Caelen's Wife, Book Two Read online

  Caelen’s Wife, A Whisper of Fate

  The Clan McDunnah Series

  Suzan Tisdale

  For Kitty H. and Ophelia H.

  Copyright ©2015 Suzan Tisdale

  Cover art by Wicked Smart Designs

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the author.

  * * *

  ISBN: 0-9864163-1-2

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9864163-1-6

  Contents

  Also by Suzan Tisdale

  Note:

  Introduction

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Prologue

  Follow Suzan on BookBub

  About the Author

  Also by Suzan Tisdale

  Also by Suzan Tisdale

  The Clan MacDougall Series

  Laiden’s Daughter

  Findley’s Lass

  Wee William’s Woman

  McKenna’s Honor

  * * *

  The Clan Graham Series

  Rowan’s Lady

  Frederick’s Queen

  * * *

  The Mackintoshes and McLarens Series

  Ian’s Rose

  The Bowie Bride

  Rodrick the Bold

  Brogan’s Promise

  * * *

  The Clan McDunnah Series

  A Murmur of Providence

  A Whisper of Fate

  A Breath of Promise

  * * *

  Moirra’s Heart Series

  Stealing Moirra’s Heart

  Saving Moirra’s Heart

  * * *

  Stand Alone Novels

  Isle of the Blessed

  Forever Her Champion

  The Edge of Forever

  * * *

  Arriving in 2018:

  Black Richard’s Heart

  * * *

  The Brides of the Clan MacDougall

  (A Sweet Series)

  Aishlinn

  Maggy (arriving 2018)

  Nora (arriving 2018)

  * * *

  Coming Soon:

  The MacAllens and Randalls

  Note:

  This is book two of a three part series. They must be read in order.

  A Murmur of Providence

  A Whisper of Fate

  A Breath of Promise

  Introduction

  The Saga Continues…

  Will Clan McPherson ever know peace again?

  Long ago, Fiona McPherson made a sacred vow to never let her clan fall or be absorbed into another. Honor will not allow her to break her oath. Devastated she leaves Caelen McDunnah heartbroken on the stairs of his keep — turning away from the only man she has ever truly loved. Still, she is determined to prove that Caelen is not behind attacks.

  Will Caelen McDunnah’s heart ever know peace again?

  Wrongly accused, Caelen enlists the help of Angus McKenna, chief of the Clan MacDougall. Spies are sent far and wide to help uncover the truth. Undeterred by Fiona’s belief that they can never be together, Caelen must find a way to make Fiona his wife.

  Will Fiona choose her clan over being with Caelen?

  Prologue

  Caelen reaffirmed his declaration with a kiss.

  ’Twas sweet at first. Soft, tender, just a whisper of a kiss.

  Fiona’s knees practically knocked together.

  With great care, he placed a large hand at the small of her back and with the other, he cupped her cheek, and ever so gently he pulled her closer. He’d garner no complaint from her.

  Then the kiss turned from something sweet and tender to heated and passionate. Heat, from his body or hers, or both, either way, it felt much like when a fresh log is added to the hearth; a quiet swoosh just before bursting into flames.

  ’Twas a promise of things that could happen if she allowed the kiss to progress. At the moment she did not have the wherewithal to tell him to stop. She found she rather liked the way her stomach tingled and tightened and the way her toes tickled.

  His tongue traced along the gap between her lips, demanding entry. Deciding she did not want the kiss to end, she gave passage. She sucked in a deep breath when the tip of his tongue touched hers. Her skin turned to gooseflesh and that odd, tingling sensation moved from her stomach to parts of her she hadn’t been aware she owned until that moment.

  James had never kissed her like this, with such wanton abandon. James had never made her feel so alive and excited.

  James.

  Oh, no, this would not work!

  No matter how alive and utterly female she felt at the moment, she had to stop before things went as far as she so desperately wanted them to.

  Taking a deep breath, she placed her palms against Caelen’s chest and pulled away from his glorious and magnificent mouth.

  “Please, stop,” she said as she gasped for air.

  She could not quite describe the smile he offered her. ’Twas a combination of deviousness and pride. He gave a slow shake of his head. “I do no’ think ye truly wish fer me to stop. I ken that I do no’ wish to.”

  How was she to respond to that? ’Twas only the truth he spoke. Truly, she had no desire for him to cease. If anything, she wanted to let her drying cloth fall to the floor and then have him carry her to that very warm-looking and rather inviting bed that was just a step or two away.

  Nay! She had to be strong, had to put her foot down and had to behave like a logical thinking woman. She could not give in.

  Her eyes soaked in all of him. Those dark brown eyes of his sparkled with what could only be described as desire. And those lips … she had tasted those lips and knew all too well how they could make her feel. Her eyes fell to his chest. She had felt that hard-as-stone chest pressed against her own and wondered what he might look like sans the light blue tunic he now wore.

