Seduced by Her Highland Warrior (22 page)

The cream-coloured gown she wore was strained across her belly, and she walked within the cool water, letting it soothe her swollen ankles. A sudden pain rippled across her spine, radiating in a tight contraction.

Laren stopped walking, pressing a hand to her back. It hurt, but she didn't want to alarm Nairna. It wasn't at all unusual to feel pain during the last few months. When Nairna paled, she reassured her, ‘It's just harder to walk. The child is positioned so low, I have to stop along the way. If you want to go on ahead, I'll be fine.'

‘I'm not in a hurry.' Nairna waited beside her and Laren took a deep breath. Each step was excruciating, but she kept reminding herself that soon she would be back at home. She could lie down, put her feet up and rest.

Spots swam before her eyes and she gripped Nairna's hand a little harder than she'd meant to.

‘You're in pain, aren't you?' Nairna said. ‘Don't lie to me about this. You need help.'

Laren took another step and felt a light pop. Then a warm wetness ran down her legs.
No. Not this.
It was far too soon for this child to be born.

Please, God, no.

‘Laren?' Nairna whispered in a small voice. ‘We need to get Alex. Your gown—'

‘My birth waters broke, that's all.' She steadied herself, not wanting to frighten Nairna. But she knew that once the waters were gone, there was no stopping the child from coming.

Nairna took her hand. ‘It's not the birth waters that worry me, Laren. It's the…the blood.'

‘Y
ou're not supposed to be here when she's giving birth,' Grizel ordered.

‘She's my wife.' Alex tried to push his way past his mother, but she blocked the chamber door.

‘This child will be born too soon,' his mother said quietly. ‘The chances of it being able to breathe on its own aren't good. Laren knows it.' She touched his shoulder, her face weary. ‘I am sorry that it had to happen to both of you again.'

The anguish of losing another child wasn't something Alex wanted to face at all, but neither would he leave Laren's side if it happened again.

He pushed his mother aside and opened the door. Laren was lying naked upon the bed, holding her stomach with both hands. She was trembling with pain, her eyes closed tightly. A coverlet lay discarded beside her.

From the worry on Nairna and Vanora's faces, he knew it wasn't going well. Nairna was holding a rosary, silently
praying, while Vanora wiped Laren's forehead with a damp cloth.

‘I'm here,
a ghràidh
.' He moved to sit beside his wife and Laren's eyes opened.

‘I want to talk with Alex alone,' she said to the other women. With a weak smile, she added, ‘It will be hours yet. I'll call out if I need you.'

Vanora and Nairna obeyed, closing the door behind them. Grizel didn't look pleased about being dismissed, but she left after a sharp look from Alex.

‘I'm afraid,' Laren said. ‘It's too soon, and…I'm bleeding.' She started crying and the sight of her tears augmented his silent fear.

Alex touched her face. ‘Whatever happens, I'm here for you. I won't leave.'

‘I can't bear it.' Her hands moved to cover his and she struggled to sit up. ‘I don't want to lose another bairn. Not like David.'

He helped her to lean against him and held her in his arms. ‘Don't give up hope.'

‘It's too soon,' she protested. ‘And I can't stop the labour pains. Not now.'

He touched his lips to her forehead. From a pouch at his waist, he pulled out tiny droplets of coloured glass. ‘Do you remember when I gave these to you?'

She nodded, touching the stones. ‘You wanted to give me jewels.'

‘Some day I might.' He placed a few of them on her distended stomach, and they caught the firelight, gleaming. ‘But you're the greatest treasure I have.' He stroked her hair back.

‘Stay with me,' she whispered.

‘I'll not leave you. Not during this. No matter what happens.' He raised up the coverlet to her body, moving to support her.

 

Laren's labour continued through the night and into the next morning. Alex couldn't sleep at all, and when the sunlight pressed its rays through the crevices of the window, Vanora and Grizel interrupted. ‘Laren, there's someone here to see you.'

A young woman with hair as red as his wife's entered the room. Despite the vicious pain, there was a startled joy upon Laren's face. ‘Suisan? Is it you?'

Her sister came forwards and took her hand. ‘I received a missive from Grizel. She tried to send for our mother, but Rós couldn't come. She's too weak, but she sent you this.'

Suisan pressed a small wooden cross into Laren's hands. His wife braved a smile. ‘She's happy at St Anne's, then?'

‘She took her vows years ago. And she is content to live there, as is Gara.' Suisan sent her a teasing smile. ‘I was the black sheep of the convent and got married two years ago. I live on the Isle of Skye now, with my husband.'

Alex sent his mother Grizel a questioning look and the old woman muttered, ‘I thought she would want her family here. But it took a long time to find them.'

