Marjorie knelt down to cup Davie's chin. “I'll be back for you, laddie,” she whispered. She kissed him on his forehead and then cleared her throat, willing her voice to steady. “I swear it.” She swept out the door, trembling violendy. She needed to weep, to scream.

Davie, Archie, Fiona… life had handed her a series of appalling revelations, pulling the shades from her eyes.

She'd been naive and foolish for so long. To think there was true charity in the world. To think the world made any sense.

And she was a fool now if she thought a life without Cormac would ever make sense again.

Her gorge rose. Cormac.

She tugged at her bodice, half walking, half running to the head of the alley. She knew she should exercise caution; she should be more circumspect, less conspicuous. She was a woman alone, and with a pocketful of coin, no less, racing along as though she were a child. But she needed to flee. She was going to be sick.

Cormac was gone, and she'd never be right again.

Hands grabbed her roughly from behind, clapping over her mouth and hard around her belly.

Terror exploded, blurring the edges of her vision. Marjorie's heart pounded in her chest, as she was dragged back into the chill shadows of the vennel.

Chapter 28

“Hush.” The lass was squirming like a fresh-caught haddie, and her squeals were beginning to attract unwanted attention. Cormac's profound relief at being reunited was momentarily eclipsed by concern. Unwelcome eyes meant danger. Gripping her more tightly, he put his mouth at her ear. “Hush, Ree. It's me. It's Cormac.” She froze for a split second. Spinning in his grip, she flung her arms around his neck, crushing her body to his. “Cormac!”

He kissed her hair, agonizingly aware of her soft breasts pressed into him. The moment he got her someplace safe, he'd not waste a moment before he had her lying naked before him.

Her squeals of terror had turned instantly into sounds of delight, and she let loose a stream of nearly

unintelligible exclamations and apologies, alternately cupping and kissing his cheeks.

Cormac couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her was a revelation. Being parted so violently had plunged him into cold darkness; he'd been terrified for her safety, terrified he'd not survive to see her again. “You're a glorious sight, Ree.”

“You're the glorious sight!” She patted his arms, his chest, as though he might be concealing some hidden injuiy. “Thank God you're safe.” She curled her fingers into his shirt and, with a laugh, gave him a little shake.

“We saved them! We did it, Cormac, we saved the boys.”

“Where are they?”

“I left them safe with Fiona, just as you told me.”

“Good work,” he told her, and she beamed. “But now we must save ourselves.” He couldn't stop his eyes from grazing down her body. Her low-cut gown revealed the tops of her pale breasts, and she was breathless and flushed with the excitement. Laying one last rough kiss on the top of her head, he pulled her into a brisk walk.

First he'd assure her safety, and then he'd claim his reward. “We must make haste. Jack's men are out looking for us.”

“But how did you escape? I thought you'd been killed!” She swatted him on his arm in mock anger. “How did you find me?”

“One question at a time, Ree.” Though there was humor in his voice, the look in his eyes grew deadly serious as he led them from the alley, warily charting a path into the heart of the city. “I'm a highly motivated man, you see.”

“What do you mean?” She looked up, innocence in her eyes.

He'd get her safely tucked away, and then he'd show her exactly what he meant. But for now, he said, “It means I'll not stay parted from you, whatever the cost.”

“What happened?” she demanded. Fierce emotion lit her eyes, her expression intense. “I thought surely those smugglers would kill you.”

“Once I knocked Jack out, his men didn't put up much of a fight. A hoary old ship's mate and a deck full of greenhorns armed with naught but rusted fish knives and empty muskets held in trembling fingers? They weren't too tricksy a gang from which to escape. And the younger sailors have their own reasons to be on board, none of which appear to be fealty to the captain.”

“Had they been kidnapped, too, do you think?”

He shrugged. “Indentured, enthralled, or simply out for trouble, the lads apparendy valued their lives over a load of stolen boys and a fistful of coin. I was forced to… “ He paused, considering his words. The deckhands had attacked him, and it was kill or be killed. He regretted that a few of them had been no older than Declan. “I took a few out of the mix,” he said carefully. “Seeing their mates go down was enough to take the wind from their sails.”

“But how did you find me?”

“Och, lass, if only I'd kept a bit of the coin I'd tossed to you, it wouldn't have taken me quite so long.” He hugged her playfully to him. “But not to worry. A few well-placed questions was all it took. Pretty lassies like Fiona, who are maids to even prettier ladies, tend to attract attention.” She glanced around, flush from the compliment. “Where are you taking us?” He'd chosen an out-of-the-way path, turning up a side street, steering them to walk in the shadow of a row of buildings. “I'm afraid we can't go back to the inn.”

