The Chase (25 page)

The foursome left in the chamber were silent for a moment; then Blake tossed the furs
aside and grabbed up his discarded tunic as he said, “You had best tell me what happened.”

“Duncan caught us indulgin' in somehoughmagandie ,” Aeldra said defiantly. “And now he's
up in arms.” “Houghma” Blake had just bent to pleat his plaid, but paused at the blonde's
words to glance to

Seonaid, who was gaping at her cousin. “Seonaid?”

She closed her mouth and glanced at her husband, then cleared her throat and said, “They
were... er... doing what we were doing,” she finished helplessly.

“Sleeping?” he asked dryly.

“Nay, the part before the sleepin',” Seonaid said.

“Ah.” Blake turned his attention back to his plaid.

“I am marrying her,” Little George said grimly as Blake finished the pleating and donned
the plaid.

“Is that what you want?” he asked as he stood, fully dressed.

Little George nodded abruptly.

“Well, we had best go tell Duncan and smooth things over then,” Blake said and led his
first out of the room.

Seonaid stared after them in amazement. Neither man had even bothered to ask Aeldra if she
agreed to

the marriage. And it apparently hadn't occurred to them to include the women in the
discussion about to take place.

Muttering with exasperation, she tossed the linens aside and slid from the bed to begin
dressing. “So?”

Aeldra glanced at her with a start. “So? What?”

“How was it?” Seonaid asked, amusement pulling at her lips. It was the right question,
Aeldra's tension gave way to a grin.

“It was wonderful,” she said enthusiastically, then added less cheerfully, “until Duncan
caught us.”

Seonaid nodded. “And do ye want to marry Little George?”

Aeldra smiled. “He'd already asked me 'ere we” She paused and shrugged. “And I had already
said aye.”

“Good,” Seonaid said with a sigh. At least she wasn't going to have to fight to keep her
cousin from a marriage she didn't want. Finished pulling on her tunic and braies, she
tugged her hair back, then strode to the door. “Let us go down and be sure Duncan doesna
ruin things then.”

A small laugh slipping from her lips, Aeldra followed her out of the room.

“Watch fer Greenweld's men,” Duncan said gruffly.

Seonaid's gaze met Aeldra's and the two women exchanged amused glances as they mounted
their horses. Duncan had been spouting warnings and sounding like an old hen all morning.

“We will,” Blake assured him, taking his reins from Little George and mounting as well.
“Your father reminded us to do so 'ere leaving.”

“Hmm.” Duncan frowned, his gaze sliding over the four of them with displeasure. While he
had agreed to the wedding between Little George and Aeldra and had even sent a man out to
fetch a priest back to perform it, he was still angry with the couple. Seonaid suspected
it was mostly for show. He became more and more like their father every day.

“Mayhap I should send some men with ye, jest in case,” Duncan suggested, but Blake shook
his head.

“I can handle a few of Greenweld's men. We shall be fine. I shall keep Seonaid safe.”

Seonaid glanced at him with surprise at the comment. She doubted very much that her
brother was concerned with her well-being. She could take care of herself. Still, it was
sweet that he wanted to take care of her. Her glance slid to her brother and she said,
“And I shall keep him safe as well.”

Duncan grinned at her words, and at the way Blake rolled his eyes at the claim. "Aye,
well, jest keep yer eyes open. And travel as quick as ye can for the first little while.
And send a messenger when ye arrive safely. And send one if ye've any trouble too. And
look out fer the Camerons as well. Aeldra's of a

similar height and shape to Helen, and they may mistake her for the woman and attack in
error. They're no too bright. And"

“Good-bye, Duncan,” Seonaid said with amusement, turning her horse toward the gate.

Leaving him standing on the keep steps, Seonaid followed Blake when he turned his mount
and started across the bailey.

They rode slowly over the moat and continued slowly as they crossed the clearing. Seonaid
knew that Blake was trying to ensure that if the Camerons were nearby, they were given a
good look at the small party and would see that Lady Helen was not among them.

The moment they reached the trees, however, he took the lead and urged his horse into a
gallop. Seonaid immediately followed suit and fell in behind him. A glance over her
shoulder showed that Aeldra had taken position behind her, while her husband, Little
George, took up the rear.

Seonaid smiled to herself at the thought. It seemed odd to think of Aeldra being married
to the great man who was Blake's first. He was such a giant, and Aeldra so petite, they
made an odd pair when they walked about. Seonaid would not even contemplate the bedding
part of their marriage. The very idea was almost too much to consider.

