Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander (2 page)

He smiled down at her. “Does it
feel good, virgin Katie?”

She couldn’t answer. It would
come out as a breathless moan and the look on his face told her he knew how
much his touch affected her. Would this make him careless? It did.

He took a step and his thighs
parted just enough. With her leg positioned perfectly, she could fell him with
a swift blow. Grabbing him by the hair, she drove her knee upward with all the
power she could muster. The mighty warrior released her and doubled over
holding himself. Katie shoved him back, ran into the hall, and down the back
stairs. It would take time for him to recover enough to give chase. Now he
would come after her in anger and Keith would be waiting.

Chapter 2

The flashes of light that
accompanied the pain finally subsided. The little wench endangered his future
progeny with her well-placed blow. Somehow, she caught him in just the right
spot to disable him temporarily. If he hadn’t been so spellbound with her
perfect flesh, she wouldn’t have gotten the best of him. With a groan, he
straightened up and checked himself with his hand. Was all still functional?

Ian intended to teach her a
lesson about such foolish behavior. She deserved nothing less. Why was she so
frantic to offer her innocence for money? Surely, her father’s illness could
not be so grave as to compel her actions. Perchance she was not as innocent as
she seemed. Something about her reaction to his touch made him think she had
never experienced such things before.

He strapped on his sword and made
his way down the stairs. His tarse still throbbed from her driving blow. He
knew he’d find her in the barn. Who else waited there?

Ian stepped outside and drank in
the crisp, clear, night air. He walked to the barn. The aged, hewn timbers held
the sturdy building in place. Moonlight cast an eerie light over the whole
structure. Large and spacious, the innkeeper’s barn easily met all patrons’
needs.

The front door of the barn stood
ajar. He wasn’t foolish enough to go barreling through there. Ian went around
the side and made his way to the rear of the building. Another door in the back
gave him a different entrance. He tested the hinges. Not much squeak. Easing it
open just enough to step inside, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. A
lantern lit a carriage bay near the front.

Katie’s insistence on the barn
made him think her act far from random. He’d bet she knew his name. She was
either a spy or a thief, and now he would find out which.

Virgin Katie came out of the lit
area and peered at the open door at the front of the barn. Treacherous girl,
what trap was she setting? Stepping quickly to the door, she glanced out, then
turned, and sighed. Her golden hair shone with red highlights in the glow from
the lantern. God, she was a beauty definitely not the typical tavern maid.

She walked into the dimly lit bay
and disappeared behind the petition that blocked his view. He stood listening
for any conversation between her and some co-conspirator. None came. The
silence enticed him to have her once again in his grasp. He wanted to feel her
soft curves. Give her a little scare before he helped her out of whatever
trouble caused her to consider selling herself to him. A little voice in the
back of his head cautioned him. Katie lied. Discerning the truth in this maze
might prove his undoing.

Despite every inner warning, he
made his way closer to the carriage bay. Nothing—no noise, could it be she told
the truth and only wished to care for a tiny sibling? He had to pass right by
the tack room. He’d check her story. Cracks in the aging lumber allowed a
glance inside. A single candle illuminated the space.

Sure enough, a small girl lay
curled in a ball of blankets. Ian moved carefully as he approached the entrance
to the carriage bay. He looked around the corner and saw Katie sitting on the
end of a wagon her beautiful face drawn into a frown. If someone else waited in
the room, he couldn’t see them.

Ian walked in and she gasped.
“Milord, I’m sorry for my rude behavior. I worried about my sister. I couldna
stay in your room.”

“It hurt,” he replied, folding
his arms across his chest and standing in front of her.

A small smile flickered across
her face. She succeeded in giving him the proper mournful expression. “I’m sure
it did, Milord. I’m very sorry. I only thought of my….”

“I ken, your sister.” He studied
her in the lamp light. “And now, are you ready to complete our business?” Ian
stepped closer, reached over, ran his hands across her breasts, and down to the
juncture of her thighs. “So no one has entered here?” he asked feeling her
through her clothing. Katie let out a strangled cry when he ran his fingers
back and forth.

Shimmering tears traced down her
cheeks as she met his heated gaze. “Nay, Milord, you would be the first,” she
said.

Ian pushed her thighs apart and
pulled her to the edge of the wagon bed. “Would you like to know my name?”

She seemed to come to attention
at that remark. “Aye,” she whispered.

“I am Ian Innes of Cairngorm
Castle.” She already knew. He could tell by her look on her face.

“A full-fledged laird then,” she
said.

Leaning forward, Ian took hold of
her and pulled her to him. He kissed away her tears and found her lips with
his. A noise behind him tore him from his task. Ian whirled around to see a
hulking man wielding a mace.