He said nothing, but went to his mother and gave her a slight hug. ‘You have our thanks.'

Grizel frowned. ‘Be off with you. A birthing chamber is no place for a man.'

‘I'm not leaving.' Even if the worst happened, if the child didn't live, he'd not abandon Laren now. Not when she needed him.

‘Nairna, you should go,' Vanora ordered. ‘Fetch hot water for us.'

When Bram's wife hesitated, Grizel clamped down on her wrist and none too gently shoved her out.

‘Why would you send Nairna away?' Alex asked.

‘There's no need to frighten her, not when she's expecting her own bairn in the winter,' Vanora explained.

Suisan took her sister's hand, murmuring prayers. In the next few minutes, his wife's labour grew worse and she cried out in pain. Grizel and Vanora examined her, proclaiming it was time to push.

Alex moved to her side, supporting her as she eased into a squatting position. She took a deep breath, straining to give birth. He held on to her, trying to lend her his strength.

 

Over the next quarter of an hour, Laren endured the pain, pushing as best she could. Suisan retreated into the corner, murmuring more prayers.

Soon, the head appeared and Grizel helped to deliver the tiny infant. Alex heard the miraculous newborn cry of life and saw that he had another daughter. Vanora cut the cord and wrapped the child in a soft blanket, handing the infant to him. While Laren worked to deliver the afterbirth, he marvelled at how small his newest daughter was. Blue-grey eyes stared at him, and her hand was the size of his thumb.

Let her live,
he prayed.
Let her grow strong.

‘Keep pushing, Laren,' he heard Vanora urge. To his shock, he heard the cry of another child. Alex watched as a tiny baby boy emerged from Laren and he, too, gave a mewling cry.

‘Two of them?' he asked Laren, feeling as though he'd
taken a blow to the stomach. He sat down on the edge of the bed and handed their daughter to Laren, while he took the precious bundle of their son. A fist seemed to grip his heart and he couldn't say a single word, seeing the miracle in his hands.

‘They're alive?' his wife whispered, unable to tear her gaze from the babies.

‘Aye. And breathing.' He held his son close, vowing that he would do everything to protect him. ‘They're going to live. Both of them.'

He laid the children in her arms and embraced the three of them, feeling as though they'd been given a second chance.

Laren sent him an exhausted smile. ‘Neither of us will sleep much over the next few months.'

‘But we'll manage,' he said. ‘Together.'

Three years later

‘I
feel guilty, leaving the children,' Laren admitted. She held her husband's hand as they walked together to the circle within the forest. The afternoon sun speared through the tree branches, casting shadows across the standing stones.

‘Do you want me to take you back to them?' Alex asked, drawing her back against the cool limestone.

‘Not yet.' She drew his mouth down to hers, kissing him deeply. ‘I want this time with you.'

In the privacy of the forest, Alex undressed her. The sun was warm and Laren lay down upon the cloak he'd spread upon the ground. Her husband discarded his own clothing and lay beside her, drawing her on to her side.

‘Your men will wonder where you are,' she said, moving her hand over his broad chest. ‘Weren't you supposed to be training them?'

‘If they knew I was with a beautiful naked woman, rest assured, any man alive would understand my absence.'

She smiled against his mouth and his hands moved over her skin in reverence. With his mouth and tongue he tasted her flesh and she felt him growing thick and hard against her feminine core.

‘I love you, Laren,' he murmured, his mouth caressing her stomach and outer hip. He parted her legs, then kissed her erect nipple, teasing it while her flesh grew wet beneath his stroking fingers.

‘Touch me everywhere,' she commanded.

Alex's expression grew sinful. With a single finger, he touched her eyebrow. ‘There?'

Laren shook her head, smiling at his playful change in mood.

‘Or did you mean here?' His hand moved to her elbow, where he began caressing the tip.

‘I could touch you here,' she teased, stroking his chin.

‘Or did you mean here?' he whispered, sliding two fingers into her wetness.

The unexpected invasion made her ache with longing and she returned the caress by taking his erection in her palm. With each time she stroked him, he rewarded her by using his fingers to coax a stronger response.

‘Or here?' he whispered, using his wet fingers to arouse her breasts. A moan escaped her and she shuddered as he provoked a staggering response that echoed deep in her womb.

‘Kiss me again,' she murmured.

But instead of moving to her mouth, he drew his kiss to her breasts, licking her skin until he took the nipple with a gentle suction. He kissed her ribs, the swell of her hip, then he laid his mouth above the core of her womanhood. Gently, he licked her, arousing her hooded flesh.
His tongue stimulated her, moving sideways in a rhythm that took her breath away.

