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Authors: Kinley MacGregor

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BOOK: Born in Sin
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“I’m sorry, Callie. I never meant to scare you. I was just hungry.”

Sin swallowed at the sight of their reunion. At the love the two of them had for each other.

The boy looked up at Simon. “I wanted to buy the swan pastries you told me about, but the baker’s wife said I didn’t have enough coin for that.” He looked back at his sister. “You like pastries.”

While she kissed his cheek and assured herself the demon was hale, Sin paid for enough swan pastries to make the rapscallion’s belly ache.

Callie looked up as Lord Sin handed her brother his purchase. “Thank you for your kindness.”

By the expression on his face, she could tell her words made the knight terribly uncomfortable.

As they left the shop and headed back to the castle, Callie realized she wasn’t going to make it home. At least not alone. She’d been fooling herself even to think it. Worse, she’d almost lost the one person who meant the most to her in the world.

Dear saints what if they hadn’t found Jamie? What if he had gotten hurt or killed or…

It would have been all her fault. She closed her eyes as pain swept through her. The last thing she wanted was to tell Morna she’d let something happen to Jamie. It would be the death of the poor woman who had been a mother to her as well.

Nay, she’d take no more chances with his safety.

But then what was she to do?

Her thoughts turned to the man who would be her husband. Could she trust him?

For an Englishman, he seemed reasonable enough. As did Simon.

Perhaps, if she allowed them to go home with her, her clan might see that not all Englishmen were beasts. Perhaps they could win them over….

What are you? Daft? Get your head out of the dream world, lass, and put it on earth where it belongs. There’s little to no chance of the MacNeelys ever accepting an Englishman into their midst
.

It was a long shot, no doubt, but it was the only one she could see.

If she married Sin, they could go home safely.

Like it or not, she would submit to this marriage and trust in the Lord above to see her through it and to know what was best. Surely it must be His will, otherwise she and Jamie would have succeeded by now and been on their way home. This day had been an omen, and Callie believed wholeheartedly in omens.

Tomorrow Sin would be her husband.

She watched Sin mount his horse. He slid gracefully into the saddle like the born warrior he was and sat proudly on the back of his horse with his long hair
shining in the daylight. He was a fine sight there, handsome, strong. The kind of man a woman dreamed about at night and hoped to see just once in the flesh.

And he could be hers….

The hand he extended to her was both powerful and tender. He might not be her first choice for husband, but there was kindness in him. Fairness, too.

If only he were of Scots blood.

Still, there were far worse men to be married to.

“Milord?” she asked as he settled her before him. “What will you do to my people when you take me home?”

Sin clenched his teeth at her question. The very idea of returning to Scotland made him ill. If he had his way about it, he’d never again venture there.

Of course, he did have his brothers there, and while he was with her, he would make a point of seeing them. They alone made the idea of leaving England tolerable.

“I will ensure Henry’s peace is kept,” he told her. “So long as your men refrain from raiding his people, I will do naught.” What he didn’t tell her was that he intended to find the so-called Raider, put an end to the man’s mischief, then get himself out of their marriage as quickly as possible.

But even as the thought swept through his mind, he became aware of the woman before him. The way she smelled and felt in his arms. She was warm and soft, a gentle balm to soothe him.

He’d never held a woman like this. Never even dared hope for any kind of comfort in his life.

Comfort. He sneered at the word. Comfort was for
weak-minded fools. He didn’t need it and he damn sure didn’t want it.

He would do what he had to for Henry’s sake and then he would be back to fulfill his oath of loyalty. That was his life and he had no desire for it to change. He had fought too long and hard for his peace of mind to let this little bit of baggage in his lap come along and rattle him.

“So,” he said quietly as he looked down at her. She had her head tilted to study his hands. “You’re going through with this marriage, then?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder and he caught a whiff of her light lavender scent. The smell of her stirred him furiously. His arms were pressed against her rib cage and her red lips were parted just enough so that he could easily claim her mouth for a passionate kiss.

