Never Love a Highlander (24 page)

“You’ve a very generous spirit, wife.”

“There is something I want in return,” she said as she slid one hand down to cup him intimately.

His eyes gleamed with quick understanding. “Oh? And what is that?”

She continued to caress him through the material of his trews. “A good husband would be mindful of his wife in her present condition. She needs lots of care and attention.”

“Does she now?”

“Oh aye, she does,” Rionna whispered. “Lots of tender, loving handling by her husband.”

“I think I can accommodate her.”

He bent and picked her up and walked to the bed where he lowered her onto the straw mattress.

“In fact, I think I should give her lots of extra loving.”

“Oh, I do, too,” Rionna breathed.

He stood back and stripped off his clothing, and then he leaned over her and worked the gown over her head until she was naked and breathless beneath him.

For a long moment he simply stood over her and stared down at her body. Then he cupped both hands over her belly before kneeling on the floor in front of her. He parted his hands and then pressed a kiss to her stomach, so soft and tender that her heart felt near to bursting.

She smoothed her hands over his hair and then dug her fingers into his scalp, holding him against the very heart of her.

“You hold our future in your womb, lass,” Caelen murmured against her belly. “ ’Tis what binds our two clans and makes them one.”

“ ’Tis an important obligation you give our child.”

He kissed her again and then kissed a path down to the juncture of her legs. With gentle fingers, he parted her flesh and pressed his tongue to the sensitive flesh at her core.

She moaned softly and writhed beneath his mouth as he loved her with his lips and tongue. He was exceedingly patient, never tiring as he brought her wave after wave of pleasure.

He pushed her to the brink only to let up and let the tide slowly recede. Then he’d work her back up again, each time more intense than the last.

He left her panting for breath and so tense that her muscles ached. She begged for him to stop and then for him never to stop. Her hoarse pleas rose, each one making less sense than the last.

Then his mouth left her and he fitted his cock to her opening and slid deep in one forceful lunge. His body blanketed hers, warming her to the bone. Never had she felt quite so safe, like nothing could ever hurt her.

He was inside her, not just physically, but in her heart and soul. He was all she could think of, all she could see and hear. He’d spoken of her carrying their future, but he was her future. He was all she wanted. All she needed.

There was no sign of her rough, possessive lover this night. The man who’d so ruthlessly taken her so many nights past had been replaced by a gentle warrior who treated her as though she were infinitely fragile, a priceless treasure to be cherished above all else.

He held her to him and stroked back and forth, gliding effortlessly through her damp heat. Through it all, his mouth never left her flesh. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids, and then he nuzzled down to her ear and below to her neck.

Never had she been so thoroughly worshipped by a man, not even by her husband till now. He’d loved her, aye. He’d loved her as well as a man could ever love a wife, but there was a marked difference this night.

Tonight …’twas as if he loved her with his heart instead of just his body. Tonight, she loved him not just with her body, but with her very soul.

When she cried out with her release, he held her against him, not taking his own until he’d seen to her pleasure. Then and only then did he thrust deep and empty himself into her depths.

Afterward, she snuggled into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. He was hard and sticky between her thighs, but she cared not. She didn’t want to separate herself from him for the time it would take to cleanse them both.

She held him close until his breathing became deep and even. He was wholly relaxed against her, limp and sated and so very warm.

She sighed and stroked a hand over his shoulder, knowing he was already asleep.

“I love you, husband. ’Tis the truth I never expected to give you my heart. I know not if it’s even what you want from me, but ’tis yours all the same. Someday … Someday I’ll have yours in return,” she whispered against his skin.

She closed her eyes and settled against him, fatigue sliding over her skin like a blanket. Within moments she, too, slept.

Caelen lay in the dark, his arms tight around Rionna as she slept. Her words echoed in his ears, playing over and over again until he knew they were no trick of his hearing.

His wife loved him. He knew not what to make of this development. He’d loved before and it had come to no good and yet he knew that love existed. He’d seen it between his brothers and their wives. He knew his brothers loved their women with a ferocity uncommon to most marriages.

