Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) (22 page)

“Ye seem tae have
forgotten about the dishes,” he teased, pressing himself against his wife’s
delicious bottom.

“You have a way of
doing that to me, Husband,” Anna smiled, her face flushing with color.

“I’ll leave ye be
and wait for ye tae join me when yer done,” Rowan said in invitation, slowly
backing away from his wife and smiling to himself as he walked back over to the
fire and settled himself in the chair.  Rowan loved the way that Anna responded
to his touch.  He took joy in unnerving her, knowing that she could easily do
the same to him, and in fact, often did so.

Anna watched her
husband as the fire reflected on his handsome face.  She knew that he was tired,
but he never complained.  Rowan worked so hard, side-by-side with his brothers,
doing everything in his power to build a life for her.  Her beautiful man had
seen so much, had lost so much in his short life, but his spirit remained, wild
and unbroken.  Oh how she loved him. 

Arousal began to
build between Anna’s thighs as she watched her husband, in all of his shirtless
glory, warm himself before the fire.  His skin was golden from working in the
sun and his muscles had developed even more from the fruits of hard manual labor. 
Rowan’s chest was expansive and sinewy with muscle. Anna’s eyes lingered over
the muscles of his arms and trailed over the sinew that built his flat
abdominal muscles, which tapered deliciously beneath his linen pants.  When she
thought of just what lay beneath Rowan’s pants, she felt her feminine parts
constrict.

The dishes would
have to wait.

Drying her hands
on her skirt, Anna briskly walked behind Rowan and into the small bedroom that
they shared.  Boldly, she slipped out of her homespun dress and let down her
hair, running her fingers through the blonde masses so that they would cascade
down her back.  She knew that this was how Rowan liked her hair best.  Biting
her lower lip in anticipation, Anna lifted her chin and walked completely naked
back out into the main room of the cabin.  Loving Rowan made her feel bold,
reckless, and powerful.

Anna walked behind
her husband.  Rowan’s eyes had drifted closed as he savored the warmth of the
fire.  Anna bent down and kissed Rowan on the cheek.  She felt his lips turn up
into a delicious smile.  Anna trailed her fingers lightly over the skin of
Rowan’s collarbone and moved to stand in front of him.

“Rowan,” she
whispered huskily, standing completely naked before the fire.

Rowan’s eyes
opened slowly and then flew open widely.

“Lord in heaven!”
he exclaimed with an awed look of astonishment on his face.  His mouth hung
open in a perfect “O” as he gaped at his beautifully naked wife.

Anna moved forward
boldly and straddled her husband, her breasts bobbing seductively against his
bare chest.

Rowan’s hands were
on her at once.  He growled low in his throat, eyes devouring Anna as she sat
erotically atop his quickly growing erection.

“Ye’ll be the
death of me, love,” he whispered appreciatively as he nuzzled her neck and
trailed his fingers down the side of her breast to the subtle curve of her
waist.

“I want you, husband,”
Anna confessed, moving against his manhood, causing pleasure to shoot through
her veins as the rough linen of Rowan’s pants brushed intimately against her
sex.

“I can see that
verra well,” Rowan chuckled, moving his hands up to support Anna’s back.  He
took her pink nipple eagerly into his mouth and suckled. 

Anna arched back
in pleasure.  Rowan’s arms were there, waiting and ready to support her as he
teased her nipple with his mouth.  Anna’s hands were on his chest, sliding up
his shoulders and across his strong arms as he supported her.  She slid a hand
through his wet hair, groaning as Rowan suckled her breast.

“I want you now,
Rowan,” Anna demanded, needing relief from the pressure that was building deep
within her.

“I’m yours,
sweetheart.  Body and soul…take what ye need,” Rowan coaxed, his breath
whistling through his teeth as he fought to remain in control, fought to let
Anna take the lead in their lovemaking.

