His Bonnie Bride (25 page)

Hugh swore harshly in fury and disbelief. "Let me see the girl. Mayhaps you have naught to trade with."

Colin signaled two men to step forward as he undid the ribbon that held back Storm's hair. "That will leave him in no doubt o' who ye be, lassie. Go on. Step forward and call out to him."

Storm had no idea how well she stood out with her brilliant hair tossed by the wind and the torchlight illuminating it fully as she leaned on the battlement and called, "Did ye wish to see me, Sir Hugh?"

"Aye, I wished to see you," Hugh said, mocking her polite tone of voice, "I have your lover here, Storm."

"Ye cannae let him ken that ye care, lassie," Colin said quietly. "Play it hard, child. Play the cold bitch."

"So ye do. How goes it, Tavis?" she asked idly as she sat down, straddling the parapet.

"It has been better, little one," Tavis called back and, seeing the white of her slim leg against the wall added, "Ye have nay put on any wretched stockings, ye fool lass."

"Mayhaps I thought to incite Hugh's troops to riot," she replied, slowly swinging her leg, causing the people upon the walls to snicker and Tavis to grin fleetingly before an angry Hugh gave a vicious tug on the rope.

"Come out, Storm, and I will release your lover to his family unharmed."

"Why should I when his own father has said 'tis no trade?" she asked idly. "I care not to come to ye."

"Do you care not what happens to your Scottish stallion?" Hugh refused to believe that he had failed, that holding the heir to Caraidland would gain him little.

"Aye, I care, for 'tis a fine stallion he is but, though it will sore grieve me to lose his, shall we say, affections, he is nay irreplaceable." She caught Sholto by the hand and tugged him to her side. "I have a wide choice of stud, Sir Hugh." Sholto obligingly put his arm around her. "I will survive the loss." She fought down the embarrassment of speaking so crudely.

"Am I to believe that the proud Storm Eldon has become naught but a whore to the Scots?" sneered Hugh, unaware of how close Tavis had come to attacking his captor, bound wrists and all. "Are you now to be ridden by all?"

" 'Tis a sort ye know well, Sir Hugh. Nay, I merely see no point in giving myself over to a gelding. 'Tis a love of the horses Sir Hugh has," she murmured to Sholto, who laughed as he began to toy with her hair.

Sir Hugh clenched his hands and snarled softly before he shouted, " 'Tis your last chance, Storm Eldon. Come down to me and I will return Tavis to his family. You are the price for his freedom."

"Here is my final answer to your offer, Sir Hugh," Storm called back as she slipped her arms around Sholto's neck and proceeded to kiss him, finding a little too much cooperation on his part.

Tavis was surprised to find that he was not jealous, that he clearly saw it as only part of the little farce being played out for Sir Hugh and that he had absolutely no fear that Storm would really bed Sholto. Sir Hugh looked near to having a seizure as he watched the pair upon the battlements kiss to the hearty encouragement of their fellows. Storm could not have chosen any better way to convince the man that there was no chance of a trade or that she cared little for her lover's fate.

"Methinks ye play the game too seriously, rogue," Storm murmured to Sholto when the kiss ended.

"Play your whore's games then, bitch," Sir Hugh roared. "I will see you crawl yet."

"Only away from ye, Sir Hugh. Always and ever away."

"Think of what I am doing to your lover whilst you enjoy your new rider, Eldon slut."

Storm did not see Sholto wince as her grip upon his arm tightened convulsively. "I would keep Tavis away from dear Lady Mary, Sir Hugh, or she will see what a wee man ye are."

"Have ye any words of advice, Tavis?" Sholto called as Sir Hugh stormed off, leaving someone else to bring Tavis and causing several of his men to stumble over each other as they tried to light his way.

"Aye," Tavis called as he was led off, "if ye get a bit weary, ye let her do the riding. She likes that. Aye, and Sholto, ye have inherited a mouth worth a king's ransom."

He was not surprised to hear a burst of angry Irish flow from the battlements, although he did not like the way she was standing upon the parapet to hurl the words at him, despite how glorious she looked up there. It was also not to his liking to talk of her that way, but it was necessary to the game. She was playing the cold-hearted whore for Sir Hugh's benefit, and so he had to act as if she were one. A sigh of relief escaped him when she was yanked down from her precarious position and he turned to watch where he was going.

