Highland Devil (Murray Family #22)(27)

Moving just enough to reach out and turn down the added covers, he then  held her close and closed his eyes. He would have a short rest, then  return to just watching her for any sign of some new turn in her  illness. Briefly peeking at Freya, who sprawled on the pillow near her  head, he caught the cat watching him.

"Wake me when the sun starts to rise," he said, and chuckled as he closed his eyes again.



Mora woke up slowly. She was so nice and warm when she could faintly  recall being so very cold, the kind of cold that sank right down into  your bones. Snuggling closer to the warmth, she suddenly realized that  it was not a blanket wrapped around her legs. It was a leg. She shifted  her legs a little. It was a big leg, too.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a big arm  wrapped around her shoulders. Mora knew she should not be having so much  trouble figuring this out, but it was as if her brain was wrapped in a  fog. She turned her head and felt the slight tickle of hair against her  nose.

It was hard, but she resisted the strong urge to leap out of bed. She  felt no fear, which was odd, she thought. Leaning back a little, she  looked up and saw Gybbon's sleeping face. He looked years younger with  his face relaxed in sleep.

That was why she had no fear, she decided. She also had no idea why he  was in her bed and-she lifted the covers, then quickly put them back  down-why he was naked. Glancing around, she saw no one else in the room  and rested against him again.

Gybbon was why that cold she recalled was gone. A glance at the window  told her it was just dawn, and still early dawn for the sun was down by  the horizon. Despite the hilly land around them she could still see a  bit of the sun. So, too early to be awake, she decided, but she felt no  strong need to go back to sleep.

After lying there for a while trying to decide what she should do and  enjoying being held close by Gybbon more than she probably should, she  noticed a sore spot on her head, one that throbbed enough to try and  make her head ache. Mora sat up and grabbed the tankard on the table by  the bed, having a long drink of the cider left for her. She then reached  up and felt around her head before finding a bump on the back. Try as  hard as she could, she could not think of where she might have gotten  it.

Gybbon opened his eyes and watched as Mora rubbed the spot on her head  that had hit the floor. He had begun to wake up when she had started  moving around, a little afraid she would panic when she found him there.  Mora had either figured out why he was there or she was still groggy.

"Morning," he said, and looked at Freya. "Ye were supposed to wake me when the sun rose."

Mora laughed and watched as her cat patted him on the face. "The sun has  just risen and ye should be glad I was slow this morning or ye might be  the one needing a wound tended."

"Ye were shivering from the cold, although it was warm enough in here."

"I could remember that much. My mither got the chills bad once and my da  climbed into the bed with her, then had me and Andrew crawl in as well.  However," she said sternly and looked at him, "we kept all our clothes  on."

"I believe I mentioned once that I dinnae wear them when climbing into a proper bed."

She just harrumphed in a soft way, then rubbed her head again. "Why does my head hurt?"

"It didnae like the floor it met with." When she looked at him in confusion, he just smiled.

"I fell?"

"Like a stone. Ye were right outside the door to the hall and headed to  the stairs when ye went down. Ye had the fever again. Annys thinks it  was simply because ye did too much too soon, had too much weighing on  your mind and heart." He reached around her, grabbed the tankard, and  used the last of the cider to rinse away the taste of the night from his  mouth.

"I didnae ride a horse and that was all Jolene said I couldnae do."         

     



 

"Aye, I ken it, but Annys thinks ye have had far too much to deal with  for a while now and that may have made the cart ride enough to make ye  sick again. Your wound is just fine-before ye ask. Your head didnae  split open or the like, so that will stop being painful soon."

"Well, I guess that was lucky as that floor is hard."

"Ye could put a cold cloth on the spot. I dinnae ken why, but it can  help." He reached out to find the spot giving her trouble. "'Tis a  sizeable knot ye have there."

She sighed as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. When  she did not immediately protest, he kissed her. This was how a man  should wake up in the morning, he thought, as he deepened the kiss and  she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He moved his kisses to her throat and she murmured with an enjoyment  that tempted him to kiss her again. He stroked her back as he gently  brought her even closer. Gybbon heartily wished there were not so many  bedcovers between them.

Mora knew she should pull away and put a stop to this, but she held him  tighter and returned his kiss. She also knew she should put an end to  the way he was stroking her anywhere he could reach. It was not until  she felt the heat of his hand move over her breast that alarm crept into  the pleasure he was stirring.

Gybbon silently cursed as he felt her body stiffen, but he stole one  last caress before he pulled back. She was a lady and an innocent.  Greedy though he was feeling, he knew he had to move slowly.

"Weel, that was a fine good morning," he drawled, then winked at her.  "But ye better turn away because I am about to get out from under these  cursed covers. Unless ye have a wish to bask in my beauty."

Mora rolled her eyes and turned around, ignoring the part of her that  urged her to look. If nothing else, that could make him think she was  ready for something she knew she should not indulge in. From what little  she had glimpsed when lifting the covers a bit to peek at him, he was a  very nicely put together man.

"Does Andrew ken I fell down and got the fever again?"

"Aye, I am afraid so. He is with the other boys though and kenned I was going to watch ye during the night."

"He slept with some of the boys?"

"Aye. They put him with Benet and Joan's lads."

"How lovely. He rarely gets to be with boys near his age."

"Nay only near his age but ones who have shared some of the troubles he  is having now." He grabbed her gently by the arm and tugged her over to  him, then gave her a quick hard kiss on the mouth. "Do ye want a maid  sent?"

"Nay, I could too easily get spoiled."

"Then I shall see ye in the hall." He walked to the door.

"Do ye think it was the bath that brought the fever on?" she asked as she watched him reach for the handle of the door.

"Nay, I doubt that. For all we ken, it could have aided in it leaving ye  so quickly. Nay, I think Annys is right. Ye have just carried too much  all on your own for far too long."

Mora thought on that as she rose to get dressed, moving slowly until she  felt certain she was steady on her feet. Her mind was inclined to drift  to the sweetness of his kisses, the way they made her feel, but she  forced it to stay on the matter of what had caused her to swoon like  some weak maid. She would think about Gybbon, his kisses and caresses,  later. And those feelings much later than that, she decided. It would be  important to know if she would refuse or accept them, but there was  time for all that later.

He was right; she had been carrying a lot of weight for a long time now  and had had little time to deal with all of it. There was her grief over  her parents, her added grief over the likely fate of her brothers, and  being the head of a household, a household her thieving cousins thought  should be theirs. There had been no time to sort out any of these  concerns, and it had been exhausting her. It was a shock to realize her  own cousins were willing to kill off her entire family, people who had  always been kind to him and his family, just to take back what their  grandfather had willingly and legally given to his youngest son.

Somehow, she had to get their father, her uncle, to heed her. She had  not seen the man for a fortnight or more, but perhaps he had improved to  where he could, and would listen to her. Jolene was certain the mon was  being poisoned. Mora could not bring herself to disbelieve that, but  did wonder if Robert's brothers knew of it.

If not, then she needed to try and do something to save them, especially  Murdoch. She knew he had no knowledge of his brother's crimes. She  could still see that look of horror on his face when Robert had openly  admitted to killing and stealing from her parents. She was not as  certain about Lachlan and Duncan and their part in all of it.         

     



 

She finally yanked off her night shift and began to get dressed. A quick  look at her wound was enough to tell her she had done it no harm when  she had fallen. It was ugly but not infected at all. Mora took a moment  to dig out the cream Jolene had packed for her and rubbed it on her  wound.