Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) (5 page)

“Goodnight,
Rowan,” Anna whispered sweetly.  She lifted her head slightly off his chest to
place a soft kiss right at the base of his neck, just below his ear.

Electricity shot
through Rowan’s veins.  He thought that he might spill his seed right there in
his pants.  Just the slightest touch of her lips to his skin had evoked a
response unlike any he had ever experienced.  Rowan felt his breathing speed up
and he struggled to remain still as Anna pressed herself against him and
settled her head back onto his naked chest.

“Goodnight, lass,”
he forced the words out, teeth gritted together, and settled in for what was
looking to be a very long night.

Rowan lifted his
head off the sand so that he could look down at Anna.  Within a few minutes, her
breathing had slowed into the rhythmic nature of deep sleep.  His eyes scanned
her face, lit by the subtle glow of the full moon.  It was then that Rowan
realized that all of his dreams had not died with his exile from Scotland.

Chapter Five

Rowan awoke in the
first light of morning, arms still wrapped protectively around Anna.  His arms
were stiff from holding her tight against his body through the night.  He
raised his head slightly and looked down at her.  Anna was sleeping peacefully
nestled against his chest, dark eyelashes resting on her cheeks and lips
slightly parted in her slumber.  She was beautiful.  Rowan felt his body begin
to stir in response to her immediately.  Impulsively, Rowan leaned down and
placed a light kiss atop her forehead and when he drew away from her, he was
rewarded as her lips turned up into the slightest of a smile.

Rowan groaned and
pushed himself up onto his elbow so that he could look around, being careful
not to disturb Anna.  The first thing that he saw was Malcolm, eyebrows knit
together in a scowl.  The daggers in his eyes were evidence of his clear
disapproval at his brother’s sleeping situation.

Rowan smiled
ruefully at Malcolm and whispered, “May the best man win,” taunting his brother
as he glanced back at Anna.

If looks could
kill, Rowan would be dead.

“Ouch! Ye wee
bugger!” Rowan exclaimed, flinching, as a rock bounced off his forehead.  He
reflexively reached up to rub the stinging mark that the rock had left on his
skin.

Rowan’s sudden
movement startled Anna into wakefulness and she sat up quickly, pushing Rowan
away.

“Serves ye right,”
Malcolm said, shaking his head.  He was already on his feet, prepared to flee
the scene if need be.  Rowan was known for his reckless temper when he was
provoked.

“What happened?”
Anna asked, stretching her arms languidly above her head.  Rowan was glad that
at least one of them had gotten a restful night of sleep.

“Nothing,” Rowan
said, eyes darting towards Malcolm to give him a glare.  “Did ye sleep well?”
he asked, turning his attention back to Anna.

“Like the dead,”
Anna smiled, suddenly embarrassed by just how much she had enjoyed sleeping
next to Rowan.  She had felt so safe, so protected by the warmth and the
strength of his body.  “Thank you,” she whispered, looking down at the sand as
she tucked a stray length of hair behind her ear.  Anna scooted a little
farther away from Rowan, heart racing as she felt his gaze settle on her.

Rowan’s eyes
locked with hers for a split second and Anna felt as though she had looked right
into his soul.  Last night, Rowan had gifted her with a glimpse into his
painful past.  In telling Rowan of her losses and hearing of his own, Anna felt
as though she had bonded with Rowan through their shared pain. The yearning
that Anna saw in Rowan’s deep green eyes sped up her heart beat and she tore
her eyes away from him.

In that instant,
she was sure that he had felt it too.  There was a connection between them.  It
was almost palpable in its realness.

Anna’s hand
brushed the warm skin of Rowan’s arm as she moved away from him. His touch
raced like wildfire over her skin, sending reverberations straight down to her
toes. 

Anna’s eyes
flitted back up to meet Rowan’s.  The look on his face was evidence that he had
felt the energy that flowed between them.  Rowan looked away briskly and
cleared his throat.  He raked his hand through his unruly hair and refused to
make further eye contact with Anna.

Quinn ambled up to
the group and sat down in the sand next to Malcolm. 

Anna studied him
as he approached.  He had tied his hair back and she noticed that Quinn was
also quite handsome, especially when he didn’t have his usual look of disdain
heavy on his rugged face.  She wondered what tormented Quinn.  Anna had not
seen him smile.  Not even once. 

“I walked the beach
this morning while yer lazy arses were sleeping.  Didna find much of use. 
Everything must have gone down with the ship or been swept out tae sea,” Quinn
said, brushing the sand off his pants.

“Did ye see any
other survivors?” Rowan asked, distancing himself from Anna and standing as he
bound his hair at the nape of his neck with the length of twine that he had
found on the beach.