In the dark of the wood on the south side of Caraidland, a lone watcher shared the laughter of the Scots. Hadden had reached his viewing place with ease, for the guard was weak on that side, as no one expected a threat from that direction. He had a long ride before him, but he started on his way with a light heart. Storm was safe and there was clearly no chance that she would be handed over to Sir Hugh.

"Lord, lassie, ye near stopped me puir old heart, standing up there like that," said Colin as he sat next to a now calm and somewhat despondent Storm. " 'Tis a wonder your father's hair wasnae snow white if ye carried on so at Hagaleah. Just what were ye shouting after that impudent son o' mine?"

A weak smile touched her wan face. "Let us just say that, if my curses take, he will be a changed man." She clasped Phelan's hand when he came to sit near her. "Sir Hugh is not a sane man when he is enraged."

"Aye, I ken that weel, lass. Still, 'tis sure I am that he'll nay kill the lad. The possible ransom will tempt him. I ken he is a greedy man, and Tavis is like coin in his hand. He'll nay toss it aside." He patted her shoulder. "Go and rest, lass. Dawn will bring a fair bit o' work for ye ladies."

As he watched her leave with Phelan, Sholto murmured, "That Tavis is one lucky bastard."

"I kenned ye were enjoying that kiss," Colin said with a chuckle. " 'Tis a sweet mouth, I ken."

"Lord, it turns a man's bones to water. Are we to leave Tavis in Sir Hugh's hands then?"

"We maun do so, lad, though it grieves me. Sir Hugh will not kill the lad. He'll have an eye to the possible ransom," Colin mused, voicing Tavis's assumptions. "They will be awatching for an attempt to free him, and I cannae lose e'en one fighting man. When the battle begins in the morn he may e'en be safer there."

Storm thought that Tavis was in extreme danger, although she, too, felt that Sir Hugh would not kill him. She sat drinking ale with Maggie and Phelan, her mind picturing all that Sir Hugh would do to Tavis. The man might not kill Tavis, but he could have Tavis praying that he would. At long last, an idea came to her. Maggie needed some hearty persuading, but soon not only provided them with what was needed but even told her and Phelan of a way to slip out of Caraidland.

Sholto saw a small figure dart to the stables and frowned. Thinking Iain asleep, he quietly left his post to follow. Iain watched him through half-closed eyes and, after a moment, followed him. He, too, had seen the small figure, and he knew that Sholto's admiration for his eldest brother's lover had been deepened to a dangerous level by the kiss and the tense yet stirring atmosphere of battle. They faced a fight and, quite possibly, death on the morrow. Iain feared it would make Sholto reckless.

At the back of the stables Storm busily cleared off a trap door. It opened up to a tunnel that would lead her out into the wood on the Eldon side of Caraidland. Maggie had explained that it had been used for slipping out during a siege and raiding the Eldon camp. It would serve her purposes excellently.

It was not until she flopped on her back upon a pile of straw that she realized she was not alone. Wide-eyed, she stared up at Sholto. His gaze was busily surveying her attire of a black tunic, snug black breeches and soft dark boots. Her hand nervously clutched a black knit cap and black gloves. Neither saw Iain slip into the stables and find a spot to watch from, yet not be seen.

"Planning to go somewhere, lass?" Sholto drawled, his gaze lingering on her heaving breasts.

Too distraught to fully notice desire's hold on Sholto, she replied, "Aye. To get Tavis."

"Nay. I cannae allow that." His gaze drifted to her glorious hair and he ached.

"Why not? Do ye have any better ideas?" she snapped, her annoyance at being caught winning out over diplomacy.

"Aye, I do, lass," he said softly, "but they havenae a muckle lot to do with rescuing Tavis."

Too late she recognized the look in his indigo eyes. She gasped in surprise when he pinned her down onto the hay with his lean body. He took ready advantage of her parted lips. To her shame, his kiss brought a response from her. He was very experienced and she was very vulnerable.

"Nay, Sholto," she groaned as his mouth worked its way to her throat, but she had no strength to fight.

"Aye, Storm."

His nimble fingers found and quickly undid the laces of her tunic. To his delight, she wore nothing underneath. First his eyes, then his hands moved over what he thought of as perfection. The hardened nipples tantalized his palms and proved her desire. He tore his gaze from her breasts to look into her eyes. A shaky, indrawn breath hissed through his teeth as he met eyes of molten gold, a sight that had always sent Tavis reeling. There was, however, more than desire to be read there; there was desperation.

"Do not do this," she pleaded softly even as she arched against him in reaction to his caress.

