Claimed by a Laird (19 page)

But how could she not marry him? She was sleeping with him,
after all, and if the past week of near-nightly lovemaking was any indication,
she would end up pregnant in no time…if she wasn’t already. She simply could
not say no to the man. Hell, she didn’t
want
to say no. Never had a man
held her sexual attention for so long or left her wanting more of him each
time.

Anna pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Her
brain spun its wheels and dug deeper and deeper into the mud while her body
threatened to short-circuit at the very thought of what she could do to Galen
right then if he would only come to bed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the carved, wooden
box sitting on top of the fireplace mantle and a flash of the quartz pendant
flew through her mind. As if possessed by unseen forces, she dashed to the
fireplace and threw the open hinged lid of the box. Snatching the pendant, she
secured it in her hands as she took a deep, calming breath.

As she opened her palm, the light from the fire danced upon
the surface of the amber quartz. Home. That’s where she needed to be. She
needed to be away from all of this—away from Scotland, away from the thirteenth
century and away from Galen.

That last thought drew a sharp, shooting pain straight
through the center of her chest. Tears stung her eyes.

Anna angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand. This
was ridiculous. She had known the man for barely two weeks and he had proven
himself to be arrogant, condescending, tyrannical and demanding. Not to mention
pigheaded, sexist and warmongering.

Thoughts of his kindness, both to her and his clan, his
loyalty, protectiveness, bravery and his humor crept into her mind.

She shoved them away. He didn’t love her. She was just “his”
woman—a mere possession.

Home was where she belonged and home was where she was
going. The fantasy was over. It was time for her to face reality.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on one word—
home
—as
she delicately cradled the pendant in her palms. Several moments passed and the
stone seemed to warm. Excited, she concentrated even harder, willing the
temperature to rise farther.

And then it went cold.

Anna opened her eyes and stared at the quartz. Shadows
danced around Galen’s bedchamber as the fire reflected off the facets.

Desolation and relief simultaneously descended upon her. Her
shoulders slumped and she placed the stone back in the box, flipping the lid
down with a small bang.

Weariness crept into her bones and she made her way to the
bed to slip under the covers. Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the thoughts
of Galen leaving in the morning she had been attempting to avoid. Her eyes
moistened and she moved to the center of the bed. Grabbing Galen’s pillow, she
stuffed it under her head. With his scent surrounding her, she succumbed to
sleep.

* * * * *

Galen hesitated for a moment before opening the door to his
chamber. Relief cracked open his weary heart as his eyes landed on Anna’s still
form in the middle of the bed, her back toward the fire. The fear she might not
be there waiting for him had plagued him while he and Geoffrey finalized the
plans for their departure.

The fire had consumed most of the wood in the hearth, but it
gave him just enough light to prepare his clothing for the morning. He removed
what he was wearing, tossed the items into a heap in the corner of the room,
and then slid under the covers behind Anna. He hated to awaken her, but he hated
even more the thought of not being with her one last time before he left.

He stretched out on his side, pressing the length of his
body along the melting softness of hers. Smoothing the curls back from her
face, he brushed several soft, slow kisses down her neck and over her shoulder.
A low moan escaped her lips and she snuggled against him.

He smiled against her neck and kissed it. He loved how ready
and willing his woman was for his touch now. Two weeks ago, she was more likely
to stall, to ask questions even as her body betrayed her by opening to him. He
never wanted to take her when she had doubts. He required her mind to
capitulate to him as well as her body. No longer having to hold back and wait
for the signs of her surrender freed his mind to simply enjoy the feel of her,
to plunge his cock into her at will without coaxing, without convincing.

Pressing his erection against her soft backside, he rubbed
her silken hip and thigh with his palm, back and forth. He skidded his tongue
across her shoulder to her earlobe and flicked it before taking it into his
mouth and tugging it with his teeth.

Anna slid her smooth palm up his shoulder and caressed the
side of his face before turning her head and offering him her soft, parted
lips. He claimed them with a desperate urgency, slipping his hand around her
waist to her stomach. Their tongues met and slowly intertwined, circling one
another for several moments before she slowly dragged hers across his lower
lip. He kissed her upper lip, reveling in its sweetness, before drawing his
mouth along her jaw as she turned her face away from his.

Galen caressed her abdomen as he kissed and swirled his
tongue along her neck, over her shoulder and back as goose bumps spread across
her stomach. She reached toward his thigh, gripping it as she wriggled her
creamy backside against him. His cock throbbed insistently, pressing against
her flesh.

He drew his hand up to cup one soft, ample breast, kneading
it with his fingers and dragging his thumb back and forth across her nipple. It
swelled beneath his touch. She whimpered, arching her back and thrusting her
breast into his palm.