She shivered with delight as he worked her flesh faster, begging him not to stop with words that were hardly coherent. She arched against him, her fingers digging into the ground as he found the place that made her shatter apart. Dark waves of ecstasy broke over her, mindless physical fulfilment that pulled her body over the edge.

‘I want you,' she pleaded, and with one thrust he was within her wetness. She felt molten inside, her body receiving him with aching shivers.

He never ceased his lovemaking, but penetrated her over and over, until cries escaped her. Another release crashed through her and she didn't think she could take any more. But he kept going, thrusting hard, until he emitted a ragged groan and took his own pleasure.

Alex rested against her, the sweat of their bodies mingling. Then he rolled her on to her side, bringing her leg over his hip. She was still shivering with aftershocks, and he covered them both with the cloak, holding her close.

‘Did that please you?' he asked against her cheek, before sending her a feral smile.

She kissed him softly. ‘Very much.'

He brought her head beneath his chin, cuddling her close. ‘If I had my way, I'd stay with you here and never go back.'

‘We'll have to rescue Mairin…' she sighed ‘…sooner or later.'

Her husband sent her a wicked smile. ‘Later sounds better to me.'

 

When they returned at twilight, they found visitors waiting. Mairin stood at the entrance to the keep, looking
relieved at their return. ‘Eve and Kerr are trying to kill each other.'

‘Where are they now?' Laren asked.

‘Adaira and Ramsay are playing with them.' Mairin rolled her eyes and led them inside. Laren gave her a light hug, touching her daughter's hair. Both she and Adaira were visiting from fostering and it tugged at Laren's heart to see them growing up so fast.

Their three-year-old twins, Kerr and Eve, were playing inside the keep, running in circles until Ramsay picked them up, one under each arm. He strode forwards, his adolescent face red with embarrassment, while at the far end of the Hall, Laren spied visitors from the abbey. She caught one of the women and ordered food and ale for them.

As soon as he saw them, Kerr wiggled free and raced over to Alex, grabbing his leg. Laren smiled as her husband lifted their son into his arms and she took Eve from Ramsay. ‘Thank you for watching over them,' she told the young man. He gave a nod, looking eager to return to his glassmaking. His father had died two years ago and Alex had invited Ramsay to live with them inside the keep. Though he was far more comfortable with the furnaces than with people, she was glad to give her apprentice a true home.

Laren approached the priests, with Alex at her side. After he offered them a greeting, she asked, ‘Are you enjoying the windows for the kirk?'

The abbot's face revealed his discomfort at having to speak with her. Even after he'd learned that she was the artist responsible for the glass, he'd felt uneasy about it. ‘Many pilgrims have stopped to adore the Holy Cross,' he
admitted. ‘And the glass has attracted more visitors every year.'

The abbot nodded to one of the priests, who withdrew a scroll of parchment. ‘Bishop William de Lamberton has asked me to commission another window for the cathedral at St Andrews, on his behalf. I have brought the plans for you to consider.'

Laren took the scroll and inclined her head. ‘I will look over the plans. But Nairna will negotiate the terms.'

There was nothing Nairna loved so much as to haggle over prices and Laren was happy to indulge the young woman. She had recently given birth to her second child and would welcome the distraction of bargaining.

Laren invited the priests to enjoy a light evening meal; after they blessed the food, she set the twins down to eat beside Mairin and Adaira. Once they were settled, she took the plans over to the stone table and unrolled the parchment to study them.

Alex came up beside her and she asked, ‘What do you think?'

‘It's your decision. If you wish to make the glass, I've no objection.'

She noted that these windows would be larger than any others she'd made before. It was a challenge that would push her beyond whatever skills she had now. ‘I want to try.'

Kerr moved away from the table and toddled over to them. He started to whine and Laren picked him up. He wrapped his arms around her. ‘Kiss, Mama.'

She pecked his small lips and after she set him down, Alex sent her a teasing smile. ‘Kiss.'

Alex drew her into a darkened corner, out of view from everyone else. Then he seized a kiss that held the promise
of desires they would share later. Firm and evocative, he continued kissing her until Kerr gave him a light shove.

The young lad glared at his father. ‘That's my Laren. Not yours.'

Laren couldn't stop her laugh at her son's possessive nature and his sudden desire to call her by her first name. ‘I'm your mother, not your Laren,' she corrected.

Alex drew his hand around her waist as they returned to the others. ‘You're wrong, son. She's my Laren.'

The words warmed her heart and he leaned down to kiss her temple. ‘I love you.'

‘As I love you.' She rested her hands upon his shoulders, and in his eyes she saw the steadfast love and faith. With her hand in his, she walked by his side towards all the blessings that awaited them.