Authors: Kelly Jameson
36
They left shortly after dawn, Kade’s men yawning and grumbling about the hour. It had rained in the night, and the air still smelled of it; junipers in the courtyard glistened with droplets of dew.
For
two hours, the horses galloped hard, Maighdlin sitting stiffly in the cradle of Kade’s thighs. When they slowed their pace, she gathered her courage. “What ha'e ye done with Brodie?”
Kade
had not slept in his chamber; he had not shared his bed with her. She didn’t want to think about where he may have slept, or whom he may have slept with. She willed away an image of the sultry Amaris touching him the way she’d touched him.
She
felt his muscles tense against her own. “He is at the keep, unharmed, under heavy guard.” Maighdlin let out a sigh of relief that was a bit too audible. Kade stopped his horse and gestured the others forward. “Ian, we will catch up.” Elliot cast her a glance, but could do nothing, as he was surrounded by MacAlister’s men.
When
the others were out of sight, Kade guided the horse into a secluded glen. A light wind slid softly through pine branches, and ferns as tall as her waist encircled the wooded spot. They sat on the horse in silence, the wind ruffling their hair and bringing the scent of honeysuckle. His hand finally came possessively to her shoulder, inching her tunic lower so his lips could taste her skin.
Her
heart thudded at the brazen contact.
“
Ye truly think me incapable of mercy, Maighdlin? Of tenderness?” His fingers followed where his lips had been, and she shivered as they danced along her collarbone.
“
I could’ve killed Brodie where he stood. And yer friend Elliot. He took a risk coming here alone. His foolishness could’ve cost him his life if my guards had thought to put an arrow in his heart.”
He
heard her quick intake of breath, but his lips did not stop seeking her skin. They found her neck, and she sighed. He slid from the horse, and his fingers encircled her waist as he lifted her down, letting her body slide slowly along the chiseled length of his own.
“
If I were truly a monster, would I kiss ye like this?” He took her face gently in his hands. She stared into his eyes, at the straight jut of his nose, the sensual slant of his lips. And then he was kissing her, tenderly, setting her blood afire, as he tasted her. The feel of him, his scent, his hard chest pressed against her, made her weak with desire.
His
tunic wasn’t laced all the way, a dusting of dark hair visible on his chest. He pulled his head back to stare at her, his eyes hooded with passion. “Ye havena answered my question, Maggie.”
She
couldn’t find her voice. Instead, her arms encircled his neck and her hands wound their way into his hair. He looked as surprised as she as her lips claimed his this time. He let her lead, let her explore, though the effort to restrain himself from taking her then and there caused his shaft to harden painfully. He groaned.
She
pulled back shyly and looked away from him. “I…I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss ye freely.”
He
laughed. “And?”
“
’Tis what lovers do?”
“
Aye, Maggie, ‘tis what lovers do.”
The
morning was awash with sunlight that touched the trees and reflected off a nearby silver-blue loch, the water rippling with the breeze.
“
I wish to ken something,” she said.
He
moved a tendril of her soft, auburn hair behind her ear. “Ummm. What might that be, lass? I didna harm Brodie. If ye wish to speak with him upon our return….”
“
’Tis no’ about Brodie.” She bit her lower lip, and he felt himself stiffen even more watching her mouth, thinking of how she’d tasted the most intimate part of him and then had watched him come.
She
placed her hand on his chest, caressing the muscles there. She felt a fire, a molten heat, between her legs, and her nipples were painfully erect. He brushed one with his thumb.
“
I…Kade, at first, I did think ye a monster. But now….”
“
But now?” he murmured.
She
swallowed. “I have seen ye show kindnesses to others. I think ye are capable of tenderness, of mercy. I also think ye are a complicated…and lonely man.”
“
Do ye,” he said, his jaw tense. She couldn’t tell whether his reaction was from desire or agitation.
“
I want ye to….”
He
stroked her hair, her face. “To what, Maggie?”
“
I want to be yer lover. I want ye to make me yer wife, truly…now…here…before…I want to know what it’s like to love a man before whate’er happens between us happens.”
“
What do ye mean ‘before whate’er happens between us happens’?” he whispered, his lips tasting the rounded flesh of a breast.
She
trembled at his touch. “I mean, before ye tire of me and send me back to my village.”
His
head came up abruptly. His hazel eyes searched hers. “Maggie, ye dunna understand. I canna…I willna send ye back to yer village. E’er.”
“
Then what will ye do with me? I will be yer prisoner fore’er, and ye’ll ha’e no more use for me after….”
He
kissed her hard, taking possession of her mouth, his breathing raspy. “Ye dunna understand,” he murmured. “I will ne’er tire of ye. I will ne’er send ye back to yer village. We are bound together, fore’er.”
“
But what of Fenalla…the only woman ye e’er loved? I canna replace her in yer heart.”
“
’Tis true I was madly in love with her when I left for Ireland. But ‘tis also true that I didna see anything but my own lust and desires. I didna truly know her. I…kept an image of her in my mind as time passed.
“
Before I left for Ireland, I didna like the world I was in. I tried to mold it into being what I wanted it to be. I was blind. I was in love with a memory,” he paused. “I was in love with who I thought Fenalla was. And if I’d truly known her, I would’ve realized the depth of her feelings for my brother.” He frowned.
“
I became a man in Ireland, Maggie. I fought bloody battles. I saw things no man should e’er have to see. Done things no man should e’er have to do. Killing changes a man, Maggie. Each time he does it, it kills part of his soul.”
“
But it hasna killed
all
of yer soul,” she whispered. She stroked the roughness of his jaw. “Don’t let it take all of the good man I know ye are.”
