Highland Thirst (37 page)

“Aye,”
he growled, releasing her breast and shifting up her body to kiss her as his
clever fingers worked their magic.

Lucy
put everything she had into her response, all her need, all her love, and all
the desire he was bringing to life. She alternately sucked at his tongue and allowed
her own to wrestle with it, but then tore her mouth away with a cry as he slid
one finger into her.

“Please,”
she gasped breathlessly, her hips thrusting of their own accord, seeking the
release she’d experienced in the clearing. Tearlach’s mouth immediately covered
hers again, silencing Lucy as he continued to fan her need.

Lucy
knew she should be quiet, that she risked making their presence known should
the men return, but she couldn’t help herself. She felt sure Tearlach was going
to drive her mad with his caresses...and then he suddenly withdrew his touch.
Her eyes immediately blinked open, filled with the fear that he would stop, but
he merely urged her thighs further apart, and quickly freed himself from his
braies as he settled in the cradle of her thighs.

Lucy
instinctively pressed her feet flat to the floor and drew her knees up as he
nudged against her and then he was pushing his way inside. She went stiff,
biting hard on her lip to keep from crying out as pain replaced the pleasure
she’d been experiencing just moments ago.

Tearlach
froze at once, allowing her body to adjust, and then kissed her as he eased one
hand between them to begin caressing her again. Much to her amazement the pain
was soon a memory and the pleasure slowly began to grow once more. Lucy was
soon responding to his kiss, a moan rising up her throat.

The
moment her hips shifted of their own accord, Tearlach removed his hand and used
it to lever some of his weight off of her as he started to withdraw. She cried
out in protest, but realized he wasn’t stopping when he eased back in.

Clutching
at his shoulders, she arched into Tearlach’s movement, gasping as he rubbed
against the sensitive nub between her legs as he entered. Desperate for the
release she knew waited, Lucy gave up her hold on his shoulders and reached
down to close her hands over his behind, squeezing and urging him on as her
earlier tension returned and grew.

Tearlach
answered her demand, his movements becoming faster, thrusting deeper until he
brought them both the release she craved.

Lucy
was still shuddering and gasping when Tearlach suddenly rolled to the side,
taking her with him. Completely exhausted, she allowed her eyes to close, and
lay limp and satisfied, barely able to appreciate the gesture as he arranged
her to rest on top of him, her head nestled on his chest rather than the
prickly straw.

“Hello?”

Tearlach
blinked his eyes open at that call, his gaze shooting briefly around with
confusion before he recalled where he was and why. Glancing down at Lucy’s
sleepy face as she blinked her own eyes open, he lifted a finger to his mouth,
signaling for her to remain silent. He then eased them both upright and reached
for his tunic.

“Tearlach?
My lady?”

“William?”
Tearlach called, recognizing the man’s voice.

“Aye.”

In
the silence that followed that word, Tearlach quickly tugged his tunic on and
then William said, “Are you not coming down? The men are gone.”

“Aye.
I’ll be right there,” Tearlach answered.

Grabbing
up Lucy’s borrowed dress, he handed it to her, then—spotting the panic on her
face—couldn’t resist catching her by the back of the head and drawing her to
him for a quick, reassuring kiss that turned into a longer one than he’d
intended. Breaking the kiss on a sigh, he hugged her briefly, whispering, “All
is well. Take yer time. I’ll see what he wants.”

When
she nodded, he stood and drew on the braies he’d been forced to wear since
escaping Carbonnel. As he hopped around trying to get them up his legs, he
couldn’t help thinking it would be nice to return to wearing a plaid.

“Tearlach?”
William called again, sounding as if he were at the bottom of the ladder now.

“I’m
coming,” he snapped, finally getting the braies on, and then paused to send
Lucy a reassuring smile before moving around the bales.

A
glance down showed the stable master at the foot of the ladder, peering up.
Tearlach grimaced, and then quickly descended to the stable floor.