The thought fired his body even more. The devil preserve him, he wanted this woman in a way most desperate.

She stared at his lips as if she felt the heat between them. As if she, too, were dreaming of the kiss he longed to give her.

“I see no way to avoid it,” she said quietly. “Do you?”

He smiled at the hopeful note in her voice. “Nay, lady, I don’t. But I am working on it.”

The smile on her face bedazzled him. “In that case, good luck. I wish you much success.”

Sin shook his head at her. She was a rare treat. One he would love to take a bite of and see if she was as saucy in his mouth as she was in his lap.

Strangely enough, he couldn’t resist playing with her. “Should I be offended?”

Callie bit her lower lip. He was teasing her. The light in his eyes said as much. Charmed by his uncharacteristic behavior, she teased back. “Nay, no offense intended. You’re actually very nice when you’re not trying to be frightening.”

“Nice?” He asked in disbelief. “That is probably the only title no one has ever heaped upon my head.”

“No one?”

“No one.”

Callie pulled back to look up at him. “It must scare you, then, to know I know the truth of you when no one else does.”

Lord Sin arched a brow at her. “Who says that is the truth of me?”

“I do, and unless you have a horn to pull out and show me otherwise, I shall never believe anything else of you.”

Sin cleared his throat at her words. The woman need do no more than glance down and she would see proof enough of a horn that desired only to be naughty with the nymph in his lap.

Oh, the spirit of this wench and the education he would kill to give her. He could just imagine her lying naked in his arms, her breasts pressed up against him. The taste of her flesh on his tongue.

She was a temptress without equal.

“Tell me,” he whispered, “why it is you alone hold no fear of me?”

“I can’t imagine. Surely I am foolish. Aelfa assures me you eat small children every morn to break your fast. Do you?”

“Nay, I find them to be too harsh on the belly. All
that moving around once they’re swallowed. Not worth the effort, really.”

She laughed, and it was a truly enchanting sound. This had to be the most peculiar conversation he’d ever had in his life.

She pushed a stray piece of copper hair back beneath her veil. “Does anyone other than me know you can be playful?”

Sin scoffed. “Playful? Milady, your fire is missing a few logs if you think that of me.”

“More’s the pity, then.”

“How so?”

“We all need to play from time to time. Is that not right, Simon?”

Sin glanced over to see Simon eavesdropping. The man nodded. “Indeed it is, milady. But I can attest, Sin has never known a moment’s worth of it. Not even as a child.”

A deep frown crossed her brow as she regarded Sin. “Is that true?”

“Not entirely. I did have a few years of fun with my brothers and a moment or two with Simon in our youth.”

Her frown lightened, putting a sudden glow into her light green eyes. “You have brothers?”

“Aye. I had four of them.”

“Had?”

“One died a few years back.”

The joy left her face, and to his amazement, she gently patted his arm in sympathy. “I’m very sorry for the loss. You must miss him much.”

In truth, he did. Though he hadn’t seen Kieran since Kieran was Jamie’s age, Sin still held fond mem
ories of his younger brother. The knowledge that his brothers had all been home and were being cared for was the only thing that had made his hell bearable growing up. As he had suffered at the hands of Harold and the others, he had reminded himself that if not for him, one of his brothers would have been tortured in his place.

Better he should be beaten and humiliated than any of them. They were good and decent, and they deserved only the best that life could provide for them.

“We have a brother, too,” Jamie said. “Dermot the doormat.”

“Jamie!” Caledonia snapped. “He would have your head for that.”

“It’s better than what he calls me.”

“Your older brother?” Sin asked her.

“Nay. I am the eldest.”

He nodded. “That explains much.”

“Much of what?”

“The way you treat Jamie. The way you’re so determined to get home even when you know you stand no chance.”

Callie frowned at him. “You are the eldest?”

He gave a subtle nod.

They reined to a stop just before the stable. Simon slid down with Jamie while Sin helped her down.

“Simon, can you see her back to her room without—”

Simon cleared his throat loudly. “Remember, there will be no mention of
that
.”

