Her Outlaw Read online

  “You’re a beautiful, enchanting woman. You could garner a dozen marriage proposals with little more than a smile at a society ball. Why have you entered this humiliating marriage competition?”

  Humiliating. See, Kat? I was right.

  He’d distracted her with this snow globe nonsense. She’d relaxed her guard. Yet, Emma was torn between feeling annoyed and defensive and feeling flattered. When was the last time a man the likes of Alasdair MacRae called her fascinating and enchanting? And danged if he didn’t have a point about the marriage contest. “Isn’t that being rather judgmental when you know nothing of my circumstance, Mr. MacRae?”

  “Which brings us back to my question.” He idly shifted the snow globe from his right hand to his left. “What is your circumstance?”

  Buying time, she said, “Why do you ask?”

  Those broad shoulders shrugged. “I care about Jake’s nieces and nephew. They’ve had a difficult time, what with losing their parents and the realities of having Jake as their guardian. I want what’s best for them.”

  The comment surprised her. Dair MacRae didn’t strike her as a man who’d pay attention to children, much less act as their champion. “You agree with Mr. Kimball’s plan to provide them a mother so he can abandon them and travel to Tibet?”

  His lips twitched. “I’ve known Jake for quite some time. I suspect the outcome of these events will differ from what circumstances currently suggest. I know now that family is important to you. Are you here for the children, then? Are you looking for a ready-made family?”

  Persistent fellow, Emma thought. “I am not lacking in family now, sir. Both my immediate family and extended family are quite large, and we have lots of children to shower with love. I’m not here because I have maternal urges that need soothing.”

  Those intriguing gray eyes lit with amusement and just a hint of challenge. “So, other urges have brought you here?”

  Emma’s cheeks flushed. Oh, for goodness’ sake. She was too old to blush. Attempting to turn the tables on him, she went on the offensive. “What brings you here, Mr. MacRae? Do you intend to help Mr. Kimball choose his bride? Offer a second opinion?”

  Once again he held the barquentine snow globe up to the sun. Casually, he said, “Originally, I had no intentions of attending this…travesty. Emma, I’m here because of you.”

  She cleared her throat, then asked, “Me?”

  “I’ve told you I find you intriguing. I want to know more about you. I want to know everything about you.”

  Oh, my. When she felt her hands tremble, she decided enough was enough. “Because I played pin the tail on the donkey?”

  He laughed. “I find your spirit quite appealing, Emma.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “To Jake?” When she nodded, Dair MacRae once again shrugged. “It’s more interesting this way, don’t you agree? A secret between the two of us. It’s…” His gaze focused on her mouth as he said, “…intimate.”

  Heat washed through her. She needed to fan her face. “But…but…wait a minute. I’m here trying to marry your friend.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Oh?” She said it with some bite to her tone.

  Again, he showed her that smile. He stalked across the room, took hold of her hand, and tugged her to her feet. Then, he handed her the snow globe. “Explain to me about the ship, Emma. Tell me what it represents to you.”

  She didn’t want to tell him about the ship, not now, but when he locked eyes with her, she felt compelled to respond. Could it be that the man made his living as a mesmerist? Fighting the pull of his gaze, she said, “Not until you choose. I want you to choose five snow globes.”

  He paused, considered, then observed, “Ah, Emma, you are a true delight.”

  Dair MacRae made quick work of his first three choices. Emma halfway expected him to select from the bawdy globes, but he stayed away from that row. He placed his globes on the table with hers. A shark. An eagle. A wolf. He was an animal lover? She wondered why he’d chosen those specific animals. Because each was a predator, perhaps? Recalling the intensity of his gaze upon occasion, Emma thought it fit.

  She waited for him to make his fourth choice. Instead of reaching for a grizzly bear or even one of the dinosaurs, he surprised her by selecting one of her selections. The mask.

  What was the message in that?

  He watched her closely as he made his fifth selection, a truly fantastical depiction of a wizard staring into his crystal ball. Emma couldn’t begin to predict the reason behind that choice. “You are a most curious man,” she observed.