“Did
you not hear them leave?” William asked, backing out of the way as Tearlach
stepped off the ladder.

“We
dozed off waitin’,” he muttered.

“Hmm.”
William looked rather amused, and then said, “You’ve straw sticking out of your
shirt.”

Scowling,
Tearlach glanced down and plucked out the offending item.

“And
in your hair,” William said once he was done.

Tearlach
gave his hair an impatient comb through with his fingers to get out any bits of
straw there, and then took William’s arm to urge him toward the door of the
stables. “As Lucy is oop and aboot now, I’m thinkin’ we should set out soon.
Mayhap at sunset on the morrow.”

“I
was afraid you’d say that,” William muttered on a sigh, then paused to face him
and announced, “I overheard Carbonnel’s men talking.”

Tearlach
smiled faintly, knowing the man hadn’t overheard at all, but had deliberately
listened in to their conversation. William was a good man. As were the rest of
his family. All of them had quickly realized that he was a vampire and seemed
to accept it without issue.

“From
what I overheard,” William continued, reclaiming his attention, “it seems they
have search parties scouring the area between Blytheswood and court.”

Tearlach
grimaced at having his earlier worries verified. “We’ll ha’e tae travel off the
main trails then. Stick to the woods and keep an eye out.”

“‘Tis
risky,” William pointed out.

“Aye.
But Lucy has tae get tae court and ha’e Carbonnel removed froom Blytheswood.
Who kens what he’s doin’ tae the people there. With no young women to rape and
torment, he may turn his attention tae beatin’ the older women or even the men.
He seems tae like tae hurt people.”

“Aye,”
William agreed on a sigh, and then said, “I have been thinking...We are not far
from the sea here. Mayhap rather than head straight south toward court, you
would do better to head south east, toward Skegness. They won’t be watching in
that direction and once there you could hire a boat to sail you down to London.
They wouldn’t be expecting or watching for that.”

Tearlach
blinked in surprise at the suggestion. It was a good one. William was a clever
man. “I presume there’s a reason yer suggestin’ Skegness and no’ one o’ the
closer coastal villages further north?”

“I
have a cousin in Skegness who has a small boat,” William admitted, and then
offered, “I could take you to him and get him to take you.”

Tearlach
considered the matter. It was a good idea. His only concern was whether they
could travel at night by boat without difficulty, and if they couldn’t and had
to do so during the day was there somewhere for him to shelter from the sun?
Just how big was this small boat? And what of their horses?

“Tearlach?”

He
turned to see Lucy stepping off the ladder and hurrying toward them. She’d done
a much better job of making herself look presentable than he had. Her hair was
tucked up in a tidy bun, and her clothes were a tad wrinkled, but otherwise
fine. There wasn’t a stray bit of straw anywhere that he could see and he gave
her a most thorough examination as she approached. His eyes roved over every
inch of her, his mind recalling what they’d done in the loft. The memory was
enough to tempt him to turn her around and chase her back up into the loft to
do it again.

Controlling
that urge, he scowled instead and said, “We leave fer court tomorrow night.”

“We
do?” she asked with surprise.

“Aye,
so ye’d best go inside and ha’e Harold’s wife feed ye. Ye need tae build up yer
strength fer the journey.”

“Oh.”
She hesitated and then asked, “Will you not come with me?”

“Nay.
William and I ha’e planning tae do fer the journey.” Seeing the disappointment
on her face, he allowed his voice to soften and added, “I shall join ye in a
bit. Now go on. Eat.”

Managing
a smile, Lucy nodded and turned away to continue out of the stables. Tearlach
moved to the door to watch. He stayed there until she was safely inside the
inn, only then turning back to William. “Tell me about this boat yer cousin
has.”

Ten

Lucy
smiled faintly as she leaned out her bedchamber window and watched Agatha
berate one of the men in the bailey below. At more than eighty summers, Agatha
was the oldest person Lucy knew, and the most crotchety as well. The soldier
below would surely attest to that. He’d been suffering her scolding for several
minutes now.