 Frantically, Anna
reached down between them and tugged the lacings of Rowan’s pants free,
exposing his pulsing erection.  She fitted her hand around him, and she smiled
devilishly as she began to torment her husband, sliding her hand up and down
his length.

Rowan let his head
fall back against the chair, savoring the feeling of his wife’s hand
surrounding his cock.  He gritted his teeth in response to her touch, working
hard to give her total control.  He needed to be inside of her now but forced
himself to hold back.

Rising up on her
tippy toes, Anna positioned Rowan at the entrance to her womanhood.  Watching
the passion flare in Rowan’s eyes, she lowered herself onto his shaft, inch by
delicious inch, until she was filled to the hilt by her husband.

Rowan closed his
eyes and groaned deeply, lost in pleasure that he felt at being buried deeply
in his wife.  Having her straddle him like this allowed him to penetrate her so
deeply, to possess her so completely.  He placed his hands on her hips and
began to move her, teaching her the rhythm of their lovemaking.

Rowan trailed his
fingers down Anna’s flat belly and found the bead of her desire, stroking her
lightly and causing her to call out with pleasure.

“Look at me,
sweetheart,” he coaxed, stroking Anna intimately as he tilted her chin down so
that he could see her eyes.  Her eyes were misty with passion.  Anna focused on
her husband, slowing her rhythm and savoring the love that she saw in his eyes
as he worshiped her with his body.  “I love ye sae much,” he said huskily as he
stared into Anna’s eyes.

“I love you too,”
Anna replied.  “So much that it hurts sometimes,” she said with a half-smile.

 “Look at me,
Anna,” Rowan demanded as he began to stroke his wife again, taking her back to
the brink of orgasm.  He thrust deeply into her, and her body came undone
around him, quivering with an explosive orgasm.  Her eyes held his as she
moaned loudly and then called out with the force of her orgasm. 

Rowan growled
loudly and joined his wife in her release, not being able to hold back his own
pleasure any longer.  He thrust powerfully into her and called out her name,
spilling his seed deep within her and surrendering to his own release.

Breathing heavily
from the exertion of the lovemaking, Rowan gathered his wife against his chest
and tucked her head into the space between his neck and shoulder.  He languidly
stroked her back, delighting in the goose bumps that spread over her skin as a
result of his faint touch.

“Have I told ye
today how happy ye make me?” Rowan whispered against Anna’s hair, pulling her
closer.

“Hmm?” Anna
mumbled, still lost in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

“It’s no just
this, ye ken.  I mean, I love doing this with ye…” Rowan chuckled and nipped at
Anna’s shoulder.  “I just want to make sure that I tell ye, that I never let ye
forget how happy ye’ve made me.”

“You make me so
happy too,” Anna said dreamily, still feeling drunk from the aftereffects of
loving her husband.

“I could stay like
this with ye forever,” Rowan whispered, relishing the feeling of Anna’s body
surrounding him still, savoring her intoxicating scent mingled with the scent
of their lovemaking.  “I want forever with ye, love,” he added longingly,
apprehension about Jonathan Arbor suddenly flooding his thoughts. 

His comment flew
past Anna, who was now deeply relaxed and satiated, arms wrapped tightly around
Rowan’s waist.  Rowan pushed his dark thoughts about Arbor from his mind,
gathered his wife protectively in his arms and carried her to bed.

Chapter Seventeen

Dearest Mother,

            I
have a wonderful husband and a wonderful life here in the New World.  I am
truly happy.  In fact, the happiness that I have found here knows no bounds.

            Although
our life here is comfortable, I will not be able to send you more money as I
had promised.  I hope that you will understand.   I am regretful that I could
not keep my promise.  I urge you to sell Stanton Place and join us here in America. 
I know that you would find renewed happiness here with us.  As always, I love
you Mother.

                                    Hopefully
Yours,

                                                Mrs.
Anna Murray

                                                North Carolina

..ooOoo..

Anna watched Rowan
from the edge of the forest, making a mental note to say an extra prayer for
her soul tonight because she was committing the deadly sin of lusting after her
husband.  She wondered if she would ever get enough of Rowan.