  “And you are a captivating woman. Tell me about the ship.”

  Bowing to what felt like the inevitable, she said, “Adventure. The ship represents adventure.”

  He stared at her for a long, thoughtful moment, his gaze intense, before the light in his eyes turned knowing and he murmured, “Ah.”

  Ah? What did he mean, ah? Annoyed, Emma folded her arms and asked him. “What do you mean, ‘ah’?”

  He laughed and the sound skittered across her skin like a caress. “I mean ‘ah’ I’m going to enjoy this weekend.”

  Emma didn’t know whether to take that as a threat or a promise.

  “Now, I’ll leave you to settle in,” Dair MacRae continued. “Jake has asked all his guests to congregate on the back lawn in…” MacRae checked a pocket watch “…half an hour. I trust that will be convenient for you?”

  He didn’t wait for her response, but turned to leave. Prodded by an emotion she didn’t understand, Emma stepped forward and insisted, “I am here for the contest, Mr. MacRae.”

  At the doorway, he paused. “Dair. And there are many kinds of contests, Emma. You and I are engaged in one of infinite, intriguing possibilities. I look forward to discovering them…together.”

  All the energy seemed sucked from the room as he shut the door behind him. Her knees weak, her heartbeat fluttering, Emma sank into the nearest seat. Contests. Adventure. Dair MacRae.

  Deep within her, the McBride Menace mischief-maker stirred.

  DAIR RETREATED TO HIS OWN suite across the hall from Emma. There, courtesy of transatlantic telegraph lines and Angus Fraser’s man, Tompkins, he reviewed his dossier on the eldest McBride sister once again.

  So the woman dreamed of adventure, did she? He scanned the document, absently rubbing his temple. Eldest of six children. Responsible, civic-minded, former president of the Fort Worth Literary Society. A talented singer. An excellent shot. Now, that’s curious. But then, she was a Texan.

  And very possibly perfect for his purposes. She might be the solution to his Piney Woods problem.

  Dair was a believer in fate. Was fate the reason he and Emma met in front of a shop window moments before Sister Mary Margaret changed his plans? Perhaps. He hoped so. He’d like to get this situation settled so he could get on with the business of dying.

  So, was Emma Tate the answer to his troubles? Reviewing the dossier once again, he turned to the page listing her romantic entanglements. Married at age twenty to a rancher, Casey Tate. Widowed three months later. No significant extended relationship since then.

  On the surface she appeared perfect. He thought of what her snow globe choices had told him. She valued family, her work. He suspected the mask might have been a symbol of this masquerade that had brought her to Chatham Park. She’d expressed a need for adventure. Physical adventure, he wondered? Or…romantic?

  The woman gave all appearances of being ripe for the plucking. His mouth twisted with a wry smile. Plucking her would present no hardship on his part. A pleasant change from his recent dealings with the duchess.

  Dair walked to the window and gazed down at the lawn where the bride contestants and their chaperones had begun to congregate. The sisters had yet to put in an appearance. He’d find it interesting to see if they’d jump right into whatever mischief they’d planned, or if they’d take matters more slowly.

  They were after pirate tre
asure, of course. Jake had relayed to Dair the story of his first meeting with Miss Katrina McBride in Galveston, Texas a few years ago when she’d attempted to purchase an altar cross from Jake’s father’s estate. She’d had personal reasons for wanting to buy the artifact from Jean Lafitte’s booty. Jake had personal reasons for refusing her.

  Now, after a bit of study and debate, Jake and Dair had concluded that the sisters’ attempt to participate in Jake’s bride search was their effort to gain access to Chatham Park and its famous collections. Dair wondered if attempting to steal a treasure from Jake Kimball’s estate would pacify Emma’s thirst for adventure. Or, would she prefer an adventure more intimate in nature?

  Dair knew which choice he’d prefer.

  The intensity of his own reaction surprised him. Though he’d grown accustomed to using women, as a rule he found the practice distasteful. In Emma Tate’s case, he found the idea…delicious.

