Being here, holding Makenna felt incredibly right. He felt a sense of certainty he could not put into words. “I take it you are no longer angry with me for leaving,” he both stated and asked simultaneously.
Makenna grinned. “I was mightily sore at you, but I am now satisfied knowing that I was right, and you were wrong.”
“You were right?”
“Aye, you should have told me what you knew before you left. As an incredibly intelligent laird, I’m sure you realized your error by now.” Her smile grew at his shocked expression. “See, I knew you were well aware of your offense.”
Colin was more shocked at his own reaction to her words than the words themselves. He had been prepared for anger, reprisal, and a good argument before kissing her into capitulation. His plan to calm her was suddenly unnecessary, and he felt robbed. “And what if I think I was right?”
Makenna playfully toyed with the loose strings at the opening of his shirt. “I am sure that you have been correct about a great many things, but I am hard pressed to think of the one you are referring to,” she replied coyly.
“How about you missing me?”
Makenna could hear the pride in his voice, and it quelled her need to deny him the truth. Instead, she laid her head on his chest and hugged him. It wasn’t a verbal affirmation, but she could feel Colin nod his head in satisfaction.
“I cannot tell you how glad I am to be home.” His voice was deep, husky, caressing.
Makenna expected him to tease her further, but his admission completely disarmed her. Her throat constricted. It was followed by a familiar and comfortable sense of physical awareness rippling through her. She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. There was no mistaking their intense look. Every nerve ending in her body responded to his unspoken message of need sparkling in those cobalt depths. And then Colin kissed her, his touch so tender she could barely find her breath.
Colin felt Makenna shiver in his arms, and deepened the embrace. Their lips moved hungrily against each other. He tried to slow down, but she wouldn’t let him. Tongues teased, tasted, tantalized.
When it finally ended, he was burning with a near-uncontrollable need to bury himself in her. Lord, how she affected him.
No, he silently vowed. First, he would discover what or who had been troubling his wife while he was away. They had the whole night to satisfy his needs.
Colin kissed her forehead and whispered, “Never have I been better welcomed home, and before you tell me what was bothering you before I interrupted, let me get more comfortable.”
Makenna watched, slightly stunned as Colin walked across the room. He undid his belt, throwing both it and his sword on the chest. She had half hoped, half expected him to throw her on the bed and remind her once again of the pleasures of being married. Maybe his feelings for her had changed.
Feeling foolish, Makenna tried to halt her own desires of the flesh. If he could so easily dismiss their kiss, then so could she. But the second he turned around and came back to her side, she knew it would not be possible. His legs were now bare and the only piece of clothing he wore was a cream-colored leine partially opened, exposing his broad chest. The light cloth could not hide the strength of his muscles. She needed to fill the awkward silence before she threw herself at him begging him to take her.
“Rumors came a few days after you left that the attack was no ordinary raid. Descriptions of horrors trickled in for days. When Sean returned with your message, I realized it had been much worse than what we heard. Sean would only say our people had survived, but the animals…how are you faring after witnessing such cruelty?”
Colin blinked. “Sean spoke out of turn. He should not have told you such things.” The idea of his wife exposed to such hatred was not acceptable.
Makenna saw his neck muscles tense. “It was not Sean’s fault. As I said, there were rumors. It was actually kinder knowing the truth. I won’t ask you particulars, but were you…were you able to do what you needed?”
The question startled Colin. He knew what Makenna meant. Had he found the culprits and exacted revenge? But the concept of someone concerned and interested about his trip was unexpected. Previously, whenever he had returned from being away, it had been to a litany of mishaps and lectures of how he should never have left Lochlen. Never once had Deirdre asked about his trips. Colin almost gave in to the urge to tell Makenna all that had happened, his suspicions, and his plans with Donovan.
Instead, he refrained. Makenna was strong, but the burden he carried was one of his making, and he would not ask her to share it. “Aye, I was able to do what must be done…for now.”
“Then you will have to return.”
“Aye, possibly, but I cannot say when at this time.”
Makenna nodded. “I understand.”
Her voice was low and sad. Wanting to comfort her, he scooped Makenna in his arms and settled down in the middle chair. Makenna curled up in his lap and laid her cheek against his chest.
Her sigh reminded him of her previous strained expression. “Makenna, when I entered you looked as if you were working through a problem. What happened while I was away?” He forced his voice to be light and casual while he waged war with his instincts to demand the name and action of whoever upset her.
Colin heard her quick intake of breath. “Nothing really. Just little things. I’m Lady of Lochlen now. I’m a wife, and it’s all still new to me.” She forced a smile and added, “I just hate not knowing how or what to do. I have much to learn, and I am impatient.”
Her answer had the ring of truth, but Colin suspected something more serious was behind her earlier murmurs and looks. Seeing the state of the town walls, he reasoned many still were unhappy at her for marrying him, an outsider…a Highlander. The division between the clan was growing, not shrinking, and Makenna had been alone to deal with the aftermath of their marriage. If he pressed any further, Makenna would withdraw. Patience was the quickest path to gain her trust and learn the full truth.
He shifted her so that he could hold her more comfortably while stretching his legs toward the fire. It was such a simple thing, to hold one’s wife. Simple, but pleasing in a way he had never dreamed possible. “I saw Gannon on my way to you. He affirmed what I saw. Lochlen could not have been in better hands.”
The sincerity of his voice completely disarmed Makenna. How she had needed to hear those words. Tears formed and began to spill. She struggled to stop them, but the more she tried, the faster they fell.
Colin held Makenna as her sobs grew to where they shook her body. Concern flooded him. So much had taken place in the past six weeks, and Makenna had internalized it all. Their marriage, her father, the raids, his absence…she needed to release what she had been keeping buried.
After a while, Makenna calmed but did not move from his lap. The sleeve of her chemise was gathered near her shoulder, and Colin began to stroke the exposed skin. It was like caressing the finest silk. Every few inches his fingertips encountered another small scar. Lightly he touched each one wondering how her skin could be so soft and perfect, yet be riddled with so many old wounds. Her body was covered with them—her sides, her legs, and a large one across her knee that must have been very painful. What crazy foolish hobby did she have as a child—climbing trees? Did she have a bad fall on the stairs? Someday he would ask, but not now. Tonight was about the present and the future, not the past.
Makenna felt like a terrible weight had been partially lifted. It was still there, but it seemed manageable again. Not one for crying, she had never realized how therapeutic it could be. She snuggled closer and felt the proof of Colin’s physical need.
A surge of deep, feminine desire reawakened. She slowly uncurled her legs, enjoying the feel of his arousal. She didn’t resist as Colin’s hand moved across her stomach to the curve of her hip and pulled her even closer.