Shaking
her head slightly, Lucy let her gaze run over the unfortunate soldier, sighing
as she noted that he was similar in looks to Tearlach. At least, he would be if
his hair was longer, and he was a little taller, and his nose was not so
crooked, and...

Lucy
grimaced with disgust at she admitted that the man really looked nothing like
Tearlach. It was just that everyone and everything made her think of him. She
missed the Scot.

It
had been two months since the night they’d set out for court. William had
accompanied them on the journey to his cousin’s in Skegness. They’d arrived
well into the second night of their journey.

Dragged
from his bed in the wee hours, Arthur had been reluctant at first to help them,
but between William’s persuasion and the coins Lucy had offered to pay him for
his time once she was back at home at Blytheswood, he’d relented.

The
next problem had been the horses. Arthur’s boat was small, used to fish for his
living. There had been no room for the horses. Finally it was decided that
William would wait in Skegness for Tearlach to return and collect the mount
Harold had loaned him. While the Scot rode home, William would take Trinket
back to the inn. Once Lucy was back at Blytheswood, he, Betty, and Will Jr.
would return, bringing the mare with them.

With
that all settled, they’d set out. The boat journey had been rather long and
boring. Most of it had been made during night, but when the sun rose, Tearlach
had taken cover under an old sail Arthur and William had arranged for just that
use.

Lucy
had spent some time under the sail with him, but it had been hot and Tearlach
had mostly been sleeping, so she had left him and gone to chat with Arthur for
the rest of the trip. It was full daylight when they’d arrived at the docks in
London. Lucy had been prepared to head out on her own so the men could start
their return journey, but Tearlach had refused to let her. Afraid Wymon may
have some men in town watching the palace for her approach, he’d insisted they
wait until night fell and he could see her safely to the gates and into the
care of the palace guards.

Arthur
hadn’t seemed to mind the idea of waiting, claiming there were some shops he’d
like to visit while he was there anyway. Left with little choice, Lucy had
paced the boat as she waited for late afternoon to turn into night. It had been
a relief when the sun had set and Tearlach had come out from under his shelter
to escort her ashore.

Without
horses, they’d traveled on foot. Worried as he was about a possible last minute
attack, Tearlach had set a swift pace that made it impossible to talk. He hadn’t
slowed until they were at the palace and were greeted by the guards at the
gate. Then there simply hadn’t been a chance to talk in private. Tearlach had
ensured the guards would see her safely inside and to the king’s waiting room,
and then had taken her hand, only to pause and glance toward the guards and
back. Finally, he’d merely said, “I need to get back to me clan and make sure
all is well with Heming, but...” His gaze had slid to the guards once more
before he’d finished, “We’ll meet again.”

Lucy
had nodded, relieved that he wasn’t just dumping her there and happy to be rid
of her, then he’d nodded, glanced toward the watching guards again, and turned
away to head back to the docks and Arthur’s waiting boat.

Everything
after that had been a bit of a rush. Lucy had been hurried inside the palace,
where she’d expected to have a long wait for an audience with the king.
Fortunately, she’d run into Lord Oswald on the way. Their neighbor to the north
had been a friend of her father’s while he still lived and the man had stopped
her, full of concern and worry.

As
promised, Carbonnel had spread the tale of her brother’s murder with the claim
that Tearlach had done the deed and then kidnapped her. Lucy had quickly
explained the truth, leaving out the fact that Tearlach was a vampire and
simply saying Carbonnel had planned to blame the murder on him as well as her
own should she refuse to marry him.

Oswald
was a powerful ally of the king’s. The moment he understood what was happening,
he’d made sure she was taken directly to their king, accompanying her there to
insist something be done about Wymon. The very next morning, Lucy was riding
for Blytheswood with Oswald at her side and a good-sized army carrying the king’s
standard at her back. That had been enough. There had been no battle, no need
really for the army. Carbonnel had taken to his heels the moment he heard they
were on the way.