"Ye want me," he said huskily as his thumbs teased the taut ends of her breasts until she moaned. "Your body tells me that in a dozen different ways." His fingers unlaced her breeches.

"My body has been well taught. Aye, it screams yes, but my heart and mind scream nay."

" 'Tis not them I seek to possess," he growled as his hungry mouth played over her breasts.

Storm nearly sank beneath a wave of indiscriminate desire. Iain felt for her. He knew her emotions were running high and that she was vulnerable. The man she loved, and he was sure she loved Tavis, was in serious danger. The man she loved had also never spoken of love. She was in the midst of a battle, caught on the inside with her hereditary enemies while a new and more dangerous foe lurked outside. She was also alone, her kin and friends dead. It was not fair of Sholto to take advantage of that extreme vulnerability, yet Iain could understand it. On the morrow they could die. Just once Sholto wanted to taste all he had admired from a distance. Iain had felt the urge himself, but had concealed it. He would see that Sholto controlled his desire as well, but he could not break in yet. It would be better for them to resolve it themselves.

"Please, Sholto, do not," she gasped as his hand slid inside her breeches to caress that which only Tavis had ever known. "I do not want this. I do not," she stressed, but her voice was husky with desire.

He lifted his head from the breasts he had been savoring to stare at her, one hand brushing the hair from her face while his other continued to caress her womanhood. "Your mouth says nay, but this"—he felt her squirm beneath his gentle, seductive probing—"this says aye. 'Tis warm and ready for a man."

She tried to pull his tormenting hand away, but when she clutched his arms her fingers would not pull, only grip. " 'Tis just that I have no control. There is so much troubling me, making me weak. Do not take advantage of that. Heed my words, not my body, for it betrays me. This is so very wrong."

Cupping her face between his hands, he settled himself between her thighs and moved against her with a subtle urgency that made her tremble. "Is it? Feel what ye do to a man. Is it wrong for me to want to satisfy that? I want ye and I want to satisfy that craving ere I meet what could be my last dawn."

"That is unfair," she whispered. "First ye play upon my passions and now my sympathy."

"Lass, an it will get me inside, 'tis little I willnae do. He doesnae love ye," he said, and suddenly knew that he lied.

"I know."

"He willnae wed ye. Comes the time or the choice, and ye will be on a horse back to England."

"I know that too."

"Then why, lass? Why deny the wants of our bodies? The pleasure we could share?"

It was difficult to keep from weeping, but she replied in a small voice, "I love Tavis."

Sholto went very still and studied her. Then, with a groan, he collapsed upon her, burying his face in her breasts, and his hands clenched into fists at each side of her head. She lay still for a moment to see what he would do next, but then she shifted a little beneath the weight of him.

"God's teeth, woman," he rasped. "Dinnae move. Lie as still as the dead. If ye wriggle, I'll be at ye again."

Storm lay so still she nearly forgot to breathe. It was a few moments before he rose to his knees and began to do up her laces. His face was pale and drawn, and Storm felt both sorry and guilty. If she had not responded, he would not be suffering the ache of unfulfilled desire.

"Ye would have hated yourself afterward," she said softly as he moved off of her to sprawl on his back at her side.

"I ken that. I'm nay too fond of meself now." He took a deep breath. "I am sorry, lass."

" 'Tis naught, Sholto," she murmured, and meant it, as she tucked her hair into her cap. "Phelan will be along soon."

"Oh, aye?" Sholto sat up. "Ye arenae going out o' Caraidland, lass."

"I am. Phelan and I are going to bring Tavis back."

"Nay, 'tis foolhardy. He'll be all right. Sir Hugh willnae kill him. He's worth a high ransom."

"Aye. I am sure Sir Hugh will keep Tavis alive for that. At least until he is certain of victory. 'Tis not that which I fear. Ye do not know the man as I do."

"I ken that he's a bastard what beats wee lasses near to death and consorts with an amoral whore." Sholto grabbed her gloves away before she could don them. "Tavis can hold through a beating, lass."

"I am sure he can, though I have little wish that he must needs prove it. That, too, is not what I fear. The man wants me for my fortune, though I think 'tis also because I say nay to him. That enrages him. It enrages him that another man has had what he saw as his. The way Tavis humiliated him that day also enrages him. Sir Hugh is not a sane man when he gets into a rage. He also enjoys inflicting pain. He, as well as Lady Mary, are stirred by the inflicting of pain. So stirred that they made love by my side ere they ceased beating me.