The Capture of Highland Desire (The Mac Coinnach Brothers) (18 page)

“Oh god, Eian…”  her nails sunk into his back as she let go and he reared up, balanced on an edge that kept climbing impossibly higher and tighter… until finally he fell, his whole body shuddering with the release.
 

              After, they lay together under the night sky and looked up at the stars, heavy limbed and finally sated, at least for a while.   Eian was silent for some time, lost in his thoughts.

Allia reached up to stroke his cheek, and he nuzzled his face into the palm of her hand.  But his silence was making her uneasy.  “Eian, you don’t regret this, do you?”

He looked at her, startled.  “No!  How could I regret
that
?  My god, that was… the most stunningly beautiful moment of my life.”

“Then what were you thinking about?”

He gave her an adorable smile that curled up the corners of his lips and revealed the twin dimples in his cheeks. “I want ye to have my babe.”

             
“What?”  Allia turned her head to look at Eian, stunned.  A few short weeks ago, she never would have thought Eian Mac Coinnach would say something so… strangely endearing.

             
“I think it would be the most beautiful thing in the world to plant my seed in ye and watch ye grow round with my child.  I canna wait.  And then to see ye suckle him just here.”  He cupped her breast in his hand.  “Only he would have to share ye with me.  I am no’ that generous a man.”

             
“But we’ve really only just met, don’t you think it’s a little soon to talk about… children?”

             
“No lass, no’ too soon at all.”  In one smooth motion he rolled atop her and gathered her to him so that she could feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh. 
Again?
  “I have always been a man who kens what he wants, when he wants it.  I want ye, and I want a babe.”

She smiled. 
That was probably the sexiest thing any man had ever said to her.  “I don’t think my uncle would be at all pleased with you.  I think he has other plans for me.”

             
Eian scowled.  “I dinna care what plans he has for ye.  Ye’re mine now.  He can go to hell for all I care.”

             
Allia felt almost giddy with happiness.  Whatever else her uncle thought,
this
was why she had come back.  For Eian.  She
was
his.  But he was hers too.  And she was no longer afraid of him breaking her heart, because she knew with certainty that she held the same power over him.  Uncle Leon would be angry at her for ruining whatever his plans had been, but he’s just have to get over it, because she had finally come home.

             
“I’m glad I decided to come back”, she said, almost to herself.

             
“Why did ye leave… was it me?  Did I frighten ye?”  He seemed genuinely concerned that he had.

             
“No.  I… I was just trying to find out where I really belonged.  I thought maybe it was there…”

             
“Och no, lass.  I could have told ye, if only ye’d asked.  Ye belong here with me.”

Chapter 10

             
Allia came awake with a start, opening her eyes to see what had woken her so suddenly.  The sun was already well up, and the first thing she saw was Eian crouched in front of her, dagger in hand, his body tensed to attack.  She sat up quickly, clutching at the edge of the woolen blanket to cover her bare breasts, and looking around in confusion.  That’s when she saw the three men on horseback not thirty feet away, regarding the two of them with varying degrees of anger and amusement.  Mostly amusement.  She recognized the colors they wore, and the faces were vaguely familiar as well.  These were her uncle’s men. 
Damn, she was caught…  And worse, the two of them were caught together.  Naked.

             
She tugged at Eian’s arm and whispered to him before he did something that would land the two of them in even more trouble.  “No, wait…” 

He sighed and cursed repeatedly
under his breath.  Then he looked to the waiting men, rising swiftly to his feet while wrapping his kilt around his waist, fastening the belt with a defiant tug.  Allia couldn’t help but look at all that she had never before seen in the light of day: a smooth bronzed chest with chiseled muscle and washboard abs.  And the tattoo she could now see was the outline of a rather fierce looking dragon, drawn in the Celtic style.  The entire effect was a stunning display of perfect male flesh that made her wish the guards gone so she could explore every inch in the sunlight.  Eian’s mouth quirked up at the corners when he caught her looking.  He winked, and she smiled back at him. 

“At least turn
yer backs to let the lady dress”, he told the Lochain men.

             
One of them, who must have been in charge, laughed cynically.  “We’re none of us fools, Mac Coinnach.  Ye’ll no’ be out of my sight until I ken ye willna run off.  The laird will want to deal with ye personally when we tell him what we found here.”  His satisfied smirk told him just how much he was going to enjoy personally delivering the news to Leon.

             
Allia bit the inside of her cheek in frustration.  She wanted to say
‘It’s not what it looks like’
, but she doubted the guards were that stupid.  Perhaps she should have run off with Eian last night when she had the chance.  But then, she didn’t want to cause trouble for his family, either.

“Fine.” 
Eian put his hands up in surrender and walked over to stand near the horses.  He held out his wrists and one of the men tied them with rope.

Allia gasped.  “Eian, no!  What are you doing?”

He shook his head slightly at her.  “It’s alright lass, just get dressed.”  He looked pointedly at the guards, who reluctantly turned their backs. Allia slid out from under the blanket and quickly found her clothes.  When she saw that her shift was too badly torn, she raised an eyebrow in Eian’s direction.  He gave her an unapologetic grin, and she wondered how he could smile when the two of them were about to be dragged back to Lochain in shame.  She guessed maybe his brother would get him out of trouble, but where did that leave her?  Trying not to think about it, she wadded the shift up and put it in Dair’s saddlebag, then pulled the dress over her head, yanking the laces tight across the front before slipping into her shoes.  “I’m ready.”

