Scot to the Touch (The Hots for Scots #7) - Caroline Lee Page 0,1

those words conjured. She was no stranger to pleasure, for certes, but her curse had ensured she was most definitely still a virgin.

And would be until her death.

Unless she herself did something about that.

Intrigued, she cleared her throat. “Oh, aye?” She tried for nonchalance. “And…what is so bad about that?”

Davina’s scowl shifted out the window once more. “I’ll no’ marry an insatiable whore, Kat. Imagine! He’ll likely jump from bed to bed, even after he’s married. A man like that isnae true, isnae loyal. He might be able to bring a woman unimaginable pleasure, but I’ll marry a man who will be true to me. No’ him.”

Unimaginable pleasure?

Oh my. Katlyn could imagine all sorts of pleasure. Still…

She hummed in consolation. “I can see what ye mean. If there is only one brother left, and ‘tis the disloyal one, ye can be forgiven for no’ wanting to marry him.”

But maybe instead of marrying him…

A wicked idea began forming in Katlyn’s mind. She knew she’d not be married—she knew no man would take her, not with her curse—but that didn’t mean she’d have to die a virgin, did it?

Unimaginable pleasure.

If her sister was determined not to marry this last Oliphant bastard—and when Davina set her mind to something, not even Grandda could sway her—then there’d be no harm in Katlyn meeting him, would there? Especially if he was so good with his tongue.

Oh, he’d likely take one look at her, shudder, and turn away as most other men did. But mayhap she could arrange a meeting in a darkened bedchamber where he could not see her eyes. Mayhap there’d be a bed nearby, and she could somehow convince him to show her this unimaginable pleasure.

And she wouldn’t die a virgin.

‘Twas a wicked, wonderful scheme. Much would depend on the man himself; if he were as naughty as Davina had heard, and if she truly didn’t want to marry him. But once they reached Oliphant Castle and were welcomed as guests…

Well, much could happen, couldn’t it?

Knowing her sister was distracted by her irritated pout, Katlyn rested back against the cushions, folded her hands in her lap, and began to scheme.

Chapter 1

“I’m no’ marrying her, Da, and that’s final.”

Kiergan Oliphant crossed his arms in front of his chest and didn’t bother to hide his scowl. Even when his father—the laird—lowered his bushy brows, Kiergan refused to be intimidated.

What in all of damnation had his father been thinking, to promise him in marriage to some faraway chit? Did his father know naught about him?

“Look here, lad, I’m still yer laird.”

Kiergan scoffed. “What the fook does that have to do with the price of cabbage? Ye’re my father, and we both ken ye’ll no’ force me to marry.”

The burly older man opened his mouth to respond, then appeared to reconsider. When he closed it with a sigh, Kiergan knew he’d made his point. He had no interest in marriage, no matter what prize Da dangled in front of him and his brothers, and Da knew it.

“What does cabbage have to do with aught?” muttered Alistair on Kiergan’s other side. The fact his twin brother had joined them in the castle’s courtyard for this argument was a surprise, considering how busy he usually was. “And isnae Finn the one who kens about the price of goods? Is that what he’s doing? Negotiating for a good cabbage price? I thought ye dinnae like cabbage, Da?”

“I dinnae,” their father growled, his beard twitching. ‘Twas impossible to determine if it was because he was frowning or trying to hide a smile. “I loathe cabbage, and nay, yer brother isnae bargaining for more of the vile shite. He’s taken his wife to visit her brother, just as he claimed.”

“I’m glad Fiona’s feeling better,” Kiergan offered, hoping to nudge the conversation away from the colossal fook-up his father had made when it came to promising him in marriage. “She was looking green for an awfully long time.”

Alistair shrugged. “Lara says ‘tis to be expected when a woman’s breeding.”

Peering at his newly married twin brother, Kiergan had to ask, “And how is Lara doing these days? Are ye likely to be making an announcement soon? Of the face-turning-green sort?”

His brother merely smiled, looking more at ease than Kiergan could recall in a very long time. “If ye’re asking me if she’s pregnant, ‘tis too soon to tell. But I pray if it happens, she’s no’ as sick as Fiona.”

Forgetting his own troubles for a moment, Kiergan loosened his arms and slapped his brother