Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) (4 page)

Rowan could not
help but notice how beautiful Anna’s neck was.  The skin of her back and
shoulders was like spilt cream in the moonlight.  He fumbled with the tiny
clasp and secured the chain about her neck.

Anna dropped her
hair and reached for the pearl, which hung on its chain in the center of her
chest.  She brushed the smooth orb with her fingers and smiled slightly.

“Thank you,
Rowan,” she whispered as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on Rowan’s
cheek.  The stubble of his new beard tickled her lips and Anna regretted the
action at once, cursing herself for being too familiar.

“Think nothing of
it,” Rowan whispered in response, smiling slightly as he noticed how lovely his
mother’s necklace looked against Anna’s skin.

“And thank you for
saving my life,” Anna said quietly as she reached forward and squeezed Rowan’s
hand in the darkness.

..ooOoo..

Anna settled into
the sand at the base of a tree, exhaustion taking hold of her body.  Using her
arm as a pillow, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.  She was comforted by
the sound of Quinn’s rhythmic breathing, which seemed to move in time with the
waves that crashed against the beach.  Rowan had woken Malcolm and taken him
walking on the moonlit beach, hoping to find useful bits of wreckage that might
have washed ashore from the
Mary Catherine.

Anna’s mind spun,
promptly refusing to succumb to the sleep that her body so desperately needed. 
She thought of the terror of the shipwreck and how fortunate she was to be
alive.  She remembered how Rowan had bravely saved her from that man that had
tried to pull her beneath the water.

Anna thought of
Jonathan Arbor.  She wondered when news of the shipwreck would reach him.  She
wondered if Arbor was concerned for her well-being.

The reality of her
predicament began to take hold, terrifying in its implications.  Anna had
survived a shipwreck and was now alone in the company of Scottish strangers. The
Murrays seemed harmless, but Anna had heard their talk of freedom.  She
pondered what they might be running from.

 Her body shivered
from the chill in the night air.  Rowan’s damp shirt did little to fend off the
cold.  Tears welled behind Anna’s eyes but she refused to let them fall.  She
suddenly felt very alone and quite afraid in the darkness that shrouded the
beach.  She curled herself into a fetal ball, tucking her knees up inside the
tails of Rowan’s shirt to conserve body heat.  The crashing of the ocean waves
on the beach and the masculine smell wafting from Rowan’s shirt made her feel
strangely comforted.  The knot that was growing steadily in her stomach seized
suddenly. 

Anna realized what
she had given up by agreeing to come here.  In the few hours that she had known
Rowan Murray, he had stirred feeling within her that were new and exciting. 
Rowan had risked his life to pull her from the sea and in doing so, Anna felt a
connection with the Scotsman that she could not explain.  Her fingers reached
up to stroke the thin chain that Rowan had placed around her neck.

  Anna realized
that she was giving up the prospect of marrying for love.

Chapter Four

“I wish that she
would marry me,” Malcolm said with a wistful look on his face as he and Rowan
combed the shoreline for anything useful that may have washed on shore from the
Mary Catherine.
  Light from the full moon lit the beach, dancing off the
now calm water.

“And what could ye
possibly need a wife for?” Rowan exclaimed, exasperated with his love struck
younger brother.  “Ye wouldna even ken what tae do with one besides,” he said
as he bent down in the darkness and picked up a piece of twine, twisting it
upon itself and tucking it into his pocket.

“Aye, I would.  I
could figure it out, I suppose,” Malcolm said, using a long stick to pull a
piece of netting from the surf.  “It’s just that she’s sae pretty.  I canna
help but watch her, the way that she moves.  She’s so graceful even when she’s
not tryin’ tae be…”

“She’s most likely
spoken for, Brother…. Sorry tae break it tae ye.  Her family will make
arrangements for her marriage tae some rich aristocrat and Anna will have
little choice in the matter.  All of those attributes that ye just listed off,
the grace and the beauty, those were born and bred intae her.  I doona think
that ye could handle her…” Rowan chuckled as he visualized his awkward, clumsy
brother matched with the somewhat regal likes of Anna Stanton.

