Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander (16 page)

Brianna wrung her hands then
stood and paced across the room. Finally, she whirled to face him. “What did
Sorcha mean about Katie not being herself?”

“I guess Katie’s mind has trouble
accepting what she saw. Can you find out more from Rannoch? He will confide in
you. In the meantime, I will go to Katie and see how she is.” Jamie stood and
started for the door. “Please, we need your help.”

Brianna came over and gave him a
quick hug. “I will ask Rannoch. He has invited me to dine with him.”

“Do you trust him, Brianna?”

“With my life.”

“Katie thinks otherwise.”

Brianna let out her breath in a
rush. “Katie chose not to accept Rannoch’s proposal. If I am granted that
choice, I wilna be so foolish. Rannoch serves at our father’s request. He
protects us against outside invaders. If he asks me to be his wife, I will
agree.”

“Brianna, Katie is not usually
wrong in her opinions.”

“She is this time,” Brianna said
with surety.

“Perchance,” Jamie said, looking
into his sister’s eyes. There was no changing her opinion. “I love you,
Brianna. Stay safe.”

She kissed him. “Aye, so, Jamie.
You will see I am not mistaken. I want to be Rannoch’s wife, even if Katie
disapproves. Let me find my fate.”

“As you wish,” he said kissing
her forehead. “Have a care, Brianna.”

“You worry too much,” she assured
him. “All will be fine.”

With a heavy sigh, Jamie left
her.

Chapter 21

Brianna entered the dark, quiet
chamber. The day had turned gloomy and outside the narrow windows clouds
scudded across the sky. A large table near the fire held a bottle of wine and
two goblets. Several tall candle stands sat near the table casting a flickering
glow around the chamber. Elegant appointments decorated the entire space.

Rannoch stood near the hearth. He
appeared pensive and barely aware of her entrance. She hesitated then walked up
beside him. “You requested my presence?”

He turned and gazed upon her.
“Aye, so.”

“I am sorry to disturb you. ‘Tis
clear you were deep in thought.”

“Ah, ‘tis nothing.” He smiled at
her. “Let us share some wine and talk. The servants will be here soon with our
meal.”

Rannoch walked over to the table.
He had his back to her as he poured the wine. When he turned to face her, he
held out a goblet inviting her closer to him. She stepped to his side and took
the wine. “Spirits affect me, Milord. I shouldna have such a full cup.”

He let out a soft laugh. “You are
with me. We need a little levity in this dark time.” He ran his finger under
her chin. “Drink with me, love.”

Brianna’s heart fluttered in her
chest. His eyes were warm and searching. “Love?” she said in a breathless
whisper.

“You are my love,” he said
softly, “The only one of your father’s offspring who recognizes my honorable
intent.”

“If that is so, Milord, why did
you ask for Katie’s hand?” she asked.

“’Twas the honorable thing to do.
Your sister is older and should be the first to wed. You were always the one I
desired, but I sought to honor tradition.”

“And now?” she asked. “What are
your plans, Milord?”

“I invited you here to discuss
our future.”

“Our… our future,” she
stammered.

“Aye, so,” he whispered. “Your
sister has made her choice and she must live with her decision.” He held up his
goblet and touched it to hers. “To us,” he said.

She hesitated then smiled at him.
“To us,” she repeated drinking deep from her cup. Brianna could feel the heady
wine travel through her body. “’Tis potent, Milord.”

“A drink fit for a gray day.” He
looked deep into Brianna’s eyes. She had trouble catching her breath. A light
rap on the door drew him away from her. He turned and went to answer it. “Bring
in the food,” he said to the servants waiting in the hallway. They laid out the
meal then looked at Rannoch expectantly. “Leave us,” Rannoch ordered. “We are
not to be disturbed.”

Brianna watched Rannoch follow
them to the door. Glancing back at her, he slid the bolt into place with the
resounding clang of metal against metal. She recoiled. The sound echoed through
her brain. Alone with him locked in this elegant chamber she was under his
control. What if Katie was right? Had he really done those things to Sorcha?

Rannoch came back and held out a
chair for her. His finger tips brushed her bare shoulders as he pushed her
chair in closer to the table. Did he sense her apprehension? Fear and
excitement coursed through her, equal rivals in her fight to remain calm. She
had just assured Jamie of Rannoch’s honorable intent. Why did she doubt it now?
Brianna forced herself to think of Jamie’s request. She drank deep from her cup
looking for courage to ask questions she feared would anger Rannoch. She didn’t
want to make him angry. Hadn’t he just suggested they had a future together?
When Rannoch found his seat across from her, she looked at him earnestly.
“Milord, I havena seen Katie in some time. Do you ken what has happened to
her?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why
are you asking me, Brianna?”