She watched Rowan
while he worked, safely concealed in the dense undergrowth of the trees.  He
had taken his shirt off and his tanned skin glistened with beads of sweat in
the afternoon sunlight.  Rowan’s shoulders were broad and the muscles of his
back rippled as he fought to tear the blade of the plow through the moist
soil.  The hard labor of farming had developed even the tiniest muscles in
Rowan’s arms and chest, and watching his magnificent physique till the soil
made Anna’s knees weak.

I’m so lucky
that he’s mine.

With one hand
resting on the handle of the plow, Rowan straightened his spine and looked up
towards the sun.  He was probably trying to gauge the time, Anna thought
smiling, knowing that he would be expecting her to arrive soon with his lunch.

They had been at
the farm for almost three weeks now, working their fingers to the bone next to
Quinn and Malcolm to get the fields planted so that they might harvest a small
crop before winter.  The two small cabins had been in a state of disrepair and
Anna had been struggling to bring them back to life, adding a few homey touches
where she might.  She had enjoyed making a home for Rowan and herself and
delighted in the daily rhythm of taking care of her husband and his brothers on
their small farm. These had been the happiest weeks of Anna’s life.

 Rowan raised his
left hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.  Anna noticed how his perfectly
muscled abdominals tapered into a low V that disappeared beneath the waistline
of his low-slung trousers.  She felt the heat spreading between her thighs as
she thought of just what was beneath his pants.

Anna took a deep
calming breath and walked into the field, carrying the lunch basket in her
hand.  Rowan smiled the instant that he saw her break through the trees and
deserted the plow, walking towards her.

“Hi, love,” he
said with a tired smile.  Rowan captured Anna into his arms for a lengthy kiss.

“Mmm…” Anna moaned
against his lips, her thoughts meandering back to what she had been thinking
about only moments earlier when she had been watching her husband from the
trees.

Rowan chuckled and
finished kissing Anna thoroughly, slapping her playfully on the bum.  He loved
how openly his sweet wife responded to his kisses, how she did not try to hide
her body’s response to him.  Rowan knew that Anna was thinking the same exact
thing he was.

“May I have that
blanket?” he asked mischievously, already moving to take the blanket from under
Anna’s arm.  He unfolded it and spread it right in the middle of the field, smiling
devilishly at Anna, who regarded him with a quizzical look.  Usually they found
a place over near the trees to have lunch.  “I’m not really hungry yet,” he
said, raising his eyebrows as he looked at Anna and lowered himself down on the
blanket.

“Alright?” she
said, setting down the basket containing their lunch.  She wondered if Rowan
had perhaps gotten too much sun today.  Anna lowered herself to her knees and
settled next to Rowan on the blanket.  He rose up and captured her in his arms,
laughing softly as he drew her in for a lengthy, passionate kiss.  Rowan’s skin
felt warm from the sun.  Anna wanted to melt into him.

“Just lie here
with me for a moment,” Rowan whispered as he rolled onto his back.  He threaded
his fingers between Anna’s, intertwining their hands.  Anna relaxed her head
against Rowan’s chest, smiling as the sun warmed her face.  “Remember that fist
night on the beach?” Rowan asked.

Anna smiled
against his chest.  His skin was warm against her cheek.  “I remember,” she
whispered.

“That was the
first time that I held you,” Rowan said.  “And I knew it even then.  I knew
that you were the missing part of my life that would complete me,” he whispered
as he took Anna’s hand and placed it over his chest, covering it securely with
his own.

Anna felt Rowan’s
heart, thudding strongly against her hand.

“Anna…I….”

A stick snapped
loudly at the edge of the forest before Rowan could finish his sentence.  He
shot up into a sitting position, moving to shield his wife.

Anna watched as
Rowan’s face was overtaken with wild terror.  His muscles tensed and he reached
for the dagger that was tucked into his leather belt. More than twenty English
soldiers crested the hill and rode into the field, dressed in full battle
regalia and armed to the teeth.