“Then where should we go?” She stopped, perplexed, and he tugged her back into a walk.

“I'm afraid we have no choice but to go to your uncle's.”

He felt the tension drain from her shoulders. “Oh, that's wonderful. We can ask Humphrey for help with—”

“No,” he interrupted, regretting what he was about to tell her. “There can be no we. You've been in too much danger as it is. The ruse of Lord and Lady Brodie is at an end.”

“But we still need to understand what Archie's involvement is,” she exclaimed.

“Quiet now, Ree. We won't be safe until we're out of sight.” He made sure he had her full attention. “I am the only person who will be investigating Archie.”

“We'll investigate Archie. But,” she quickly added, looking baffled, “I still don't understand why we can't ask my uncle for help.”

Humphrey was a doddering old man above suspicion, and that was precisely the reason Cormac didn't want him involved. He worried her uncle might forget the need for discretion and blather the wrong thing to the wrong person. Rather than sharing that fear with Marjorie, though, he appealed instead to her sense of propriety. “I can't stay indefinitely at Humphrey's. Your uncle is a peculiar old duck, but even he'd raise a brow at that.”

“Och.” She smiled broadly and waved a dismissive hand. “That's your concern? Humphrey won't even know you're there. We simply won't announce your presence. In any case, the man is much preoccupied with other things of late.

You've seen him. He didn't even notice when I'd left Aberdeen. In fact, I'd bet we could install ourselves there for a fortnight before he'd even notice my return.” She sidled closer to him, giving his arm a quick and suggestive stroke of her fingers. “And besides, your staying at my uncle's has the additional advantage of extending our time together. You'd not deny an innocent lass that, would you?”

The seductive shadow in her gaze made his body quicken. She had the right of it: staying by her side would forever be his heart's only desire. He'd tasted paradise, and it was in her bed. “Innocent, eh? I thought we'd left your innocence by the wayside. Quite enthusiastically, as I recall.” Giggling, she leaned into him. He felt the soft give of her bosom on his arm. Drawing in a sharp breath, he quickened their pace. This woman was exquisite, and she was his. And the moment they returned to her room, he'd make very certain she knew it.

Which, at the pace he set, was not long.

“I swear to you,” she whispered as they scampered up the stairs to her bedroom on the third story, “Fiona is the only person who will know you're here.”

“And you trust her?”

She gave him a scornful look. “Cormac MacAlpin, as I remember it, you are the one who instructed me to trust her in the first place.”

“Enough of your sass, woman. Just get us to your rooms.” He swatted Marjorie on her bottom, hurrying her along.

With a delighted squeal, she spun, catching him around his neck. “I do love you, Cormac MacAlpin.” The words stole the breath from his lungs.

She stood on the stair above him. They were face-to-face, mere inches apart. In the shadows of the staircase, her magnificent eyes glimmered dark as sapphires. Her arms tightened around him. “I love you,” she whispered.

Passion —

and some bit of fear, too —

stole the words from his throat. His own feelings overwhelmed him, remaining unspoken. He locked his mouth on hers instead and, sweeping her into his arms, stormed to her room like a Viking. He broke the kiss only to kick the door shut tight behind them.

Cormac strode to the bed and tossed her down. She laughed, bouncing on the heather-filled mattress, but the look in her eyes soon grew dark, watching him as he began to strip.

His shirt, his boots and trews — one by one his clothes dropped to the floor. And she stared hungrily all the while, her breath coming short. He thought his cock could get no harder, until he saw the stark desire in her eyes.

“I need you, Ree,” he rasped. He needed her by his side. He needed to bury himself between her legs.

He needed her in his life forever.

He crawled on top of her, and the rustle of her clothes against his body was a maddening tease. His desire was sharp, and sharper still, until he thought it wouldn't even be enough for him to have her.

“You've brought me to life.” He kissed her gently along her jaw, her forehead, and then, after tracing a path along her lips with his thumb, kissed her mouth. He'd been coming slowly back to life, until he discovered himself a feeling man again, a man capable of joy in her arms. “You've made me happy again, somehow.” A lifetime of pain and their shared hours of joy — everything that had passed between them — crystallized in that moment. He was a man redeemed. “My heart hadn't beat since that day,” he said, knowing he'd not need even to speak Aidan's name for her to understand. “But it beats again, Ree. For you.” Her small hands stroked down his back, cupping his ass. His skin shivered. “I just thank God you're safe,” she said, raining kisses over his face and neck. Her touch was tender and loving but ardent, too, and it ignited him.