Claimed by a Laird (23 page)

His breathing quickened as he dropped his attention to her
hips, watching her movements. As she stopped before him, he dropped his hands
to his sides and lifted his eyes back to hers.

She shuddered, his raking stare caressing her. Her nipples
peaked beneath her leine in anticipation.

“May I remind you,” she murmured as his eyes met hers once
again, “you are married to a twenty-first century woman. You’re going to have
to do more than command me in order to get me to attend to such duties.”

Thoughtfulness touched Galen’s brow for just a moment before
he languidly licked his lower lip and tilted his head to the side. “And what is
it you suggest, lass?”

She shrugged. “Well, where I come from, marriage is an equal
partnership. If you want me to undress you, then you will have to undress me.”

Something intense and seductive flared across his face. “As
you wish, my lady.”

He grabbed Anna by her belt and yanked her toward him,
bending his head down toward her. Barely brushing his lips over hers, he
loosened her belt and then whirled her around in his arms so her back was
pressing his chest. He grasped her mass of red curls and pulled it back.
Dropping his lips to her neck, he untied her overdress at the shoulders and
allowed the garment to slip to the floor.

His hot breath dragged against her skin and she closed her
eyes, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Reaching behind her, she caressed his
thighs, his hard muscles tensing beneath her fingertips.

Galen slid his palms around her chest and cupped her
breasts, kneading and stroking through the fabric of her leine. She moaned her
pleasure and rotated her hips into him.

He pressed his thick, straining cock against her backside
and drew his tongue up her neck to her ear. Barely touching her skin, he slowly
traced her outer ear. “In this room,” he stated in a husky whisper, “I will allow
you to be my equal. But outside, I am still your laird and master.”

Anna turned her head toward him, pressing her lips against
the corner of his mouth. “We’ll see about that.”

Without giving him the chance to retort, she sucked his
lower lip into her mouth and then parted her lips. He growled and took the
bait, invading her mouth with his tongue as he lifted her leine over her hips.
They broke the kiss as the garment was drawn up over her head and tossed aside.

She turned in his arms and he embraced her, lifting her from
her feet as their lips met once more. Her mouth burned with fire and her senses
reeled as he smothered her lips with a demanding mastery.

Pulling his lips from hers and setting her back upon her
feet, he said, “Do your duty, wife.”

She smiled up at him. “As you wish, Laird MacAirth.”

Anna worked quickly, the anticipation of him thrusting into
her almost too much to bear. Tossing his belt and shirt aside, she shoved his
breeches down his hips.

He kicked off his boots and she dropped to her knees to help
him step out of his breeches. His large cock jutted in front of her, veins
visibly throbbing beneath the surface. Her tongue darted out of her mouth and
she licked the length of him, reveling in his salty taste as she gently
caressed his balls.

Groaning in torment, Galen pulled her to standing. It had
been too long since he last touched her and he was liable to burst within
moments if she took him into her silken mouth.

“Another time, lass,” he whispered, drawing her hand to his
mouth and kissing her delicate fingertips.

With his free hand, he coaxed her thighs apart and slipped
two fingers into her slickened folds, tearing a whimper from her throat. “Right
now, I want to be here.” His jaw tightened as he held himself back from
throwing her onto the bed and shoving his shaft into her.

Anna nodded and pressed her warm lips to the base of his
neck, tilting her hips against him and pushing his fingers deeper into her
molten core. A hot ache spread through his groin and blood surged through his cock
in a pulsating, hypnotic rhythm.

In one fluid motion, he lay down on the bed and pulled her
on top of him. “Take your pleasure, wife,” he whispered in her ear.

She sat up and straddled him, grasping his cock at the base.
She leaned forward, steadying herself by gripping his chest as an intensely
erotic look of surrender swept her features.

His fists clenched at his sides and he gritted his teeth as
he sank into her warm, wet depths. His vision. God, how he had missed this.
He’d never gone so long without a woman before and hadn’t even been tempted by
another lass while he was away. He only wanted his Annie. Wanted to taste her
honeyed skin and plunge into her hot, welcoming sheath that seemed made for
him.

