Highland Dragon (7 page)

She tested his leniency. “I want my sister, Isobel, welcome in our home and allowed to stay for as long as she desires.” When the hair dusting his knuckles tickled the curve of her waist, she drew a sharp intake of air. “And I want ye to pay for the advancement of her education.”

Calin’s warm hand stilled over her hip. “Ye want me to send her to the priory like I did ye?”

“Nay. I wouldnae wish that place on my worst enemy.” Had she known Calin was her benefactor, she wouldn’t have revealed so much information. Nonetheless, he deceived her and she had never once felt remorse for stealing his monies from the Abbot. Still, she wanted this promise from him. “Isobel is good with herbs and salves. I want ye to provide the funds necessary for her to be tutored by someone knowledgeable in medicine.”

She played coy and looked at him from beneath her lashes. She entwined her fingers at the nape of his neck, hoping he would agree.

While he contemplated, he circled the ridges of her spine. The tightness behind her breast increased with each motion. Lower…lower still. A shudder ripped through her, and her nipples hardened.

He was dangerously close to taking liberties that did not yet belong to him.

“Verra weel. I’ll speak with my seneschal about the monies.” Calin pushed her plaid around her shoulders to trace his fingertips across her collarbone. He followed the feathery path with his lips. “Is this all?”

“Nay,” Akira quickly answered. There was more. Lots more. Her mind became a void. Dammit, what else had she intended to ask? And…och, what was he doing to her? The man was a thief and a heathen, robbing her of principles and wit. And what was worse, she only wanted him closer. Pressing herself against him, she ached and didn’t know why, but this intimacy made her pulse beat between her legs. A squeak came with the air she exhaled. Had she not heard it with her own ears, she wouldn’t have believed the noise came from her throat.

Her resolve was slipping. Calin knew it. Her curvaceous bottom wiggled in all the right places. Her breathing came in gulps. This pleased him. A few more kisses would quell her tenacity. After all, that had been what he wanted. A submissive bride. One untouched by another. One who entered their union without qualms and warmed his bed. One who would give him sons and be faithful to him.

As he caressed the smooth skin of her back and hips, he was glad he hadn’t brought her a sark to wear. Unfortunately, knowing she sat practically naked beneath his plaid only furthered his discomfort. The lust coursing through his blood would taint his responses. He needed to be careful or he might relinquish every blade of grass on MacLeod soil before she finished her boons.

He should have eased his needs with one of the village maids before he retrieved Akira, but that had never been his way. He was partial to sharing his bed with only one woman at a time. A fleeting moment of disgust niggled through his body when he recalled the woman who last held that position.

He pushed the image from his head and pressed Akira’s shapely hips into his pelvis.

“Cease, Calin! Crivons, I can barely breathe, much less think.”

“I dinnae want ye to think.” He leaned her back then suckled her tender lips again. The hand that had nearly descended all the way down her back, now fondled the base of her full breast.

And a bonnie fine tit it was indeed. Heavy in his hand with the nipple aroused to a tight peak. She was so clean, and fresh, and soft, and making him completely wowf with her incessant chatter.

“Dammit, Calin. Stop!” Akira shoved him back, pulling his wild hands out of her plaid. Both her slender, dark eyebrows wrinkled in frustration. “Is this how ye would have me? In a tree like some rutting animal afore we are wed? If this be your intention, ye may as weel have taken my virginity at
Tigh Diabhail.
”

“Ah, then ye are a virgin.”

“Of course I am. Dinnae insult me. I have been promised to my benefa—to ye for as long as I can remember. I have never even kissed a mon before this moment. Since I have guarded my favors while the other maids lifted their skirts, I dinnae think it is much to ask for ye to grant me a boon or two. ’Tis the least ye can do.”

Relief flushed through him. He had hoped she came to him untouched. A virgin had never found her way into his bed. Finding a woman of such ilk within miles of Cànwyck Castle was like discovering a diamond in a pile of horse dung. The fact he would take a virginal wife to his bed increased his desire for the woman sitting astride his hips. He blew an audible exhale while trying to reposition himself beneath a rigid erection he knew she could feel, as she sat directly atop him.
’Twould be so easy to…Nay. Stop it! She’s not a whore. She’s your betrothed. Treat her with a wee bit of chivalry.

