Highland Song (14 page)

Slade wanted Lainie. He wanted her more than he’d wanted any woman in a long, long time. Hell, he couldn't ever remember wanting a woman this much. But if she discovered his weakness, she would make his life a living hell.

Slade dropped Lainie’s hands and turned away from her to look into the fire and loose himself in the dancing flames.

"Tell me why I should believe you’re innocent when I watched you take the document," he said curtly.

"Lainie inhaled a deep cleansing breath, and banished the rape from her mind as she had done so many times in the past. She had learned in order to survive from one moment to the next, she had to banish that day from her head. She forced herself to look only to the next second.

"I’m not innocent," Lainie said and waited for his reaction. She would never feel clean again as long as she lived.

It wasn’t long in coming.

"I thought as much," Slade said, spinning around to face her.

"Nor do I sell my favors. Given time, Bertram will lose interest in me and turn his attentions to some other poor soul. For now, I can offer you land in the north of Scotland, but I doubt if an Englishman such as yourself would consider it valuable."

"Don’t bet on it. But it would take more than an offer of land for me to turn against my country and risk my neck."

"Then I have no choice but to call down the wrath of my kin," she said. "You would never survive."

There was the kind of silence that always left an eerie feeling in the air and a tingle sweeping down one’s spine. Then Slade smiled, but there was no humor in the thin curve of his mouth.

"Tell me then, where is this rich fertile land?"

She let out a soft rush of air. "I never claimed…"
 

"And I would want you until I grow tired of you," Slade said flatly. "You’ve admitted you're no innocent maid."

Relief congealed into a lump in Lainie’s throat.

"You can’t mean what I’m thinking," she said.

"You heard me. Until I deliver you safe and sound to your clan and you hand over the title to the land, you’ll be my woman whenever I want you, however I want you."

"But I thought if I offered you something tangible, you would--"

"Go away and forget I ever met you? You thought wrong," Slade said coldly. "I’m getting damn tired of bargaining with you when I have the upper hand. Besides, you need me more than you’re willing to admit. You wouldn’t last in the forest between here and your home. You need me to--"

"But I’m not what ye think I am, I’m--"

"You’re not innocent. Of course you’re exactly who I think you are," he interrupted. "Right now you’re wriggling like a worm on a hook, trying to find a way out of keeping your word. Only a cheat would do that."

Lainie dropped her eyes.

It was a mistake. The tears she was trying so hard to hide slid from beneath her lashes. She gave up and brushed them away.

Slade watched, savagely pushing down all feeling of compassion, telling himself her tears were just one more in the arsenal of female weapons. He found it nearly impossible for him not to soften. The longer he was with Lainie, the more difficult he found it to remember what a conniving little fox she really was.

For the first time in his life, Slade was grateful for the past’s cruel lessons in the ways a woman controlled a man. Once, a long time ago, he would have believed Lainie’s silver tears and pale, trembling lips.

"Well?" he said roughly. "Is it a deal?"

Lainie looked at the dark, oversized English soldier who was watching her with eyes as hard as jade.

"I--" Her voice cracked. "What are you giving me in return?"

"Safety from Jericho, and his mercenaries."

"Bertram too?"

"Yes. Bertram too," he admitted.

Slade waited, studying her.

"I was wrong about you," Lainie said after a moment. "I’m not strong enough to fight you and win, so you’ll take what you want from me, just like Bertram did."

Slade had an uneasy feeling. "I’ve never taken a woman I couldn't convince to come to my bed," he said flatly. "I never will."

Lainie let out a long breath. "Do you really mean that? Because I will never come to your bed unless you force me."

"Did Bertram force you?"

Lainie wasn't ready to answer. She shrugged and looked away.

Despite himself, Slade felt a wave of sympathy for Lainie. Cheat or not, traitorous woman or not, even if she was paid for the use of her body, no girl deserved the kind of rough usage she would receive from men like Bertram or Jericho.

"You have my word on it. You will come to my bed a willing warm woman or not at all."

Slade saw the relief in Lainie’s crystal blue eyes and smiled thinly.

"That doesn’t mean I won’t touch you," he continued. "It just means that when I make love to you--and I will--you’ll be screaming with pleasure, not pain. And you'll be begging me for more."

A tide of crimson replaced the pallor of Lainie’s cheeks.

"Do we have a deal?" Slade asked again.

