The Highlander's Lady (9 page)

Daniel smiled wanly. He was right. “Thank ye, Leo.”

Dismissing his man, he walked back to Myra.

“We best be on our way.
The woods are filled with men like the one ye killed. Some desperate enough to try
and
attack a dozen Highland warriors.”

Myra nodded. “My horse—”

“Ye’ll ride with me.”

She frowned up at him, eyes deepening in color. “I’m capable of riding myself. Have not fallen from a horse in many a year.”
She shifted her gaze away and touched the bruise on her head.

Putting two and two together, Daniel came to the realization that she had indeed fallen from her horse after being hit with something, or perhaps running into a branch.

“All the same, ye’ll ride with me.”

“Why?”

Daniel drew his brows together in a frown.
He didn’t like the way she looked at him as though he were resorting to trickery.
He wasn’t used to being questioned
.
Particularly not from a woman—save his mother.

“Dinna question my orders.”

“There ye go again, acting like a brute. I’ll ride my horse
;
he’s fast.”

That was
part of
the problem. How could he be sure the lass didn’t race off at the first chance she got? “Ye’ll ride with me, end of
discussion
.”

Myra stared at him
,
an expression on her face that made Daniel wish he was a mind reader. She must be cursing him to hell and back behind those large brown eyes.

“I can see ye’re in a mood to be bossy. I suppose since ye’re a laird ye must be used to giving orders and having them obeyed. I’ll oblige ye this once, but in future, I will continue to question ye.”

From the corner of his eye, Daniel watched his men mount their horses and pretend not to listen, although several of them did snicker.

Damn her. He gripped her arm and yanked her close to him so that his lips brushed the shell of her ear.
“Dinna
ever
question me in front of my men.
Ever
.” His voice was low, threatening.

Myra simply nodded, but kept her lips pressed closed. When she looked at him there was fury in her eyes, but she did as he said and walked toward his horse, her head down. Why did he feel like such a monster? He hated watching her look so meek and dejected. One of the reasons he’d asked her to
wed wit
h him was her fiery nature.

Daniel did not want to stifle her. And yet, he did not want her to make him look a fool in front of his men. How did one balance such a thing? If he weren’t on such new, precarious ground with the men then he may not have cared.

Now he’d shown her that he could be a brute, just like she’d accused him. He’d probably lost her trust.

Ballocks
! He wanted to slam his head against a tree. He’d set out on this journey to enjoy the last few months of being a bachelor, and now he found himself handfasted to a woman he barely knew, whose spirit he’d just crushed and he still wasn’t sure if his men truly saw him for the leader he was.

A swig of whisky would be good about now. He approached his horse and climbed up behind the stiff body of his bride.

He leaned forward and whispered, “I’m sorry,” in her ear.

If possible, her back became even
more rigid
.

Well, he’d let her fume at him for a while. But she’d just better be over it by the time they arrived at camp. He wasn’t going to sleep beside a woman with a natural ability for killing, who appeared to want to cleave his head from his shoulders.

He pushed Demon into a trot, one of his men taking the reins of her horse as they all moved back through the woods and onto the road. The next village they passed he would try to procure a new gown for her. And a bath—as an apology. She’d most likely enjoy the chance to wash the stench of death from her flesh. Not that he could smell it, but he had noted that she kept looking at her hands, as if unsure of whether she’d washed the blood completely off.

The bath would be it. He would not cater to her any more than that. He would not issue any more apologies either. Nay, the woman would have to learn her place. Daniel would welcome her fire behind closed doors, and if she wished to take him to their chamber to burn his ears that was more than fine with him. He’d enjoy the makeup part, where he was able to taste the sweet flesh of her lips again. To fully sink his tongue into her mouth and stroke over the velvet of her little pink tongue.

Damn
. His cock tightened. Thank goodness for his sporran, else she’d feel the rigid length against her buttocks.

Double damn
. Now he couldn’t get the image of her buttocks from his mind. They would be the color of cream and rose. Smooth, silky, round. He
’d
take a globe in each hand, feel her supple flesh filling his palms. Massage them… Oh, God. Now his cock twitched.

The ride to Eilean Donan was going to be long—and he was going to be hard.

’Haps it might be best to bed her along the way?

Nay. He would try to hold off until spring. He’d not brought bedding into the negotiations and while he barely knew her, he was aware of one thing—she wasn’t ready for the bedding. Daniel would wake up missing his cock and ballocks if he tried.

He scooted back a couple inches, trying to get away from her heat. Concentrating on something else might help. He thought of training the men. Aye, that was best. Which weapons they would train with the first day. He’d teach them about combat fighting, hand-to-hand. He was good at that. One of the best. All the physical exertion would leave him tired and then he’d not want to worry about bedding her.

Save, how was he to pull this off? How could he train the men and keep an eye on her at the same time?

Daniel gritted his teeth.

What was
her message
?
The urgency of her journey?
As soon as she was done being angry with him, he was going to sit her down and have a long talk with her. See if she wouldn’t agree to at least tell him a little. He needed
to be assured
that she wasn’t actually out to kill the Bruce. Lord knew there were many who were.

