Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) (18 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Anna was startled
into wakefulness by a faint clinking against the glass of her bedroom window. 
Curiosity piqued, she threw back the down comforter and stepped onto the rug,
padding barefoot across the wooden floor to the window.  She looked out into
the night and her heart nearly exploded with joy.

Rowan stood in the
darkness, throwing pebbles up at the window.  His breath caught in his throat
when he saw Anna.  He wanted to scale the walls of the house, break through the
second story window and steal her away into the night.  He’d bribed one of the
servants into telling him which room belonged to Anna.  Rowan was pleasantly
surprised that the servant had told him the truth.

Anna’s long blonde
hair was unbound and seemed to glow in the light of the moon.  Rowan thought
that she had never looked lovelier.  She held up one finger, signaling to him
that she was coming down.  Rowan’s heart hammered in his chest.  He had hoped
only to see her and had not dared to dream for more.  Seeing Anna again flooded
him with emotions, both blissful and torturous at the same time.

Anna dressed
hurriedly, her heart thundering in her chest.  She tried to shake the smile
that had taken up permanent residence on her face.  She had never expected to
see Rowan Murray again.  She crept silently down the stairs, pulse racing
wildly at the knowledge that she might be caught by one of the servants.

The back door of
the estate creaked open and Anna crept into the dark night.  She walked as
quietly as possible, fearful that the crunching sound that her feet made on the
gravel would wake someone in the house.  When she saw Rowan, she broke out into
a run, throwing herself into his waiting arms.

“Oh, your ribs!  Sorry,”
she said, lightening the grip of her embrace. 

Rowan’s arms
remained steady about her, hugging her to him as he pressed her head down
against his chest. “They’re better now,” he whispered, relishing the sweet joy
of holding Anna in his arms.

Anna lifted her
head from his chest and looked up at Rowan in the moonlight.  She felt tears
gathering in her eyes and buried her face in Rowan’s shirt so that he would not
see her weakness.  His familiar masculine scent was comforting, pine needles
and leather, mingling with something that distinctly Rowan.  Rowan smelled like
home
.

 “Shh…” Rowan said,
feeling the wetness of Anna’s tears stain his shirt.  “I’m here now, sweetheart,”
he said softly, stroking her back, breathing in her scent and savoring the feel
of her in his arms. “C’mon!” he said, “We canna stay here out in the open.”  He
released Anna from his arms and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the cover of
the forest.

Safely shrouded in
the dense growth of the trees, Rowan stopped abruptly and turned to Anna,
bringing his hand up to caress the curve of her jaw.  He looked down at her as
if he didn’t believe that she was real, as if he couldn’t believe that he was
touching her soft skin again.  His eyes were full of questions and as he slowly
captured Anna’s chin between his fingers, forcing her to look up at him, she
answered his first question with a subtle nod.

Yes, I still
want you to kiss me.

Rowan’s lips were
on Anna’s in an instant, hungry and demanding.  He kissed her with passion that
he was unable to restrain, slanting his mouth over hers, claiming her again and
again. 

Anna melted into
his chest, kissing him back with equal fervor.  Her mouth opened for Rowan and
she slid her tongue hungrily into his mouth, wanting to taste him.  Her nails
scored Rowan’s chest, his back and his neck, scraping her imprint onto his
body, claiming him beneath her fingers.

 Rowan let loose a
low growl in his throat, succumbing to the intense pleasure of tasting Anna’s
sweet mouth.

“I never thought
I’d see you again,” Anna’s voice trembled with the weight of her emotions.

Rowan drew away
slightly and released a choppy breath, feeling Anna’s body quake beneath his
touch.  Regaining some of his composure, he kissed her now softly, tenderly,
yet no less passionately.  Anna moaned sweetly against his lips and he just
about came undone.  He kissed her neck, the tops of her breasts, the fine line
of her exposed collarbones.  Anna arched back in pleasure.  Rowan supported her
in his arms, continuing his love play, deepening his torment.  It felt so good,
so right to have Anna in his arms again, to be able to do all of the things to
her that he had been dreaming of since she had been taken from him.

Well, maybe not
all of the things that he had been dreaming about.

