The Highlander's Bride Trouble (15 page)

“Do nae be stubborn, Nareen.”

She grabbed her skirt and made sure the fabric was out of the way before she stood
on her own. “I am being sensible.”

One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Ye’re challenging me, woman, but I am nae complaining.”

“Stop it,” she said. “I am nae a challenge, at least nae any longer.”

His expression tightened. “Because I had ye?” He clicked his tongue and stepped toward
her. “Only a selfish man would think he’d had ye. There is much, much more to be shared
between us. I am looking forward to being inside a bedchamber for the first time in
me life, because it means I’ll be free to explore yer body.”

His tone deepened, unleashing a flicker of need inside her. It was like her body was
awakening, stretching toward his and humming with anticipation.

But it also allowed another feeling. It nauseated her, because she could see the need
to possess her gleaming in his eyes. She felt like a noose was being knotted around
her neck.

“Ye do nae understand,” she told him. “I cannae stomach the things ye make me feel.”

He caught her chin. It was so simple a touch, that it surprised her. “Are ye sure
ye understand yerself, Nareen? Because I’ll admit I do nae comprehend what is between
us. But I know it is a rare thing.”

“Lust is nae rare,” she countered as she lifted her chin out of his grip.

“Was it lust that had ye baring yerself to me?” He reached out and caught a handful
of her skirt to keep her close. “I did nae force yer hand, Nareen. Ye bared yerself…for
me.”

She shook her head. “No, I did it to prove that I will do what I please. I wanted
ye to know what sort of rebellion burns inside me. Ye should heed me warning.”

His face lit until his eyes fairly glowed. He tossed his head back and laughed.

She slapped at his hand. “Ye were nae supposed to find that amusing. What sort of
a man enjoys knowing a woman will do what she pleases no matter what the rest of the
world thinks?”

“A savage.” His lips were split in a wide smile. He pulled her closer, until his heat
wrapped around her. Was it his body heat or the strength inside him she felt? She
honestly didn’t know.

“Ye shouldn’t enjoy it,” she answered, appalled by how easily she responded to him.
He wasn’t even touching her, only holding on to a handful of her skirts and keeping
her close. “Ye are a laird now.”

“So I shouldn’t enjoy seeing the spirit in ye? Should I become a liar now that I have
a title?” Saer demanded softly. “Do nae be so unkind, lass. I told ye yer strength
draws me to ye.”

“But…it should nae.”

“Because the Church will nae approve?” he asked.

She nodded.

His expression became menacing. “The Church has never approved of me. Nae since the
day I was conceived without their blessing, until the moment when me father’s clan
sent for me because they had no one else to turn to and nae a single barrel of barley
left to fill their bellies. The good servants of the Church were starving right along
with the rest of the MacLeods, and all of them look to me to provide for them, so
they will take me as I am.”

Pain laced his words and flickered in his eyes. For a brief moment, she realized how
alone he really felt. She laid her hand along his jaw. He stiffened, his eyes narrowing
as his eyes glittered.

“So do nae be telling me to judge what woman I desire by what the Church and society
says is right.” He pulled her closer so his breath teased her lips. “’Tis ye who makes
me hard. It’s deeper than lust, for I’ve known that sin well enough in me life.” He
leaned down and inhaled the scent of her hair, his chest rumbling with a sound of
male appreciation. “I want more than to fuck ye.”

“What more is there?”

He lifted his head and locked gazes with her. “I do nae know, for ye are the only
woman who has stirred such a longing in me.”

She pulled back, and there was a pop as one of the stitches holding her skirt to the
waistband broke. He gave a snort of disapproval.

“Stand steady, Nareen, ye are no coward.”

“I think maybe I am.” The words escaped before she could bite her lip to keep the
admission hidden. “At least with ye.”

“I do nae want yer pity.”

“Ye do nae have it.” Saer released her skirt. “But ye do have me challenge, Nareen.
The question is, do ye want to slay yer demons or live with them choking ye?”

He crooked his finger at her. “Come here.”

“Ye’d enjoy that.”

