Dark Side of the Laird (Highland Bound) (10 page)

Both our heads fell back as we moaned, that initial joining, the thrust and sink, so hot and pleasurable that there is nothing one can do but surrender to it.

This would be no lengthy coupling, but quick and furious. He gripped tight to my ass, thrusting up, fast and hard as I rocked back and forth, my hands finding anchor against his shoulders. I sank closer, kissing his lips, nuzzling his neck, and he teased over the flesh of my nipples with his teeth, sucking on them and leaving wet spots on my gown from his tongue.

I cried out, my body tensing with each ensuing push and pull. I was so wound up. Emotions, fear, tension, all of it pushing us both closer to the brink.

Logan buried his face between my breasts, murmuring words filled with passion, emotion and something deeper—regret? I pushed it aside, unwilling to explore what that could mean. Instead, I whispered my own words of love, of sensuality. Telling him how much I liked his cock thrusting hard and deep inside me. How much I loved him, needed him.

When the
fluttering of my orgasm began, I cried out, “I’m coming,” and he ground his hips upward harder, faster, until seconds later we were both crying out and quaking with mutual release.

“I dinna want to leave ye, but I have to go,” he said, his voice gravelly against my breasts.

I stroked my hand through his hair, tugged until he looked up at me. I bent low and met my lips to his. “I know. But ye’ll be back soon, we both know it. We must both do what has to be done.”

I climbed from atop him and lifted my foot right
between his thighs, my toes an inch from his balls and his cock still partially erect and glistening from our sex. “Strap it on me,” I demanded with a coy smile.

Logan grinned and leaned forwa
rd, pressing his lips to my knee. “What would I do without ye, Emma? Ye make me stronger. Just when I thought nothing could give me more power, here ye are.”

He grabbed the leather strap from the table and wrapped it around my thigh. “Tight but not too tight,” he instructed. He Wrapped it
around twice, leaving the second tying even looser. “Watch as I do this, I want to see ye do it after me.”

Logan picked up the dirk and slipped it between my thigh and the second loo
p, sheathed blade facing downward. Then he twisted the blade up and around that same strap, making a tight loop of its own. Once more he flipped the blade up and tucked it back down, this time into the initial loop he’d made around my thigh.

“Triple looped,” he said with a smile and tug. “’Twill not go anywhere. Give it a yank.”

I tugged at the weapon, and it did feel secure.

“Now ye try it.”

I untied the leather and rewrapped it, following his lead of triple securing the blade. The first time it was too loose. The second time too tight, but by the third go, I had it done just as perfectly as Logan.

“Good. Ye’re ready.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” I said, “but I will keep your dagger hidden.”

His eyes darkened and he gazed at me seriously. “Dinna let anyone see the dirk. Dinna let anyone touch it, have it.”

“What about Agatha?” I asked, the woman dressed me, how was she not to see it?

Logan shook his head. “Even Agatha. No one is to know. When she comes to dress ye, slip it beneath the mattress. When she finishes, tie it on. W
ear it at all times, even when ye sleep.”

“And what about when I’m in the bath?”

“Slip it under the mattress again.”

I was still scared. Could feel the fear skittering up and down my spine. This was a huge task he was giving me. The key to the castle, to all his secrets. “I’ll guard it with my life.”

“I’d rather ye simply guard it with your thigh.” He smiled. “I dinna want ye to give your life for it. And for that matter, I rather like your thighs.” He gazed down at the dirk strapped to the front of my leg. “Damn, but that’s sexy, lass.”

I smiled and kissed him again. But then I
grew serious once more. “What if someone does discover it? Say I’m attacked and they see it on my leg?”

“Ye won’t be attacked.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know, I’ll be safe, got it, but what
if
?”

“Dinna let anyone have that knife, Emma. I’d rather see it burned in a fire, melted to nothing and never be able to get behind those doors than see it get into the wrong hands.”

I swallowed. “All right.”

“Ye will be safe.”

“Why do I get the feeling your convincing yourself more than me?” I asked.

He gave a short, quiet laugh. “’Haps I am.”