  “Do ye truly wish me to stop, Fiona?” Caelen asked. His voice was soft, his tone sincere.

  Did she? Did she truly want this to end here? Now?

  Yer a woman full grown for heaven’s sake! Yer a widow, no’ some innocent, calf-eyed lass with delusions of grandeur or illusions of a lifetime of moments like these. There are no more moments like this in yer future. ’Tis now or never, Fiona McPherson.

  She swallowed once, then again, before answering. “Nay, Caelen, I do no’ wish fer ye to stop.”

  One

  ’Twas true that Fiona did not want him to stop.

  Promises of untold pleasures could be found in those sparkling brown eyes of his. She hoped Caelen could not hear her thundering heart as it beat against her breast, or that he would not notice the way her body quaked with uncertainty.

  Caelen did not give her any time in which to change her mind. Wrapping his big hands around her waist, he pulled her closer. His lips felt hot yet soft against hers, making her breaths jagged and harsh. She clung to him, fighting to keep from falling apart in his arms.

  Countless new sensations tickled her inside to out, turning her skin to gooseflesh. His calloused hands turned to silk as his fingertips trailed up her back and down again. Breathing became increasingly difficult; thinking any coherent thou
ght impossible.

  His lips left hers, leaving her breathless and wanting. He left trails of heat behind with those glorious, magnificent lips, from her cheek, down her neck, to that very tender spot behind her ear.

  Nay, it had never felt like this with James. James had never taken his time like this with hot tender kisses, soft caresses. Nay, joining with James had never taken much time. There’d been no careful exploration of her body; it had simply been a man doing his duty, trying to get his wife with child, nothing more. Afterwards, she’d always felt ashamed, severely lacking on so many levels, and broken.

  This, this was entirely different. Exhilarating, wondrous and intoxicating.

  Still, doubts crept in. Mayhap she should warn him now, before he got far too excited, before she became far too excited and they both ended up disappointed.

  “Caelen,” she whispered, not recognizing her own voice.

  “Hmmm?” he hummed against her neck as his fingertips gently touched her shoulders.

  “I,” she needed to tell him something, but couldn’t remember once his fingertips found their way to her breasts. Oh, she could not think when he did that. But there was something she needed to tell him. Something important.

  His attentions turned to the other side of her neck then, his fingers dancing tenderly across her skin. Good Lord she was going to faint soon, she just knew it. And what was she doing just standing there? Shouldn’t she be kissing him? Touching him? Her mind was a jumbled, incoherent mess.

  Ever so tenderly, he took her hands in his and placed sweet kisses on each of her fingertips before he started to pull her toward the bed. The bed. The big, empty, inviting bed. A flood of depressing memories came crashing in then, pulling her out of her stupor.

  “Wait!” she cried out as she pulled her hands away from his.

  Caelen stared at her with a most confused expression. “Have ye changed yer mind?” he asked, looking as though he was praying she hadn’t.

  “Nay,” she said, swallowing hard and doing her best to get her breathing back under control.

  He let out the breath he’d been holding as a smile erupted on his face. “Good,” he said happily. “Fer I fear the loch be nowhere cold enough to quench me desire fer ye.”

  When he took a step toward her, she jumped back and held up one hand. “Wait!”

  He stopped, held his hands up in defeat. “What be the matter, Fiona?”

  “I need to tell ye somethin’,” she said as she looked around for her drying cloth. It was on the floor by Caelen’s feet. “I need the dryin’ cloth,” she said, indicating with her head the spot near his feet.

  “Why?” he asked with a raised brow.

  “Because I be naked,” she said, covering her breasts with her arms.

  His smile turned quite devious. “I like ye that way.”

  “But I have to tell ye somethin’, and I would prefer no’ to tell ye whilst I be naked.”

  He sighed, scooped up the drying cloth and stepped toward her. Again, she jumped back and away as if he was a dangerous animal. Mayhap he was.

  “Fiona, please, lass, ye can tell me anythin’,” he said as he stretched out his arm and offered her the cloth. “Naked or fully clothed, ye can tell me anythin’.”

  Oh, how she prayed he meant what he said. She took the cloth and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders. It didn’t help her unease. She stared at him, suddenly wishing for a place to hide, to run, to avoid the embarrassment she was about to face. Mayhap he would be kind and not laugh at her. She couldn’t bear to have him laugh at her.

  He waited. And he waited. And he waited. Finally, he blew out a long breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “What is it ye wanted to tell me?”

  Fiona cleared her throat and took a fortifying breath. “May I please have yer promise that ye’ll no’ yell at me, or worse yet, laugh?”

