too. Just like Gwen, she wasn’t afraid of him. Quite the opposite if her banshee mouth was any indication.
“If ye behave and act like the laird that ye are, I’m sure it’ll be fine. But heed me, Ben. Should I hear of anymore of this shocking, dissolute lifestyle you’ve adopted, I’ll be putting a stop to it.”
Gwen left, and not long after, a bowl of vegetable broth arrived, along with a cup of ale. Ben looked out the windows, seeing the ocean and its vastness beyond the shore. Gwen was right and had voiced what he himself had already known. It was time he returned home, stopped acting like an ass, and became the father he longed to be. The sound of a door closing in the room adjoining his sounded, along with muffled voices—one he recognized as Kenzie’s.
She had a soft voice, but it was laced with strength. Mayhap in the days ahead, he could come to be friends with the lass from the future. Learn a little more about her time that had endlessly fascinated him after talking to Abby Cross.
Kenzie was his last thought before sleep captured him again.
Chapter 5
A week later, the Laird of Ross was well enough to dine with the family downstairs. Kenzie was not pleased about it. Just his presence was enough to set her on edge. Too manly by far, and only too willing to give her looks that set a woman’s skirts on fire. He could probably lift her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Hold her against a wall and—
“Are ye enjoying ye meal, my dear?” Gwen asked, smiling. “Is there something wrong with the broth?”
Kenzie took a sip of her mead, needing to cool down her core temperature. Tomorrow night she’d be sure not to sit so close to the fire. “Not at all. It’s very tasty. Why do you ask?”
“Only that ye’ve stopped eating, but as long as all’s well…”
“All is very well. I promise.” Kenzie smiled.
Gwen’s gaze moved to Ben who sat beside her, and Kenzie didn’t need to be a nuclear scientist to know Gwen was aware of what Kenzie was thinking. Or more truthfully, who she was thinking of. Like the maid who stood near the window. The young woman had practically been salivating over Ben the entire night, and he’d been lapping it up like the bachelor he was.
“Ye’re not pleased with me, lass. Am I not what ye thought a Highland lord ought to be?”
It was an odd question, and Kenzie studied him while gathering her thoughts. “What makes you think I’d expect anything more than what I’ve found?”
“Ye remember Abby Cross…the lass ye helped to return to our time.”
“Of course,” she said.
“She told me of a certain type of book that you women like to read. Books that are filled with muscular sword-wielding men, with long, flowing locks, and big—”
“I get the point,” she said, cutting him off before he said something she neither wanted to hear or imagine. Or imagine more than she’d already been imagining. It was bad enough to be beside a man who encompassed all that romance novels stated and more. He certainly had the hair thing going. Lovely, long locks she could clasp in her fist, to hold him against her mouth or other delectable places.
Kenzie poured more mead, she didn’t mind this drink as it had a distinct honey taste to it. Much more preferable to water that could make you ill, or the ale that was too bitter for her palate. She should’ve really stopped reading those romance novels before coming back to this time. It was giving her ideas she had no right to be thinking. “What Abby may have mentioned, but you’ve chosen to ignore, is that all the heroes in those books were kind, gentle, and had spades of honor.” Kenzie fought to eat her food with the wooden spoon and used the small knife instead. She narrowed her eyes when she caught Ben watching her. “Do you have any of those traits, my lord?”
His gaze met hers. “Och, lass, ye wound me.” Ben clasped his chest, mocking laughter in his eyes. “I have all of those qualities, and furthermore, I’ve been told my hands are very gentle, if not a little maddening.” He winked, and her stomach flipped. Damn his sex appeal. He was like a walking Viagra pill for women. “I’m more than willing to prove my words are true if ye were interested.”