              It was a very long ride back to Lochain for Allia.  She was sharing a mount with one of the guards, who kept his arm around her as if at any moment she might decide to jump from the horse and run.  Eian rode Dair a few paces behind her, but his wrists were still tied, and another guard held the reins.  When she glanced back, Allia saw the murderous glare he aimed at the guard who held her, and her heart fluttered at the very masculine show of jealousy.  She was almost glad he was restrained, though, because she doubted the guard would still be alive if he wasn’t.  She had seen first-hand just how easily Eian Mac Coinnach could kill. 

She faced forward again, her mind shifting between what had been the most wonderful night of her life, to the headache of what they now faced at Lochain.  If only she had agreed to leave with Eian before… but that couldn’t be helped now, they were stuck with the mess they were
currently in.  What had her really worried was that she didn’t know her uncle well enough to predict what he would do.  Whatever it was, she wouldn’t stand by and see Eian punished.  No, what had happened between them was as much her fault as his, because he had given her every opportunity to stop or say no.  And after all, she had come back to find him, with every intention of giving him everything with no regrets, and after a brief moment of panic, that’s exactly what she had done.

             
When at last they arrived at the castle, Allia was lifted from her mount and hurried towards the keep by the guards that met them in the bailey.  One of the men had ridden ahead with a report, which meant Leon had already had time to think about punishing one or both of them.  She didn’t want to leave Eian, not knowing what was probably going to happen to him.  What if they had him flogged, or worse?  She had never felt so powerless.  In desperation, she turned and called out to him.  She could hear the rising panic in her own voice.  “Eian!”

             
“Allia!”  He responded to her tone as much as her call and struggled against the three men holding him.  To his credit, he almost got free.  But then a forth guard hit him in the jaw, knocking his head back with a force that made Allia’s heart stop.  She screamed, but before she could get away from the guards, she was already being dragged none too gently before her uncle.  She pulled her gaze away from Eian to look up into Leon’s stern face.  Try as she might, she could not read his intentions, perhaps because he was stronger than her, or perhaps he could mask them too well.

             
He stood with his arms crossed, looking as callous and unbending as he ever had.  Here at Lochain his words was law, and he had always ruled with an iron fist and no mercy.  When she was little, it had made her feel safe, but now… it terrified her.  “Niece”, he said in a cold tone, and she struggled hard to keep the tears that were gathering at bay.  How had everything gone from blissful to terrible in the space of a few hours?

“Is it true what my men tell me, that Eian Mac Coinnach
indeed managed a daring rescue, but couldna keep his hands off the prize?”

             
“He saved my life”, she said simply.

             
“And for that we are of course grateful.  But am I correct in assuming the man took yer maidenhead as reward?”

             
Allia thought briefly about lying, but then she would only be subjected to an examination by the midwife.  She raised her chin defiantly.  “It wasn’t like that.  I gave it willingly.” 

Leon narrowed his eyes. 
“Ye care for the man?”

             
Allia opened her mouth to say yes, but then snapped it shut.  She didn’t know what the right answer was.  Would Leon hurt Eian to punish her if she admitted to caring for him?  Oh, god, what a mess this was!

***

Eian knew Leon would be furious when he found out what he had done, but from where he was standing, the man looked downright murderous.  He took the time to play out his various options in his head, because there was no way in hell he was going anywhere without
his
woman. But long before he’d decided on the best course of action, judgment was upon him.

Leon stood on the massive stone step to the keep, fists on his hips,
pulled himself up to his full height, and bellowed.

             
"Mac Coinnach!"

             
Eian flinched a bit when he saw Allia being led out of the keep by a guard to stand by her uncle's side  He had hoped to have a private audience with Leon first, perhaps to broker a deal of sorts.  He didn’t want her to witness any unpleasant hostilities, or feel like she was being sold to the highest bidder.  Bloody hell, but this was going to be messy.  He stepped out of the grasp of the guards and walked casually to the bottom of the stairs.  The guards followed closely on his heels, weapons drawn.  "Aye, Laird Lochain?"

             
"I want to speak to ye inside, now!"

             
Eian knew better than to get himself trapped in the keep.  If he had any chance of escaping with Allia before Leon threw him in the dungeon or tied him to the flogging post, he had to stay outside.  "No.  Whatever ye have to say to me ye can say right here."  A murmur went through the crowd that was gathering near the steps.  No doubt this was the most entertainment they’d had all year.

             
Leon's eyes narrowed, and out of the corner of his eye, Eian thought he saw Allia go a little paler.  "All right then, Mac Coinnach, have it yer way.”  He put his fists on his hips and glared down at the younger man, who lifted his chin and crossed his arms in a way that said he was more than ready to fight.  “Did ye or did ye no' take the innocence of my niece and ward, Allia Logan, without permission or benefit of marriage?"

             
Eian glanced to Allia, who stood tall and proud by her uncle's side, so steady and full of grace even though he could tell she was nervous.  She was so beautiful, so complex.  There was still so much to learn about his woman, and he couldn’t wait.  He gave her a small private smile before turning back to Leon.  "Aye.  I did."

             
There was another, louder murmur from the crowd of course, at his bold and shameless confession.  "I have claimed her, and now she is mine." 
T’was that simple, or at least it was to him.

              Allia was sure they were both doomed to public humiliation at the very least, some kind of medieval punishment at the most.  And who would have ever thought that a man standing up in front of a crowd and declaring ownership of her would make her feel so... cherished?  But that didn't matter, because Eian was probably going to die, and she... god, she didn't even know what her uncle would do.  If he didn't kill her too, he would probably either lock her in her room forever, or marry her off to someone she couldn't stand.  Then she would have to escape all over again, only next time it would likely be far more difficult.