Calin struggled, but did regain control over his thoughts. “What else would ye ask of me?”

“I’d like permission to educate the kin of your clan alongside your chaplain, given the council and your elders agree. Both girls and boys.”

“Boys, too?”

“Aye. Until they’re old enough to train under your command.”

“If the council agrees, I’ll see what I can do. Aught else?”

Akira smiled bashfully. “I want bairns. Lots of them. Dozens. And ye will let me have as many as I like. Maggie says I will be a verra good breeder.”

Calin’s heart leaped. He couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from curving upward. He’d always dreamed of filling Cànwyck Castle with a brood of heirs. He wanted to start fulfilling this request as soon as possible. “We can have as many as ye like. And this is all?”

Akira reached for his hand and folded his fingers into a tight fist. Though confused by the gesture, he allowed her reign over his hand.

“My brother promised me a gentle husband, but my sisters always claimed ’twould take a brutal mon to break me. I disagree with them, as I dinnae wish to be broke. I would have your word that ye will never lay your fist to me in anger. Nay matter how provoked ye may be by my tongue.”

Calin jerked his hand from hers and shook out his fist. “Ye are bold, and ye shame me by suggesting I would mistreat ye. I have never struck a woman, and I have nay intention of starting with my lady wife.” Disturbed by her last request, he couldn’t quell the question. “Have ye been beaten, lass?”

“The Prioress struck me once; the eve I departed Beauly Priory. Howbeit, I’ve seen such women. Seen their faces after their husbands bruised their flesh. I’ve been blessed to not yet know such pain. Albeit, I received a fair amount of whippings from Papa and Kendrick. Most of which were weel-deserved. Their hands were flat on my bottom and the humiliation alone sent me into nightmares.”

Akira’s puckered lips gave him a glimpse of that rebellious child. She had already proven to be stubborn. He could only assume she had been a difficult lass for Murrdock and Vanora Neish to rear. Still and all, she wouldn’t live in fear of his hand. “Ye will never know such pain as my wife.”

“Nay matter how provoked?”

“I vow it. I’ll never strike ye.”

Akira gripped his face between her palms, gaining his full attention. Based on the seriousness of her expression, he worried about her next request. Up to this point, she hadn’t asked for anything he couldn’t willingly give her.

“I am not finished,” she said. “This one is particularly important to me, m’laird. Ye may think me foolish, but I—”

“What is it?”

She drew a breath. “Ye’ll not take a mistress until I have borne your first child…nay your second…your third. Ye’ll not take a mistress until after I’ve given ye four bairns. And even then, ye will do your duty as my husband if I choose to have more.” Akira lowered her eyes after this request. Her sooty lashes rested against her flushed cheeks hiding any emotion he may have searched for. Her hands fell to her lap and twisted a loose thread. “I know most men of your status keep a leman, but my papa never did.”

Was she jesting? She actually expected him to take a mistress? She had a lot to learn about him. He was no monk, but he’d ended all his relationships and intended to take his responsibility as laird seriously. She obviously wanted bairns. Why would she make such a request?

Then a thought struck him. Did she intend to spurn him after she carried? He definitely didn’t like the thought of his own wife refusing him in the marriage bed. He bargained. “I’ll have nay need for a leman in my bed, if…ye dinnae deny me my conjugal rights.”

Even in the pale moonlight, he could see the crimson crawling up her cheeks and around her wide shocked eyes. Her mouth opened, then closed. She chewed her bottom lip and contemplated heavily. Och, the lass searched for words. Hot barbed ones, he was certain.

“I wouldnae deny my lord husband.”

My lord husband.
Those words were forced from her tongue. Calin kissed the corner of her tight lips. “Then ye’ve my word. I’ll not take a mistress.” He raised her chin. “Is this all?” He smiled at her patiently, awaiting her next request—knowing she would have one. Mayhap she would ask for gowns and gold or expensive jewels and scented water.

“For the nonce. But considering ye are distracting me from thinking clearly, I would reserve the right to add a boon or two as the notion strikes me.”

Her smile melted his heart, and her requests pleased him. The fact he distracted her from thinking clearly pleased him even more.

“I am ready to go down now. If ye would be so kind as to take me back to the fire.”