"Let me get this straight. You won’t touch me unless I--"

"I won’t make love to you," he corrected instantly. "There’s a difference, traitor girl. If you don’t like the bargain, we can go straight to Edinburgh and Bertram and I’ll still have you. Take your pick."

"You’re a gentleman to the core," Lainie said through her clenched teeth.

"And we both know you’re a lady born. Nevertheless, I’m a reasonable man too. I won’t keep you forever. Just for as long as it take to get the deed for the land in my hand."

Lainie glared at Slade for a long moment. She reminded herself he had no reason to trust her, many reasons not to respect her, was quite capable of taking what he wanted and to hell with her protests; yet he was willing to treat her better than she had been treated for a long time, or better than Bertram would treat her for that matter given the opportunity.

"Deal," she told him.

When Lainie turned away to tend breakfast, Slade moved with his usual speed. She froze as his hand closed over her wrists.

"One more thing," he said.

"What?" Lainie whispered.

"This."

She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the heat of his mouth over hers.

Instead, she felt his fingers close over the necklace she wore and tugged. Her family's crest which she had worn since first leaving the MacPherson lands fell into his hands.

"I’ll keep this until I have the land you promised me or I find a woman who cares for me more than herself," Slade said.

Slade pocketed the necklace and turned away. "Get saddled up. It’s a long way to the god forbidden land your ancestors hailed from, but we’re going to Willowglen first."

"What?"

"A deal is a deal. I have unfinished business there. A promise I made to a friend. And unlike some people, when I make a promise, I keep it," he told her pointedly.

Chapter Five

"Where are you taking me," Lainie asked. "Did you decide on the land I offered you, or are you going to take me that monster Bertram?"

Slade grunted but chose not to answer.

Lainie had never been farther south than the little tavern in Ayr. As they traveled, the mountains grew smaller, the terrain more even. She marveled at the flatness and understood now why they called this place the lowlands.

"So you are a man who can be bought?" she asked sweetly.

"If that's what you want to call it," he said and kept riding. "I prefer to think of it as making wise choices."

In September, the trees were turning vivid shades of autumn colors. The summer had been hot and dry and the creeks trickled at a snail’s pace. A few flowers still tried to bloom but most had dried and turned to seed that blew away on the winds that swept from the north.

"Wise choices? You are in this for yourself," she said. "And the
devil take
who ever gets in your way?"

"And you are not?" Slade asked. This time Lainie did not answer.

Once Lainie and Slade rode farther south, the roads showed more signs of use. They saw more travelers and the wild animals became scarce as if they knew to hide for their survival.

Slade seemed more at ease than he had been. He laughed and smiled more often. While farther north, he had ridden as if he expected attack at any moment. He never cut across a clearing unless avoiding it would take them miles out of his way.

Still there was
a wariness
about him. He never crested a rise without pausing just below the rim to see what was on the other side. Only when he was satisfied there were no highwaymen or cutthroats nearby did he reveal himself against the
skyline.

He seemed to go out of his way to avoid any possible dangers. If avoidance was impossible, he set his hand on the hilt of his sword and opened his cloak so his sword was in easy reach. Often during the day, he would retrace part of their back trail, find a vantage point, and simply watch the land for any signs that they were being followed.

He kept his weapons close when he rode and even when he slept. Every night he sharpened his knifes. Then he positioned his bow and arrow so they would be within easy reach.

Lainie watched Slade. She couldn't stop herself. She realized Slade didn’t make a big deal about these precautions. They seemed instinctive. He had lived through too many wars and naval skirmishes. He was no more aware of his skill at it than he was of his skill in riding the huge black stallion he called Baby.

Lainie didn’t think the horse was anyone’s baby. He had a temperament of the devil and wariness of a fox. Should anyone save Slade approach the stallion, he flattened his ears to his skull and looked for a place to sink his big white teeth into flesh. With Slade, however, the stallion was all knickers and soft whuffles of greeting.

Baby was just as cautious as his master was. A second never passed when Baby didn’t have his head up testing the wind for the scent of danger. His head was up now, his ears were pricked, and his nostrils were flared as he drank the wind.

In the distance, fog rolled into the meadow. A bird called sharply and cut aside to fly into the low-lying clouds. The silence that followed the bird’s retreat was complete. It was so absolute it sent shivers down Lainie's spine.

Lainie didn’t wait for Slade’s gesture to go into hiding. Intuition took over and as soon as the bird disappeared, she rode her mare farther into the shelter of the thick, green forest and paused. Breath held, frozen, she gazed at the terrain and Slade through the shrubbery and trees.