The first day of travel passed uneventfully. They were all alert, attending to the fact
that even if the Camerons did not mistake Aeldra for Helen, they might try to capture them
to try and learn where Helen was. The Camerons might even use one of them to trade for the
Englishwoman. But nothing of the sort occurred, and neither were they accosted by the men
Greenweld had sent after Blake. If either group were out there, they were keeping their
distance for now.

Still, it might not have hurt that Blake set a grueling pace the first day, one that would
put as much distance as possible between them and Dunbar and the trouble that might lurk
in the area. It was late night when they stopped to make camp.

The spot Blake chose was nowhere near water this night, but it mattered little to Seonaid.
Her concerns about traveling in the company of others proved not to be a concern in the
end. She was far too weary by the time they had finished making camp, eating, and visiting
the bushes to tend personal needs to even consider indulging inhoughmagandie . She would
not even have had the energy to bother with bathing had they camped near water. Seonaid
barely had the strength to curl up next to her husband to sleep, and was only vaguely
aware of the feel of his chest against her back and his arm around her as she drifted off
to sleep on the cold hard ground.

They took it much easier the second day. Now that they were a distance away from Dunbar,
Blake set a more leisurely pace, and it was only late afternoon when he decided they
should stop. Seonaid suspected it was the beauty of the spot they chanced upon that made
the decision. It was another clearing on the edge of a river, but this one offered a
picturesque waterfall, which was a lovely diversion.

Seonaid and Blake set up camp this night while Little George and Aeldra visited the river
to wash away the day's dust. They were finished and waiting by the time the other couple
returned. Telling them they wouldn't be too long, Blake caught Seonaid's hand and tugged
her to her feet, then led her into the woods.

Eager to wash away two days' worth of dust, Seonaid reclaimed her hand the moment they
were safely within the trees and began to strip as they made their way along the path to
the riverside. She finished

undoing her braies as she stepped into the small clearing at the water's edge. Letting
them drop, she stepped out of them, then bent to scoop them up and set all her clothes in
a pile near a large boulder, which she used to lean against as she quickly removed her
boots. Dropping those, she left Blake still working on his clothes and waded into the
water. It was chilly at first, but Seonaid dove under and swam a distance out in an effort
to allow her body to adjust.

She came up near the waterfall and stood to walk under it, noting that the water reached
only to her waist here. Not that it really mattered with all the water pounding down on
her from overhead. Smiling, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back under the spray,
then tipped her head forward and simply stood like that for several minutes, enjoying the
hammering of the water against the tense muscles of her shoulders and back.

Something brushing against her hip startled her, and Seonaid blinked her eyes open,
relaxing when she spied the hand Blake was slipping around her back as he joined her under
the cascade. He didn't say a word, but merely pulled her firmly against him with one hand,
using the other to catch her at the base of her skull and pull her forward for a kiss.
Though it had only been two days since he'd touched her, it felt like forever, and she
went into his embrace willingly, sighing into his mouth when he claimed hers.

At first he just kissed her, exploring her mouth as if it were the first time; then his
hands began to move over her body, following the trail the water was taking and smoothing
across her shoulder then down her chest to capture one breast. Seonaid clutched at his
neck when he suddenly broke the kiss and tipped her back to claim her nipple between his
lips. She sighed and moaned and arched into his hardness, rubbing against him eagerly as
he suckled.

When he started to back her up, Seonaid wasn't prepared and stumbled, nearly losing her
footing, but Blake held her up and continued moving her backward until they were out of
the waterfall and pressed up against the rock it curtained. It was like being cocooned in
a storm, the water thundering around them, leaving a fine mist to make everything look
soft and almost ethereal.

Seonaid ran her hands over her husband's chest, enjoying his strength and hardness, then
let one hand drop to catch his erection as he bent to kiss her again. His own hands were
not dormant, but moved over her body, caressing and teasing before seeking the heat at the
center of her. Seonaid moaned into his mouth, her legs spreading farther apart to
encourage him as he caressed her.

When he caught one leg under her thigh and lifted it to his hip, Seonaid was more than
ready and lifted the other of her own accord to wrap around him. She shuddered, pressing
back into the rock as he entered her, her eyes closing and a moan sliding from her lips.
Seonaid loved it when he was inside her. His kisses and caresses were exciting, and when
he put his mouth to her womanhood he could drive her over the moon, but she liked it best
when he was inside, their bodies merged and rubbing together with every stroke.

Seonaid clutched the muscles of his shoulders and nipped at his ear as he made love to
her. Blake immediately turned his head to kiss her and continued to do so until the very
end, when he tore his mouth away and they both cried out as they found relief.

“Little George says we are in England now.”

