His Conquest (23 page)

He cupped her face within his hands, pressed a gentle kiss upon her mouth. “I will return, on that I swear.” And he would, if he had to crawl. He started to turn.

“Wait.” Linet hurried over to a door he’d not noticed before. She pulled the heavy wood open.

Brighde stumbled out, her eyes wide as they fell upon Seathan. “Dauid?”

The sight of the battered, bruised woman filled him with fresh rage, but he focused on the fact that she lived. “Is hiding in the dungeon with my men.”

Relief swept the woman’s face. Then she stared with shock and relief at Tearlach sprawled upon the floor.

“He will harm you no more,” Seathan said.

Another Scottish war cry echoed from below.

Seathan turned to Linet. The feelings she inspired burst within his heart. There was so much he wanted to tell her.

And no time.

“Stay here until I return,” he ordered.

Defiance appeared through the bruises darkening upon her face. She reached down, lifted her brother’s sword.

Seathan’s eyes narrowed. “You will not fight.”

She swallowed hard. “It was my brother who brought devastation to many.”

“Fulke is dead.” He gently removed the blade from her hands, set it upon the bed. “The responsibility of Breac Castle is mine.”

Shock widened her eyes. “Breac Castle is
my
home.”

“Nay, Breac Castle belongs to Scotland. I reclaim what is rightfully ours.”

The cacophany of blades echoed below, this time closer.

Bedamned. “We will talk when I return. Stay here!” Seathan turned and bolted toward the battle below.

Emotion swamped Linet as she stood on the wall walk and stared through the crenellations at the setting sun. The orange-red glow embraced the land, a soft silk of color blanketing the roll of hills and endless forest beyond. Her home was safe. She curled her hand upon the weathered stone.

No, this majestic fortress was no longer her home.

After the rebels had defeated her brother’s knights, as Seathan had promised before he’d bolted from Fulke’s chamber, he’d reclaimed it for the Scottish cause. His seizing this formidable stronghold for the rebels made sense, and after the weapons were secured, he’d stood in the middle of the bailey and accepted fealty from her brothers’ men.

But a part of her grieved for a home lost.

The wave of linen had her looking down. Warmth filled her at the sight of Dauid and his wife below, how he held her in the shadows.

Linet turned away from their private moment, thankful they’d been given a second chance. Before the knights within the castle, Seathan had surprised Dauid by appointing him master-at-arms of Breac Castle. He and his wife would remain here, never again to be apart.

Theirs was a happy ending, a fate that would elude her. But she had plans and would make her own path, the life before her one within the Highlands.

“I thought I would find you here.”

At Seathan’s deep burr, she turned. An ache built in her heart as she stared at the powerful Scottish lord, a man who commanded many, a man as admired as feared, but to her, the man who’d taught her to love. Surrounded by the green of the forest and the flow of streams, this powerful Scot had won her heart. But he still shielded his love from her, and with his emotional scars, he forever would.

“I have always enjoyed standing upon the wall walk and looking over the land,” she said, her voice calm, giving no hint of the turbulent emotions brewing inside.

He caught her waist and drew her to him. “’Tis almost as beautiful as you.”

Within the safety of his arms, her heart ached. She wanted the one thing he would never give. She knew that now, had known it since she’d watched him walk toward her after the battle. Since then, he’d not spoken of their future, only plans to strengthen Breac Castle’s defenses.

His life.

One that did not include her.

He lowered his mouth to hers, soft, intense. Tears threatened to fall. With a sigh, he drew back, the desire in his eyes stealing her breath.

“The night falls, Breac Castle is secured, and we have supped. Come with me, I wish to make love to a woman who moves me as no other.”

She moved him as no other
. She doubted his feelings would ever be more, or for her, enough. “I love you,” she whispered. Piercing green eyes stared at her, hard, hot, with an intensity she’d never seen. Silence spread, swirled around her.

She held her breath. Waited for those magical words, but his silence proclaimed the truth. Only in the privacy of the bedroom would he show her the depth he felt for her. Words he was incapable of saying—ever.

“Linet, I—”

“I am not asking for a vow in return. This night I wish to share your bed as well.”

On a groan, Seathan lifted Linet in his arms. He cradled her against him, and headed toward the stairs.

