A Forbidden Night with a Scot (Sins in a Kilt #1)

Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

S amuel opened his eyes, heart racing for a reason he could not understand. He blinked rapidly, trying to wake up properly, but the room where he found himself was unfamiliar and plunged in a strange half-light, as though it was barely dawn.

There was a weight on him; a body, draped over his own. It was then that the memories of the previous night rushed back to him and he realized the body next to him belonged to none other than Alicia, who had spent the night there.

But what was it that had woken him? A nightmare? Something else?

Then he heard it again: a loud knock on the door, followed by a painfully familiar voice.

“Samuel!” Gavin called from the other side of the door. “It’s time tae wake!”

Next to him, Alicia stirred, slowly at first and then jumping into action when she heard her father’s voice. She sprung out of the bed and paced around the room in despair, mouthing how will I get out o’ here? at Samuel, who could only stare at her in horror.

“One moment!” he called out to Gavin, as he also jumped out of the bed and grabbed Alicia by the shoulders to steer her… where? Where could she go so that Gavin wouldn’t see her if he entered the room?

The bed was too low for her to crawl under it, and there was no closet where she could hide. The only place Samuel could think of was behind the door, but then he would have to make sure that Gavin stayed by the entrance, otherwise they were bound to be caught.

I should have never asked her tae stay! What was I thinkin’?

He couldn’t say he regretted what had happened the previous night; he had enjoyed it too much and he had never felt as connected to another woman as he did to Alicia. Still, he should have shown some self-restraint and at least sent her to her room, knowing that Gavin was there with them. He should have been more considerate instead of acting so selfishly.

Before he could figure out a place for Alicia to hide, she suddenly jumped in the tub full of water that had been left in the room since the previous night, when Samuel had forgotten all about its existence.

“What are ye doin’?” he whispered, leaning close so that she would hear him.

“Quickly!” she said. “I’ll hide here while ye speak with him.”

It sounded like a terrible idea, but before Samuel could protest, Alicia was already submerged fully in the water. He rushed to the door, then caught a glimpse of the pile of her clothes on the floor and cursed, taking a moment to gather them and shove them under the bed, before he finally opened the door.

Gavin was still standing at the other side, a small frown on his face. “Were ye asleep?” He asked, as if the mere notion was ridiculous.

“Aye,” said Samuel. “O’ course I was asleep. What else would I be doin’ at this hour?”

“Ach, I thought ye’d be awake,” said Gavin. “Well, we should start headin’ tae the castle soon, so ye should prepare fer breakfast. I will wake the lasses, too.”

“Nay!” said Samuel before he could think better of it. Gavin’s frown only deepened at the protest, and rightfully so, but between his confusion and his concern for Alicia, Samuel could hardly think of a reason.

If he doesnae leave soon, she will drown in that tub!

Samuel had to resist the urge to glance behind his shoulder at Alicia in the water, though his heart hammered in his chest, the worry threatening to choke him. He tapped his foot impatiently against the floor and gave Gavin an awkward chuckle, shrugging a shoulder.

“I mean, I’m sure they are tired,” he said. “Perhaps we should let them sleep.”

Gavin waved a hand dismissively as he turned around and Samuel had to hold back a sigh of relief. “Nonsense,” he said. “They should be well-rested now. Dinnae fash about them. They’re grown lasses.”

The comment was like a lance to the heart for Samuel, and he was certain if Gavin knew what he had been doing with his daughter, he would be furious. Instead of letting the guilt show on his face, though, he quickly waved Gavin away, hoping that he would at least not try to enter the girls’ room.

Katherine is in there, perhaps she will hold him back.

Does she ken where her sister is?

Samuel had to assume that she did, since she hadn’t looked for Alicia, and he knew that Katherine would do anything to cover for her sister.

The moment Gavin was gone, Samuel closed the door and rushed to the tub, pulling Alicia out. She resurfaced with a gasp, pushing the hair frantically off her face, but she looked just fine.

The conversation hadn’t taken longer than a few seconds, Samuel realized, but it had seemed like eons to him.

“I must follow him,” he said hastily, grabbing his clothes and getting dressed in a rush. One of his arms got caught in the neck hole of his shirt and he fought with the fabric, frustration coursing through him as he tugged and pulled at it in a desperate attempt to right it. His head still covered and his arm still tangled, he said, “He wishes tae wake ye an’ Katherine, so ye must head straight tae yer chambers. I’ll try tae distract him.”

He had hardly managed to finish his sentence when he fell face-first into the wall, the shirt blinding him entirely. Cursing under his breath, he finally managed to wrangle himself free and haphazardly pulled on the rest of his clothes as Alicia did the same, drying herself off as best as she could and shivering in the chill of the room.

Before he left, Samuel stole one last kiss from her, grinning from ear to ear. Then, he was out of the door.