“Bastard, let go of her,” her
protector growled. He swung the mace at Ian’s head.

Ducking and spinning, Ian avoided
the first blow. The man swung again and Ian drew his sword from the sheath.

His assailant attacked and lunged
at Ian.

The clash of steel rang through
the barn. Katie’s champion charged Ian knocking him to the ground with his
sheer bulk. Rolling away from the red-bearded giant, Ian jumped to his feet. He
sliced his attacker’s arm open. It did not slow the man down. Instead, red
beard let out an angry cry and came at Ian again. Ian eluded the man’s next
blow, but Ian’s sword tangled in the chain of the mace. The sword went flying
into a nearby hay stack.

Ian raised his arm as the mace
flew towards his head. He managed to grab the chain and jerk the mace out of
red beard’s hand. Giving it a toss, he put his shoulder down and lunged at his
attacker’s midsection. The giant lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.
Just as Ian moved in, Katie jumped on Ian’s back and wrapped one arm around his
neck. Her other arm came across his face right over his eyes. He went to shake
her off, heard the clatter as she fell to the ground, but regained his sight
just in time to see red beard coming at him with the mace in hand. Her
accomplice hit his mark, striking Ian squarely in the head. He felt himself
pitch sideways. Everything in the barn spun into a fog. His legs buckled
beneath him. Fighting to stay awake, Ian heard their muffled voices through the
dark mist encompassing him.

“Keith, I dinna want him dead,”
Katie said. “’Twould spoil the peace. Get him in the wagon.”

Ian felt Keith’s strong arms
close around him and shove him into the wagon. “He isna dead, lass, though I
would imagine his head isna feelin’ too good,” her companion said.

“Tie him,” Katie ordered.

Unable to fight them, Ian felt
the rope tighten around his wrists and ankles. They blindfolded him, gagged
him, and threw a blanket over him. Darkness overtook him and their voices faded
into the void.

“How could you let him touch you,
lass? Your father would right out die if he knew what you’re about.”

“Aye, so. A necessary evil.”

“And you really think old Angus
Innes will give in because you have taken his only living son and heir?”

“I hope so, Keith, otherwise my
plotting is all for naught. Let’s get him back to Duntaigh Castle and I’ll set
my plan in motion.” Katie felt Keith watching her as she pulled the gaping
barmaid’s dress closed and slipped on her cloak. “Why do you dally? We must get
away before someone discovers us.”

“Are you gonna tell Rannoch?”

Katie pursed her lips. “For now,
this must be just between us no one else,” she warned.

Keith let out a shallow laugh. “I
dinna trust him either. Where will you be hidin’ yer prisoner?”

“I prepared a cell for him in the
darkest black hole in the dungeon.”

Chapter 3

The gray stone walls of her home
loomed above them. From below, it appeared to be an unassailable fortress. The
castle clung to the top of the ridge overlooking Rannoch Moor and Loch Laiden.
Yellow fingers of light streaked through the early morning mist. Katie had been
gone for some time. Now she must get her captive secured and make an appearance
before Rannoch grew suspicious.

In the past, she avoided Rannoch
for days just because she did not want to see him. She could imagine those gray
eyes searching hers for some hint of treachery. This time there was more to it
than she cared to tell. He never broke a sweat or showed any feeling. His air
of absolute control frightened those about him and they easily yielded to his
inquisitions. He always watched and didn’t miss anything. She could not or more
precisely would not tell him about this.

Katie and Keith brought the wagon
to the entrance of a cave at the base of the mountain. They set about
transferring Ian to a small cart so they could take him further.

“Heavy bugger,” Keith commented
when they finished.

“Hurry,” Katie said as she walked
through the entrance to the well-hidden cave. The passage wound around inside
the mountain full of rocks and dangerous overhangs that dropped hundreds of
feet. Near the top, a rocky ledge opened to a view of the valley. They reached
the overlook. Katie walked to the edge and peered at the murky waters of Loch
Laiden far below. Turning she looked straight up the massive walls which formed
the exterior of Duntaigh Castle. A bank of cool mist surrounded the top spires.

When she was young, she often
wondered how they built it. Her father and Keith showed her the cave during a
time of siege when they feared she might have to lead her young siblings from
the castle to save them. Besides the cave and main road to the front gate on
the other side of the mountain, there were no other entrances. The passage
narrowed beyond the ledge. It led to a secret entrance into the little-used
part of the dungeon where she planned to keep Ian.

She turned to her companion.
“Let’s be about our business.”

“We could just chuck him off the
side of the mountain and be done with it,” Keith suggested.

“I havena come this far to quit,”
she said. “’Twill all work out.”

“I’m not so sure, lass.”