“Aye, I could…”
Malcolm said dreamily as he looked over at where Anna was curled up sleeping at
the base of a palm tree.

“How about ye
focus on something useful, like trying tae hunt us up something tae eat?” Rowan
asked, annoyed with his brother’s sudden infatuation with Anna.

“Have ye no
noticed her?”  Malcolm asked, prodding.  “I ken that ye have.  In fact, I saw
ye lookin’ at her on the beach.”

“Bugger off,”
Rowan said, shaking his head and raking his hand through his hair.  “I’ve more
important things tae do, like keep yer arse alive, than tae be makin’ eyes at a
highborn lass!”

“No, I think that
I’m on tae something.  Ye fancy her!  Don’t ye Rowan?”  Malcolm chided,
watching his brother’s blood begin to boil.

“I most certainly
doona,” Rowan said, stopping and squaring his shoulders in challenge to
Malcolm’s accusation.  His eyebrows knit together and he gave his foolish
brother his most intimidating stare.

“I can see now for
sure that ye do!” Malcolm teased, “I know ye better than ye know yerself,
brother,” he said, balling up the piece of netting and tucking it into his
pocket.

Without further
comment, Rowan turned around and stomped back up the beach towards their
rudimentary camp.

“May the best man
win!” Malcolm shouted after his brother as Rowan walked away. 

..ooOoo..

“Rowan?” whispered
Anna into the pitch blackness of the night.  She must have finally fallen
asleep for a short while.  Quinn’s rhythmic deep breathing and Malcolm’s
muffled snoring told her that they were asleep, but she could tell that Rowan
was still awake.

“Aye?”  Rowan
whispered from where he was laying in the sand.

“I’m cold,” Anna
responded through chattering teeth as she gathered Rowan’s shirt around her and
pulled her shivering knees up to her chest.  “My clothes are still damp and my
hair is wet.  I cannot stop shaking.”

“Cm’ here then,”
Rowan whispered, reaching out a hand in the direction of Anna’s voice.

Anna sat up in the
dark, feeling her stiff, frozen muscles rebel.  She brushed the sand from her
face and crawled towards Rowan’s voice.  Reaching out her hand so as not to bump
into anything in the dark, Anna jumped when she unexpectedly touched Rowan’s
hand.  She grabbed onto him in the dark, surprised by the warmth that was
radiating from the rough skin of his hand.  He pulled her towards him until
they were only inches apart.

“Lay down next tae
me.  I’m right here,” Rowan invited, still holding Anna’s hand, guiding her
down into the sand next to him.  Anna’s hand was ice cold in his.  She didn’t
protest as he fitted her body against his, gathering her up so that her back
was to his front.  Her body was racked with the tremors of her shivering and
her teeth chattered noisily as she lay her head down on Rowan’s arm.  Rowan brought
his right arm around Anna’s body and grasped her shivering fingers, pulling her
closer against his chest.

“How are you this
warm?” Anna questioned through chattering teeth, relishing the heat radiating
from Rowan’s body.  “You’re not even wearing a shirt.”

“Aye, that’s
because someone stole the shirt off my back,” Rowan teased.

Anna elbowed Rowan
lightly in the ribs, eliciting a soft, rumbling laugh.

“I’ve always been
this way.  My mam said that I was always too warm, even as a bairn.  I used tae
kick off the quilts, always complainin’ of being tae hot,” Rowan chuckled
quietly, thinking about how his mother used to fuss over him.

“You feel heavenly. 
Thank you,” Anna whispered as she cuddled up against Rowan’s muscular chest. 
Anna had never been in such intimate contact with a man, but she cast her
thoughts of propriety aside and melted into Rowan’s warmth, enjoying the
feeling of heat returning to her frozen body.  The muscled plane of Rowan’s
chest was solid and comforting; the skin of his bare chest was smooth against
her back.

