Highland Hero (6 page)

“Nay, I have had the cook prepare us something that is just for us.”

Her suspicion grew in one large bound when he opened the door to his bedchamber. She tensed as he tugged her inside. This was far too intimate and far too close to a bed. It was undoubtedly just how he wanted it, and a large part of her did as well, but Edina knew she had to fight that reckless part of her.

“I dinnae think this is a good idea,” she said, and turned back to the door.

Lucais grabbed her by the hands and tugged her over to a small table set in front of the huge stone fireplace that warmed his room. “I swear to ye, loving, that I will do naught that ye cannae agree to,” he vowed as he gently pushed her down into a chair.

And that was the real problem, Edina mused as she watched him sit down across from her and pour each of them some wine. She could easily be persuaded to agree to most anything Lucais asked of her. Smiling faintly, she touched her silver goblet to his when he raised it in a silent toast. It had been difficult enough for her to turn from his gentle seduction when they had been surrounded by people as in the great hall or the bailey. Now they were enclosed in privacy, warmed by the glow of a low-burning fire, and facing each other over a fine meal. Edina was not confident that she had the strength to resist his wiles. She could try to flee to her room, but, as he smiled at her over the savory roast lamb they dined on, the door through which she could escape suddenly looked miles away.

Lucais saw the soft look in Edina’s eyes and inwardly smiled. He easily pushed aside the small twinge of guilt he felt over his attempts to seduce a wellborn maid. Edina wanted him; he was certain of it. The desire was there to see in the way she looked at him, and it was clear to feel every time they kissed. He had no intention of forcing her to his bed, but he was going to do his best to make her give in to that desire and come into his arms willingly.

Chapter 6

“I have spent most of the evening speaking of old battles,” Lucais murmured as he moved the table out of the way and sat down on the sheepskin rug by the fireplace. “Come, our bellies are full and ’tis time to take our ease.” He patted the rug by his side. “Now ’tis your turn to tell me of your adventures.”

Edina eyed the spot where he wanted her to sit. The unease she had felt when he had first tugged her into his room had been lulled by conversation and good food, but now it returned in force. There was a warmth in his gray eyes that told her talk was not all he wanted from her. The moment she sat down beside him she was silently offering him the opportunity to gain what he really sought.

She glanced at the door and thought about leaving, claiming a need to seek her own bed and a good night’s sleep. It almost made her smile when she realized that she could not do it, she could not retreat again. He offered no more than passion, but she ached for it. Soon Simon would be defeated and there would be no reason for her to linger at Dunmor. She would return to Glenfair and all its coldness. Here was a beautiful man offering her warmth, no matter how fleeting, and Edina decided she wanted some. Even if it were for only one night, she wanted to be held in his arms, to taste the fullness of the passion promised in his kisses. She also wanted love, marriage, and babies, but had little hope of being offered that. Edina knew that if she tried to gain it all, she would end up with nothing, not even a sweet memory. Inwardly taking a deep breath to steady herself, she sat down beside him.

“I fear I have no great adventures to tell ye about,” she said, silently cursing the tremor in her voice that revealed her nervousness and desire.

“Have ye led such a calm, peaceful life, then?” Lucais reached out to undo the strip of deer hide she had tied her hair back with, smiling gently at her when her eyes widened.

“Aye.” She swallowed hard when he began to comb his fingers through her hair, plainly enjoying the feel of it. “The most exciting thing I have e’er done is a wee bit of poaching, but I have ne’er been caught at it.”

“That is what ye were doing when we found you.” He refilled her goblet and draped his arm around her shoulders, lightly tugging her closer.

“Aye. My uncle’s lands are verra small, and sometimes there isnae any game to be found on them.”

“Ye will get yourself hanged.”

“Aye, I have feared that at times, but then the fear passes and I do it again.”

“Weel, try to cling to the fear a little harder in the future. Hanging is the gentlest of punishments visited upon poachers, and I dinnae think your beauty and sex will save ye. Not every time anyway.”

