Makenna began to clap to the rhythm of the dance and felt Colin’s arms sneak around her waist. Her heart sang with delight. She knew he was about to swing her back into another reel. Then suddenly his arms were gone and Laurel was yanking her toward one of the few vacated spots across the room. Makenna looked back and saw Conor leading Colin away.
Feeling Laurel tug again on the sleeve of her gown, Makenna turned toward her friend, who immediately began speaking. “Makenna, Conor tells me that we are to leave on the morrow.”
The news had been expected, but still hard to hear. In the past few weeks, Laurel had given her so much—friendship, confidence, and a new female confidante, Ceridwin, with whom to share husbandly frustrations and dreams of the future. “Oh, I will miss you so, but I know that you will be glad to see Braedon and Brenna once again.”
“Yes, while I admit that at the beginning I enjoyed the break knowing they were safe and well cared for, I yearn to see my babies.”
“I wish you a safe journey. Hopefully I will be able to persuade Colin to travel north and visit soon.”
Laurel waved her hand at the idea. “Well, not this spring—you will be too great with child. But do not worry. We will visit again, and I hope often. Until then, I wanted to give you a couple of wise words imparted to me when Conor and I were married.”
Makenna almost reminded Laurel that she had been married for several months now, but did not have the heart to squelch the eager sparkle in Laurel’s blue-green eyes. “And what were these juicy morsels of wisdom?” Makenna asked.
“You can never change a Highlander. I know it sounds obvious, but you will find yourself trying to do it nonetheless.”
Makenna grinned and whispered back, “Just as long as Colin realizes he shouldn’t try changing this Lowlander’s odd ways either.”
A slow infectious grin grew on Laurel’s face before she erupted in laughter. Following Makenna’s warm green gaze, she spied her husband looking lustfully her way. “That brings me to my last bit of wisdom. Remain your wild, unpredictable self. He will try to place all these rules on you…let him for his peace of mind. But when he…”
Conor picked up two quaiches filled with ale, handing one to Colin. “Enjoy the merriment, Colin, for you have married yourself a wild mare that will not leave you any relaxation.”
Colin smiled and accepted the drink, keeping his gaze locked on clover-green eyes sparkling at him from across the room. “I would not have it any other way.”
“Listen to my words, or you will suffer my fate.”
Colin furrowed his brow and gave his older brother a brief sidelong glance infused with curiosity. Laurel was the love of Conor’s life, a fate not suffered, but relished. “And what dire future do you see for me? For I can see only beauty and happiness in my path.”
Laurel’s laughter filled the hall, and Conor was temporarily transfixed by his wife as she tipped her head back, causing blond waves to tumble over her shoulders and shimmer in the firelight. He wondered whether he would ever become used to her beauty. Her laughter, even today, still entranced him.
Conor took a large swallow and then used his quaich to point across the room. “The fate of a beautiful, strong-willed wife. Such a fate will give you no peace. You would be wise to lay down the rules now or you have no chance.”
Colin almost choked on his ale when Conor spoke his last words. Had the man been blind? Did he not realize that Makenna thought rules were things to be broken, not followed?
Conor saw Colin’s look of defeat and laughed. “Then again, it seems you are already lost to your fate. It can only be endured if you love the woman.”
Colin grinned. “Then my fate is sealed, and it will be a happy one.”
“Aye, but now I must warn you about wives when they become strong-willed mothers….”
Colin barely heard his brother when Makenna captivated him with a private smile meant just for him. He knew he would hear an earful from Conor later as he left his brother’s side knowing that Conor was still in the process of warning him about his future. Colin also knew that it would be worth it.
“And now about babies…” Makenna heard halfheartedly as she listened to her sister-in-law’s well-intentioned advice. Most of her attention was on the huge Highlander coming toward her. His sapphire eyes were full of mischief and love and unabashed pride that Makenna was his. She would never get enough of this man, and he was all hers.
“Excuse me, Laurel, but I must steal my wife from your side for just a moment.”
Laurel stood with her mouth open. “Again?” she asked in exasperation.
“Aye,” Colin replied as he swept Makenna behind a nearby wooden partition hiding them from the others. “Again and again,” he added as his mouth came down possessively on hers.
Makenna giggled and asked between his teasing nibbles, “What did you want?”
Colin shrugged, still holding her close to him. “That’s not a tough question. I want to be inside you. I want to feel you wrapped around me, shivering with your pleasure. I want to know exactly how much you need me.”
Makenna playfully slapped his shoulder. “No, seriously!”
He raised his head and looked down, his expression both tender and sincere. “I am serious, but I also wondered whether my lovely sister-in-law was imparting some last words of marital wisdom.”
“Aye, how did you know?” Makenna asked, wrinkling her brow in puzzlement.
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “I, myself, was a recipient of my brother’s wealth of spousal knowledge. But what he failed to realize…” Colin said, pausing to nibble on her neck.
“What?” Makenna returned, arching her head back to give him better access.
Colin pulled himself back just far enough away and smiled down at the emerald gems sparkling with love. “That this Highlander knows where he belongs.”
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2008 by C. Michele Peach
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ISBN: 1-4201-1488-3