He tugged on her nipple and thrust his hips forward,
nestling his cock against her soft backside. She curved her neck up to him and
whimpered, tilting her hips in an erotic rhythm that sent pulsations of hot
need through his shaft.

Dragging his fingers across her waist, he bit her neck. The
honeyed taste of her skin sent an intoxicating swirl of contentment though his
blood. He smoothed his hand over her backside and kneaded her flesh.

“Make me come,” she whispered.

He smiled against her neck. Her juices coated his fingers as
they slipped between her thighs. He dipped them into her hot, wet core and then
up to her swollen clit.

A ragged groan fell from her lips and she bent her knees,
pressing her ass against his aching cock. He grunted his approval and dragged
his tongue across her shoulder as he plunged his thumb into her pussy. He
dragged it out and drove it back in as his fingers moved back and forth on her
clit.

Her breathing took on a desperate rhythm and she reached
behind her, grasping the back of his head, and pressed his lips against her
neck. Whimpering, she rocked her hips in rhythm with his thumb. He flicked her
earlobe with his tongue and raked his teeth down her neck. Her pussy throbbed
hotly around him.

She moaned his name and he shoved his fingers into her core.
Her pussy clenched him hard, covering his hand with her warm, slick juices. A
hard rush of breath tore through Galen’s lungs and his cock surged. He slowed
his movements and withdrew his fingers from Anna’s wet, trembling folds, but
not before he flicked her clit once more, causing her to shudder against him.

He shifted his body lower and lifted her leg, but she
flipped around in his arms and pushed him backward onto the bed. Dropping slow,
sensuous kisses across his jaw and down his neck, she slid her smooth fingers
through his chest hair.

Blinded by need, he grabbed her hips and tried to shift her
on top of him. She pushed his hands away and slid her tongue down his torso,
her hand leading the way.

Galen inhaled sharply, shuddering as she cupped his balls.
She rolled her fingers over them, placing quick, teasing kisses along his hip.
He clenched his fists in anticipation and was rewarded for his patience as she
grasped the base of his jutting cock and glanced at him with a wicked smile
playing across her full lips.

They held one another’s gazes as she brushed the tip of his
shaft with her tongue. He snarled and bucked his hips, beads of sweat forming
on his brow as a surge of molten energy rushed through his skin. She had never
done this for him before and he had never thought to ask for it, assuming she
was much more innocent in the ways of pleasure than he.

She continued to flick the tip and then ran her smooth
tongue around the head before slowly licking the length of his cock. He closed
his eyes, fighting to breathe, as the silk of her warm lips closed around him
and slid downward until the tip nudged the back of her throat. He groaned and
opened his eyes, his shaft pulsating as her mouth eagerly swallowed him.

She was good…too good. This was obviously not her first
time. The realization pricked him something fierce. He struggled between the
image of her doing this to other men and the insistence of his throbbing cock.
The velvety depths of her mouth and warm hand moving up and down his member won
out and he became momentarily lost in the heated pulsations of his shaft
against her silky lips.

His balls tightened and he grabbed her by the arm. Though
her mouth was almost too tempting to resist, they would soon have far too many
nights apart and he wanted to claim her once more, to be deep inside her core
when he came.

Anna withdrew her lips from Galen’s thick, silken cock, but
continued to stroke him with her hand. She licked her lips and smiled with
satisfaction at the tortured grimace on his face. It was about time she had
shifted some of the power in this relationship back to her.

He grabbed her wrist to stop her movements and sat up. They
reached for each other simultaneously. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck as
Galen lifted her onto his lap, her legs straddling his waist.

He grasped the base of his cock and guided her by the hip
toward him, impaling her to the hilt in one smooth stroke. Her pussy, stretched
taut around his hard width, spasmed and she moaned.

Somewhere in her last threads of coherent thought was the
fear that forever attempted to push its way back in and take over. But then,
strangely, a warm glow of contentment flowed through her and traveled straight
to her heart, unfurling like a flower in the morning sun.

“Lass,” his voice rasped against her ear. He bit her neck as
his fingers dug into her hips. “I want to hear the words again, just like when
I first took you. Tell me you are mine.”

Her mind issued a brief warning, but it faded as a newly
awakened sense of life filled her.

He nipped her ear. “Woman, I want to hear it now.”

She smiled into the darkness over his impatience. “I am
yours, Galen,” she whispered in a voice seemingly not her own.

“Yes,” he murmured against her shoulder as he slipped his
fingers into her damp folds. “Yes, Annie. You are mine.”

