Read Online Duet by Eden Winters - Free Book Online Page A

into its depths.
    Aillil woke with a start, heart thumping, to find a pool of cooling warmth on his belly.
     
     
    M ORE and more Aillil found himself in the doorway of the great hall, watching four heads bent over their studies, or rather, noticing them while observing their tutor. The teacher passed from one to the other, bending to assess their work and muttering words of encouragement or correction. His melodic tones never rose above a murmur, and he hurled no insults. Instead, he gave quick praise, rarely finding fault. His hand rested lightly on the shoulders of his students when he spoke, and they didn’t flinch as with past instructors. They appeared totally at ease in the man’s company.
    The Englishman stepped into a beam of bright sunlight streaming in through the open shutters, causing his hair to glow. One long strand escaped the queue at his nape, falling across his face and obscuring his eyes. A graceful, long-fingered hand swept it back, tucking the errant lock behind one ear. Each movement captivated Aillil.
    Malcolm intrigued him, and his compact body ignited a fire beneath Aillil’s kilt, far beyond any lust for Duncan. Duncan merely provided physical relief, regardless of how much Aillil cared for the man. The diminutive Englishman inspired much more than merely lust. Besides, visions of paid companions never interrupted Aillil’s sleep, nor had Aillil ever awakened shouting Duncan’s name. He’d yelled Malcolm’s from his bed several times.
    Could Malcolm be a lover of men? When he’d ignored the maid, Aillil raised his guard where the youngsters were concerned. The Englishman paid them no undue attention, either, and his defense against Fergus spoke volumes. His manners couldn’t be faulted, were he talking to the laird or to the lowliest servant. Aillil manipulated some of the more comely women of the village within the man’s grasp, and he’d showed no interest in anything other than playing the violin or teaching. But Aillil recognized the passion lurking beneath a meek exterior, and believed the heart of a lover dwelled within. Malcolm wasn’t a cold, emotionless shell. What would it take to crack the stoic surface and bring out the fire? What did the man crave when he lay abed each night? Once his spark flared, would he scorch a lover with the heat?
    Eyes the color of emeralds locked onto Aillil’s. Even from across the room Aillil heard the ragged gasp, noticed the sudden blush on pale cheeks. Had the Englishman any idea of the lustful visions Aillil conjured of him? Aillil’s mouth turned up in a smirk. Ah, now he understood why the little teacher hadn’t been tempted by the maid or the village lasses.
    Aillil recalled the answering hardness during their tumble in the hay. It seemed he had his answer after all. Malcolm quickly looked away, under the guise of inspecting Niall’s penmanship, but not before betraying his secret.
    The man sought another man for bedding, did he? Aillil was tempted to offer himself for the honor, and probably would have if taking a male lover close to home hadn’t been unwise—especially a foreign lover. His cock had no such reservations and throbbed beneath his kilt.
    A memory came to mind of Duncan, mouth stretched wide to engulf Aillil’s flesh. Now, instead of Duncan, Malcolm kneeled before him, peering up from beneath lashes a few shades darker than Malcolm’s hair. Aillil shifted his weight to one foot and smoothed his kilt down to hide a growing bulge. Unwilling for his brothers to see, he eased from the room. He’d wait until later to speak with the teacher. A messenger had arrived earlier from Inverness, delivering the violins. The time had come to present Malcolm with his reward. Aillil pointedly ignored the fact that he’d lived for an excuse to get the man alone ever since playing the game of Fox and Hounds.
     
     
    E XHAUSTED , Malcolm trudged the stairs to his solitary tower room. Normally, he took them two at a time, hurrying to