Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander (12 page)

Chapter 16

As Keith led them into the narrow
cave, Angus ducked his head to keep from striking it on the ceiling. “I thought
you said ‘twas large enough for horses,” he growled.

“Aye, Milord, it grows more
spacious a bit further down. Until then, you must ride hunched over or lead
your horse.”

“Dismount,” Angus ordered. The
men obeyed and fell in behind him as he followed Keith through the passageway.
“You brought Ian here in a wagon?”

“Aye, ‘twas small and Katie and I
walked beside it.”

“Why did you need to transport
him in a wagon?”

“I struck him in the head and we
tied him.”

Keith’s expression told Angus
more than he wanted to know. They hurt Ian, the question was how badly. “Will I
be needin’ a wagon to take him home?”

“Nay, Milord.”

“How far?”

“’Tis quite a trek. I told you we
must go slowly.”

“If he is harmed….”

“When last I saw him, he fared
well, Milord.”

“And you should pray that is
still the case.”

Keith nodded. “That I do,
Milord.”

From her hiding place, Katie
watched her enemies as they stood in Ian’s cell.

Sorcha looked at Ian, then back
at Rannoch and Draco. “I gave him a bit too much. He may not wake for some
time. I think you have what you need. Whatever torture you wish to inflict
shall have to wait until he is awake enough to suffer.”

Rannoch wrapped his arm around
her and stroked his finger over breasts. “You never disappoint my Red Witch.”

“I am in your service, Milord.”

“If Ian Innes can fall under your
spell, perchance you could help me with Jamie. The boy fought fiercely when we
kept him from leaving the castle. He envisioned he had some important mission
and I kept him from it. I have confined him in his room until I can find some
way to gain his trust. I dinna ken where he was off to or who sent him, but I
suspect ‘twas Katie. I would like to be sure.”

Katie bit her lip at the mention
of Jamie. He had not gotten away. Rannoch stopped him.

“Brianna is on your side, Milord.
Could she help with Jamie?”

“At this point, Brianna does not
question my authority. I dinna wish to make her suspicious. She will be my
bride and a willing one at that.”

Sorcha smiled. “Jamie is quite
taken with me despite Katie’s warnings. I see him looking at me when he thinks
no one watches, but I dinna ken what Katie may have told him. If it were not
for his sister, he might have summoned me already to teach him the ways of the
bedchamber.”

Rannoch’s eyes narrowed. “You
could control him easily if you offered him such service.”

“Aye, so.” Pulling away from
Rannoch, she turned to face him. “I will let him be my champion. Strike me
hard. Leave a mark. I will run to Jamie for help and let him rise to the
occasion.”

“In more ways than one,” Rannoch
said.

“He will be enchanted and bend to
my every desire. The boy will become a man under my control.” She smiled. “Does
this please you, Milord?”

Rannoch turned to Draco. “Strike
her, but not the face. I wouldna have that perfection scarred.” With that, he
left the dungeon.

Draco grabbed Sorcha by the
wrist. “Come with me. I will do the deed in my chamber while you entertain me.”
Draco dragged her along with him as he locked Ian’s cell. Turning to the guard,
he nodded toward the cell. “No one goes in or out.”

The guard grunted his response.
“Address Milord Draco with respect,” Sorcha reprimanded.

Draco laughed. “He canna do it,
Sorcha. I cut his tongue out some months ago. No danger of him telling anything
he heard today.”

Katie felt like she might lose
what little she had eaten. All of them were monsters. Now the only man who
might be able to help her may also have betrayed her by taking her innocence as
punishment for his imprisonment. Still, she would put her original plan in
action and hope for the best.

As soon as Sorcha and Draco left
the cell, the lone guard drew himself a tankard of ale and sank to a bench in
front of Ian’s cell. His back faced her as took a deep drink from his cup and
relaxed back against one of the pillars that supported the spacious anteroom.
In no time, his eyes closed and he began to snore.

Withdrawing the vial of Sorcha’s
potion Tessa had given her Katie crept from the cell and approached the guard
from behind. A sudden movement in Ian’s cell caught her attention. Ian was
awake and alert watching her through the bars as she moved forward. He caught
her eye and shook his head negatively. Ignoring him, she reached the bench and
opened the vial dumping its entire contents into the guard’s ale. Turning
quickly, she made her way back to her hiding place.

Ian rattled his chain, slowly at
first, then with more vigor. The guard stirred then got up and moved to the
cell shaking his fist at Ian and banging the bars with a club. Ian stopped the
noise and leaned heavily against the wall. The guard let out a pitiful whine of
satisfaction and moved back to the bench. Picking up the ale, he finished the
tankard and took up his previous position.

How long would Sorcha’s potion
take to act? As time dragged on, Katie began to doubt the power of the elixir.
Then the guard began to moan and rub his chest. He moved to stand and fell hard
onto the stone floor out cold. Had she killed him?

Rushing from her hiding place,
she grabbed the keys from the hook and bent to check if the guard still
breathed. “Katie, hurry up,” Ian called. Casting a glance at him, she rushed to
the door and unlocked it.

“Are you able to walk?” she
asked.

“Unchain me and we will see.”

“Perchance there are things I
would ask before I do that.”

“What? You must hurry. I dinna
ken how long he will be out.”

“So you dinna wish to answer my
questions.”

Ian let out a grunt of
frustration, but this was her last chance to find out while she still held the
upper hand. “Did you take me for sport as a punishment for imprisoning you? Am
I nothing but a conquest?”

“Katie, I told them that so they
wouldna torture you to make me talk. If they suspected I had feelings for you,
Rannoch would have used it to free my tongue.” It felt like his eyes caressed
her as he spoke. “Please, Katie. We must get away before the guard wakes.”