  Admittedly, he need not use her at all. She had no grand fortune to steal, no significant jewels to rob, and Dair didn’t steal from those of limited means. In all honesty, romancing her might complicate his own purposes. She might be the type of woman to fulfill his request simply from the goodness of her heart. Such people did exist. Just not in the crowd he’d been running with of late.

  Nevertheless, Dair found the idea of romancing Emma infinitely appealing. After all, considering his prognosis, it might well be his last chance.

  Seducing her would answer any lingering questions he might have about her appropriateness for the job. From his experience, a woman’s true character invariably emerged once she shared a bed with a man. Just because he suspected the hand of fate in this enterprise didn’t mean that Emma Tate was the perfect person for the job. He wouldn’t know that until he knew the woman, inside and out. The best, the quickest way to learn the information was to seduce her.

  There, wasn’t that tidy?

  Not necessarily true, he was honest enough with himself to admit, but justifiable. Once he’d confirmed her character and secured her loyalty, her allegiance, he could spring his question upon her. If he did it right, she wouldn’t refuse him.

  Dair had every intention of doing it right.

  So, how best to proceed? He spent a few minutes considering, then discarding various options before settling on a plan. Best to move forward with caution, he thought. First, he’d simply spend time with her, probing her wishes and desires for bits of information not to be found in the pages of any dossier. Then, armed with her likes and dislikes, he would formulate his seduction strategy.

  A check of the mantel clock revealed that the time had come for the next scene in this production. Dair headed downstairs to spend the remainder of the day getting to know Emma.

  She displayed a genuine affection for children and proved her claim that she enjoyed fishing during a contest with Jake’s niece Caroline at Chatham Park’s picturesque lake. When that was done, Dair and Caroline spent some time skipping rocks, until the girl joined Emma in picking wildflowers while he stretched out on a quilt beneath the warm afternoon sun. As Dair enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching a woman and child fill a white wicker basket with flowers of pink and blue, he mentally prioritized the other pieces of information he wished to learn.

  Dair managed to lure Emma over to his quilt and he surreptitiously probed her opinions about various methods of discipline for children. Her answers to his questions suggested she was frugal, but not a skinflint; generous, but not extravagant; disciplined, but not heavy-handed. The more he learned, the more he liked. Emma Tate just might be perfect. In more ways than one.

  He hadn’t been lying when he said she intrigued him. Dair found her spirit delightful and her mind refreshing. Her beauty made him want. He’d love to lay her back against the ground and continue his investigation of Emma Tate in a much more intimate manner. Dair imagined tasting her, baring her breasts, running his hands and mouth over all her generous curves. He wanted her naked beneath the afternoon sun. Naked beneath him. Her legs—undoubtedly long and shapely—wrapped around his waist.

  Unfortunately, the presence of little Caroline thwarted the realization of those desires. However, a kiss would not be amiss, would it?

  Dair was just about ready to make his move when Emma’s sister disrupted the idyllic afternoon. The two sisters moved away seeking privacy for their conversation, not knowing Dair had hearing like a hawk. He eavesdropped subtly.

  Apparently, Jake had made progress because Kat knew he’d seen through her disguise. She wanted to run. Emma…dear, darling Emma…refused.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” Kat declared in a shrill tone. “It’s more than a simple flirtation. That man has turned your head!”

  Excellent news, Dair thought.

  “I don’t know what it is, Kat,” Emma said, her tone turning wistful. “He’s…fun. I’m having fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any fun. I think I need it.”

  While Dair digested that bit of information, the women moved a bit farther away, and he could no longer make out their words. He rolled to his feet and returned to skipping rocks, shifting closer to the sisters in time to hear Kat say, “Please, Emma. We’re not children anymore. Don’t you think you’re too old to be talking that way?”

  “Too old? Too old!”

  Dair abandoned any effort at pretense and stared openly when he saw fire burn in Emma’s eyes and color stain her cheeks. She looked like an avenging angel, a warrior goddess. By God, she made a man ache.