Love required sacrifice. It required trust and faith. It required making yourself completely vulnerable to the one you loved.

The thought sent a knot deep into his belly.

The last time he’d offered a woman his complete trust and faith, she’d destroyed his clan.

C
HAPTER
26

When Rionna woke the next morning, it was early still and the only light in the chamber came from the hearth and one lone candle on the wooden desk that housed Caelen’s personal belongings. He sat in silence, quill in hand as he scratched ink onto one of his scrolls.

She watched, fascinated by the image he presented. His brow was creased in concentration and every once in awhile he dipped the quill back into the inkwell and then went back to his writings.

’Twas the first time she’d seen him using the scrolls, but now she wondered if he did so every morn before she woke. So many times she’d awakened to him sliding deep into her body, but perhaps he tended to personal matters first.

She lay still, waiting for him to come to her, and took the opportunity to study her husband in secret.

He was such a handsome man. He had a ruggedness that appealed to every one of her feminine instincts. Strong. Scarred, not perfect. Perhaps that would be a strike against him with another woman, but not Rionna. Her warrior’s heart embraced each mark as a badge of honor.

There was a slight ridge on his nose that suggested it had been broken in the past. But his face was otherwise unblemished, chiseled by strong cheekbones and a firm jaw. His pale green eyes mesmerized her. They were an odd shade shared by his two brothers, and Rionna imagined her own babe with the same green eyes.

A lass with her father’s dark hair and beautiful eyes. Rionna would need all of her fighting skills to keep the warriors from her daughter’s doorstep.

She held her breath when Caelen put away his quill and carefully rolled the scroll closed. He stood and walked quietly over to the bed. Her entire body tingled in anticipation of his possession.

But instead of grasping her hips and pulling her to the edge of the bed, he leaned down and brushed his lips across her forehead, letting them linger just a moment before he backed away and silently left the room.

She stared after him, mystified and … disappointed. Her entire body was on edge. A pulsing ache had begun deep at her center and now her husband was gone and she was lying, staring at the ceiling.

She let out a sigh and turned on her side to stare into the fire. Her gaze skirted over the writing table and the scrolls lying neatly to the side. What was it that Caelen wrote when he was alone with his thoughts?

Caelen stood before the assembled clan, Rionna at his side. He addressed them from the balcony that jutted over the courtyard. Men, women, and children had gathered to hear the laird’s announcement and when he declared that Rionna was with child, the response was cheers from some and silence from others.

Simon and Arlen stepped forward, their swords thrust high in the air, but even their stamp of approval didn’t sway many of the warriors.

Hugh stepped up beside Simon and Arlen and glanced back at his kin before turning and looking up where Caelen stood with Rionna.

“Will the bairn be a McDonald or a McCabe?”

Caelen frowned. “A McCabe of course.”

Scowls spread through the assembled clansmen and grumbles rose. Many turned their backs and walked away.

Rionna slid her hand into Caelen’s. He could feel her tremble. He squeezed to reassure her.

“I’ll not tolerate disrespect toward my wife,” he said tightly.

“ ’Tis not Rionna we disrespect,” one hollered up before also turning away.

Caelen’s nostrils flared as he viewed the dismay on Rionna’s face. He’d had enough of his new clan and their animosity. ’Twas as if they wanted to be conquered and destroyed. He’d never been so sorely tempted to take his wife and return to McCabe lands and let the lot of them rot.

It was time to take a much harder line. He’d coddled them too long. They’d either come around or they’d leave.

Some of the joy had dimmed from Rionna’s eyes as she watched her clan turn their backs on her. She stared for a long moment before Caelen gently guided her back inside the keep.

As soon as they walked in, Rionna tugged her hand from Caelen’s and tossed up her hands in disgust. “How can they be so foolish? If Cameron marches on us tomorrow, we wouldn’t have a chance. Our only hope is to hide behind a larger, stronger clan and allow them to do our fighting for us. ’Tis shameful. Never once have I been ashamed to call myself a McDonald, but today I weep over the disgrace.”