He
stepped away, turned his back to her. “Ye dunna know me truly, Maggie. I leaned on Fenalla’s memory to get me through dark times. I fantasized about the shadow of a woman, dreamed things that were no’ real. I came home to find the memories shattered. It was all gone. All of it. And I was blind to my brother’s love for her, blind to her love for Niall.” He turned back to face her.
“
Ye ha’e forgiven Niall and Fenalla?”
“
I didna say
that
.” He saw the disappointment in her dark eyes. “But I may learn to forgive them in time…if ye help me.”
“
How can I help ye?”
“
I think ye know how.”
“
But I canna help ye forget….”
“
I didna say ‘forget’. I said ‘forgive’. Ah but truly, it is ye, and both of them, who should forgive
me
.”
He
closed the space between them and crushed her in his embrace, his face pressed against her neck. She felt the wetness of his tears. “Maggie, let me bury myself inside ye. Please, heal me with her body, with yer heart, yer soul. Can ye do that? Do ye ken what I’m asking? I willna share ye with any other man. If ye canna do this, I understand. I have treated ye so horribly. I have taken ye from the only life ye knew. I ha’e acted rashly and blindly, and I am sorry.”
Maighdlin’s
heart thundered with elation. This powerful man wanted her to heal him, to teach him to be a husband while he taught her how to be a wife. “Well, ye are arrogant, stubborn, willful, prideful, domineering, frustrating, and…”
“
Och! And ye ha’e no faults?”
“
Aye, I have plenty of faults Highlander, but we’re talking about yers.” She laughed and he smiled. Then he became serious again.
“
I saw how ye were with Elliot, how natural, how free. ‘Tis selfish, Maggie, but I want ye to be like that with me.”
“
But what about Brodie? What will ye do with him?”
His
face hardened for an instant. “I will give him a chance to prove his story is true.”
“
And if it is?”
“
He will go free, and I will hunt down the traitor responsible for the attack on my clan and he will pay with his blood.”
Maighdlin
didn’t want to think of the consequences if Brodie had somehow lied. But then, why would he have saved Kade’s life if he had lied about the attack? “How can I trust ye, that ye will give Brodie a chance? How do I know that e’en now he doesna lie dead in the dungeon?”
He
gripped her shoulders. “I told ye I wouldna harm him. I will hear him out and appropriate action will be taken.” He sighed, his fingertip tracing her lip. “I can see it will take time for ye to learn to trust me. It is entirely my fault.”
He
seemed calm, but she knew the answer she gave would change the course of both of their lives. Was she willing to take all of him and not just the parts she thought she understood? Which man was he, the ruthless warrior or the tender lover who’d shown her mercy? Was he the man she thought he could be?
She
surprised him by going up on her toes and kissing his laugh lines, the tip of his nose, then his lips. Hunger arose deep within her, nearly washing away the ability to speak. She felt a deep, hot wetness between her legs. “Kade, I ken what ye are saying,” she whispered against his dark, silky hair. “And I want ye to take me, here, now, make me yer wife….”
“
Ye must be sure, Maggie.”
“
I am. But ye must ken something else. I dunna want to be replaced in yer heart with other women. I dunna want to find them in our bed. Or ye in theirs.”
He
smiled wolfishly. “Ye willna.”
“
But ye said ye take yer women when and where ye want them….”
“
I was speaking in anger and hurt, Maggie. ‘Tis no’ true.”
“
Will we be alone here? What about the others?”
“
We are alone. We have time enough to catch up with them later.”
She
took his hands in hers, caressing his long, lean fingers, noticing not for the first time his scars from battle. He released her hands slowly to remove his plaid, unfolding it and placing it on the soft ground. They were hemmed in by thick trees, a canopy of emerald leaves serving as a roof, sunlight slanting through tree branches.
“
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to take a lover at Bealtunn. I thought I would ne’er know. I mean, what it was like to take a lover.”
“
Am I the first since…since ye were forced, Maggie?”
She
could not hide her surprise.
“
Addie told me. Dunna be angry with her. It took courage for her to speak to me about it. She was concerned about how I might treat ye on our wedding night. She considers ye a friend now, and wanted to be assured I wouldna hurt ye as ye were hurt by a man once before.”
“
And will ye hurt me?”
He
pulled her against his chest. “Nay, love. I think ye know that.”
Slowly,
he removed her linen tunic and chemise and then watched as she removed her stockings. She stood shyly under his gaze as his eyes devoured her creamy flesh. “My God, Maggie, ye are beautiful, from the top of yer head to yer toes.” He removed his boots, and quickly wrenched his saffron shirt over his head, discarding it along with his trews and braies.
She
took in all of his glorious maleness. He was lean but muscled, his shoulders wide, his chest hair dark. She stared in fascination at his erection, the heavy thrust of it, remembered his male scent and taste.
He
swept her gently into his arms and placed her on her back on the plaid. His knees were between her thighs. His cock jerked as he looked at her full breasts, the narrow curve of her waist, and took his fill looking between her legs. He pushed them open wider and leaned down, skin to skin, his mouth hungry on her lips. His hot mouth tugged on her nipple, sending heat spiraling through her. She marveled at his dark head bent to suckle her and arched her back, instinctively wanting more of him.
Her
hands twined their way into his hair. He looked down at the place where they would soon be joined, his hands brushing her wet curls. He groaned, his fingers pushing inside her as she arched her back higher. She caressed his swollen root, the smooth tip of it. But then he moved back and he placed her legs around his back, his hands gripping her waist. “I canna wait…Maggie…I dunna think I can wait.”