Wouldn’t that just be ironic if his wife ended up being an assassin to the man he’d sworn loyalty too? Oh, his mother and uncle would never let him live that down.
His cousins would roast him on a spit.

His men would never respect him if that were the case. Well, ballocks, the woman had just better not be. Or she’d have hell to pay.

Chapter Seven

M
yra’s spine hurt like the devil. She’d never sat so straight before. Not even in church. Not even when on her knees taking her penance.
The blades of her shoulders were pulled so taut they nearly touched. Her neck was a solid column.

Her muscles and back screamed for her to arch it, to stretch it, but doing so would only put her closer to Daniel and as it was
she could feel the heat of him
curling around her, making her feel… Hot.

Oh, dear Lord, why was she so hot?
Made no sense with the frigid temperatures.

Her skin felt afire, and every time he huffed a breath she felt it all the way to her toes. Every time he shifted, she had to make her body even sti
ffer. ’Twas taking all the will
power she could summon to stay so taut. To not give in to her body’s urge to touch him, to relax.

If they didn’t reach camp soon, she would lean back against him and stretch like a lazy cat. Feeling every inch of his body that would come into contact with hers
. Her spine curling against his muscles. Such thoughts brought
imagining
s
of
wicked things. More kisses.

She’d not expected his lips to come into contact with hers.
Hadn’t expected the jarring wave of heat that came along with it. Myra’s entire being felt as though it were floating in
a
cloud, she’d been light-headed, dizzy with some unexplained feeling.

And then he’d had to ruin the wonder and joy of her first kiss by pointing out how terrible she was at it. Mortification had never run so deep. What exactly had she done wrong? To her, it seemed as though Daniel had done everything right…so right. Perhaps she was supposed to pucker her lips
more. Press them more fully against his? Oh, what was the use
?
She had no idea what to do, and was likely never to learn since she vowed from this moment forth to never kiss another man again.

Never.

Daniel would be her first and her last kiss. Myra gritted her teeth in frustration. One moment he was sweet, sensual, completely drawing her in, and the next he was blunt, coarse and brutish. Myra never felt so out of her element. She’d never felt so at odds with her emotions, convictions. Swearing to one thing
in
her mind
, her
body changed with whatever he said or did, completely upending her promises to herself.

Daniel shifted again behind her, groaning low under his breath, as though he tried to hide his frustration. ’Twas obvious Daniel was just as uncomfortable as she was. He couldn’t stop
mov
ing behind her, and every other minute an oath or curse
came
from his lips. A couple times Myra had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. His mouth and obvious love of naughty words was just as bad as her own.
At least, for the short term of their handfast, she’d be able to enjoy that, since she had no plans to enjoy anything else with him.

Judging from his constant movement and swearing, kissing wasn’t the only thing she was terrible at. Apparently, Myra was also an awful riding companion. If he groaned one more time, she might just elbow him in the ribs, or better yet toss him from the horse just to let him out of his misery.

However uncomfortable she was, Myra did admit one thing—she felt safe. For the first time in over a week, she could let just a little bit of her guard down. She didn’t have to be on constant alert. She could glance about her, watch the squirrels climb the bare trees of winter and then fly through the air as the
y
leapt toward needled fir
s
. W
at
ch
them gather acorns in their little mouths before darting around in a pattern meant to confuse any who would steal those acorns.

Ugh…acorns. Another reason she was grateful to have met up with Daniel. She never wanted to eat another raw acorn again. From what she’d heard, they weren’t bad cooked into a stew or bread, but hadn’t someone told her raw acorns were lethal for a horse? Was it possible they were lethal for her too? She supposed if she were to die in the next
day
or so from stomach pains, she’d know.

Myra turned her attention from the squirrels to gaze at the horizon. The Highlands were most beautiful in winter she believed. The mountains graced the landscape in jagged
arches
, their whitecaps visible from here. Snow had already fallen on the great rises. Wouldn’t be too long before it fell upon the land in droves. She prayed they reached their destination before the snow fell.
That the Bruce did not force her out into the elements as punishment for relaying words he was certainly not keen to hear.

If they were to get caught in a snow storm, they may be stuck in one spot for days at a time—or worse, perish from cold. She prayed they climb
ed
over
the
mountain pass
before the storm
—avalanches weren’t an everyday occurrence, but during a storm they weren’t entirely implausible either.

They passed beyond the road that was alongside the forest which housed many who’d seek to harm her as Daniel had put it, and rode through valleys and over a marsh
—the grounds not as soft due to the cold—
until they came to a small village surrounded by stone rises on two sides and a darkened forest on the other. The sun had just barely begun to set, setting pink tones to caress the clouds.

When Daniel pulled his horse to stop before a tavern, Myra groaned.
For certain, h
e and his men would seek a few pints and the company of women while she… What? Nestled down with the horses? Joined them
in their debauchery
?

“Bastard,” she muttered as she dismounted to follow him inside. As much as she’d rather keep company with the horse
s
, it just wasn’t safe. She didn’t know where she was,
and quite frankly, her appearance was sure to draw a few questioning eyes.
’Haps here she could inquire about a new gown. Although she had nothing to pay for it. A bucket of hot water and lye then to scrub away the stain of her assailant’s death.