She quivered and he reclaimed her mouth, his tongue swooping
possessively between her parted lips. She rocked her hips back and forth,
slowly at first, as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

An animalistic growl escaped Galen’s throat and his thumbs
dug into the tender flesh of her hips as he thrust into her with a fevered
abandon. Her aching nipples grazed his chest hair and she tilted her head back,
moaning as his shaft throbbed inside her.

He raked his mouth across her neck, gently biting and
sucking. She quickened her movements, matching the pace he set. Releasing his
hold on her, his thumb found her clit once more while his other hand grabbed
her breast.

“I need you to come again.” His tone was laced with
authority and desperation. “Now.”

From deep within her abdomen, uncontrollable, shivery
pulsations of pleasure surprisingly began. She fought for breath, grinding
against him. A shuddering wave ripped through her pussy. It gripped his shaft
hard, sucking him in deeper until it could stretch no more. Crying out his name
in amazement at how her body responded to his commands, she crushed her chest
against his, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

He grabbed her hips once more, pummeling his shaft into her.
With one last, final thrust, he completely buried himself inside her and
snarled through gritted teeth as he convulsed.

The long, drawn-out pulsations of his cock thrilled her and
she bit her lip as small, but excruciating tremors coursed through her core
once again. He trembled and dropped his forehead to her shoulder.

Slowly, their breathing returned to normal and Anna sighed,
laying her head upon his shoulder. A calm peacefulness filled her and she hated
the thought it would come to an end with the morning light. She pressed her
lips together, tears moistening her eyes.

As though he could sense the shift in her mood, Galen lifted
his head and pulled away to look at her. Smoothing the hair back from the sides
of her face, he peered at her intently through the dim light.

“Whatever is the matter now, lass?” he asked, his brow
knitted in concern.

Anna shook her head and released her hold on him, wiping her
tears away with her hands. “I’m just being silly.”

“Tell me.”

She smiled at the authoritative tone in his voice, both
confused and amused by the change in her reaction to his demanding nature from
annoyance to enjoyment. “I just don’t want you to leave.”

Galen brushed her swollen lips with his. “I will come back
to you. You have my word.”

She nodded and hugged him to her chest once again, pushing
aside her need to analyze just what he meant. For now she would allow him to
hold her. That was all she truly needed.

The weeks had begun to bleed into one another. Anna’s brain
seemed wrapped in a fog and all her energy melted away the moment she awakened
each morning. Had it been four or five weeks since Galen had left with the others?

She initially blamed her inability to hold a thought longer
than it took a snowflake to melt on a sun-warmed sidewalk on the clan. From day
one, she was pulled in a dozen directions as they came to her for questions
about how she wanted something done in the keep or to solve an argument between
neighbors. At first, a sense of honored humbleness at their trust filled her,
but as the questions and incidents increased along with her weariness, she
gradually felt a bit of impatience.

Then she blamed her scattered thoughts on Galen. After all,
the damn man had the gall to slip into her life and be so kind, generous and
protective she couldn’t help but miss the big oaf. Most days she walked around
as if there were a big, fat hole in her heart for all the world to see.

His continued absence wore her down…until the nausea began
about a week ago.

Anna did miss Galen. But she could no longer blame the clan.
She did, however, take some satisfaction in the idea she could blame Galen.
After all, he left her alone and pregnant.

Well, she was never truly alone. Not in the middle of
Galen’s busy household with clan members coming and going at nearly all hours
of the day. But knowing she was carrying Galen’s child and could not discuss
her fears with anyone, made her feel completely isolated. For the first time in
her life, her heart softened toward the woman her mother had become as Anna
finally received a small taste of the fear and loneliness that must have driven
her mother.

She stopped in the middle of the courtyard as a young boy
chased a baying goat past her. She smiled distractedly before casting her eyes
at the impenetrable keep. Stuck between a rock and a hard place was an
understatement for her situation. She knew what Galen would demand of her when
he found out about the baby, but she wasn’t convinced she was ready for either
marriage or babies. She certainly wasn’t convinced that she could handle both
life upheavals at once.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. After all, what other
choice did she have? The damn pendant, which was the cause of this whole
complete mess, refused to reverse her course no matter how hard she
concentrated on going home. She was stuck. Her choices were to be pregnant and
unmarried or pregnant and married. In her own time, being an unwed mother
wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but here…here was different.

“My lady!” someone called behind her.

When she didn’t immediately turn, the shout repeated. It
took her a moment to realize she was the one to whom the words were shouted.
She would never get used to being called that.

She plastered a gentle smile on her face and turned. A
middle-aged man with a grimly set mouth panted up the hill toward her, leading
a young man by the shirt. Anna almost laughed at the sight. The young man
seemed about the same age as Geoffrey and had to be at least a full head taller
than the older man, but he hung his head limply, staring at the ground like a
scolded pup.