“Not a one. 
Either we are the only ones who survived, or the others washed up further down
the shore.”

“Did ye find
anything that we could eat?” asked Malcolm eagerly, his stomach letting loose a
timely growl.

“Nay,” Quinn
responded.  “Yer belly can wait awhile yet, Malcolm.   We need tae set out a
course of action before we search of food.”

“Where do you plan
to go?” asked Anna, looking between the faces of the brothers, slightly
embarrassed that she had not thought to ask them earlier.

Rowan looked at
Quinn, eyebrows raised, asking the silent question of just how much they should
divulge to Anna.  They had only just met her and although she seemed innocent
enough, it might be unwise to divulge too much about their situation.  Quinn
shook his head slightly, reading his brother’s signal.  Better not to tell her
that their voyage to the New World had not been a matter of choice.

“Coincidentally
enough, we’re headed to Williamsburg too!” Malcolm jumped in, eyes darting at
Quinn who was already shaking his head in disapproval.  “It would be our pleasure
tae escort ye tae yer family,” Malcolm smiled at Anna, eyes reminiscent of a
lovesick puppy.

“I could not ask
that of you.  You’ve been kind enough already,” said Anna in mock protest as a
wave of relief swept over her.  The Murray brothers were all that she had at
present and she could not fathom the idea of making her way to Williamsburg alone.

“No, Anna, we
want
tae help ye get there.  We want tae make sure that yer safe.  Don’t we Rowan,”
Malcolm said persuasively, raising his eyebrow suggestively at his brother.

“Aye, we can
hardly just leave ye here, and being that we’re going tae the same place, ye
might as well tag along,” Rowan said, knowing that they should be heading in
the opposite direction of Williamsburg if they wanted to capitalize on the
stroke of luck provided by the shipwreck.  “We Murrays are not in the habit of
neglecting womenfolk in need.  Ye may find this quite contrary tae yer beloved
English relatives,” Rowan chided sarcastically, drawing a swift glare from
Anna.

Rowan smiled at
Anna and to his relief, her glare melted away.  The look in her hazel eyes
caused his heart to race.  Rowan tore his eyes away from Anna and turned his
attention to his brothers.

“Well, now that
that’s settled, let’s go find some breakfast,” Malcolm chirped enthusiastically
and stood up, starting down the beach.  He was eager to slip away from the burn
of Quinn’s scalding glare.

Quinn rolled his
eyes and trudged after Malcolm.  He planned to give Malcolm a sound tongue
lashing as soon as they were away from Anna.  Quinn was eager to take advantage
of the unlikely chance at freedom that the shipwreck had provided.  He was wary
of losing this freedom by escorting Anna to the very place that said ship
should have arrived.  Malcolm’s puppy love for the lass showed explicitly
across his face and was evident in every action that the boy made in Anna’s
presence. 

Quinn stopped
abruptly, abandoning his pursuit of Malcolm.  He spun quickly on his heel. 

It was Rowan that
Quinn should be worried about. 

Quinn had watched
as Rowan worked with every shred of his composure to fight his attraction to
the lass.  Quinn needed to stop whatever was developing between Anna and Rowan
before it got out of hand.  Hell, Quinn knew that it had already gotten out of
hand as he watched Rowan’s eyes follow Anna as she walked down the beach.

“I need tae talk
tae ye, brother.  Now,” Quinn growled at Rowan, who sat still as a statue, eyes
trained on Anna as she walked down the beach after Malcolm.

“It was Malcolm’s
idea tae take her tae Williamsburg, not mine,” Rowan said defensively.

“Williamsburg isna
the issue,” Quinn said sternly as he towered above his brother who was still
seated in the sand.  Quinn dropped down into a squat and looked straight into
Rowan’s emerald green eyes.  “Ye canna have her,” he said with a tone of
warning in his voice, knowing that he was taking a great risk in telling Rowan
what he could not have. 

Rowan Murray
had a rebellious spirit and was nothing if not determined.

“And what makes ye
think that I want her?” Rowan asked, now avoiding eye contact and shifting his
gaze away from Quinn’s glare out to the crashing waves of the Atlantic.

“Yer desire for
the lass plays so openly across yer face that I’m surprised she hasna slapped
ye for it!”

Rowan chuckled,
accepting defeat as he raked his hand through his chestnut hair as he often did
when uncomfortable.  “I ken that I canna have her brother,” Rowan said coolly
as he drew his gaze back to Quinn.  “I’ve not a pot tae piss in, nor a shirt
tae cover my back.  I ken that I canna have her well enough, brother.”