Alicia stood there frozen, stunned by the sudden kiss to her lips. She smiled to herself, a hand coming up to touch her lips, feeling the echo of that kiss still lingering.

It was all worth it, she thought; all the hiding, all the risk of being found out. It was worth it just for this, the fluttering of happiness she felt in her stomach whenever Samuel kissed her. Every time seemed like the first time, and Alicia thought she would never tire of his kisses.

I must hurry, Faither cannae find me here.

They had barely avoided a catastrophe. Alicia was not going to risk attracting her father’s attention by lingering too long in Samuel’s room, so she finished dressing and then headed to the door. Before she could leave, though, she paused for a moment, looking around her until her gaze landed on a shirt that he had discarded on top of his belongings. Glancing around her as if she expected to be caught, Alicia reached for it, taking it with her as she left the room.

Then, it was only a matter of sneaking back into the one she was meant to share with Katherine, a task that proved to be easier than she had thought it would be, as there was no one in the corridor outside the rooms. Slipping inside hers was only a matter of a few steps.

When she opened the door, she found Katherine already awake and dressed for the day, her eyes wide when she spotted Alicia. Before she could even close the door, Katherine rushed to her, the questions tumbling out of her mouth.

“Where were ye? Were ye with Samuel? All night? What did ye dae?”

Alicia shushed her sister with a hand over her mouth as she shut the door and pushed her farther into the room. “Hush! What if Faither hears?”

“Faither is already downstairs,” Katherine said, and though her words were muffled by Alicia’s hand, she could understand them perfectly. Removing her hand, Alicia rushed to her bags and shoved Samuel’s shirt in one of them, stuffing it between her other belongings. “Ye took that from him?”

“Well, he willnae miss it,” Alicia said with a sly grin. Even if he noticed the shirt was gone, she knew he wouldn’t mind. “I was with him. An’, well, I was with him all night.”

She didn’t elaborate on that, but Katherine gasped and jumped onto the bed, landing on her stomach as she leaned close to look at Alicia. “All night?”

“All night,” she confirmed, and she couldn’t keep the smile from her lips.

“Did ye …?”

Though Katherine didn’t finish her sentence, Alicia knew what it was she was asking, but she didn’t know how to answer her. “Well, in a way. But nae exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

In that moment, Alicia realized that the only good source of information Katherine could have about such things was her. She now knew a little more about what happened between a man and a woman, and she could prepare her sister for what she would encounter on her wedding night, and it was that thought which helped her push past the embarrassment of recounting the events of the previous night.

“He said he wouldnae… ruin me.” Though it had disappointed Alicia at that moment, she knew why he had refrained from going all the way with her. She was still unwedded and there was no telling what would happen between them. Neither of them could count on the possibility that they could one day be together. They had to be prepared for any outcome, including one in which Alicia married someone else. “So, he pleasured me only with his mouth an’ his hands.”

Frowning, Katherine asked, “Ye can dae that?”

“Och aye,” said Alicia, nodding fervently. “An’ it’s very nice. It’s unlike anythin’ else, Katherine. I dinnae ken how tae explain it.”

“So it’s good, then?” she asked. “It doesnae hurt?”

Alicia was about to reassure her sister that it didn’t hurt at all, but then a thought occurred to her; Samuel had not taken her. She considered the possibility of his manhood entering her and she suddenly found it daunting, now that she was not in the throes of passion.

“What he did didnae hurt at all,” she said. “But I dinnae ken…”

“What?”

“… how it would fit…”

Katherine and Alicia stared at each other in silence for a few long moments before they both burst into giggles. Once they had started, it seemed impossible to stop, both of them gasping for air and doubling over the longer they laughed. Not for the first time, Alicia wished Emmeline was there with them, laughing along, but it had been so long since the last time the three of them had been together.

Slowly, she and Katherine fell quiet, Alicia losing herself in her memories for a short while. She missed Emmeline terribly, but she didn’t want Katherine to think of their sister, too, and lose her good mood.

“We should prepare fer breakfast,” she said instead, trying to push her own thoughts away for now. Though Emmeline was always at the back of her mind, and there was a part of her that always missed her, just as she knew there was a part of her sister and a part of her father that always missed her, Alicia had to keep her thoughts occupied by other things, otherwise she would never stop mourning her sister’s fate.

Katherine hummed and rolled off the bed, stretching her arms over her head. “I’m ready,” she said, running to look at Alicia with a teasing smirk. “Ye’re the one who spent all night somewhere else.”

Alicia grabbed the first thing she found among her belongings—a slipper—and chucked it at Katherine, who expertly avoided it, ducking just in time. Laughing, she left the room, and Alicia was left to stare at her retreating back, shaking her head in reluctant amusement.