“Aye. Blake said we crossed the border shortly after noon,” Seonaid agreed. It was the
third evening of their journey, and again they had traveled at a more relaxed pace. Blake
didn't seem to be in any hurry to

reach Sherwell, and Seonaid didn't mind one wit. She was enjoying the trip.

Now they had stopped for the night along a river, and the men had offered to make camp
while the women tended to their personal needs. Seonaid had been rather disappointed at
the arrangementshe would have liked a chance to be alone with Blake again as they had been
the night before. She'd not soon forget their sojourn at the waterfall.

Both women were quick about their ablutions and eager to return to the men. They reached
the clearing just as Blake and Little George stepped out of the trees from another
direction. Despite how quick Seonaid thought she and Aeldra had been, the men had
apparently managed to tend to the horses and gather wood for a fire, then find a spot
farther along the curving river and clean up in the same amount of time.

“I was thinking a rabbit might taste good over the fire,” Little George announced as
Seonaid and Aeldra joined the men.

“Sounds good,” Blake said, setting his boots by a fallen log and bending to start work at
lighting the fire he and Little George had built.

Little George grunted, then glanced at Aeldra. “Care to help me hunt one up?”

Grinning, Aeldra caught his hand in hers and rambled into the woods with her husband.
Seonaid watched them go, once again marveling at the odd couple they made, then settled to
sit on the log Blake had set his boots next to. Her gaze wandered from the boots to her
husband as he worked, and she smiled slightly. Obviously he had not put them back on after
his dip in the river. Her gaze dropped to his defenseless feet and her expression turned
from a smile to an evil grin. She did so love tickling her husband. It always amazed her
that the man who was proving to be so strong and commanding as a mate could become an
almost paralyzed mass of helpless flesh when she tackled his feet. Did his enemies know
this weakness, the man would have been dead long ago.

“There.” Blake finished fiddling with the fire, brushed his hands together, and moved to
sit beside Seonaid.

They sat in a companionable silence for a bit; then Blake mentioned that they were not
that far from his friend Amaury's home, Eberhardt. Seonaid had heard the name before. In
the week since their marriage, Blake had spoken of the man often during their quiet times.
It was obvious he was a good friend to her husband, almost as close as a brother.

Of the many amusing tales Blake had told her about Amaury, her favorite was the one of how
Amaury had been ordered by his king to marry Emmalene Eberhardt. Thinking her an ugly old
hag whose husband had killed himself rather than bed her, Amaury had been less than eager
to make the match. The man had dragged his feet about arriving to marry her only to find
she was a beautiful, capable little blonde who could shoot an arrow better than most of
the soldiers who fought under them.

Blake had spoken with admiration and affection about both his friend and the man's new
wife, and Seonaid always enjoyed the tales he shared about them. She found that if she
listened carefully, she learned as much about her husband as about the people he spoke of,
so she encouraged his talking. As she did now.

But as fascinating as his story was, she again found her gaze sliding to Blake's bare
feet, and eventually she found herself contemplating how best to tickle them without
giving away her intention. She couldn't

reach them from where she was sitting, but if she shifted to grab at them, her husband
would be smart enough to suspect what she was about and whip them out of the way. She had
gone after his feet every night at Dunbar after discovering his weakness. In fact, it had
become something of a game. Seonaid would go after his feet and the tickling would turn
into a wrestling match that ended with their making love. It was a game she rather
enjoyed, and one she was sure Blake enjoyed as well, or he wouldn't leave his bare feet
out to tempt her so often.

Blake had fallen silent for several moments when she made her move. In the end, she had no
great plan to trick him; she merely counted on the advantage of surprise and launched
herself toward his feet. As she had feared, Blake suspected at once what she was about and
tried to shift them out of her reach, but she was quick and threw herself across his lower
legs, pinning them to the ground with her weight as she reached for them.

She had Blake laughing and thrashing within seconds, but as usual that was all he allowed
before grabbing her around the waist and rolling with her, having the presence of mind to
move them both away from the fire. Seonaid put up a good fight, but there was no getting
around the fact that Blake was stronger and soon had her pinned to the ground, both of
them breathless and laughing.

“You, my dear wife, are an evil witch,” he informed her, his body flat on hers and his
hands holding her wrists pinned above her head.

Seonaid feigned outrage at the insult but found it more amusing than anything else. He
always called her horrid names after a tickling session and she took it as her due.

“I think you need a good seeing to,” he added, and Seonaid felt a slow smile stretch her
lips. She did so love hisseeing tos , she thought. Then movement drew her attention and
she glanced to the side, stiffening at the sight of several men coming out of the woods
toward them.