  His brows furrowed as he cocked his head to one side. “Aye, I do so promise.”

  “If ye yell or laugh, so help me Caelen, I’ll run ye through with me sword and every sgian dubh in me possession.”

  She saw a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “I swear I will,” she told him.

  “I promise, I’ll no’ yell, laugh or do anythin’ else to upset ye.”

  She searched his eyes again and felt he meant to keep his word. The words poured out, so quickly that even she didn’t quite understand what she had said. “Me womanly parts be broken!”

  He looked at her with such an odd expression that she felt as though every square inch of her skin burned with embarrassment. “Beg yer pardon?”

  Frustration took hold. “Me womanly parts be broken!” she repeated, as if that clarified everything. He continued to look puzzled. “They do no’ work proper.”

  “At the risk of being gutted, can ye please explain what ye mean that they do no’ work proper?”

  She swallowed hard before answering. “They do no’ work proper, like other women ye may have known.”

  Caelen sighed and shook his head. “I fear I do no’ ken what ye mean, Fiona.”

  “I—” ’twas too humiliating to put to voice, but she knew she must. “I have never found me woman’s release.”

  He was as still as a stone obelisk.

  “That does no’ mean that we can no’ —” she paused, her humiliation growing by leaps and bounds. “That does no’ mean that we can no’, or that is to say, that you can no’ enjoy me company, if ye still want to that is. I ken it can be verra frustratin’ fer a man, when his woman can no’, that is, when she be unable to enjoy the experience as much as he. I mean, ’twas frustratin’ fer James, and after a few times, he quit tryin’, but yer no’ James and I really should no’ be thinkin’ of him now, but I felt I should warn ye, so that when I do no’, ye will no’ be frustrated to the point of anger.” She took a deep breath, lowered her voice and her eyes. “I could no’ bear that.”

  Before she knew it, he was standing before her, his hands on her shoulders. “Fiona, ye mean ye’ve never? Not once?”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and she could not bear to look at him. “I think I was close once, but nay, I’ve no’.”

  When she heard him chuckle softly, her eyes and mouth flew open, her anger quite apparent. “Ye promised ye’d no’ laugh!”

  “Fiona, ye need no’ be ashamed or embarrassed. Some women just need a little extra time to find it, is all.”

  She scrunched her brow and looked for signs of deception.

  “And there be a number of different ways to help ye.”

  She didn’t dare ask him for clarification. ’Twas humiliating enough to admit her defect, let alone ask him for clarification.

  He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “And I’m perfectly willin’ to explore all those different ways with ye.”

  Her stomach lurched, tightened, and grew warm. Everything about the man held a promise, from his deep, soft voice to his fingertips.

  “I have me hands,” he said as he carefully took a breast into each of his palms. “I have me fingers, too.” He caressed and teased with his fingertips. “And I have me mouth and tongue,” he said, as his mouth found hers again.

  In that kiss, Fiona knew that being with Caelen would not remotely resemble anything she’d ever done with James.

  * * *

  Fiona woke hours later, with Caelen’s arms wrapped around her and one heavy leg tossed over hers. Her head rested quite comfortably against his chest. The fur that covered the window flapped lazily, battling against the strong breeze. The warm afternoon air smelled of Bog Myrtle and bluebells and it tickled her skin. Over the soft crackle of low burning embers she could hear children laughing somewhere out of doors.

  Soft steady breaths signified Caelen was in a deep sleep. His heart beat steadily and ’twas more beautiful than any bard’s song she’d ever heard. His scent, a combination of smoke, leather and soap, was more intoxicating than the finest Spanish wine. Searching her memory for a time in her life when she felt this content and satisfied,
she came up blank. Add that to the long list of things she’d never before experienced.

  Letting loose a soft sigh of satisfaction and peace, she snuggled in more closely. Aye, these past few hours were the things dreams were made of. Now she understood completely what all the excitement over joining with a man was about. In the future, when the women of her clan bespoke of all the excitement, fun, and joy that could be found in a man’s bed — or his floor, chair or windowsill — she’d know full well what they meant.

  Och! To wake up like this each morn, or to fall asleep in his arms each night? ‘Twould be a dream come true.

  Reality set in the moment she allowed her mind to wander to those forbidden places of her heart. The longing she felt when she realized this would be the one and only time in her life that she would wake up next to this most amazing man was like a hard slap to her face.

  Nay, she told herself. ’Twas just this once, Fiona and ye take with ye but a memory. Nothin’ more than that.

  She’d not feel guilty for what she’d done, for what had taken place between them. Nay, the only regret she had was knowing that it was only once.

  She felt Caelen raise his head for a moment before settling back into his pillow. Hugging her tightly, he kissed the top of her head. “Fer a moment, I feared I was dreamin’.”