Sin smiled wryly. “Fine. Can you get her back without any more of that-which-will-remain unmentioned
happening again? Or do I need to hire a bodyguard for you as well?”

Callie bit her lip impishly. “We will play nicely with Simon, won’t we, Jamie?”

“If you say so, Callie.”

She watched as Sin left them. Then she reached for Jamie’s hand and walked back to the castle, with Simon by her side. “Simon, how long have you known Lord Sin?”

“He was nine when King Stephen sent him to foster with my stepfather.”

So, he had known him for quite some time. That was good. Mayhap this knight could help her better understand the man who would be her husband.

As they entered the castle, Jamie pulled away from her and bounded up the stairs ahead of them.

“Know you why he is so sad?” she asked.

Simon gave her a suspicious stare. “How did you—”

“His eyes. He hides it well, but every now and again I see it.”

Simon took a deep breath as they climbed the dark stairs. A muscle worked in his jaw, as if he were warring within himself over whether or not he should tell her anything about his friend. Finally he spoke. “He has many reasons, milady.”

“Such as?”

“I was just a boy when Sin was brought to us, but I remember that night vividly. King Stephen’s men had been unkind to him on his long journey to our home, and when he entered the great hall, his eyes were blackened from punches. His nose was still bleeding and his lips and jaw swollen. It looked as if they had
dragged him the whole way to Ravenswood over the roughest roads they could find.

“They had shackled him in irons about his neck and hands. Still, he stood erect and faced Harold of Ravenswood with a strength and dignity few
men
possessed. The old earl was renowned only for his cruelty and love of all things brutal, and as such even the stoutest of heart was known to grow a bit pale when they looked upon him. And yet here was a boy who stood without flinching. One who met the earl with his lips curled and his eyes narrowed in hatred. Harold asked him how it came to be that he held such courage before him.”

Simon dropped his voice and whispered in her ear so that Jamie wouldn’t overhear his words. “Sin said he was hell-spawned from the loins of a whore and sired by a heartless bastard.”

She sucked in her breath at such horrendous words. She could barely imagine a child saying such.

“He told Harold that he had no soul and there was nothing Harold could ever do to hurt him.” His eyes bleak, Simon sighed. “All I can say to that is that Harold took up that challenge and did everything he could to make Sin bow down to him in fear.”

Her chest drew tight at the words. She slid her gaze to Jamie as the lad swept into their room, and tried to imagine him in such a state. All little Jamie had ever known was loving arms and a doting family. She didn’t even want to think what it would take to make a child like the one Simon described. Just how much
had Sin suffered? And why? Why would anyone do such a thing to a mere lad?

Everyone deserved love. It was what her mother, God rest her soul, had always taught her.

“Why was he in chains?” she asked as they joined Jamie in the room.

Talking loudly to himself, her brother knelt before their trunk and started digging out the toys Aelfa had brought for him. He lined the knights up and catapulted them with his shoes while she and Simon went to stand by the window.

“Sin was a political hostage. Sent as a guarantee that his father would no longer oppose King Stephen.”

Callie grew quiet as she remembered the story one of the courtiers had told her of William the Marshal after she had met William her first day at King Henry’s court. Like Sin, William had once been handed over to King Stephen in guarantee of his father’s good behavior. When William’s father returned to warring against the king, Stephen had almost killed the lad.

What she remembered most were the cruel words John Fitz Gilbert had shouted down to Stephen when the king reminded him of his son William, who would bear the punishment of his father’s actions:
Go ahead and kill him. I have hammer and anvil with which to forge even stronger sons
.

It was obvious Sin’s father had been of like mind. How horrible for Sin. Her own father would have killed any man who even looked askance at one of his children.

Simon caught one of the toy knights as it flew through the air and handed it back to Jamie, who whooped and howled at his game.

“Tell me, Simon, is there a lady Lord Sin fancies?”

Simon shook his head as he returned to her side. “He keeps his own company. He learned long ago to trust no one. Not even a woman.”

BOOK: Born in Sin
10.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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