She nodded and shivered when he touched a kiss to the hollow by her ear. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast, she wondered that he did not hear it. Fear and anticipation raced through her veins alongside her increasing desire. Edina almost smiled when she realized that now that she had made her decision to be his lover, she was a little annoyed that he was moving so slowly. She lifted her gaze to his, saw the warm, steady way he was watching her, and briefly feared that he could read her thoughts.

“Lass, I fear I dinnae have the wits left to keep on talking, and ye arenae helping to keep the conversation alive.”

“I think my wits are a wee bit scattered just now as weel,” she whispered, her breathing growing heavy as he inched his mouth closer to hers.

Lucais threaded his fingers through her hair on either side of her head and looked deep into her eyes. He could read a desire in their clear depths that he was sure matched his. As he brushed his lips across hers and felt her tremble, he decided the game of seduction had grown very tiresome.

“Ye ken what I seek, dinnae ye, dearling?” he asked in a soft voice as he covered her upturned face with soft, warm kisses. “I dinnae think I have kept it a verra close secret. Nay, especially not during this last week we have been together.”

“Not since ye were certain that I was innocent, that I wasnae working with Simon.”

“Aye, though it shames me to admit that I held such suspicions about you.”

“Dinnae be shamed. I held them about ye from time to time too.”

Lucais laughed even as he moved his kisses to the pulse point in her long, graceful throat. “I want ye, Edina MacAdam. God’s tears, I want ye so badly that I wake in the night all asweat with the need. I think ye want me too.”

“I should say nay and leave just to dim that arrogance.”

He lifted his head to look at her, smiling faintly when he saw the amusement in her expression, but then he grew serious. “But ye willnae say nay, will ye?” He stroked her cheek, a little surprised to see that his hand was shaking.

“Nay, I willnae say nay. It may be unwise, reckless, e’en stupid, but I willnae say nay to you, Lucais. I fear I havenae got the strength to do as I should.”

“Thank God for that,” he said as he stood up, and scooped her up into his arms. “Although,” he added as he walked to the bed and gently set her down on it, “I should prefer to think that ye arenae weak, that this isnae happening because of weakness. I should prefer to think that ye just have the strength to reach out and take what ye want.”

“That is a much better way to think on it,” she murmured as she welcomed him into her arms.

A soft groan rose from the very depths of her body as he kissed her. There was such passion in his kiss, such sweet tenderness, she was lost in it, so lost that she paid no heed to the removal of her clothes. With each touch of his hands on her body, with each heated kiss, he kept her blinded until they were both naked. It was not until he took off his braies and slowly lowered his body onto hers, the feel of his flesh meeting hers for the first time searing away the haze his kisses had encased her mind in. She shuddered and blushed beneath his gaze as he looked over every exposed inch of her.

“Ye are lovely, sweet Edina, all black silk and white linen.”

“Ye arenae such a poor sight yourself, Lucais MacRae,” she said, smoothing her hand down his side, the feel of his warm, hard skin sending her reeling.

He touched a kiss to her breast and she gasped, the warmth of his lips flaring through her body. She could feel a faint tremor rippling through him and knew he was caught as tightly in the grip of desire as she was. The way he touched her, caressed her skin with his lips, told her that he was struggling to go slowly. When he enclosed the hard tip of her breast in his mouth and drew on it, she decided she did not have the will or the strength to go slowly. She slid her hands down his back to cup his taut backside and laughed huskily when he came alive in her arms, all hesitation gone.

A heedless passion took control of her. She met his every kiss and touch with one of her own, equaling the ferocity of his lovemaking in every way. There was a wildness to their need for each other, and she reveled in it. It was not until she felt him press to enter her that a hint of sanity broke through. She wrapped her body around his, gasping with a strange mix of pleasure and pain as he joined their bodies. When he broke through the barrier of her innocence, the sharp pain of that loss made her cry out, but it became of little importance very quickly.

Edina held him close, smoothing her hands over his broad back as she savored every sensation caused by the unification of their bodies. It was as if her body had been sleeping for twenty years and had suddenly been brought to life. When she shifted, drawing him deeper within herself, she heard him groan and felt him shudder. It was only then that she realized he was so taut that she could feel the veins standing out on his arms.