Caelen touched her shoulder in an effort to offer comfort. She didn’t need to be so distressed. Surely it couldn’t be good for the baby.

It was hard to stand there and offer support when he was so furious he could barely see straight.

She wrung her hands and paced back and forth on the landing above the stairs. “Maybe I should address them. I know you are against it, but perhaps I can make them see reason.”

Caelen held up his hand and waited for her to go quiet. “ ’Tis not your place to command these men, Rionna. I am their laird and we will not be a clan until they accept that. I cannot make them embrace their duty.”

“I would not blame you if you took your leave of this place and returned to your family,” she whispered. “Surely the McCabes can make a more honorable alliance than with my clan.”

He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin atop her head. “We have time. Ewan will not make war when the winter is so harsh around us. I’ll not quit my duty. ’Tis not just a matter of your clan and mine now. This is my son or daughter’s future and I’ll not walk away from that.”

“What will you do then?”

He pulled her away. “I want you to remain indoors. ’Tis cold today and a storm is brewing to the north.”

“And you?” she persisted.

“I have matters to attend to with the men.”

Rionna looked fearful, but he wouldn’t back down. Not even for her. ’Twas past time for him to beat some sense into his clansmen. Talking had done no good. Neither had explaining their inadequacies. ’Twas time to show them.

Leaving Rionna inside the keep, he strode out to the courtyard. “Assemble the men,” he said to Gannon. “I want every one accounted for. If one refuses, use whatever force necessary. Spare them no humiliation. ’Tis time to stop this senseless coddling.”

Gannon’s mouth twisted into a savage smile of satisfaction. “ ’Tis about bloody time.” He drew his sword and stalked away, shouting the order to assemble once again.

Caelen stood in the middle of the courtyard as the men gathered round, their expressions rife with speculation. He stared them down, his gaze stony and unyielding.

When Gannon gestured to him that the last man had assembled, Caelen drew his sword and leveled the point toward the crowd and turned so they were all included in his gesture.

“ ’Tis time to make a choice. If you are with me and accept me as your laird, you will step forward, make your pledge, and swear your allegiance. If you are nay accepting of me as your laird, then step forward with your challenge. If you are able to best me in battle, I’ll leave McDonald land and never return.”

A series of guffaws and sounds of disbelief spread through the crowd.

“You intend to challenge us all?”

The jeer came from the crowd.

Caelen’s lip curled into a snarl. “I intend to show you that one McCabe warrior is worth a hundred of you.”

“I’ll take that challenge,” Jamie McDonald said as he stepped forward.

He was a cocky lad, still afflicted by a brush of youth. He hadn’t yet proved himself a man, and Caelen shook his head.

“You’re starting easy on me, I see.”

Jamie’s face flushed a dull red, and before Caelen could draw his sword the boy ran at him with a yell. Caelen dodged the clumsy charge, drew his sword, and brought his fist down on the boy’s head as he stumbled past. The lad went sprawling, his sword flying several feet in the other direction.

Caelen shook his head in disgust. “No restraint. My wife wields a sword a hundred times better.”

Jamie picked himself up, his face a tight knot of fury at the insult.

“Hard to fight without a sword,” Gannon drawled. He bent to retrieve the weapon and then tossed it to the side. “Stand aside, lad. You’ve been bested already.”

As the afternoon wore on, the swords piled higher, with Gannon tossing aside one after another. As Caelen dispatched the men, they were directed to sit to the side and watch as the next clansmen took up the charge.

’Twas obvious the more skilled warriors waited until last, when Caelen was tiring. It took him longer than he had liked to dispatch Oren McDonald, and the man actually managed to stagger Caelen before Caelen sent his sword flying toward the discard pile.

When the next McDonald stepped forward, Caelen issued a silent groan. ’Twas Seamus McDonald, and he was a mountain of a man. Heavily muscled with legs and arms like tree trunks, a chest as broad as a boulder, and no neck to speak of.

He wasn’t terribly adept with a sword, but he could smash a man with his bare hands.