Anna’s heart
sank.  They had come for her.

Chapter Eighteen

“Ye willna touch
her,” Rowan warned, pushing Anna defensively behind his back as the soldiers
approached.  A flash of recognition jolted through his body when the leader of
the soldiers dismounted his horse and stalked purposefully towards them.  Rowan
was blinded with rage.  He clenched the dagger in his fist, fighting the desire
to drive the blade deep into the man’s throat.

Rowan’s eyes
flitted towards the rest of the soldiers.  Their pistols were trained upon
him.  He would be killed immediately if he made a move against them.

Anna might be
killed in the crossfire.

Rowan’s body
trembled with controlled rage, his muscles were tense and ready to spring into
motion.  He lowered his glare at Murdock, his heart thundering in his chest.

“It looks to me as
if you are in no position to tell me what I will or will not do,” Meriwether Murdock
remarked as he motioned to his soldiers to surround Rowan and Anna.  “And so we
meet again, Mr. Murray.  What an unlikely outcome to my stroke of mercy,” he
said as he regarded Rowan angrily.  “When I spared your life, I never would
have suspected that we would meet again.”

“You’ve met?” Anna
asked worriedly from behind Rowan’s back.  Rowan’s body was tense with rage.  Anna
surmised that whatever Rowan’s past experience had been with Meriwether
Murdock, it was not pleasant.

“Aye, we’ve met,”
Rowan seethed.  “This is the man that transported us tae the New World, after
he raped and killed Mairi,” Rowan said, his voice ringing with uncontrollable
anger.  Rowan’s eyes locked with Murdock’s in challenge.

 “I thought that
you went down with the ship.  Did your brothers survive as well?” Murdock asked
vindictively, eyes locked with Rowan’s.  “You Scotsmen have proved quite resilient,”
Murdock chuckled.

Anna’s mind
raced.  How had Murdock found them so quickly?

“When Lieutenant
Arbor informed me that Miss Stanton did not hold up her end of the betrothal
agreement, it never occurred to me that you might be involved,” Murdock said as
he studied Rowan.

“It’s Mrs.
Murray,” Rowan corrected Murdock through gritted teeth.  “And ye ken damn good
and well that ye took advantage of Anna when she was in a time of need.  She
acted in desperation.  And ye
bought
her for him.  Ye canna buy a woman! 
Arbor’s only put out from embarrassment due tae the fact that she refused him!”

“I beg to differ,
Mr. Murray.  It seems that you can buy a woman,” he said wickedly, his eyes
lingering on Anna.  “Lieutenant Arbor paid for a wife. 
She
signed a
betrothal agreement with Arbor and took his money gladly in return for her
promise of marriage.  A promise that she broke.”

“Arbor treated her
poorly,” Rowan said defensively, his voice coming forth as a growl.  “She had
every right tae break that agreement.”

“We shall see how
the magistrate feels about Miss Stanton’s breach of promise to Lieutenant
Arbor,” Murdock said.  His tone bore a heavy indication of threat.  “And then
there is the matter of the money that was already paid to her estate in England.  That money is as good as stolen.”

“I will pay back
every shilling,” Rowan gritted through clenched teeth.

Murdock laughed,
openly taunting Rowan.  “It would take you years to earn that amount of money.”

“I will pay it
back,” Rowan promised.

“And even if you
did, there is still the matter of Lieutenant Arbor’s reputation.  He had
introduced Miss Stanton into his social circle.  The wedding was cancelled
after the invitations had already been sent out.  The social backlash of such a
scandal can be dreadful,” Murdock said contemplatively.  “But Arbor is a
wealthy man and a powerful one too.  He shall recover.”  Murdock stroked his
chin as if he was deciding what to do.  “There is also the matter of
my
reputation.  I intend to see to it that any rift that has grown between
Lieutenant Arbor and myself over this matter is healed promptly.  Which is why
I’ve come here to seek justice for the wrongs that you have done to him.”