He raked his hands up her silky thighs, grabbing her hip in
one hand and finding her clit with the thumb of the other. He was awestruck as
his hot little woman threw back her head and moaned in ecstasy, her breathing
quickening. Rocking her hips back and forth, he slid his cock in and out of her
core in a slow, steady rhythm. He grunted and silently willed himself to hold
back just a little longer until she found her release.

Anna moaned in acute pleasure as Galen lifted his head and
flicked his tongue at her swollen, distended nipples. His thumb slid over her
clit in ever faster circles and she closed her eyes, surrendering to the
thrilling jolts radiating out from the sensitive nub.

“Touch your breasts for me,” he whispered, his voice
strangled. “I want to watch you.”

A deliciously wicked throb coursed through her and she
straightened, cupping her breasts with her hands and slowly pulling on her
nipples while she rode him. Sharp arrows of pleasure reverberated through her
body to her clit and she moaned. Juices leaked from her core, allowing his cock
to slide deeper. Tremors unleashed from deep within her, pulling a primal,
gasping cry of his name from her lips.

His fingers dug into her hip as his body tensed between her
thighs. With a frenzied lift of his hips, he pummeled into her. Her clit hit
his pubic bone hard and her core spasmed around him. He ground himself against
her and shuddered, a deep, guttural groan escaping his throat.

Anna fell forward against his warm chest and he wrapped his
arms around her, rolling her to the side as he planted a slow, drugging kiss
upon her lips. She sighed, her eyes fluttering closed.

Galen dragged his hand down her stomach to her hip and then
between her legs once again. She opened her eyes in surprise and was about to
ask him what he was doing when he slid his finger into her folds, grazing her
clit. A shock of pleasure shot out from the overstimulated nub and her hips
bucked involuntarily.

He bit her neck and then flicked it with his tongue. “I have
many weeks of loving to make up to you, lass. You will not be leaving our bed
for a while.”

She raised her brow. “You mean you’re ready…already?”

He laughed against the base of her throat and dragged his
lips between her breasts. “Not just yet, but I will be soon enough. Until then,
I am going to make you come again and again.”

“But I—”

He pushed her thighs apart and trailed a path down her
stomach to her exposed slit with his tongue. He lowered his head and deeply
inhaled her scent. “The thought of your sweet flesh plagued me every night.
Your taste, your smell. I would get so hard, Annie, just thinking about you.”

A new surge of desire flowed over her and she whimpered in
anticipation. He flashed her a scandalous grin before lowering his mouth to her
tender, aching flesh. As he traced her folds with his tongue with maddening
gentleness, Anna sank into the bed and sighed.

He flicked her clit with his tongue and then slipped it
between her folds, dipping and swirling. She arched her back, her breathing
ragged, and he murmured incomprehensible words against her clit, sending
thrilling vibrations through her core.

“Oh Galen,” she whispered, clutching the bed covers.

He slipped two fingers into her and wrapped his lips around
her clit, sucking and licking the engorged nub until she ground herself against
his mouth in a desperate attempt to find release.

Galen grabbed her hips to hold her against the bed while he
lapped at her. The pressure mounted until a deep, thrilling spam shot through
her core, sending their mixed juices spilling out around his fingers.

“Mmm, hmmm,” he hummed against her clit. He sucked the
distended nub into his mouth and a wrenching mixture of pleasure and pain
ripped through her abdomen, sending her pussy into another spasmodic vibration.
Soon, it encompassed her entire body, and she convulsed beneath him, every
nerve overloaded.

“Annie.” He placed quick, soft kisses on her inner thighs.
“You are so beautiful when you come.”

Her face flushed in a mixture of happiness and shyness. He
was actually enjoying pleasuring her and not caring that he wasn’t going to get
anything back. She had no idea men like this even existed. Where on earth had
he been her whole life? And why couldn’t it have been Galen instead of James
who had somehow gone through time and met her at the fair when she was
eighteen? She sighed and shook her head.

Galen rose and encircled one of her nipples with his tongue
before sucking it between his lips and shoving his fingers into her pussy. She
gasped and bit her lip at the exquisite pleasure of her aching, tired core
stretching around him again. She closed her eyes and collapsed against the
mattress as new pulsations of desire connected her nipples and clit.

The lost time and past broken hearts didn’t matter. She was
lucky enough to be with him now and there was no way in hell she was letting him
go.

