What the Hart Wants - Fiona Davenport Page 0,83
laying with another man, and finally the accusations of entrapment and dishonesty.
The man at her feet covered both her hands with his.
“Forgive me!” he cried. “I should not have mentioned that scoundrel’s name. He’s a cad, to take advantage, then abandon you! I’ll hunt him down and shoot him if you wish.”
“What good would that serve?”
“It would make me feel a damned sight better.”
She shook her head. “You did nothing wrong.”
“And neither did you,” he said. He gestured to her belly. “Let me share your burden. Say you’ll be mine, and we can start anew. This time with no secrets, but sharing each other’s lives, thoughts, and deeds. A marriage of equals.”
Equals? Why, then, did he refer to her child as a burden?
“What will happen to my child?” she asked. “It would be born too soon after any marriage to be considered respectable.”
“What does that matter?” he asked. “In the eyes of the law, it will be mine.”
“Would you accept another man’s child?”
“Oh, lass, don’t you realize how much I love ye?” He lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles, one by one. “All that I have would be yours, and all that you have would be mine. Your child is a part of you and, for that, I will love him as my own. If you’re in any doubt, I shall drive you to my lawyers to draw up a document declaring him my heir. I shall teach him to run my distillery and to weather the burden of being a duke.”
“And if it’s a girl?”
“Then she shall rule over the distillery better than any man. And I’ll take great delight in fending off prospective suitors with my pistol, like any doting father.”
“And if I told you that I have lain with none but you?”
His forehead creased into a frown, and he cocked his head to one side. Then understanding flickered in his expression, followed by unbridled joy.
“Ye’re a saucy wench to deceive me so,” he said. “Did you mean to test the strength of my love?”
He pulled her into his arms, then placed his head on her shoulder and sighed.
“I’ve missed ye,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling her neck.
“I have yet to answer your question,” she said.
“Witch!” he teased. “If you weren’t in a delicate condition, I’d take you over my knee and spank ye raw.”
“If I recall,” she said, “you made that same promise the day we met, and you have yet to honor it.”
He gave a low growl which vibrated against her body. “Then, my feisty wee terrier,” he said, “I’ll take great pleasure in proving my honor when the time is right—when I take ye against the hard rock of Beinn Mo Chridhe and claim you as my Highland queen.”
A wicked pulse of need coursed through her. He lifted his head and swiftly captured her mouth. At her gasp of surprise, he slipped his tongue in—teasing, probing, seducing.
The child gave a sharp kick, and she let out a cry.
“Did I hurt ye?”
“No.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly. The child kicked again, and a smile of joy illuminated his face, his eyes sparkling with pride.
“Oh, lass,” he said, “will you not end my torment? It gives me such pleasure to see you round with my child. Make me the happiest of men, I beg ye.”
“Would you grant me freedom, Fraser, if I asked it?”
“Freedom from what?” he asked. “From me?”
“Freedom to live my life as I chose,” she said. “To help the world, to write…”
“I have no wish to be your jailer,” he said. “I offer my heart, my name, and my protection, and I ask nothing in return. As for your writing, I would never stifle such talent. Sandton said…”
He broke off, a blush coloring his cheeks.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asked. “You approached Sandton on my behalf.”
“Had I not made a promise that I’d do all I could to help you?” He smiled. “I approached several publications until the London Ladies Weekly showed interest in your work.”
“And you approached him after we—we parted?”
“I promised to help the woman I love, did I not?”
“You love me?” she asked.
“Lass, I’ve loved you almost from the moment I first saw you, even if it took me months to admit it to myself,” he said. “I’m so proud of you, my love, and my life would be complete if I could have you by my side for always. But even if you tell me to leave and never see you again,