A solitary deer walked cautiously toward them. The half-healed battle-scars of a recent clash were obvious on the deer’s body. He leaned over and drank deeply from the creek meandering near the road, stopping every few moments to lift his head and breathe in the wind. Despite his wounds, the deer was fit and strong, antlers just beginning to show full maturity.

Mesmerized by the young buck’s powerful magnificence, Lainie leaned forward as if she might get a closer look. The buck seemed to sense her presence, standing motionless in the shadows.

Finally, the buck drank again, looked up and strode slowly away from the stream. Soon he began cropping grass. His vigilance didn’t vanish while he ate. Rarely did a minute go by that he didn’t stop, raise his head and listen to the sounds in the meadow, sniffing the wind while he watched.

The buck was alone.

It occurred to Lainie that Slade was like the buck--ready for battle, guarded, trusting nothing and, entirely alone. In many ways Lainie did not understand, Slade was vulnerable.

Lainie sensed something behind her. When she turned in the saddle, she saw Slade coming through the forest toward her. She had been so lost in thought she'd forgotten the danger.

A breeze sifted through the aspens, drawing a sigh from their leaves. Her horse stirred, made uneasy by the scent of the stallion on the wind. Silently Lainie stroked her horse’s neck to comfort.

"Is there anyone following us?" Lainie asked in a low voice as Slade rode alongside, his expression grim.

"Jericho is back there. You can bet on it. He's never been one to give up easily. He has a score to settle with me then there is the bounty on your head."

Slade stood in the stirrups and looked across the meadow. After a moment, he settled back into the saddle.

"From the looks of it that young buck had a full-fledged battle a little while ago. He probably just had his first lesson about women."

Lainie looked questioningly at Slade.

Slade shrugged. "A woman will go with whatever male who will give them the most comfort. It’s not hard to figure out. It's the way of nature. Doesn't mean I like it."

"A female who trusted every young buck with seduction on his mind wouldn’t stand a chance on this earth."

"Ah, spoken like a little gal who knows a woman’s mind."

"Imagine that," Lainie shot back sugar coating her words.

Begrudgingly, Slade smiled. "Touché."

Lainie looked at the young buck then back at Slade, remembering what he had said when he tucked the letter from her saddlebag into his coat pocket.

"Who was she?" Lainie asked.

"One of Slade’s black
eyebrow’s
lifted in silent query.

"The woman who chose money over love," Lainie said simply. "The woman who liked the gifts a man gave her more than the man giving them."

The line of Slade’s jaw tightened beneath the stubble that had grown over the days on the road. He rubbed his jaw then ran his hand through his hair as if he considered what she'd just said.

"What makes you think there was only one?" he asked coldly.

"You don’t strike me as the kind of man who has to learn something more than once."

The corner of Slade’s mouth kicked up. "You’re right about that."

The change in his voice was almost tangible. There was neither hate nor love in the tone, simply a contempt that chilled her to the bone.

"What happened?" Lainie asked.

He shrugged and looked into the distance before he looked back to her. "The same thing most women do to men."

"What’s that?"

"You should
know,
little fox."

"Because I’m a woman?"

"Because you’re damned good at the kind of deception most females use to get men so hot and bothered they’ll say or do almost anything to get what they want."

"I dinna ken what ye are talking about."

Slade's eyes narrowed as he added, "Almost anything, but not quite."

"What didn't you do? Love her?" Lainie asked with sarcasm the main ingredient in her voice.

He laughed. The sound was harsh. "
Hell, that
was the one thing I did do."

"You still love her," Lainie said with conviction.

Slade slanted her long glance. "No." The single word was curt.

"Why? Love doesn't die easily. If you loved her once then--"

"Let it die, Lainie. I'm not keen on answering questions about my past," he said cutting her off.

"I'm curious. I'm not sure why," Lainie said slowly watching the man who intrigued her more than he should.

"I bet I know."

Slade didn't stop to give Lainie an answer. He stood in his stirrups to check the surrounding countryside. The buck grazed on hungrily, undisturbed by anything he could scent or sense. Birds called across the clearing and flew from tree to tree in normal patterns. The world seemed at ease, calm. Nothing moved along the vague trail the horses had left at the margin of the meadow.

Slade reined Baby around, ready to continue the journey. A journey Lainie knew nothing about.