“Arenae ye supposed to do a wee bit more?” she asked with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

Lucais looked into her eyes, saw the faint glitter of laughter, and grinned. “Aye, just a wee bit more.” He quickly grew serious and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Is the pain gone?”

“What pain?” she whispered against his mouth.

When he moved, the last of Edina’s amusement was swept away. She clung to him as he moved, greedily meeting his every thrust. A brief spasm of confusion and fear broke through the desire that so completely possessed her when her need grew almost painful, her body tightening with an anticipation she did not understand. Then something inside her broke free and she was lost. Edina was only faintly aware of crying out Lucais’s name, and of the way he suddenly held her still, pushing deep within her as he shuddered and called out her name. Her inability to think clearly, to even know what was happening around her, did not really fade until Lucais had cleaned them both off and returned to the bed.

Edina cautiously opened her eyes as Lucais gently brushed the tangled hair from her face. He did not look disgusted or surprised, only gently amused, so she began to think that what had just happened to her was normal. She slowly reached up to touch his cheek and realized she was making sure that this was no dream, that he was real. That made her smile at her own foolishness.

“Does something amuse you?” he asked, brushing a kiss over her cheek.

“Only myself. I just realized that I touched you to be sure that ye arenae a dream.”

He chuckled and briefly kissed her when she blushed. “And I have been touching ye so much for the verra same reason.”

“Ah, I am disappointed.”

“Why?”

“I thought ye were touching me for another reason.”

“Ye must let a mon rest, dearling,” he said, laughter shaking his voice as he turned onto his back and pulled her into his arms.

Edina looked at him and idly wondered how she could love him so deeply when he gave her no love in return. She smoothed her hand down his chest to his taut stomach, toying with the tight dark curls encircling his navel as she marveled at her own greed. Her body ached from her first taste of lovemaking, and yet she was hungry for more. She suspected some of that greed was born of the knowledge that this could not last for long, that her time with him was fleeting.

As she slid her hand around to his waist, she leaned down and touched a kiss to his rippled stomach. He shivered and she smiled against his warm skin. There might be weeks left in which they could be lovers, but there could also be only hours. Edina decided that she would give in to her greed and worry about the right or wrong of it later, when she was all alone at Glenfair.

“How long do ye need to rest?” she asked as she slipped her hand beneath the coverlet and curled her fingers around his staff, feeling her desire return as it hardened beneath her touch.

“I think I have rested enough,” he replied in a hoarse voice as he pulled her back into his arms.

Edina laughed when he turned so that she was sprawled beneath him and greedily welcomed his kiss. “Aye,” she said hoarsely when he tore his mouth from hers and began to kiss his way toward her breasts. “Your strength does appear to have returned.”

“Lass, do ye mean to love me to exhaustion?”

“What a lovely idea.”

“Weel, I challenge ye to try. We have time enough.”

She threaded her fingers through his thick hair, arching toward his mouth as he lathed and sucked the aching tips of her breasts, and heartily prayed that he was right. Instinct told her, however, that their time together was rapidly slipping from their hands. Edina hoped that if all she would be given was this one night, that she had the strength to be satisfied with that.

Chapter 7

A cold draft brushed against Edina’s back, and she muttered a curse as she tugged the blanket around herself. When she heard the sound of someone approaching the bed, she tensed and warily opened her eyes even as she pressed closer to Lucais. A blush heated her skin as she looked up into Andrew’s face. She and Lucais had spent the whole night making love, and she was sure that was obvious to the young man. Even as she cursed herself for going to sleep and not slipping back into her own room, she noticed the somber expression he wore, and nudged Lucais.

“Andrew is here,” she said as Lucais groaned softly and tried to pull her back into his arms.

Lucais came awake and sat up so quickly that she had to scramble to keep herself modestly covered by the blanket. Her heart was in her throat and she was not sure why. There were any number of reasons for Andrew to look so serious and to seek out his laird so early in the morning.