“How many of your men will you take with you?”

“Just a dozen. I’m leaving the rest, ready for war.”

“Is it that serious?”

He nodded. “With me gone, our enemies are very likely to descend upon this place. But ye will be safe. My men have safeguarded Gealach for over a decade. No one has ever defeated us.”

“No one has ever defeated
you
.”

He smiled up at me, a sad edge to the curve of his lips. “There have been times when I’ve not been present, and Ewan has always defeated the enemy. I have every confidence he will continue to impress me.”

“Ewan is remaining behind?” Just the knowledge of that made me feel better.

“Aye, lass. He’ll take care that no harm comes to ye.”

“And Lady Isabella? What will she be doing?”

He glowered again, any humor in him instantly gone with the mention of her name. “No doubt getting into trouble.” He looked up at me, worry crinkling his eyes. “Dinna believe anything that bitch says, Emma.”

His words were spoken fiercely, so much hatred in them I took a step back.

“I won’t,” I whispered.

“She’s hell in female form,” he ground out, standing up. “Drugged two of my guards, possibly more…” He trailed off, and I had the sudden sinking sensation that there was something he wasn’t telling me. Something important.

“I would have avoided her at all costs without your warning,” I murmured. I’d had enough dealings with her to last me a lifetime and I
wouldn’t be unhappy to see her go.

Logan gave a curt nod, and pulled me into his arms. “I’ve tarried long enough now that my men may begin to search for me. I’d not want them to think I’d come up here for a last minute bit of warming before I leave when I’d forbidden them to do so.”

“Why would you forbid them?” I asked, looking up into his darkly handsome face.

“A man who yearns for home, comes home.”

“Will you not yearn for it?” I asked.

“Desperately so.”

Chapter Ten

Logan

E
very man paused before urging his horse through the gates of Gealach and onto the waiting moor. Leaving the safety of the stone fortress was a concern, but I thought more, each man feared what we’d find upon our return.

To stand a moment in prayer for safety beneath the gate was custom, and a tradition not one man would forget.

I trusted Ewan explicitly. But, I thought, as I turned back, the arching gate over my head, taking in the towering turrets, the wall walk and the window to Emma’s chamber, catching a glimpse of her fiery hair, there was more to worry over than what would happen while we were away. Would Emma be there when I returned? Or would the miracle of time-travel have sucked her back to whatever life she’d led before me?

Would Isabella harm her?
Torture Emma with how she’d drugged me, used me? No doubt, she’d make it into something well beyond what it was. God, I should have said something to Emma. I completely ignored Isabella before leaving. Didn’t want to speak with her and have her taunt me, but I also hoped by ignoring her, she’d feel that her plan didn’t work. By all means I should have come barreling in on her, and I did not.

A gentle breeze beckoned me. Calming in its caress.
How many demons now waited in the trees beyond the moors, watching as we departed?

It was almost enough to make me turn back. But then I recalled what had occurred—or rather what I didn’t know transpired—in my library. The blood on my cock. The drugs in my whisky. A flash of memory I’d not recalled before jarred me. Isabella’s triumphant grin as she nudged my shoulders. I was on the ground and she grabbed onto my belt. She said
something, but I couldn’t hear it, only saw the movement of her lips. And then it was gone in a whisper of smoke.

Bloody fucking hell!

Anger shredded my insides and I bared my teeth, turning back to the road ahead. I’d been defeated within my own walls by a conniving bitch and I couldn’t let her get away with it. I had to give my demands to the king and make him see reason. And I prayed hard that my mind would recall every minute or at least enough of it that I could piece together what had happened. Even knowing what happened, wouldn’t relieve me of the tremendous guilt of having betrayed Emma.

I’d told her that she was to be mine and that I’d not love another, not touch another. Isabella had taken away that choice.
There was only one other person who’d ever been able to take away my choice and it was my brother, the bloody king. I’d promised myself long ago that there would be no one else to decide my fate for me. And I meant it.

If worse came to worse, I would take fate into my own hands and see that Isabella disappeared forever.

