Katie looked over at Evan where he lay nestled against her. It was early morning, and they’d spent the night wrapped in each other’s warmth, their naked bodies keeping the cold and dampness away.
She was not a stupid woman, and she knew why he said what he did, but before she commented on what his statement meant, she needed to clarify. “Why?”
He looked down at her and brushed an errant curl from her cheek. “To marry.”
“Ah.” Katie disentanged herself from his body, sat up, and leaned against the wall behind the mattress, bringing the worn blanket with her to cover her breasts. “I guess ye think it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“Aye.” He studied her for a minute and then shifted onto his side, resting his head on his propped-up hand. “Ye seem a bit…I dinnae ken, surprised? Or unhappy?”
Katie shook her head and tucked the strands of hair covering her eyes behind her ear. She wanted a clear view of his face when they had this conversation. Of course, being a gentleman, Evan would offer marriage, but the complications from such an arrangement were many. “I’m not so sure that’s the wisest thing to do.”
His reaction was swift and direct. He sat up and gripped her arms, positioning her so they were face-to-face. “’Tis the only thing to do. When ye gave yerself to me, ’twas with the understanding that I would not take yer virginity and then abandon ye with the consequences.”
“Is that so? I dinnae remember having that conversation.”
While she appreciated his concern for her reputation, she didn’t want to be someone’s life-long sacrifice for one night of pleasure. “Can I ask ye a question?”
He gave her a curt nod.
“If we hadn’t done…this”—she waved her hand between them—“would ye be offering marriage?”
Evan dropped his hands and sat back against the wall, his eyes closed. Just about the time she was ready to hop up and dress, kenning the answer would have been nay, he spoke.
“Aye.” He opened one eye and looked at her. “Aye.” His grin grew as he studied her. “’Tis something I’ve been wrestling with for days, lass.”
She didn’t want to call the man a liar to his face, but truth be known, she had a hard time believing, with all the contention between them, that he honestly wished to marry her.
“Yer looking like ye think I’m not being truthful. I desire ye, lass. I have almost from the first time I came upon ye and that broken-down wagon on the road. Aside from that, ye are easy to look at, smart, caring, and kind. Ye are loyal to yer clansmen and are a goodly mother to yer brother—although much too protective of the lad.”
She opened her mouth at his last comment, but he held up his hand. “Aside from yer stubbornness and unrelenting need to run everything, I think ye would make a fine wife.”
Katie huffed and tugged on the blanket. Enough of the blanket fell from Evan that the evidence of his desire waved in the morning light.
Her eyes grew wide.
He grinned.
She blushed.
He reached out to tug her toward him.
She pulled back.
“We have things to discuss.” Katie raised her chin and flipped the blanket back over Evan’s lap.
He sighed. “What’s to discuss, lass? We will leave here shortly. When we arrive at the castle, I will send for a priest, and it will be done.”
“’Twill not be done. I see no reason to rush into marriage simply because we lost our heads.”
He gave her the crooked smile that made her stomach dance a tune. “Aye, but if we do, then we can do this as much as we like.”
Katie blew out a frustrated breath. “Can ye think of nothing else?”
He tapped his chin with his fingertip and looked toward the ceiling. After a full minute, he said, “Nay. I tried verra hard to think of anything else but couldn’t.”
“Ach! Yer such an oaf.” Katie whipped the blanket off them both, stood up, and, with as much modesty as possible—which truly wasn’t much at all—she found her clothes and dressed.
Apparently, it finally sank in that she wasn’t about to dally any longer, so Evan climbed to his feet and dressed, grumbling the entire time, bringing a smile to Katie’s mouth.