Anna swallowed hard
and brought her hand to her chest.  The very same man that had coerced her into
a betrothal with Jonathan Arbor was the man that had killed Mairi and
transported the Murrays to the New World.  She could not believe this twist of
fate.

“Give her to me,”
Murdock ordered, his teeth clenched so tightly with rage that the muscles of
his jaw twitched.

“No,” Rowan said
firmly, standing his ground.

Anna’s heart sank. 
She knew that Rowan had only a small dagger with which to defend himself.  He
was outnumbered twenty to one.  Her heart beat double time in her chest as she
willed Rowan not to try something heroic.  Anna moved her trembling hand to
rest on Rowan’s thigh.  She squeezed him gently in an effort to stop him from
using the dagger.

The English
soldiers would kill him without a second thought.

“I’ll give you one
more chance to act reasonably.  I do not want to cause more trouble than is
necessary.  Give her to me,” Murdock ordered his voice authoritative as he
glowered at Rowan.

Rowan stood up
slowly, still brandishing the dagger. 

Anna watched in
horror as the soldier’s pistols followed Rowan’s careful movement.  Her heart
thundered in her chest.  She closed her eyes, praying that they did not shoot
him.

Rowan took a step
towards Murdock, challenging him with the confident stature of his body
language.  “Ye’ve caused enough trouble already.  I told ye no.  Ye willna
touch
my
wife,” Rowan said coolly, with an undertone of suppressed rage.

Anna stood, her
knees quaking beneath the fabric of her dress.  She reached up and placed her
hand on Rowan’s shoulder, her touch calming him slightly.  Fearful of the
consequences that would befall Rowan if he continued to bravely defend her,
Anna pushed past her husband and ran towards Murdock.

“I’ll go with
you!” she gasped, looking up and meeting Murdock’s iron stare.

“Anna!” Rowan
yelled as he reached for her.  But it was too late. 

Murdock’s soldiers
rained down upon him, tackling him to the ground and wrenching the dagger from
his grip. Rowan fought mightily against their restraint, bravely trying to
fight off twenty men to get to Anna’s side.

Murdock grabbed
Anna’s arm harshly and jerked her towards his waiting horse. “You’ll pay for
what you’ve done to me,” he seethed as he hefted her roughly up onto the
stallion.  “Arbor is fit to be tied.  He’s holding me responsible for your
escape,” Murdock grumbled.

“It was me,
Murdock, not him.  Let Rowan go,” Anna pleaded, tears welling in her eyes as
she watched Rowan fight a futile battle against the soldiers who restrained
him.

There were simply
too many of them.  One man restrained Rowan with a knee in his back while the
others bound his wrists and ankles.  Rowan’s eyes settled on Anna.  She glanced
away.

I had to do it,
Rowan, or you would have gotten yourself killed!

“I’ve already let
that Scots bastard go once, he’s not likely to find such luck again,” Murdock
raged.  “And I fully intend for you to pay for your part in this,” Murdock
spoke sternly to Anna.  “We will see what the magistrate has to say about
ladies who accept a bride price and then break their betrothal to an honorable
Lieutenant of the King’s army,” Murdock threatened as he cast a reproachful
look at Anna.

Stalking over to
Rowan, Murdock squatted down and spoke quietly into the Scotsman’s ear.  “Try
anything and I will have you and your brothers indentured as you were intended
to be.  She is not worth that.  She is not worth a life of indentured slavery. 
You would be wise to remember that,” Murdock said angrily.  He stood and
motioned for his men to lift Rowan to his feet.  “You have blackened my name,
Murray.  And I intend to see that you pay for it,” Murdock spat as he walked
back to his horse.

Murdock mounted
the horse behind Anna and kicked the animal into motion, creating a cloud of
dust as he thundered towards the town.

No one crossed
Meriwether Murdock.