When I returned from seeking the king’s audience, I would tell Emma everything. Pray that she still accepted me. It was too great a secret to keep from her. But telling her before I had spoken to the king wouldn’t have helped anything.

I had to leave her behind in order to grasp onto her forever. Had to trust that the four foot thick walls of the castle and my men could protect her. Had to trust the safety of
Gealach and its inhabitants to Ewan’s very capable hands.

Had to trust that she
wouldn’t believe a word of Isabella’s vile tongue.

I couldn’t be worried over it. Had to relinquish that bit of
power in order to seize control over the rest of my life.

As the last of my dozen men exited the gate, the lot of us dressed in hunting plaids in order to disguise ourselves from enemies
. I called out our progressions. “Forward!”

The men grunted their reply in unison. Lined two by two, we spurred our horses into gallops, setting the pace for the
grueling trip toward the king. I spurred my mount further, leaning over his withers, not caring that his hair slapped painfully against my cheeks. ’Twas nowhere near the punishment I deserved.

Baring my teeth I growled at the wind. Come hell or high water, we’d make it to the king’s court in record time.

Breaking through the trees, heading southward, we followed the well beaten road, lighted more now that the massive, ancient trees had lost their leaves, and only their gnarled claw-like branches scratched the sky. Many thought these woods to be haunted. The trees to be alive and fae and other tricky creatures to live within the hidden coves and hollowed out oaks. But I’d always found comfort in the forest. Loving the way its natural foliage wrapped around me, cocooning me in a shroud of mystery. There was always a place to hide, always nourishment to be found. Nay, this place was not haunted, but blessed.

Ahead, I spied a large tree
that had fallen in the road. I frowned. If the tree had truly fallen, my scouts would have seen it removed. This tree was laid their purposefully. I raised a hand, halting my men, instantly on alert.

’Twas an ambush, I was sure of it.

We scanned the trees, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

I pointed toward a spot not twenty feet beyond the fallen tree. A body, on the ground. Unmoving. Wearing our colors.

Damn. I gritted my teeth. Red hair matted his face. Looked like one of the twins, my best scouts. I signaled to my men to stay behind as I went forward to investigate for myself. The closer I got, the more it became apparent that it was indeed Collum, one of the twins. He laid motionless, blood seeping from a jagged wound in his throat. He’d been murdered, viciously. His clothes were torn and bloody from multiple slash wounds. Weapons were gone, leaving him to look vulnerable even in the afterlife.

Where was his brother?

I scrutinized our surroundings, certain to find his body next. And I did. Just a hint of discoloration on the forest floor where Tavish’s red hair splayed on top of dead leaves. I turned back to my men and nodded toward the forest and two of them broke off. This close to the castle, we’d not bury them here, but bring them back to their family. I had to harden my heart, when what I truly wanted to do was sink to the ground, my knees touching dirt and shout up to the sky. Why did Collum and Tavish have to suffer? Why did they have to serve as some sort of warning to us? These men were good to us. Loyal. Genius in their abilities to scout, and now they lay dead in service to me, cut down by my enemies.

But there wasn’t time for me to mourn. Instead of falling to my knees in prayer, I
gritted my teeth and scrutinized our surroundings. There was no sight of anyone ready to ambush us. No shifting shadows amongst the barren trees, no whispers on the breeze. Nothing beyond the shifting of our horses’ feet, their puffs of breath, the jangling of the reins and stretching sounds of our leather saddles. But I knew in my gut, this was not simply a warning, a blow to where they thought it would hurt.

Our enemies knew better than to let us simply walk away. They wanted to rattle us. To put us in a state of mind where all rationality disappeared.

I couldn’t allow that to happen.

I locked eyes with each of my men and nodded. “Hold st
eady,” I said. Two simple words they were, but for the men it was a great boost. Their leader was holding steady, and so should they.

The moments ticked by in a torrent of heartbeats. I focused on slowing mine, on defeating these men for all they stood for and for what they stood in the way of. They needed to be removed so we could be about our business to the king.