Rowan continued to
hold Anna’s hand in his.  He brushed the back of her hand with his thumb,
seeking to reassure her that she would be alright. 

“You’re welcome,”
he whispered against her ear, inhaling Anna’s sweet scent as his lips nearly
brushed against the skin of her cheek.  Anna’s skin smelled salty like the
ocean, but there was a tinge of something else that Rowan noticed.  Perhaps it
was the scent of lavender lingering in her blonde curls?  Rowan inhaled deeply
and closed his eyes.  He didn’t dare tell Anna how lovely she felt against his
bare skin.

“Why do you and
your brothers speak about freedom?” Anna boldly asked the question that had
been plaguing her thoughts.  Her eyes were wide open as she looked into the
night sky.  Thousands of stars illuminated the sky over the ocean, twinkling in
the darkness.  Anna’s imaginative mind had dreamed up all sorts of crimes that
the brothers might have committed, and she had to know if her life was in
danger as one of these very criminals held her in his arms. 

Honestly, she felt
too safe in Rowan’s arms to believe that she was in any danger.

Just what have
you done, Rowan?

“We were forced
tae flee Scotland during the rising,” Rowan said with a hint of despair in his
voice.  He vowed to keep the details of their voyage vague, not knowing if Anna
could be trusted with their secret.

“Were you prisoners?”
Anna asked, having noticed the tell-tale marks around all three of the brothers’
wrists that could only have been from iron shackles.

Rowan inhaled
deeply, not wanting to give away too much information, refusing to endanger his
brothers and their newfound freedom.

“We felt like
prisoners in our own country during the rising.  Life as we knew it ceased tae
exist.  I lost sae many that I loved, and tae what gain?” Rowan asked into the
night sky with resentment heavy in his voice.  “In a way ye could say that we
were prisoners.  Arriving in America is a new chance at freedom,” he said in
half-truth.

“I’m sorry that
you lost people you loved,” Anna said as she nestled against Rowan’s expansive
chest, feeling the warmth radiate from his body and into her own.  “I know what
it’s like to lose people that you love,” she whispered, thinking of her father,
and all of the strife his death had brought upon her family.

“Perhaps the New
World is a fresh start for both of us then,” Rowan said solemnly against Anna’s
ear.

“Perhaps it is,”
Anna conceded as she bit her lower lip.  Tears stung at Anna’s eyes and she
clenched them closed tightly.  Willing herself to be brave, Anna refused to
cry.

“When ye say that
ye’ve lost someone that ye loved, who was it that ye lost?” Rowan asked, his
thumb still absentmindedly brushing back and forth over Anna’s hand.

“My father,” Anna
revealed.  “And I fear that I shall never see my mother again.”

“Your mother still
lives?” Rowan asked.

“Yes, but she
stayed behind in England.”

“The ocean is not such
a vast place that ye canna travel tae see her again.  Ye’ve made the journey
once already.”

“I’m afraid that she
will not care to see me after what I have done,” Anna said softly, her voice
coming as a mere whisper.  A knot was building in her throat as she spoke of
her mother.

“Whatever ye have
done, it canna be sae bad that yer own mother wouldna wish tae see ye,” Rowan
recanted.  “I did some reckless things in my youth and however much my mother
disapproved of my actions, she always welcomed me back intae the Murray fold,” Rowan said wistfully, suddenly longing for his own mother. 

Anna was quiet for
a moment as she contemplated Rowan’s words.  He had meant to reassure her, but
Anna was certain that his words rang empty in their promises.  Her mother would
never forgive her for leaving.  And Anna had left without saying so much as
goodbye.

“Who did you lose,
Rowan?” Anna asked, sniffling slightly in an effort to hold back the tears that
were threatening to spill forth down her cheeks.

“Quinn and Malcolm
are all that I have left.  Everyone else is gone,” he whispered, his voice
harsh with emotion.

“In the rising?”

“Aye.”

“I’m sorry,
Rowan,” Anna whispered into the night.  It eased her pain to know that she was
not alone in her grief.  Others had lost far more than she.  “Perhaps this will
be a new beginning for both of us,” she said hopefully as she squeezed Rowan’s
hand.