“I hope that
knowledge stops ye from tryin’ tae woo her.  Nae good will come of it Rowan. 
Mark my word, nae good will come of it,” Quinn’s voice shook with warning as he
stood and stalked off down the beach.

Rowan knew that
Quinn was right.  No good would come from indulging his desires with Anna. 
Rowan shook his head and cradled his head in his hands, resting his elbows atop
his knees.  He knew that he should push the lass from his thoughts and strive
to build a new life with his brothers.

And yet there was
that look in her hazel eyes that had struck him to the core.  When her hand had
brushed against his arm this morning, Anna had looked into his eyes.  The hazel
depths of her eyes held no secrets from Rowan.

Anna had felt it
too.

                                                           
..ooOoo..

“What happened to
Quinn?” Anna asked, breaking the silence as she trudged up the beach to walk in
step beside Rowan.

Rowan arched his
eyebrow suspiciously.  Anna was a most perceptive lass.

Rowan kicked at a
bunch of sea grass that had blown into his path and chose his words carefully. 
A breeze blew off the ocean, cooling Rowan’s face.  He could taste the salt
from the sea on his lips.  He licked his lips, noting the unfamiliar taste of
salt in the air as he considered his words.

“Something verra
dear was taken from him,” Rowan said as he raked a hand through his hair and
looked straight ahead.  The horrors of Quinn’s past were closely intertwined
with Rowan’s and it pained him viscerally to speak of them.

“He must have
loved her very much,” Anna said softly, knowing somehow that Quinn’s pain
stemmed from the loss of a woman.  She glanced over at Rowan and noticed the
pain that resided in his green eyes.  It was there, just below the surface, despite
Rowan’s best effort to hide his emotions beneath his stone-faced façade.

“I canna betray him
by speaking of the matter further.  ‘Tis no my story tae tell.  If ye ask him,
he just might tell ye.  Yer a good listener,” Rowan said. 

Anna smiled shyly
at Rowan’s compliment.  She enjoyed conversing with Rowan.  His easy demeanor
and quick wit put her at ease.  Anna had found a kindred spirit in Rowan
Murray.

“I think that
Malcolm’s in love with ye,” Rowan said with a chuckle in an effort to lighten
the mood.

“Whatever gave you
such a notion?” Anna exclaimed as color flushed her face.

“He told me,” Rowan
admitted, smiling as he watched Anna’s reaction.  Her face was flushed pink
with embarrassment.  Rowan could not help but notice how lovely she looked in
the early morning light.  Anna’s blonde curls had been blown free from her
attempt to confine them in a loose braid, lending her an ethereal, natural
beauty.

“How could he
possibly love me?” Anna asked incredulously.  “He’s known me less than a full
day!”

“He’s a boy yet,”
Rowan explained as he tried to suppress his smile.  “And boys have a tendency tae
fall in love easily.”

Anna giggled
shyly.  She was complimented by Malcolm’s affection yet knew that she was in no
place to return his feelings.

“He is a sweet
boy,” she said as she watched Malcolm and Quinn walking ahead of them on the
beach.

“Aye,” Rowan
agreed.  “And ye’ve nae need for a boy,” he said as the smile fell from his
face.  There was a masked insinuation in his remark and as soon as the words
fell from his lips he regretted them.

Anna smiled
briskly but did not respond immediately.  Rowan was correct; she had no need
for a boy like Malcolm and yet she found that she cared for Malcolm still. 

“Will you help me
to let him down softly?” Anna asked Rowan as she crossed her arms to gather her
borrowed shirt more firmly about her body.  The morning sunlight was beginning
to warm her skin, but the confines of her damp clothing kept the night’s chill
from completely leaving her body.

“Aye,” Rowan
agreed, smiling softly at Anna’s care for Malcolm’s tender heart.  “The lad has
a thing or two tae learn about love.”

“The best lesson
for him to learn is to guard his heart and not give it away so easily,” Anna
said as she gazed out upon the crashing waves.  “It will save him much pain.”

“I doona agree
with ye, lass,” Rowan said as he stopped in his tracks.  The ocean breeze blew
his unruly hair about his face and he reached up to retie it at the base of his
neck.

Anna stopped and
stared up at Rowan, unsure of what the intention of his words had been.  “What
exactly do you not agree with?” she prodded as she stood facing Rowan in the
sand.

“I think that it
isna always possible tae guard yer heart, that’s all.  I’ve always thought that
when true love comes tae find ye, it comes crashing in like lightning and
perhaps it is impossible tae stop it once it hits ye.”

“And you think
this is what Malcolm feels for me?”