Ceridwin leapt out of the chair and followed Makenna and Laurel into the inner yard. They made their way quickly to the tower that acted as a hub for the rear curtain wall.
Laurel was the first to enter the room. Makenna heard her sister-in-law’s sharp intake of breath and knew instantly there was something wrong. Squeezing between the stone doorway and a frozen Laurel, Makenna walked into the room and felt her blood begin to boil. Ceridwin must have come in as well, for Makenna heard her squeak, “Oh my.”
Tapestries were shredded and on the floor. What bedding was left was ripped and ruined. Hearth ashes were thrown everywhere. Worst of all was the McTiernay plaid. It hung over the hearth, burned, leaving only scraps and pieces to prove what it once was.
Laurel sensed the extreme tension winding in Makenna and knew she needed to get her out of the room immediately. With Ceridwin’s help, Laurel managed to get Makenna out of the tower and back into the yard.
Once outside, Laurel began rubbing Makenna’s arms now shaking with rage. “I don’t think it was recent, Makenna. There was quite a bit of dust collected, so the steps you took to remove the staff you didn’t trust probably worked.”
“My home!” Makenna hissed through gritted teeth. She shrugged Laurel’s arms off her and bunched her fists. “How dare they!”
Ceridwin bit her bottom lip and fought back tears. “It may be only one person. Perhaps, Lela…”
“Aye, it was Lela, but there were others. Others who knew what she was planning and did nothing about it.”
Laurel took a deep breath knowing that if this had occurred in her home, she would be just as furious. “You need to tell Colin, Makenna. It’s time he knew the full extent of what has been happening. And while you have every right to be angry, you must calm down. You are too early into your pregnancy. I have seen more than one woman lose her babe under emotional stress.”
Makenna took several deep breaths. “You are right. I will not let them take my child from me. And it is time I told Colin what is happening. He is planning something and should know.”
Laurel let go the deep breath she was holding. “Ceridwin and I will check the other unused rooms and then meet you in the hall.”
Makenna nodded in agreement and then left.
“Should we go with her?” Ceridwin asked, looking a little alarmed.
“What if it were you and Drake?” Laurel countered.
“Aye, I’d want to be alone.”
“Just know that the next time you see Colin, his anger is not at Makenna, but for her. I hope the Dunstans are ready, because very soon, I doubt it will matter anymore to Colin if they are.”
Makenna knocked and then opened the door to Colin’s dayroom located on the second floor of Canmore Tower. With Colin were his brother, Drake, Dunlop, and few other men she recognized from Conor’s guard.
Colin was surprised to see her and waved her over. As Makenna neared, the expression on her face conveyed more than any words she could have uttered. “What’s wrong?” he demanded softly.
Makenna shivered at the coldness in his voice. “There has been another incident. Someone wrecked Ula’s room. The tapestries were ripped, most of the bedding was ruined, and what was of any value was stolen. Very little can be salvaged. Laurel is right now with Ceridwin investigating the other unused rooms of the castle.”
Conor waved at Seamus. “Go find Laurel and do not leave her side until I say otherwise.”
Makenna watched as the tall, thin, handsome man left the room. Horrified that she left her friend in harm, she asked, “My God, Colin, is Laurel in danger?”
“No, but it would ease Conor’s mind to know that she is protected.”
Makenna crumpled into the empty seat vacated by Seamus. “This is my fault. It was my decision not to maintain the vacant rooms. It was my decision not to tell you everything that has been happening.”
“There is more?”
She nodded. “I’ve only been telling you some of the things that have occurred, but there have been many harrassments. Until today, they have been aggravating, but relatively minor. But Ula’s room…it was a deliberate attack against you and me. I could rip Lela’s hair out by the roots. I know it was her.”
Colin moved in close and clasped her fingertips in his hands with gentle authority. She didn’t realize how cold she was. “Listen to me, none of this is your fault. I will take care of this. You are not to do anything. I know you want to find Lela, but don’t. I need you to trust me.”
Before she could answer, Colin rose and leaned against his fists on the round table in the room. “Drake, you were about to tell me about last night. How many?”
Makenna stared at the muscles in Colin’s back, tense underneath his leine. She was seeing the strategic Colin, the planner. Last night he had been father and husband, and she had seen him as laird in many circumstances, but this was the first time she had witnessed him as a warrior preparing for battle.