  She gave her head a toss, braced her hands on her hips and declared, “Maybe I am too old. Maybe I’m just old and tired. Tired of always being Emma the poor widow, Emma the dutiful daughter, Emma the supportive sister. Maybe I just want to be a flesh and blood woman. Maybe I just want to be Emma!”

  Emma the adventurer, I think.

  How lucky for me.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I’M SO SORRY,” EMMA said the following day as she gently wiped a smear of blood from Dair’s face, the result of a minor injury that Kat—now sans disguise—had caused inadvertently. He sat at a table in the kitchen, Emma standing between his spread legs, a wet dish towel in her right hand. “My sister is, well, it’s difficult to explain. Mr. Kimball sets off her temper.”

  His brows winged up. “That was temper?”

  “Yes, or something.” Emma set the dishcloth aside, then placed an ice pack against his skin. “What you don’t know is how wonderful it is to see her enthused about something.”

  “That was enthused?”

  Emma couldn’t help but laugh at his incredulous tone. “That was alive. My sister hasn’t been that way since her daughter died. Losing Susie just about destroyed her, but this trip has eased things, I believe. I think Kat might finally be ready.”

  Dair shifted the ice away. “I’m fine, Emma. It doesn’t hurt. Now, what is it you think your sister might be ready for?”

  Emma glanced toward the window and in her mind’s eye, saw Kat’s shenanigans as she’d pitched a ball to Jake Kimball. In those moments, her sister had literally glowed. “I think she’s ready to live again. When you lose someone you love, it takes time.”

  He nodded, then reached for her hand. Emma’s heart skipped a beat as he rose and, towering above her, stared down into her eyes. He traced the curve of her cheek with the roughened pad of his thumb and spoke in an aged-whiskey voice, “And what about you, Emma?”

  She licked her lips. “Me?”

  “Are you ready to live again?”

  The question hung suspended on the air like a spider’s silken web. This was no simple question and she knew it. If she said yes, he’d kiss her. She could see it in his eyes.

  Emma sucked in a breath, swallowed hard. “Yes, I do believe I am.”

  She swayed toward him, her eyelids drifting downward. But he surprised her by taking a step back. “Then come with me, Emma. Let me show you the pleasures to be found at Chatham Park.”

  Oh, my.

  Keeping her hand in his, D
air led her from the kitchen and out of the house. She wondered where he was taking her. To the stables for a ride to an isolated part of the estate, perhaps? Or maybe back to the fish pond they’d visited yesterday? Surely not to the lawn where the rest of the visitors gathered. He’d take her somewhere private, wouldn’t he?

  Dair led Emma to the opening of the garden maze.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, eyeing the roses and honeysuckle surrounding the rectangular-shaped structure. And definitely private. Extremely private. Was she really going to do this? Step into a maze with this man? Alone?

  He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. Emma’s knees went watery. Yes. She was really going to do this. Oh my oh my oh my. She swallowed her misgivings and smiled. “The maze is huge, too. I can see from my bedroom window.”

  “It covers almost two acres. It’s easy to get lost inside, Emma. Are you certain you’re up to my game?”

  Game? Her blood humming, the adventurous Emma arched a brow. “Just what is your game, sir?”

  He smiled, and Emma was reminded of one of his choices of snow globe: the wolf. “It’s a contest, of course. If you can find your way to the Greek temple replica at the center of the northern section of the maze you will win the prize.”

  “What prize?”

  “Hmm…how about your choice of snow globe?”

  This was Jake Kimball’s home, not Dair MacRae’s. “Are they yours to give away?”

  “In this instance, yes.”

  It was a curious remark, but before she could question him further, he distracted her with a caveat to his contest. “Of course, we shall need a time limit or you may be wandering this maze until dark. Shall we say…fifteen minutes?”

  Emma frowned. “But it’s a two-acre maze.”

  “I’ll give you hints whenever you request. However, such hints don’t come free.”

  “Oh?” Her gaze fastened on his mouth. “And exactly what do they cost?”

  “That depends on how lost you are, my dear.” She narrowed her eyes and he laughed. “My price will be a kiss.”