Rowan placed a
light kiss in the hollow right beneath Anna’s ear, delighting in her sweet
feminine scent.  The corner of his mouth pulled up into a smile at how quickly
Anna’s pulse hammered beneath the touch of his lips.  It aroused him further to
know that her heart had gone wild just from his kisses, his touches.

“Anna,” Rowan
whispered, drawing slightly away from her, but still holding her firmly in his
arms.  He never wanted to let her go.  “I came here tonight because there’s
something that I need tae tell ye.  I had tae see ye one more time…” he
stammered, looking into her eyes and working hard to get the words out just
right.  “I had tae see ye one more time before yer marrit…” he swallowed hard,
hating the feel of the words on his tongue, “so that I could tell ye what I
should have told ye on that day when he came tae take ye away from me.”

‘What do you need
to tell me, Rowan?” Anna asked softly, fitting her arms tightly around his neck
and stroking the small hairs as the base of his queue.

Rowan took a deep
breath and looked into Anna’s eyes, reaching up to touch her cheek ever so
lightly.  “I need tae tell ye that I love you too,” he whispered, voice tender
as he caressed her face.  “I tried tae forget ye, tae leave ye be, but I
couldna.  I just needed tae tell ye.”

A broad smile
overtook Anna’s face.  Her heart threatened to burst with joy after hearing
Rowan’s words.

He loves me.

She reached up on
her tippy toes and gently, tenderly kissed Rowan on the lips.     “I love you,
Rowan,” she whispered against his lips, tears beginning to stream down her
cheeks.  “I tried to move on, tried to push you out of my thoughts, but…”

“Doona cry, love,”
Rowan said, using his thumbs to brush away her tears. 

“But…when he
touches me, it doesn’t feel like
that…
” Anna stammered, shaken by the
feelings that Rowan had so easily aroused within her.

Rowan took a deep
breath and looked up into the night sky, saying a silent prayer for strength
and guidance before he spoke again.  His voice came forth stronger now, firm
and assured.  “I canna let ye go through with this,” he said, heart torn apart
at the idea of losing Anna again, of letting another man marry her.  Of letting
another man kiss her, touch her, make love to her.  He hated knowing that
Jonathan had touched her, had kissed her.

Rowan knew in his
soul and he was the right man for Anna, that he was the only one that should be
doing all of those wonderful things to her.  No matter that he hadn’t a penny
to his name or a means to provide for her.  He’d figure that part out later.

“I have to do it,
Rowan.  You know that I have to,” Anna said, voice ringing with hurt as she
looked up at him.  “I signed that contract and if I refuse to marry Jonathan,
my family will be ruined.”

“To hell with that
contract!” Rowan raged, body now tense with emotion. “Ye ken as well as I do
that he’s not the man that ye should be marrying!”

Fresh tears welled
in Anna’s eyes because she knew that Rowan was right.  She did not want to marry
Jonathan Arbor.  She watched in disbelief as Rowan took her hand into both of
his and slowly knelt down onto the forest floor in front of her.

 “Choose me,
Anna,” he spoke softly, “Marry me.”

..ooOoo..

Rowan pounded on
the door of the small chapel, his fist sounding like thunder as it struck the
heavy wooden door.  After a few minutes a relentless, incessant pounding, the
bolt was released on the other side of the door.

A small
gray-haired man peeked through the crack in the door, trying to use it as a
shield to protect himself from the massive intruder that stood glaring down at
him. 

Rowan used his arm
to push open the door and the small man cowered, still dressed in his sleeping
gown and cap.  Rowan stepped into the dark chapel, pulling Anna behind him. 

“I’m no going tae
hurt ye,” he said, seeking to quell the man’s obvious fear.  “Are ye a priest?”

“Yes, sir,” the
man said most respectfully.  “I am a priest.”

“Would ye mind
goin’ tae change out of yer night clothes?  I want tae make sure that this is
most official,” Rowan nodded confidently, looking over at Anna.  “We have a
present need tae be marrit.  Right now.”

“Why right now?”
The priest ventured cautiously.

“We doona have
time for questions. 
Right now
,” Rowan demanded, gritting his teeth together
in annoyance, challenging the priest to argue with him further.