“Dinna say anything,” Daniel said to her under his breath. “And pull your cloak tight to hide all that blood.”

Myra nodded. She disliked immensely his take charge attitude, his need to dominate everything, but she also didn’t want to cause a scene or have him decide he’d no longer escort her.

From inside rowdy, boisterous noise emanated. Shouting, laughter, female squeals, cheers, and clinking of glasses. The tavern sounded as though the people inside were celebrating something. Glancing around the town, she wasn’t sure what exactly it could be. The place was small, quiet, not particularly impressive. Maybe they were simply celebrating being alive. Myra would drink to that.

Daniel pushed open the door with Myra huddled close to his back, his men behind her. Sh
e felt safe, even in this place, surrounded by large, imposing warriors.

“May I help ye?”

Myra peered from behind Daniel’s wide back to view the small man who greeted them at the door. He was older, red-haired with streaks of white shining through it and a
matching
beard halfway down his chest. His eyes were small, but only because the skin around them sagged in wrinkled folds. He looked a bit like an old elf or at least what Myra had imagined they looked like.

“My wife and I require room for the night, a new gown, a hot meal and a bath. My men also require food and lodging for the horses.” Daniel’s voice was commanding but amiable.

The little old man tilted his head to get a look at her. He smiled showing brown, crooked teeth. There was nothing sinister in his smile, he appeared quite cheerful.

“We’ve a room indeed, quite large actually. Comes with a large price.”

The muscles in Daniel’s back tightened and instinctively she tightened too.

“What is your price?” he asked the tavern owner.

The man gave him a number that had Myra cringing. Easily thrice the cost of a normal room.

“Done. Just see to it that price gives me all I require, and quickly.”

Myra’s mouth fell open. He was willing to pay that much for her?
How wealthy was Daniel?

The tavern owner looked just as shocked, his eyes momentarily widening enough to show they were sky blue. “Name’s Mi
les
, sir.” He stuck out his hand. “Nice to do business with ye.”

“’Tis Laird.”

Myra’s eyes widened. He was a laird indeed.

M
iles
took a step back. “Apologies, my laird, my lady.” He bowed low. “Please, if ye would wait here, I’ll see that one of the maids shows ye to a room and then have a nice meal, hot bath and gown sent up.”

“And my men?”

“Tavern’s this way
lads
, we’ll take mighty good care of your horses and see that not a one of ye is hungry nor thirsty by the time this night is through.”

Myra rolled her eyes as Mi
les
ambled away, intent on seeing to their every wish. She supposed he didn’t see many lairds come through his doors
—nor ones that simply paid the outrageous price he voiced
.

Moments later
,
a worn-out looking woman welcomed them with a
luke
warm smile and spoke directly to Daniel.
“Name’s Sara, I’ll be helping ye with all your needs
–
for as long as ye stay.
Right this way, my laird.”

Just what did she mean by
all your needs
? 
Myra
didn’t like the hungry look in Sara’s eyes. She’d be damned if she’d allow her to tend to any of Daniel’s needs.

They headed through a thin corridor, the wooden planked floor creaking beneath their shoes, until they reached a narrow,
uneven
wooden staircase. Sara climbed the stairs, and Myra grew tired just from watching her. ’Twas obvious she’d been working a long day—if not all her life.

When they reached the second floor, a landing looked over the t
avern
below and Myra was only separated
from it
by a rickety railing. If she leaned against it she was pretty sure she’d fall to right into the men drinking an
d playing cards at the table beneath
. A few of them looked up, tilted their mugs toward her and Daniel and shouted something she
couldn’t
make out. Whatever the strangers said it didn’t sit well with Daniel. He stiffened all the more and sent a menacing glare to the men below, all of whom only laughed.

Oh, dear Lord
…

Daniel’s men heard those who’d been shouting. They took threatening steps toward the locals. Weapons would be drawn, blood would be shed… And she had a feeling it was all her fault.

Placing a timid hand on Daniel’s arm she said, “Call your men off, else we will sleep outside tonight.”

She watched his jaw tighten, the muscle bouncing beneath his flesh. But he listened.

“Leo,” he called with a shake of his head. That was all it took.

His men backed down, calling for refills of their mugs.

Sara opened the door to the chamber. “Here ye are. I’ll have a bath and food sent up.”

“And a gown,” Daniel reminded her.

“
Aye
, a gown, my laird.”

Myra was growing irritated with how the maid only spoke to Daniel and acted as though she were not even there. Did the man have to have
s
o much power over everyone?

Sara scuttled away
,
leaving Myra quite alone with the man she had so many mixed feelings toward. The room was large—at least Mi
les
hadn’t lied about that. A
decent
sized bed took up most of the back of the room. A table and two chairs sat beneath a small square window which filtered in some of the waning sunlight and beside that a small brazier for a fire. Little square tables graced either side of the bed, one with a candle and flint, the other with a basin and pitcher.