Then I heard it. A whistle on the wind. I ducked and an arrow went whizzing over my back, stabbing into the tree not a foot away. I rent the air with a fierce battle cry.

The sounds of metal scraping on scabbards as
swords were wrenched free, pierced the air as my men’s answering call.

“Formation!” I cried, and the men were quick to move, all of us putting our horses’ rears together in a circle in order to protect each other’s backs.

They swung at us from trees, flying past like animals as they tried to slice at us from the sky before landing on foot. And though they may have thought their tactics were clever, they were no match for our men on horses.

A crude looking bunch they were, dirty, scuffed and covered in muck. They looked like the devil’s minions crawling the earth. They sprang at us, despite their disadvantage, lunging forward and stabbing at the horses’ chests. But we kept our horses plated, and each stab did nothing but irritate the mounts all the more.

My own horse, reared, pawing the air and planting a blow against one rat’s chest. He flew backward with the force of the jolt, crying out with his hands clutched to his chest. He’d likely find it hard to breathe.

The next who leapt forward
, saw the end of my sword sink into his shoulder, before I wrenched up, tearing his arm from his body. He stumbled away, pale and in shock as he lay dying on the ground.

A few more swung in from the skies on ropes tied high in the trees, but this time we knew the way of their descent and each one of them was cut down before he had a chance to act.

The next group to rush us did so from the ground, leaping up and striking out. A few got in a scrape or two, but they were at once put down like the rabid dogs they were.

“Where is MacDonald?” I bellowed. “Show yourself, ye coward!”

But only the rustle of leaves answered me. The man did not appear, and no one else attacked us. We waited for several moments before dismounting and making piles of the dead for a quick burial.

Though they were our enemies, they did not deserve to rot in the open without a chance to explain their evil deeds to the Lord on high.

“My laird.” I turned at the sound of Gregor’s voice. “This one’s still with us.”

I marched forward, pointing my sword tip into a gaping wound on his belly. “Tell me where MacDonald is, and we may yet let ye live.”

The man cringed, clutching at a lesser wound on his arm, and gasping for breath.

“Tell me,” I demanded, digging into the wound.

He screamed, his lips turning into nearly the same milky-white of his face.

“He’s… he’s…” But he didn’t finish, instead, sobbed and gagged.

“I will have my men take ye back to the castle. We have a healer who can sew up these wounds. All ye have to do is tell us where he is.”

Hope lit his already dulling eyes. “I…” He gasped and cringed. “I… He’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

“We were to wait for him.”

“How long?”

“Within a fortnight he said he’d be here to claim Gealach.” The man sucked in a deep breath and then spat at me. “To claim
his
place.”

I wiped the spittle from the front of my jerkin. “Before ye muttered all that nonsense, I’d been in a forgiving mood.” I shoved my blade the rest of the way into his wound and twisted. “Now, I’m not so forgiving.”

The man screamed, and then was suddenly silent as his life left him.

The ruffians lay dead all around us. Thank God
, and our skill with the blade, for it. These men would have, without a doubt, tried to attack the castle. Isabella could have tricked or drugged my men by now and opened the door when they arrived. Hopefully the men would have the foresight to guard their drinks as I’d warned.

I glanced at
Gregor. Sweat glistened his face and his eyes were crinkled with fury, mirroring my own image I was sure. “I’m sorry for the loss of your men,” I said. “Collum and Tavish will not be forgotten. I need ye to take them and a message back to the castle. Warn the men, and Ewan, that MacDonald will attack soon and to be ready. Dinna mention a fortnight. The man could be lying. I wouldn’t be surprised is the traitor bastard was headed to the gate now, or already there.”

My gaze flicked painfully toward the road to Gealach. I gritted my teeth against the intense need to return. I couldn’
t. Not yet.

“Tell Ewan to lock Isabella in her room. She canna be trusted.”
I nodded, as if just now accepting this truth myself. I should have locked her up before I left. Regretted not having done it. “MacDonald is an enemy of the crown, he is to be treated as such. Tell Ewan to gather more scouts. The clansmen are to hole up as if a siege is upon us. I dinna want to lose one more.”