The small man’s
eyes darted over at Anna. “Is this situation agreeable to you, Miss?  I won’t
do it if he’s forcing you,” the priest said nervously, having been quite brave
to challenge Rowan’s aggressive demands.

“It’s quite
agreeable to me,” Anna smiled and looked up at Rowan, patting his arm in an
effort to calm him down.

“Well then, let me
go change into my robe,” the priest said, eyes darting from Anna and back to
Rowan.  “It appears as though I’ll be conducting an impromptu midnight
marriage ceremony.”

..ooOoo..

Rowan stood,
clasping Anna’s hands in his own, looking at his bride to be.  He brushed his
thumbs reassuringly over the backs of her small hands and she smiled up at him in
response.  Her hazel eyes locked with his.  Rowan felt his heart swell with
pride and love as he admired the woman that was to be his wife.  Her honey
blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders and although she was dressed in a
simple grey cotton dress, he had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his
life.

Damn, she’s so
beautiful.  I do not deserve her.

Anna looked
nervous.  Hell, he was nervous too.

Rowan leaned down
and kissed his bride on the cheek, nuzzled her hair and whispered, “I love ye, Anna. 
I ken that this is right.  We are right.”

“I know.  I love
you too,” she blushed and squeezed his hands reassuringly.

Rowan nodded to
the priest, who cleared his throat and began to read the rights of the marriage
ceremony from a small leather bound bible.

Anna’s knees felt
weak as she contemplated the journey that she and Rowan were about to embark
on.  Never had she felt so sure of anything in her life; Rowan was the man that
she wanted to marry, consequences be damned.  She loved this beautiful, stubborn
man more than her life.  Tuning out the words of the priest, Anna had eyes only
for her soon-to-be husband.  She smiled up at him and Rowan rewarded her with
her favorite lopsided grin.

Oh how I’ve
missed you! 

Rowan wore a white
homespun linen shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck, giving her a glimpse of
his suntanned skin and muscled chest.  His hair was loosely tied back, but a
few of the chestnut strands had escaped from their restraint.  Rowan had tucked
the errant strands haphazardly behind his ear, lending him a rugged look.

Oh how she loved
this man.

“Will you take
this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the priest asked, snapping Anna
back to the present.

Her heart
thundered in her chest.

“Aye, I will,”
Rowan said, beaming as he looked down at Anna with love in his eyes.

Anna smiled
sweetly and felt her face flush with color.

“And will you take
this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I will,” Anna
said, unable to contain the smile that spread from ear to ear as she looked
into Rowan’s sparkling green eyes.

Rowan growled low
in his throat and used Anna’s hands to pull her into his embrace, settling his
lips over hers possessively and kissing his wife soundly. 

Anna moved her
fingers up his chest and settled her hands behind his neck, leaning into her
husband as he kissed her senseless.

“You may kiss the
bride,” the priest said quietly.

“That’s precisely
what I’m doing,” Rowan paused, smiling against his wife’s lips before he
claimed her once again, sliding his tongue into her mouth, possessing her
completely.  He reluctantly ended the kiss and placed one more gentle kiss on
Anna’s lips.  “I love ye,” Rowan whispered, holding his wife against his chest
and smiling down at her, eyes filled with happiness. “My wife.”

“I love you too, Husband,”
Anna said, leaning her head against Rowan’s chest and squeezing him tightly.

The priest cleared
his throat, reminding the happy couple of his presence.

“I’ve a small
croft behind the church if you…if you are in need of a place to stay the night.
 It’s late, and…” he trailed off, wishing to be hospitable, but uncomfortable
about the intricacies of relationships between men and women.

“That’s very
generous of ye,” Rowan said, still holding Anna contently in his arms.  He
kissed the top of her head and regarded the priest.  “But we need tae be moving
on.”

Anna was suddenly
glad that Rowan wasn’t looking at her because she knew that her face was a very
unattractive shade of crimson.  The priest was asking if they needed a place to
consummate their marriage.

“I’d like to
stay!” Anna blurted, surprising herself.

“Would ye now?”
Rowan asked quizzically, pulling Anna away from his chest and looking down at
her.  Her face was flushed and his brave girl wouldn’t make eye contact with
him.