“You said Katie must live with
her decision. Is she gone? Has she run off?”

Reaching across the table, he
gently rubbed his finger over the top of her hand. “Did you ken that Katie
hatched a plan to capture Ian Innes and carried it out with Keith’s help?”

“Jamie told me this morning,” she
said.

“Did he tell you Katie helped Ian
escape?”

How much should she reveal? Would
Jamie get in trouble if Rannoch knew Sorcha had told him about Katie? Her
decision made, she found courage and managed a look of horror. “First she
captured him then she helped him escape? It doesna make sense, Milord.”

“Katie found herself enamored
with Ian Innes. He tricked her and took her virginity as punishment for his
capture. She fancies herself in love with him. Katie ran off with him and the
Innes clan.”

Brianna gasped. “She gave herself
to our enemy?”

“Aye, so,” he assured her. “I saw
her virgin’s blood on the bedding. When I confronted her, she admitted she had
been with him.” Rannoch frowned. “Even though ‘twas you I desired, I couldna
let her be so ill-used.”

“What did you do, Milord?”

“I tracked them down and killed
them all save Katie. She is not herself. Sorcha is trying to find a cure for
her troubled mind.” He sipped his wine and gazed at Brianna. “I am sorry Katie
witnessed the carnage, but there was no other choice. Her rash actions caused
it all.” He shook his head.

Brianna grabbed his hand and
squeezed it. “There was nothing you could do, Milord. Some day she will see you
are our hero.”

“I pray you are right, Brianna,
but good has come from this.”

“What good, Milord?”

“I no longer feel obligated to
marry Katie.” He reached across and ran a single finger across her bare
shoulder, trailing it down to the edge of her bodice. Fire snaked through her
veins at his touch. She let out an involuntary whimper. “You and I were meant
to be together,” he continued.

When he withdrew his hand,
Brianna finished her wine and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She
felt dizzy and flushed. Rannoch sat across from her his eyes alight with
desire. “You revel in my touch,” he whispered.

“Aye,” she breathed. She could
not lie. He saw it in her reaction.

“I am getting ahead of myself,”
he said. “Let us eat before our meal grows cold.” He refilled her cup despite
her protest. She did feel calmer after drinking the heady brew. Brianna picked
up the cup and drank more of it. He smiled.

“Aye, Milord, let us partake of
this fine feast,” she said, struggling to remain composed as the wine brought
heat to her whole body.

The plate consisted of a
selection of cheeses, cooked apples, and roast chicken. Rannoch began to eat,
so she did too. After a long silence, she once again felt his eyes moving over
her. Looking up, she could see he perused the swell of her breasts above her
dress. She felt like she had become part of the meal. It was as if he
contemplated devouring her in the same way he caressed the chicken with his
mouth and gnawed it off the bone. “Milord, you said you would tell me of our
future.”

“So I did,” he said tossing the
bone onto his plate. “I am sorry for my rude silence. I am not sure how to
begin.” With a tentative smile, Rannoch rose and came over beside her. Taking
her hand, he knelt beside the chair. “Brianna Blackburn, will you be my wife?”

“Milord, you would have me
instead of Katie?”

“Aye, if you are agreeable,” he
said softly kissing her hand. “What say you, Brianna? Will you be mine?”

Brianna trembled. She had wanted
this for over a year. Could she? With a sharp intake of air, she touched his
face. “Milord, I would be honored to be your wife,” she said in a strained
whisper.

Offering her his hand, he pulled
her to her feet. Why did the whole chamber seem to move when she stood?
Unsteady, she leaned back against the table and drew a deep breath. “Please
call me Rowan, love,” he said, hugging her to his chest.

Pushing back, she gazed up into
his eyes. “Rowan,” she breathed.

“A kiss to seal our betrothal?”

Wide-eyed, she nodded her assent.

His lips found hers, gently at
first then with more purpose. He kissed her until her lips felt bruised by his
persistent invasion, the sweep of his tongue, and his nips on her soft lower lip.
Brianna answered his every caress. Nothing had ever made her feel so good or so
wanted. “Brianna….” Rowan Rannoch pulled away from her panting. “You invite
me with your willingness,” he gasped.