“Aye,” he cooed. “Yer touch drives me mad.”

It was an admission to match hers. But it was also a challenge. Only this time, he
was issuing the challenge to her. That idea filled her with boldness, and with it
came a relief from her fears.

“I’ve dreamed of ye since I met ye at court. Why else do ye think I’ve left the other
offers I’ve had for marriage laying on me secretary’s desk?”

“Ye have me brother’s permission.”

He nodded. “I’ve no wish to fight with Kael, but I’d be here even if he’d refused
me.”

She believed him. It was clear in his tone and on his face. “I—”

“Do nae,” he snapped, with one thick finger pointing at her. “Do nae issue that challenge.
I need to let ye be tonight, since ye were virgin, but say ye do nae want me, and
we’ll end up against another tree as I prove how much ye enjoy me touch.”

Excitement twisted inside her, needling her to do exactly what he warned her against
simply because she knew she’d be pushing him too far.

She nodded, and his eyebrow rose.

“Do nae be surprised, Saer. I’ve sense enough to realize when I’m fighting with ye,
just to absolve meself of responsibility for what happens when I push ye too far.”

He offered her his hand again, but she shook her head.

“Ye are nae listening, Saer. Trust is something I cannae give ye, and I think neither
of us will be happy without it. Ye should send me home to me brother, for I will never
take vows that will make me yer property.”

“By law, yer brother is yer master, lass. Ye gain nothing by returning home.”

“Kael gave me his word years ago never to force me to wed.” Disappointment was filling
her, as though she didn’t want to convince him. “I have a place on Grant land, and
that is what I wish. If ye insist on taking me to yer land, it will nae change me
feelings. I will never change them.”

She passed him by, walking back toward camp. But she felt him behind her, felt his
gaze on her back. It fanned the flames smoldering in her body, making her more aware
of the sway of her hips.

Her cheeks burned, but what shamed her was how little it bothered her to know she
liked Saer’s attention. She was a wanton. But even that label didn’t concern her overmuch.

One of the retainers met her with a thin length of steel that had chunks of roasted
rabbit on it. Steam rose from the meat, and the scent earned a rumble from her stomach.
But once she’d consumed it, she felt the cold even more. She pulled her arisaid up
and over her head before lying down, but her skirts were still damp. There was a fire,
but she stayed well away from it. The night was a shield she needed; being too near
Saer’s men was unbearable. They looked her way from time to time, proving she was
not completely out of their notice.

She shivered, her teeth chattering.

“Perhaps this form of touching will be more to yer liking, lass.”

There was a flutter of fabric, and the length of his kilt settled on top of her. Saer
pressed up behind her, instantly warming her chilled body.

“But—”

She started to lift her head, and he sent his arm beneath it before locking her against
him with his other arm. The man even trapped her ankles between his. The moment he
joined her, his men turned their backs completely on them, even moving farther away.

A Highlander shared his colors only with his woman. It was tradition.

Saer tucked the wool around her, and she was helpless to hold back the sigh of relief
that escaped her lips. With his body behind her and his kilt on top of her, the night
was no longer cold.

“I’ll nae see ye shiver, Nareen.” He kissed her temple and rubbed her hip with a slow
motion that chased the chill away. “Ye’ll learn to trust that I will see to yer needs.”

“I do nae want ye to.”

He kissed her temple. “I understand that feeling too, lass. The last thing I ever
wanted was to provide for the clan that shunned me and me mother. Me father was a
royalist and died at Sauchieburn, along with a large number of his retainers. The
loss left MacLeod land unprotected, and it was raided.”

“Even if ye had been raised on MacLeod land, ye would have followed yer father to
Sauchieburn. MacLeod land would still have been raided.”

He grunted. “Perhaps.” He stroked her hip in an unhurried motion. “I’m grateful for
me past, for it’s shown me that there is more to life than the pain we suffer. Ye’ll
see that truth, Nareen, once we’ve had time together. Ye’re stronger for yer trials,
and it will make ye value what ye have, because ye know what it is like to survive
with less.”

“As ye do?”