They stopped in front of her and the older man released the
young one with a shove. He crossed his arms and nodded at her.

“My lady, I am Angus, if you will remember. I have the herd
of milk cows just over that hill to the south.” He jerked his head toward the
young man.

Anna nodded, remembering his face but nothing else about
him. “What can I do for you, Angus?”

“You can punish this young lad, that is what you can do,” he
answered with a snort. “Caught him with my Annabelle behind the house. Helping
himself to her he was.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Was
this Annabelle the same dairymaid for whom Geoffrey had attempted to steal
cattle from the Grahams? She glanced from one man to the other, expecting some
embellishment to the story or a protest from the young man, but both just
stared back at her in silence.

Anna sighed. “I don’t understand what it is you think I
should do here, Angus.”

He scrunched his eyebrows together and threw her a scowl.
“Well, punish him, of course.”

“But how?” She placed one hand on her hip and the other on
her forehead in exasperation. “Is that what your laird would do?”

Angus nodded emphatically.

Anna pursed her lips in concentration, casting her eyes
about the courtyard for something that would give her an idea to satisfy Angus
but wouldn’t be too hard on the young man. A stableboy taking a shovelful of
manure out of the stable caught her eye. Would assigning something like that to
the young man soothe Angus’ feathers?

“He’ll scoop manure out of the stables for a week,” she
finally answered. “Will that be acceptable, Angus?”

He paused for several moments but eventually nodded, the
features on his face relaxing. “Yes, I suppose that will do. Thank you, my
lady.”

“Good.” She dropped her hands to her sides and stepped
toward him, turning her back on the young man to speak confidentially to Angus.
“You may also want to have a little talk with Annabelle.”

Angus nodded and dropped his eyes to the ground. “Yes, my
lady, I will.” He bowed and walked down the hill.

Anna waited for a few moments before turning to the young
man still standing beside her. She patted his arm. “You may want to stay away
from Annabelle. You’re not the first young man she has gotten into trouble.”

He grinned shyly at her and nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

She offered him a sympathetic smile and shrugged. “Guess
it’s time for you to go shovel some shit.”

He chuckled and awkwardly bowed before turning toward the
stable.

Anna shook her head and exhaled loudly. Why the hell did
everyone keep coming to her in Galen’s absence? It simply didn’t make any
sense, especially with Adam, John and Owen staying at the keep.

She stifled a yawn. She was already exhausted and it wasn’t
even time for the midday meal. A wave of nausea rippled through her, but she
pushed it aside and walked up the hill to the keep. Upon entering the great
hall, she found Adam sitting at one of the long tables near the hearth.

“Has it been a long morning already, my lady?” he called to
her, his voice laced with laughter.

She smiled weakly and shook her head. She must have looked
as bad as she felt. Sitting down in a huff across the table from him, she
replied, “You don’t know the half of it.”

Adam’s laughter bounced off the stone walls in the quiet
room.

“I just don’t get it.” She leaned forward, her forearms on
the table. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m flattered so many people want my advice,
but ever since Galen left, people have been coming to me to resolve all sort of
disputes. Yesterday, Arthur’s dog chased Duncan’s cattle and then killed one of
Gormal’s chickens. This morning, Brodie accused Lachlan and his friends of
tapping into his whisky barrels, but then his wife told me he was simply too
drunk to remember he had been the one to offer them the whisky. And just now
Angus demanded I punish the young man he caught groping his daughter behind his
house.”

“What did you decide to do?”

Anna shrugged and propped her elbow on the table to rest her
face on it. “Sent him to shovel manure in the stable.”

Adam chuckled. “That may work. For a while.”

“Do you know why this is happening?” she asked.

He nodded slowly, casting his eyes to the tabletop.

“Well?” she asked.

Amusement flickered across his features. “It is because you
are the laird’s wife.” Instantly wide awake, she straightened and stared at him
wordlessly for a few moments.

“But…but…”

He smiled at her sympathetically. “May I speak frankly, my
lady?”

She nodded eagerly. In the weeks since Galen had been gone,
she and Adam had spent a lot of time together. At first, this was because she
was taking care of him while he healed from his injury, but then their
relationship gradually evolved into a friendship. Adam was wise and honest, not
to mention generally good-natured, unlike Galen. Adam was easy to like and
always offered sound advice. He was even beginning to seem like the older
brother she never had.

“When Galen told our warriors on the eve of the battle with
the Grahams that he was taking you as his woman, he was essentially pledging
himself to you as your husband.” Adam looked her squarely in the eye. “When he
introduced you here in the hall after you had recovered from your fever, he publicly
declared you as his woman. It was simply assumed you had exchanged marriage
oaths.”