He drew her close by her chin. Briefly, he considered the circumstances of their betrothal. If she knew who sired her, she probably would refuse to wed him. He had two days to woo the lass and ease her rebellious nature. Kendrick hadn’t told her the truth in all these years, and his men could be trusted to hold their tongues about the alliance. He needed her to believe she had no choice in the matter. The guilt he felt for deceiving her was quelled by his sense of duty to protect his clan. He also admitted he enjoyed the wooing.

He stroked her lips open with his thumb. “I have a boon or two of my own I’d like ye to agree upon before I take ye as my lady wife.”

Akira remained compliant.

“Ye will allow me to kiss ye every morn…” He kissed her bottom lip. “And every eve…” He kissed her top lip. “And anytime I feel the need to press your sweet lips to mine.” With this request, he tilted his head and flicked his tongue in her mouth. She jerked, but he held her firmly until she returned his kiss with equal abandon. Their tongues circled, vigorously pursuing one another until he released a hoarse groan. The nectar of her mouth tasted sweet and delicious like the honey from the
siùcair
blossom.

He forced himself away, but lingered on the pulse in her neck still beating wildly against his lips. “Will ye agree to my conditions as I have agreed to yours?” he whispered in her ear, waiting for her to catch her breath.

“’Tis all ye ask of me?”

“For the nonce.”

“Do I have to return your kisses?”

“Aye.” Calin nearly laughed.

“I’ll do my best to honor your boon, m’laird…”

This time he did chuckle at her attempt to be less than enthusiastic, but he saw a glimpse of flirtation behind her batting lashes. Holding her tightly, he slipped into her mouth for another foray of savory kisses until his body threatened his head with impure thoughts once again. He pulled away. “I’ll carry ye down now and warm ye for the rest of the night.”

“I’m certain the fire will warm me weel enough.”

Knowing full well the fire had been doused to hide them from brigands, Calin ignored her comment and focused on the task of descending. When he supported his weight on the lower branches, she held tightly to his torso. “Is there a particular way I should go about this, lass?”

“Nay. Kendrick always just made me hold tight and cursed me the whole way down. I would prefer ye not curse at me, but if it helps your descent I would forgive ye.”

Calin laughed, but when he repositioned himself on the lower branch, she tightened her hold. Her arms wrapped around his neck nearly choking him, and her legs curled around his waist. Any other time he would have welcomed such an embrace, but the woman had the sheer strength of a warrior. “I’ll not let ye fall.”

“Please just go.”

He shimmied down the trunk only knocking her head against one branch. When he jumped to the ground from the last limb, a grunt escaped him. She slid to her feet, smoothed her skirt, and rubbed the side of her skull.

“Sorry, lass. That branch snuck up on me.”

“’Tis no harm. I appreciate ye not cursing at me.” She turned and started back to camp.

Pulling a congenial “thank you” from her could prove more difficult than pulling teeth. Instead of fighting that battle, he followed her dainty footsteps through the woodland. When they reached camp, they found the others buried in their wools and snoring soundly. Calin quietly laid out a second fur pelt for her beside the one he’d spread earlier and willed his aching body to find rest.

An hour later, his internal request remained unfulfilled. His ears wouldn’t allow him sleep. The men snored like pipers, and the north wind had developed a howl. Obviously uncomfortable with the close proximity of their sleeping arrangements, Akira had curled into a ball at the edge of the palette. Her teeth chattered a tune that made his bones ache.

His patience taxed, Calin reached a bold arm around her waist and closed the foot separating them. He added the weight of his fur to her shivering body and whispered into her hair. “Your teeth are stealing my sleeping hours.”

“F–f–forgive me, m’laird. I am used t–t–to sleeping with my sisters. Could ye not build up the fire?”

“Nay. We’ll not be on my land until we cross the Minch. A fire could reveal our position to brigands. I dinnae want ye in danger.” He probably should have assigned one of his men to stand guard, but like him, none of them had slept in days.

“Would ye think me brazen if I used your body for warmth this night?” she asked.

“Nay. Ye may use my body however ye like,” Calin said with a lewd grin. But the rakish comment and his smile were wasted on her innocence and the dark.

Akira turned into him, folded his beefy arm around her, then wiggled her way into the niche of his chest. The woman was freezing. Like the glass atop the loch on May Day.