“Aye.” He nuzzled against her hair. “We are well matched. The MacLeod do nae need
a mistress who arrives with the notion that she should be waited upon the whole day
through. Ye are no longer a girl but a woman, and that is what will make ye see the
rightness of our union. Ye will nae be content to live out yer days as a spinster
who will have to serve whomever yer brother weds. Return to yer father’s house, and
that will be yer lot. As me wife, ye can be proud of yer day’s work.”

A shiver moved through her, because she was close to believing him. The man radiated
strength and purpose. She knew it was foolish to dismiss his promise. Just as she
would be foolish to forget he expected obedience in return.

For certain there was something she should say in response, but all she was interested
in was falling asleep now that she was warm. Saer was warm enough to keep the night
from biting into her. That made his embrace right.

So very right. It was nae going to be easy.

Saer smoothed a hand along Nareen’s shoulder and felt her shift in her sleep.

Uncertainty wasn’t something he was a stranger to, but with Nareen, it unsettled him.
She had been such a strong force in his mind since he’d met her, that it felt as though
their relationship was already firmly rooted.

Her resistance was catching him off guard.

He was tired but didn’t want to waste his moments with her in sleep. He wanted to
feel her against him, listen to the sound of her breathing, and savor the scent of
her hair. There was something mystical about her. Something that went beyond enticing.

He stroked her cheek, and she turned toward him.

No matter how much he’d enjoyed the memory of her, the reality was far, far better.

“Nae, lass, there will be no going back to yer father’s land to live in a cold tower
room.”

Because she belonged with him.

***

Saer felt good.

At least in her dreams she didn’t have to worry about how she reacted to him.

Nareen slid her hands along his chest, marveling at the sculpted ridges. The scent
of his skin affected her strangely. Filling her with some deep understanding of just
how strong he was.

She wanted to taste him.

So she kissed his skin and felt his crisp hair tease her nose before he moved, threading
his fingers through her hair. She hadn’t braided it before going to sleep, and it
was a fine, soft cloud around her shoulders now.

Her eyes flew open and widened with horror. She was not dreaming.

Saer didn’t give her a chance to wiggle away from him. He cupped her nape and angled
his head so he might fit his lips against hers.

A tiny moan escaped her lips as she kissed him back. Teasing his lips with little
touches of her tongue. She needed to touch him, not just be held in position for his
kiss. All of the need she’d suppressed the night before was loose, sleep having robbed
her of her self-discipline.

He groaned, his grip tightening before he rubbed his hand down her back. She arched,
her spine needing to release all the sensation he was unleashing. Remaining still
was impossible.

She craved him.

Darkness still cloaked them, making her bold. She pulled on a tie that kept his doublet
closed. His shirt was already open at the neck, allowing her to bury her face against
the bare skin of his neck. He cupped her bottom, kneading and massaging each cheek.

Need spiked through her. Intense and red-hot. Her passage felt empty, and she thrust
toward him.

His cock was hard.

She purred with that knowledge, pressing her belly against him as desire threatened
to numb her wits completely.

He stroked the swells of her breast, pushing his fingers inside her bodice to tease
her nipples. Her breasts strained against the tight confines of her clothing. He found
the lace holding her top closed and opened the knot with a sharp tug.

“I’m going to keep ye bare for a month.” He leaned over, nuzzling into her open bodice
and kissing the side of her breast. She shuddered, arousal jolting through her like
an explosion. He teased the delicate skin, seeking out one nipple. When he closed
his lips around it, she arched, offering it to him.

He suckled it like a treat, swiping his tongue around the puckered tip and finally
across the hard top. She needed the contact as much as he seemed to, slipping her
hands into his hair and gripping the strands.

He rolled farther onto her, reaching down to pull her skirt up. It was a blunt action,
but she was desperate to be in contact with him. She reached for him, seeking what
she craved. Slipping her hand across his chest and down to where his shirttail lay
over what she desired.

He lifted his head as she slid her hand lower, to the edge of his shirt. A little
sigh of satisfaction passed her lips when she encountered the firm surface of his
thigh.

“Touch what ye crave, lass.”