Anna shook her head almost violently. “But we aren’t
married. I haven’t given him any such oath. Why would everyone jump to the
conclusion I had?”

He shrugged. “Because he is the laird and he is taken at his
word. Besides, you share his house and his confidences. Just like a wife. Why
would the clan not see you that way?”

Her mind whirled in a mixture of panic and confusion. Were
Galen’s demands to hear she was his while they were having sex somehow a ruse
to get her to promise something she had no intention of truly promising?

“But I haven’t agreed to marry him,” she protested, hating
the whine that had crept into her voice.

Adam leaned forward and folded his hands in front of him.
Lowering his voice to just above a whisper, he stated, “I know that. Geoffrey
knows that. And Galen knows that. No one has told the clan that.”

None of this made any sense to her. She shook her head,
certain Adam was just being dramatic. “If everyone thinks we’re married
already, then why was Father Andrew following me around to discuss the benefits
of marriage and offering to bless us?”

He laughed. “He may be persistent, but he will not break a
confidence. Galen told me how you were the one to break the news to Father
Andrew that the two of you were living in sin. Father was only trying to save
your soul without exposing you to the ill will of the clan. If you had given
your oath to Galen before he left, then Father Andrew would have given you his
blessing since he was already here. Since you did not, he was simply trying to
convince you to pledge yourself to Galen as soon as he came back home.”

She drew her brows together in confusion. “Wait. You mean he
wasn’t trying to marry us? Just to bless us?”

“He wanted you to pledge yourselves to one another so he
could bless you, yes.”

Anna shook her head, still not understanding. “But when
would the wedding take place? You know Galen better than I, but even I know he
wouldn’t to take too kindly to me moving out until the wedding, if we’re to do
what Father Andrew wants.”

He cocked his head and stared at her for a moment. “Why
would you need to do that? As soon as you give Galen your oath, you are
married. You do not even have to do it publicly if you do not wish to, though
the nobility usually do have a priest perform a ceremony nowadays, which is the
Church’s preferred method, of course. I had not thought it was much different
in England.”

“You mean, that’s it?”

He nodded, his eyes flashing with mirth as he smirked at
her.

“No flowers, no church, no foofy white gown?”

“Why would you need any of that?” he asked.

Swiftly zapped of her energy, Anna slumped. What else didn’t
she know about Medieval history? Wasn’t there something about banns needing to
be read? Or did that happen later? She sighed, too weary to argue with Adam any
longer despite how twisted, illogical and just plain ridiculous his argument
was. “You people are crazy,” she muttered.

She rubbed her forehead wearily and decided to change the
subject. “How is your scar?” she asked, arching her lower back slightly to
stretch it.

Adam pulled the hem of his leine out of his belt and leaned
back, exposing a small part of the scar to her. “Seems to be fading. Unlike the
memory of you pulling out the stitches. I could have used another dram of
whisky.”

Anna laughed and rolled her eyes. “Lesson learned. I’ll
remember that for next time.”

A strange smell wafted across her nose, causing her stomach
to lurch. She turned as Catriona approached with a bowl and a cup of what Anna
assumed to be ale.

Catriona’s cheeks flushed as she gave Adam a small smile and
placed the bowl and cup before him.

Adam tucked his leine back into his belt and rubbed his
hands together in anticipation. “Ah, yes! Thank you, love.”

Though Anna would have preferred to watch the amusing
exchange of glances and smiles between the new lovers, the stench of whatever
was in the bowl filled her senses and her hand flew to her mouth.

“What is that awful smell?” she asked from behind her hand.

Concern drew Catriona’s lips together as she studied Anna
briefly. “It is only some of the mutton stew left over from last night, my
lady. Remember? You helped Mary to make it.”

Anna leaned forward, daring a glance at the contents of
Adam’s bowl before shaking her head and pushing away from the table. Her
stomach convulsed.

Catriona stepped toward Anna and caressed her arm in a
motherly gesture. “Are you feeling ill again, my lady?”

“Again?” Adam questioned.

Anna took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, I am fine,
really, Cat.”

Catriona drew her brows together as her eyes traveled up and
down Anna’s figure. “You have become quite pale again.” She pressed the back of
her hand against Anna’s cheek. “And you feel cold.”

Anna’s legs tingled and her stomach roiled. She stepped away
from Catriona. “Really, I am quite all right.”

Adam stood at that moment, his brow creasing in concern.
“No, my lady, I do not think you are.”

“I just need to rest, that’s all,” Anna insisted.