“Either way, we’re in it now. I
canna stop what I have put in motion.” Ian had not roused since he passed out
from Keith’s strike. It worried Katie. She dealt a stinging blow to his family
jewels and Keith capped him a little too hard. They moved Ian slowly up the
trail in the small cart.

When they reached the hidden
doorway that would take them into the cell block, Katie pulled the lever that
made the huge cantilevered stone pivot. Brian Blackburn discovered the cave on
the far side of the mountain years ago and decided it would provide the perfect
escape route in times of siege. No one save her father, Keith, and Katie knew
of the cave. Except, of course, the stone masons her father brought in to
create the cantilevered stone doorway that led to it. As far as Katie knew,
they were long dead. Now they were deep in her father’s dungeon down a
little-used passage full of cobwebs. She prayed it would be far enough from any
well-traveled route to arouse suspicion.

“Bring the cart in,” she said to
Keith.

He obliged and led the horse
drawn cart into the passage beyond. “Lass, what will you tell Rannoch if he
finds your prisoner?”

“I dinna ken. This place hasna
been used for years. Surely it is unlikely.” Katie struck the lever that made
the huge stone door roll back into place. From this side, it was near
impossible to tell such a doorway existed.

In a short time, they reached the
anteroom of the cell block where she planned to keep Ian. A single passage from
one of the other cell blocks led to this private dungeon, one which in the past
held only the most valuable prisoners. Ian Innes was worthy of that
designation. If the Innes Clan breached the castle, they could not recover
their kin without help from someone within. The fact Rowan Rannoch had little
interest in this part of the castle helped her cause. He would not learn of
this place as long as she could keep her captive’s presence from him.

Keith’s voice broke through her
thoughts. “We’ll have to wake him to get him inside the cell, lass.”

“Aye, so. A cold bath will wake
him. There are several buckets in the cell. Fill them from the spring.”

With a chuckle, Keith went off to
do her bidding. He returned a few minutes later. Katie pulled back the blanket
covering their captive. Keith doused him with the icy cold water.

Ian woke with a start. He
spluttered and tried to wipe his face, but his bindings made such movement
impossible. A swath of cloth covered his eyes and his mouth. He could barely
move or speak.

“You live,” Katie said. Her voice
came close in his ear. “I am freeing your legs. You must walk the rest of the
way. Nod if you understand.”

He nodded. The bindings on his
legs fell away and someone gave him a shove off the cart. He tried to stand,
but fell to the ground. His legs were numb. Another wave of wetness blew over
him. He snorted and twisted trying to free himself. It was useless.

“Still got some spirit,” her male
companion said.

“Aye,” she agreed. “Ian, I dinna
want to hurt you. Calm down and Keith will help you to your feet.”

Strong arms lifted him. Unsteady,
he took a faltering step. Her companion’s arm wrapped around his waist and led
him forward in the sightless void. They walked one painstaking step at a time
then Ian got the sense they had entered some enclosed space. The dank, stale
air filled his nostrils. A crackling torch popped and hissed nearby, so close
he could feel the heat of the flame.

Her companion dragged Ian into
the cell. “Where do you want him, lass?”

“Chain him to the wall.” Ian
heard her sigh. “Leave him enough length of chain to sleep, eat, and relieve
himself. I will see to his wounds.”

Suddenly the cloth pushed down
below his nose so that only his mouth bore the cover. Ian blinked in the
flickering light. Then her heavenly face came out of the darkness. A gossamer
fog surrounded her as if she were an angel. His captor, no matter how
beautiful, was far from that. She stared at him and touched the side of his
head.

“Oh bugger, Keith. You really
crowned him.”

Her burly, red-haired companion
examined Ian’s head. “That I did, lass.”

“Get some more water to put in
the cell,” Katie ordered.

“Not until your prisoner is
chained.”

Her partner secured Ian’s ankles
in leg irons, and then cut the bonds on his wrists. Ian heard the clink of the
manacles locking into place. The chains were of a sufficient length to allow
him movement about the small space.

Ian’s gaze swept the room. He was
in a cell bigger than most in his father’s dungeon. Beyond the entrance, a
large anteroom served as an area where one guard could watch over the whole cell
block. The other doors hung open indicating no prisoners shared this space. The
cart they brought him in sat in the anteroom. Two dimly-lit passageways ran
into the anteroom from opposite directions. They appeared to be the only ways
in or out.

He focused his attention on the
room where he stood. A wood-frame bed with a blanket and straw-stuffed ticking
sat in the center of the long wall. In one corner were a table and two small
stools. A cup and trencher sat on the table. She must at least intend to feed
him. On the opposite side, a ditch made a urinal of sorts. A torch and a candle
lantern lit his prison.

Keith gave Ian a shove toward the
wall. He lost his balance and struck stone. Slowly he sank to the makeshift
bed. The ticking felt soft beneath his sore body.