She nodded and began unshackling
Ian. He dropped to the floor as soon as she freed him then stumbled to his
feet. “Are you alright?”

“I am bruised and battered, but it
is not as bad as I could have been. Luckily Rannoch wanted to save the maiming
for later.”

“Can you walk?”

“Aye.”

Although he answered in the
affirmative, Katie noticed he struggled for each deep breath as she led him out
of the cell and into the anteroom. “You canna breathe.”

“Some ribs are bruised or broken.
I have had the like before and survived. Let me drag this bugger into the cell
in case he wakes.”

She grabbed the guard and helped
Ian secure him in the cell. When they finished, he looked at her expectantly.
“Please tell me you have a way out of here.”

She nodded. “This way,” she said
indicating the second hallway which came into the antechamber.

“Keep moving. We need to escape
the castle and go for help.” Putting his hand on her back, he pushed her into
the passageway.

Katie stopped short and stared at
him. “We go to save Jamie from Sorcha. I canna leave my father and my family to
Rannoch.”

“We canna defeat them alone. My
clan will help, but first we must get to them.”

“She goes to seduce my little brother.”

Ian let out a short laugh.
“Something that wilna cause Jamie to suffer. Every young man has to have his
first.”

Katie spun and slapped him. He
fell against the side of the passage. “How many conquests have you made?”

Ian straightened and grabbed her
wrists. “That is a conversation for another day. You risk our escape with your
jealousy.” He jerked her close and captured her lips with his until she gave in
to the kiss and answered his every move. When he broke it off, she sagged
against him.

“I hate this power you have over
me,” she murmured.

His arms moved tight around her.
“You enchant me in a way no other has before,” he whispered. “I dinna take your
deflowering lightly. I want you for my wife.”

Katie moved back from him. “Then
let us save my family first.”

“We canna do it alone. I promise
you, I will return with an army to defeat Rannoch. For now, we must do this my
way.”

Katie balked, but he dragged her
with him down the passage. “Stop,” Katie said. “We will need a torch to light
the way.”

Ian nodded and went back and took
one from the antechamber of his prison. They continued down the passage in
silence. It came to a dead end in a large cell. “How can we escape from here?”
he asked.

Drawing a deep breath, she told
him. “There is a secret door to a cave that leads to the other side of the
mountain. ‘Tis my father’s secret escape route for times of siege.” With that,
she showed him the lever and opened the door. They stepped inside and Katie
closed the door behind them. The cave had several passageways.

“Which tunnel?”

With a sigh of resignation, Katie
pointed the way to the trail that led out of Duntaigh Castle. He did not
release his grip on her wrist. Even battered, he pulled her along easily. Her
resistance was no match for his strength. After they had gone some distance,
she noticed his labored breathing.

“Ian, I could use a brief rest.”

He gave her a smile and propped
on a rock outcropping trying to catch his breath. She moved close to him and
ran her hand over a scar that ran across his shoulder. “I wondered at this when
we made love, but I didna ask.”

Ian took her hand in his and
kissed her fingers. “A brush with death from an earlier time,” he said. “When
Jared took Asilinn and made her his wife, masked marauders wreaked havoc for a
time. There was a skirmish at Cock Bridge and Jared cauterized my wound to keep
me from bleeding to death.”

“There was much talk of the
ongoing war between the MacLean and Innes clans.”

“Jared finally ended it by
marrying my sister.”

“Against her will?”

“Aye, best thing that ever
happened to her.” He smiled and ran his fingers over her face. “Just as I hope
our union will prove to be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“You ask much. I have been the
stalwart one while my father bemoaned the loss of his beloved wife and my
siblings were too young to take on the burden. Now you want me to defer to your
judgment in matters that directly affect my family. It is not easy for me to
set aside my desire to stay and help them. Perchance I could wait here while
you go for help. There might be something I could do while we wait for your
rescue.”

“Out of the question, it’s too
dangerous. I canna leave you in such jeopardy.” Rubbing her hands across his
chest, she moved closer. “Katie….”

“Ian….” Katie caressed his neck
then reached up to find his lips. He took charge of the kiss and did not leave
off until she trembled with desire for more.

“Dinna try to lure me into
agreeing to such a ridiculous plan,” he said sharply.

“I canna leave them here with no
protection.”

“You can, and you will. I told
you we will come back and free them.”

She jerked away from his grasp
and started back up the passage. “I canna do it.”

He reached her three short
strides and pushed her against the wall. “I love you and I wilna leave you here
or stay without the troops to win the fight.”

Breathless, she felt every hard
muscle in his body pressed against her. “You love me?”

“Aye, sweet Katie, I wouldna have
offered marriage if I didna love you.” His lips brushed hers in an all too
short kiss. “Few women have the spirit to stir my passion. I love everything
about you my bold, Highland captor.”

His lips found hers with more
purpose. Ian’s hand moved beneath her skirt, stroking her, and testing her
readiness. She welcomed his fingers inside her then they were gone. He loosened
her dress, jerked it off her shoulders, and freed her breasts as he hiked up
her skirt. His hands ran over her bottom as he lifted her. Katie’s head dropped
back against the wall when he began a slow sampling of her breasts. He ran his
hot lips over her. His tongue teased each tender tip until she gasped.

Ian came into her hard. No pain
accompanied the burning pleasure of their joining. He drove her into the wall
as she clung to him and took him as deep as she could. Katie reveled in the
feeling of his steel rod piercing her tight sheath. His powerful thrusts
invaded her repeatedly. Her body erupted into quick ecstatic spasms when he
shuddered and spewed his seed deep within her.