Silence fell between
them and Anna noticed that Rowan was brushing his thumb against the back of her
hand as he held her close.  His touch set her nerve endings alive causing
tingles to reverberate through her body.  Anna threaded her fingers through
Rowan’s, intertwining their hands in the darkness.

“So, you’re not
going to murder me tonight while I sleep?” Anna asked, now feeling foolish
about her previous fears surrounding the brothers. A murderer surely would not
have born his wounds to her as Rowan had just done.

Rowan’s body was
racked with a sudden wave of laughter.  “What?” he managed to get out between
giggles.  “Ye thought that we might murder ye?  Truthfully?”

“When you spoke
about gaining your freedom, I began to wonder what sort of horrific crime that
you might have committed.  I thought perhaps you were being transported here to
serve penance,” Anna explained, now feeling imprudent in her assumption.

“Nay, I willna
murder ye,” Rowan managed between muffled laughter.  “And neither will my
brothers. Ye can rest well,” Rowan responded, repressing further laughter. 
Good night, Anna,” he whispered, ending the conversation before she asked for
further details from his past.

“Good night,” Anna
said softly.  She relaxed into Rowan’s warmth and settled herself against him.

Anna fitted her
legs against Rowan’s muscular thighs and nestled her bottom against him, causing
Rowan’s eyes to fly open in the darkness.  She clearly had no idea of what she
was doing, moaning softly as she snuggled against him.

Rowan’s body most
certainly did know what it was doing and within seconds his groin was throbbing
painfully with an erection in response to Anna’s lovely bum rubbing up against
him so intimately. Feeling Anna’s body against his was sweet torture.  His body
was now hypersensitive to Anna’s every movement.  She felt so damn good with
her body pressed up against the length of his.

 Rowan made out
the delicate curve of Anna’s hips in the darkness and realized that his hand
was still holding hers, resting precariously right between her perfect
breasts.  Rowan exhaled slowly, fighting to retain his composure.  He resigned
himself to a very long sleepless night and tried to ignore the throbbing in his
pants, which was nearly impossible because Anna kept moving ever so slightly
against him.

Rowan gritted his
teeth and grumbled under his breath.

“Are you quite
alright?” Anna whispered, her hand tensing beneath Rowan’s.

“I’m fine.  Go tae
sleep,” Rowan whispered through his clenched teeth, hoping that some form of
salvation would come if Anna fell asleep and stopped rubbing up against him. 
“Shh…” he coaxed, absentmindedly caressing the back of her hand.

Anna let go of
Rowan’s hand and rolled towards him, nestling her face into the crook of his
neck.  Her cheek now rested against his shoulder and upper chest.  She slid her
arm under his and hugged him close.  Rowan settled his arms firmly around her
and pulled Anna closer, enjoying the fact that he now had a few precious inches
of space between his manhood and Anna.  It was only then that he realized that
her breasts, nipples piqued from the cold were pressed most intimately against
his bare chest.

Rowan looked up at
the night sky and tried to focus on making patterns out of the stars, looking
for anything that would distract him from Anna.  He forced his desirous
thoughts from his mind in an effort to deny how his body had so eagerly responded
to her. Rowan’s hand stroked Anna’s back and he realized how small, how
defenseless, and how trusting she was of him as he held her tight. 

Rowan found his
hand caressing its way up to Anna’s neck.  He rubbed her shoulders slowly,
releasing the tension from her muscles.  His fingers twined in her blond hair,
brushing it back from her face, enjoying the feeling of its silky threads
between his fingers. 

His cock pulsed
painfully and testosterone rushed through his veins as Anna’s sweet feminine
smell aroused him further.  The scent in her hair was definitely lavender. 
Rowan closed his eyes and thought of the lavender bush, thrumming with bees in
the sunshine that had grown outside his childhood home.  He sent a prayer
heavenward that Anna would fall asleep quickly.