“Careful, Keith,” his captor said
sharply. “Ian Innes is no good to me dead.”

“Katie Blackburn, I’ve know you
since were a tiny lass. Dinna be bossin’ me around. If he dies, he just
disappeared on his journey. ‘Tis that simple.”

Blackburn, now it all came clear.
The Blackburns captured him, yet another step in their foul behavior of late.
In truth, Ian wondered what became of Brian Blackburn’s reason. The laird of
Duntaigh Castle taunted the Innes Clan, who avenged the transgressions with
strikes that left the Blackburns worse off than ever. Was Ian to become a tool
to convince his father to give over the disputed lands?

It made no sense. Blackburn’s own
daughter and a single man sent to complete this task. If memory served him,
Katie was Blackburn’s eldest daughter and named after her mother. She certainly
had her mother’s coloring. The girl had pure white skin and red-gold hair the
color of fire. There were four Blackburn children, three daughters, and a son.
Ian had not seen any of them in years. Not since the friendly times when they
were all children.

Was this truly Katie’s plan? Her
companion implied as much. Ian’s head throbbed too much to consider it much
longer.

“I’ll fetch the water and
supplies.” Keith walked out of sight.

His captor stood over him with
her forehead wrinkled into a frown. She paced the cell shooting a glance at Ian
every few steps. Eventually Keith came back carrying two buckets of water and
with a sack slung over his shoulder. He set them on the table and stared at Katie.

“If you dinna need me for
anythin’ else, I’ll leave you to yer business. I need to cover our tracks, but
I dinna like it, lass. You play a dangerous game. If Rannoch finds out, you may
find yerself chained below.”

Ian remembered the name. Rowan
Rannoch and his few remaining clansmen swore allegiance to Laird Brian
Blackburn some years back. They came to live at Duntaigh Castle shortly
thereafter. What say would Rannoch have over Katie Blackburn? Ian listened to
Keith’s departing footfalls. Katie moved closer and removed his gag. She leaned
down to hand him a cup of water and wiped the blood off his face with a wet
rag.

Ian sat up and sipped the cool
water. It soothed his parched throat while he studied her in the dim light of
the lantern. She did not seem to notice her cloak hung askew and her too-loose
gown gaped again to give him a nice view of her snow-white breasts. He moved
his hand thinking to give her a stroke that would bring it to her attention.
The chains rattled and she jumped out of reach.

“Is it still night?” he asked.

“’Tis the morning after your
capture. We traveled through the night to bring you here.”

“What do you plan to do with me,
virgin Katie? Are you as innocent as you claimed? Did you tell any truth in the
midst of this foul plot?”

She stiffened. “You question my
virtue. I am not a loose woman.”

Ian burst out laughing and her
face grew red and flushed. “Fair Katie, you are the deceiver. You came to me
and offered so much, only to snatch it from me with not one, but two crushing
blows. Why should I believe anything you told me?” He paused eyeing her boldly.
“Does Keith find respite between your thighs so he will do your bidding?”

She slapped him hard across the
face, so hard it caused his head to roll. “Evil man,” she spat. “I dinna ken how
I could have any sympathy for the likes of you. To think I worried over your
health.”

“First you wipe my head, and then
you strike me.”

“Your foul suggestions fired my
temper. I dinna wish to harm you.” Collecting herself, Katie looked him over.
“What wounds need tending?”

“My head is throbbing, but the
pain I would most like you to attend to is lower. My bruised balls could use
your tender touch.” Her face turned scarlet and she struck him again. Ian could
only imagine what it would be like to have that fire directed in passion
instead of anger. This woman-child could easily drive him mad with desire.
Right now, all he wanted was to feed her ire. “Ah, Katie, my tarse could use a
massage as well.”

“Hoary bastard! I am the eldest
daughter of the laird of Duntaigh Castle, and I wilna suffer your abuse.”

She leaned across him spitting
her words into his face. This time she ventured too close. He grabbed her and
pulled her down on top of him, holding tight. Her wriggling provided a
stimulation she did not intend. Perchance he remained intact and able to
function after her treacherous assault. His reaction to the press of her body
would indicate so. “Mark my words, Katie. I will have you wild beneath me if it
is the last thing I do. Your punishment for this deception,” he swore as he
released her.

She hopped up and stepped back
shaken by his threat. “Never unless ‘tis rape, not something I would put past
you or your wicked kin.”

“How is it, virgin Katie, that
you have such a low opinion of the Innes clan?”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Calling you virgin? That is what
you purport to be.”

“You make it sound dirty.”

“Your guilt over what you offered
that makes it seem dirty. To offer your innocence for money is a whore’s
errand, yet I canna see you whoring. No one ever touched you the way I did.”