Seven months later

Anna absentmindedly rubbed her lower back as she bade
goodbye to Katherine and stepped outside the elderly lady’s cottage. Despite
the hormonally-induced heat of late pregnancy, she shivered and pulled her
plaid shawl around her neck. Early summer was decidedly cooler in the highlands
of Scotland than what she was used to in the States.

She reached down to pat Dog’s head and the animal stood from
where he had been patiently lying and stretched. Every time Galen left MacAirth
land, his dog stuck by her side like glue, even sleeping at the foot of her
bed. One day, she would have to come up with a name better than “Dog” and Galen
would just have to get over it.

The reassuring, rhythmic noises of the clan’s late afternoon
activity filtered down the hill to the edge of the woods where she walked. She
glanced at the clouds in the sky, just to make sure it wasn’t going to rain any
time soon, before looking around for a quieter area in which to take her daily
afternoon stroll.

The calm peacefulness of the clan cemetery drew her in, as
it had on several occasions before, despite Galen’s insistence it was too far
away from the keep for her to roam safely. The silent wooden crosses, some of
which reached a heightened state of decay, were so beautiful in their
simplicity and she always loved the way the light filtered from behind the
clouds hit their various planes. An artistic impulse to take up photography hit
her and she laughed, wondering where such thoughts had been when she actually
had access to modern technology.

Anna rubbed her palms over her gigantic, protruding belly.
Not having had the forethought to manually track the number of days that had
passed since she figured out she was pregnant, it was difficult for her to know
exactly what her proper due date should be. But with the new heaviness in her
lower abdomen, the nearly daily bouts with false labor, and Katherine’s
expertise on the subject, she had no doubt the time would be soon.

Which is why it annoyed her Galen felt the need to leave for
a few days yet again. Thankfully, there had not been any additional
several-week trips to the outer edges of Scotland and beyond. Ever since he
discovered the Gowrie was after her and she had made him promise not to go after
him, Galen had become obsessed with gaining support from his allies in the
event James attempted to attack the MacAirths. His intention was to ultimately
crush the Gowries once and for all should that happen. The thought always made
Anna sick to her stomach.

But Galen would be back tomorrow, which eased her fears a
bit. This time, however, she would insist he not go running off somewhere for a
good long while. After all, they were coming up on the last days in which they
would be alone as a couple.

Dog growled at her side and she stopped, glancing down at
him. The fur along his spine stiffened and stood straight. She searched the
trees at the edge of the cemetery, but nothing immediately appeared amiss.

“My lady?” came a pitiful, shaking voice from the woods.

Anna turned toward the line of trees and spotted a small,
frightened child she didn’t recognize peeking out at her from behind an old
gnarled oak.

The child’s gaze centered on the wolfhound, which growled in
earnest. Anna snapped a command and the dog sat on its haunches, staring
intently at the child.

She moved toward the woods. “Do not worry about Dog. I won’t
let him near you. Is there something you need?”

The child hesitantly stepped out from behind the tree and
nodded, still staring past her at the dog.

Anna studied the young boy’s dirty face, attempting to
figure out whether she had seen him before. There were so many little ones in
the clan it was difficult to remember all of them.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, careful to keep her voice
pleasant.

“My-my-my brother.” He looked at his feet. “He is hurt.”

She peered into the woods, wondering if he was alone. “Where
are your parents?”

“Mamma is dead. Papa is in the fields, I think.” He
shrugged. “Can you come?”

Sympathy welled within her. She looked over her shoulder at
Dog just to make sure he still sat quietly a comfortable distance away. The
moment her eyes met his, he stood as though he were going to come toward them.

The child whimpered and threw himself into her skirts.
“Please, my lady!” he pleaded. “He cannot walk and he is bleeding.”

She told Dog to stay and rubbed the child’s back in an
attempt to soothe away his fright. “It’s all right. I will come. What is your
name?”

“Caleb.”

“Where is your brother?”

The boy turned and pointed deep into the forest.

Anna nodded, waving him forward to lead the way. He bounded
from the cemetery, looking back several times as if to make sure she indeed
followed.

As they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, her
stomach panged in disquieting discomfort. After what seemed like a good ten
minutes, she asked, “How much farther?”

“Just a little ways, my lady.”

Her hips ached, but she brushed off the pain, hoping she
would soon find the boy’s brother. “What happened to him?”