Brianna tried to collect herself.
She was having difficulty. The feelings coursing through her made her feel so
alive, hot, and needy. Had she wantonly invited him to take her? Flushing she
tried to regain control of her senses. “Milord, what must you think of me?”

“I think you are a passionate
young woman.” He ran his finger around the rim of her neckline scorching her
breasts with his lightest touch. She remembered every detail of his previous
explorations. Brianna wanted him to touch her again. “If you are an innocent, I
canna take you until we speak the vows, Brianna.” His fingers dipped inside the
dress. “Please tell me you are not like your sister.”

“I have never been with a man,
Milord.” His eyebrow rose. She smiled through the haze the wine wrought.
“Rowan,” she corrected. The name rolled off her tongue, the same tongue that
had swept into his mouth with each of their passionate kisses.

He blinked and drew a deep
breath. “Good,” he said. Rannoch ran his hands across her bare shoulders until
she had a hitch in her breathing. “There are things we could do that fall short
of actual joining,” he told her. “Things not unlike what we started in the
great hall until we were so rudely interrupted by your sister.” He kissed her
lips feverishly. “Things that would give us both pleasure but leave you
chaste.”

“Oh….” Brianna felt his hands
opening the front of her dress and pushing it off her shoulders until it hung
in a clump around her hips. Naked from the waist up, she shivered under his
perusal.

“Your breasts are so lovely,
Brianna.”

“You are the first man to see them,
Milord.”

“Rowan,” he corrected. “In such
intimate circumstance you must call me by my given name.” He ran his hands down
over her. “Is it so hard?”

“Nay, Rowan,” she whimpered.

“May I give us both pleasure,” he
asked in a dark whisper.

“Aye,” she said shakily. Again,
his lips found hers as his hands grasped her tender fruit. He stroked every
inch of her exposed flesh. She put her arms around his neck enjoying his steady
massage.

Rannoch broke off the kiss with a
chuckle. “You are ready for more, aren’t you?” he asked. With one swipe of his
hand, he sent the remnants of their dinner clattering to the floor. Rannoch
picked her up and sat her on the end of the table beginning a string of wet
kisses down her neck. An alarm went off in her head. What of Katie’s tale of
Sorcha strapped to a table for his pleasure. Brianna began to struggle against
him. He paused in his assault.

“What is it, love?” he asked.
“Would you deny me a brief taste of what is to come?”

“Rowan, I am afraid. The feelings
you inspire are new to me. The way I feel frightens me.” She felt out of
control. The room spun as she tried to focus on him.

“You are to be my wife,” he said.
“No harm will come to you by my hand.” His lips brushed hers again then took
off on a trail across her willing flesh.

Brianna’s head dropped back as he
moved ever downward. His arms were around her bare back holding her in just the
right position for his tasting. She felt his mouth on her nipple. A low moan
escaped her as he sucked hard teasing her tender fruit into a tight
contraction. He left off that side and moved to the other repeating the process
until she cried out.

Breathless and shaking, she felt
Rannoch let her drop slowly to the table. He bent over her giving her his full
attention. Brianna’s fear and confusion turned to burning desire. She was in a
newfound heaven.

At length, he rose and looked
down at her with fire in his eyes. “There is a little more I would do if you
would allow it,” he said, “A touch, a taste, but I will not take you.”

“I fear I am already b-b-beyond
reason from your attentions, Rowan.” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears,
hollow and slurred. “Would you challenge my innocence more before we can wed?”
Brianna asked. She started to rise from the table, but he gently pushed her back.
Was there more to the wine than she thought? Weak as kitten, she could not stop
him. He controlled her every move with his hands of fire.

“Just this once before the vows
are spoken,” he entreated. “Lie still and enjoy my touch.”

His hands were beneath her
pulling her dress completely off. It skimmed over her legs and fell to the
floor. Naked on the table in the flickering firelight, she saw his eyes move
over her lustfully. He put a hand on each thigh and spread her legs, stepping
close to the heart of her. She felt his hardness pressing against her. Only his
plaid kept him from her. Leaning over, he ran his hands over her ribs just
beneath her breasts then traced them around to her sides and moved down to
caress her hip bones.

“You hips are wide enough to
carry our children well,” he told her. One of his hands ran over her flat belly
then dropped ever downward. He began a light stroke between her legs.