The haze of morning light filtered through the chamber, nudging Seathan awake. The scent of their lovemaking was soft against the fresh spring breeze. A smile touched his face as he thought of the many times he and Linet had made love throughout the night. He might have initiated their love play last eve, but she’d quickly discovered and exploited his weaknesses as if a seasoned temptress.

Memories of her passion curled through his mind. What she made him feel had little to do with his needs and everything to do with a craving of his soul. She brought a fullness to his life that until he’d met her had never existed, not even with Iuliana, a woman whom he’d believed he’d loved. Now he understood what he’d felt for her paled in comparison to the emotions Linet inspired.

Aching to hold her, to smell the scent of her skin against his, to savor the smile that was uniquely hers, he rolled over and reached out.

His fingers slid through the tangle of sheets.

Seathan opened his eyes. A frown drew across his brow as he took in the empty swath of bed where she had lain, where her body had welcomed him, and where he’d taken her completely. He looked around the chamber.

Empty.

His heart stopped. Where was she?

The soft rustle of clothes had him turning toward the corner window. Blended within the shadows, Linet stared out the window as if transfixed by the dawning day.

“Linet?”

She started, slowly turned. A smile touched her mouth, but her lips held an edge of sadness.

Unease crept through him. “What is wrong?”

“I wish you to arrange an escort so that I may leave for the Highlands this day.”

Confused, he shoved to his feet. “Why? This is your home. You are free to remain.”

“My home?” A wisp of regret crept into her voice. “If this were truly my home, I would not have to be informed of what I am free or not free to do.” He started to speak but she shook her head. “Unless I am imprisoned, I will go.”

She was not making an ounce of sense. “I would never imprison you.”

“Then you will let me leave?”

No!
He wanted her to stay so he could go to her in the night, so she could forever share his dreams. But were his the wants of a selfish man? By keeping her at Breac Castle, he placed her in danger. Once King Edward learned he’d seized the Scottish stronghold, Longshanks would retaliate.

Neither could he forget the grief on her face as they’d buried Tearlach. Though she despised her brother, she held fond memories of their childhood, of loving the man before his soul had turned black.

No, he couldn’t lose her. However wrong, however selfish, he didn’t want her to leave. “Stay with me.”

Linet watched him, lavender eyes so intense it was as if she looked straight to his soul. “Desire is but temporary. I need more.”

Heart aching, Seathan walked over and cupped her face within his hands. “You said you loved me.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “Do not.”

Then he understood the errant path where her thoughts had strayed. Seathan laughed, joy pouring through him.

Linet tried to break free. “Let me go.”

He sobered. “And if I did, I would be a grand fool. I love you, Linet. Do you not realize that, you daft woman?”

She stopped struggling. “What?”

His heart swelled as if it would burst. “Never did I believe I would trust another woman, but you have taught me to trust, and more importantly, to love.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “I would rather live a day with you than endure a lifetime of living alone.”

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

“I could not have received a finer present than to be blessed by the gift of you.” He paused, needing her to understand. “I have wronged you, am unworthy of your love, but it changes naught. I love you. If you leave me, I shall never recover. You are my heart, my soul, and the woman I will always love. Stay with me, Linet. Be my wife.”

Emotions tightened her throat as she stared at Seathan, at the man who made her complete. “When I freed you from the cell,” she whispered, “I was furious Fulke dared to betray me, to steal away my right to choose a man I loved to wed. I swore then that never again would anyone, except myself, choose my destiny.”

“Never would I take away your choice.” Seathan pressed a soft kiss upon her lips. “I love you, Linet, for the woman you are. I demand not that you marry me. I want your love given freely or…not at all.”

His words sifted through her as if a wish granted, an offering she’d never believed he’d bestow. The gemstone within her pocket softly warmed. She did not need to look to know it glowed, or to understand that however much he believed otherwise, magic existed.

“Kiss me, Seathan.”

He hesitated. “You did not say whether you would be my wife.”

“Did I not?” she replied with a smile, her heart full. “You are the man I love, the man I pledge my heart to, and the man who has taught me to believe that love is the greatest healer of them all.”

“That still is not a yes.”

Linet laughed, warmth and happiness erasing the lingering shadows in her heart. “Then, may I say…yes.”

He swept her into his arms and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss, his tongue demanding, taking, igniting heat in her very core. With a happiness she’d never believed possible, she poured her soul into the kiss.

Seathan may have claimed Breac Castle, but she had stolen this Scottish rebel’s heart.