“He fell,” the boy mumbled.

The oddity of his tone gave her pause and she almost stopped
in her tracks. A sudden heat washed over her due to her exertion and she pulled
her plaid shawl from around her shoulders.

“Caleb.” She wrapped her arm around her stomach and paused
to catch her breath.

A sudden, sharp pain in the back of her head caused her to
crumple. Before she hit the ground, Dog’s yelp reverberated in her ears as a
gag was thrown around her mouth and tied tightly the back of her head. She
screamed as best as she could, struggling to stand, but her wrists were quickly
bound and a black hood thrown over her head.

Anna whimpered, kicking blindly at anything around her, her
heart pounding wildly in her chest. How could she have been so stupid? She
should have at least trusted Dog’s instincts if not her own. Her heart ached
for the animal and she silently prayed he was all right.

Hands grabbed her legs, holding them painfully to the ground
as a rough rope wrapped around her ankles. Then several pairs of hands were on
her all at once, lifting her into the air and carrying her for what seemed like
several yards. She screamed again, the noise easily swallowed by the gag. Tears
stung her eyes and she prayed for someone—anyone—to come to her aid.

She was placed with strange gentleness onto a bed of what
seemed to be straw. Horses snorted and she stilled, straining to detect any
indication of who had done this to her. A lurching rolled her backward and then
forward before settling into a steady movement.

James had come for her.

Or rather, had sent men to do his dirty work for him. How
long had he been plotting this? How long had these men been watching her,
waiting for the opportunity to strike? And how is it they could have encroached
so far into MacAirth territory without being detected?

She struggled against the rope around her wrist, but it had
been tied to something to prevent her from moving around too much. Exhausted,
she gave up and allowed her tears to roll down her cheeks.

* * * * *

A kick in the ribs jarred Anna into a semi-conscious state.
She inhaled and detected the sweet scent of hay. Something rolled in her
stomach and kicked her ribs again.

Her eyes fluttered open only to be met with darkness as she
was rocked back and forth. She shifted, dragging a wool blanket across her
cheek, and the back of her head throbbed. The baby punched her in her bladder.

As she was about to mutter how over this whole pregnancy
thing she was, a tight, moist cloth stretched against her moving lips to
restrain them. She blinked wildly, panic washing over her as she remembered
exactly where she was.

The nightmare was real.

“You should have killed that thing,” a man uttered somewhere
outside the blanket.

“I did not have time to draw my sword. All I could do was
throw the beast against a tree. We were lucky it landed head-first and was
knocked out cold. We had to get out of there,” someone else answered in a weary
voice. “There was no time for a battle with a crazed wolf. He already took a
good deal of my flesh with him as it is.”

“Are we almost home?” a child’s voice came from in front of
her.

Caleb. She exhaled in disbelief, her heart sinking. The
child had been sent to draw her away from the clan. She could all too easily
envision Galen’s angry expression as he lectured her on the importance of
following his orders.

She hated proving him right, but even more pressing was the
worry that would befall Galen and the clan. She had no idea what time at night
it might be or how long it would take them to notice she hadn’t returned.

“A few hours yet, lad,” the first man answered with a laugh.
“You will get your coin from the laird soon enough.”

A sickening understanding swept through her. She pulled her
wrists and ankles toward her, testing the strength of the restraints.

“Stop!” a man said.

The wagon groaned before halting and the clip-clop of
horses’ hooves fell silent. Anna froze, barely daring to breathe.

“What is it?” another asked.

“I thought I saw her move.”

Shuffling cut through the quiet and she closed her eyes,
feigning sleep. The hood was dragged off and cool night air caressed her face.

“Still asleep.”

“Are you sure she is breathing? You hit her pretty hard,” a
third voice asked in concern.

An exasperated sigh came from in front of her and the hood
was flicked back over her face.

“Yes, I am certain.”

“The laird will run us through if she’s dead, you know.”

“I know.”

The wagon lurched forward and Anna’s eyes welled with tears
as she attempted to calm her raging fear. If she did not keep her wits about
her, she was liable to miss the opportunity to escape or get the attention of
someone who could help her. She had to survive. For her child and her husband.

And for the life she never knew she wanted until the moment
Galen took her as his wife.