The Reluctant Highland Groom (6 page)

“
Kill those who help the injured,” Alec murmured. “Most cunning.”

Cara scowled at him. “Most atrocious, you mean.”

“
Aye, but also cunning.” He did not seem cowed by her stare. “Ye must admit it is a fine tactical move, Cara.”

“
It’s unforgivable! It’s not enough that they wipe us out, they feel they can make us live in fear, instead?” She slammed her hand down against the table, then had to grab hold of it as the world spun wildly around her.

Alec caught her before she could topple over. “I think it’s best to get this one back up to bed,” he said, scooping her up. “We can continue this discussion when you are stronger.”

“
It’s atrocious,” she said. “
Atrocious.
”

“
Aye, it is.”

Fergus stared after her as she was carted away. “Laird Munro,” he said, scooting closer to Ramsey and Sabrina, “I’ve a proposition for ye that may help us all…”

Cara strained to hear him, but Alec turned a corner, and the new stains of conversation were lost to her.

***

The weeks passed by slowly as Cara recovered her strength. Not a day went by when she didn’t see Alec, and she began to look forward to their meals together. When she was strong enough to leave her chambers, he carried her to the great hall to have meals with his family. He was never not at her side, and Cara found herself drawing strength from him. Whenever his large hand moved to the small of her back, she instinctively pressed herself against him as warmth radiated from where his body made contact with hers.

News from the McHugh holding came in each day. Buildings were being repaired. Families buried their loved ones. Crops that had been salvaged were being stored. People moved forward and waited. Cara wasn’t sure what they were waiting for. Her brothers and her father were dead. Most of her father’s family was dead. Who was supposed to lead them now?

“
I’d tell ye to stop fashing yerself if I didn’t think that crease in yer forheard weren’t so damned adorable.”

Cara blinked, returning to the walk she and Alec were taking near the stream on his property.

“
I’m sorry,” she said, brushing long tendrils of hair away from her face. “I can’t help but think of the families over those mountains. How am I supposed to help them?”

“’
Tis a man’s duty to help them, Cara. Don’t worry your pretty head about it.”

She turned around too fast, and her vision briefly swam. “I do wish you wouldn’t speak of it like that. They are
my
people. My family’s people. I have every bit of right to worry about them, to want the best for them, to
do
the best for them, even if I am a woman.”

“
And what is it you’d do, were you to go back to them?”

She felt her brow crinkle again as she tried to decide whether he was making fun of her. Alec seemed earnest enough, however, and she took a breath. “First I’d see to it the remaining food stores are taken into account and distributed to the families hardest hit. Those who still have crops will harvest theirs, and food will be shared by all. Then...then I would determine what we need to lay in for winter, and I would purchase additional stores from other places. The Munroes, perhaps.”

Alec chuckled. “My brother would not take yer coin for food, and ye know it.”

“
He must have something. We would also need to arm ourselves; the Gunns will strike when we are at our most vulnerable.”

He studied her with a sort of intensity she hadn’t seen before, and it made her stomach do little flip-flops. “Ye think wisely, Cara,” he admitted. “Woman or not.”

“
I’m so pleased you approve.” But she touched his hand to make sure he knew she was jesting. “Thank you. For...for not letting me go when I wanted to.”

He seemed surprised by the touch, and glanced down at their hands. “Thank
ye
. For not leaving, though ye dearly wanted to.”

The sun was setting and Alec gazed toward the sunset. The bright oranges and yellows of the harvest sky illuminated his honey-colored eyes like fire. She stood mesmerized by them.

“
Cara,” he said after a moment. “I’ve been thinking about how ye need to get married…”

Married? He wanted her married off? The realization that she’d have to leave sooner or later hit her square in the belly, and she found it hard to breathe. Panic began welling her in chest, but Cara fought back. She was tired of feeling powerless. Of being sick. Of waiting to heal.

Before Alec could say another word, Cara snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. His eyes widened in momentary surprise when she pushed her lips to his, and she worried he would break the kiss.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Alec Munro, the pompous boy she’d grown up dreading, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against the length of his body. His mouth slanted down on hers and she let him kiss her like a man was supposed to kiss a woman. Primal. Predatory. Possessive.

The heat spreading through her body was like a wildfire—out of control and gaining intensity. With a gentle tug on the hair at the nape of her neck, Alec exposed the sensitive skin at her throat and nipped and kissed his way down. Down her collarbone, across the top of her breasts exposed by her gown, and to the edge of the fabric where the bodice began. Cara thought that would deter him, but with deft hands, Alec undid the lacing at her back, loosening the fabric. He gave it a yank and within a moment, she stood on the banks of the stream in her thin chemise.

Spurred on by the fact that Alec wanted her as much as she needed him, Cara boldly pulled his linen shirt over his head and ran her hands down the rippling muscles of his chest. His skin was hot and his body hard as she let herself explore him with hands and mouth. She kissed Alec again as her hands traveled down the taut muscles of his abdomen to the top of his pants. She considered stopping, worried what he might think of her if she let passion rule, but in the end, she was powerless against the pull Alec had over her. She struggled with the fastened breeches, not sure how to undo the tight knot keeping them on and was relieved when Alec came to her rescue by yanking them down in one swift motion.

In no time, he was naked and stood in front of Cara while her eyes took him in. All of him.

Alec was glorious. All hard lines and masculinity, from his rugged jaw line to the erect shaft that stood proudly between them. In that instant, Cara lost her bravado and stood still, unsure of what to do next and praying Alec did not take her hesitation for anything other than inexperience.

As though he read her mind, Alec leaned in and kissed her, swiftly silencing all the questions, fears, and doubts she might have over what she was about to do. He gently laid her down on the pile of clothing they’d discarded and settled above her. He kissed her even more ferociously while his hands traveled up and down her body, teasing her nipples with a slight pinch or kiss, trailing down her belly until he reached the junction of her thighs.

His touch there was firm, a sensual pressure that he started with the pad of his thumb and worked in torturous, slow circles and started a fire deep within her. Initially a spark, it became an inferno by the time he hovered above her, gazing deep into her eyes.

“
Are ye sure, lass?” he whispered in a hoarse, ragged voice.

“
Please, Alec,” she said, digging her nails into his shoulders, praying he wouldn’t stop now.

And he didn’t. Though it was fleeting, the pain of his entry was stabbing and intense. He stayed perfectly still while her body accustomed itself to him. When he felt her relax into him, Alec began a slow rhythm, in and out, that Cara eventually caught up to. A sensation began to build deep within her that she feared would drive her mad—but the wave eventually crested into an explosion of ecstasy that Cara could never have imagined. Her mind reeled and her body shivered as Alec moved into a frantic pace before finding his own shuddering release.

He collapsed on top of her and smoothed the damp hair from her forehead before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Cara wrapped her arms around Alec and prayed for time to slow. She did not want to return to the life waiting for her any time soon.

***

They walked back to the Munro keep at a leisurely pace, he saying little and she saying less. Words no longer seemed to matter. Not after what they’d shared.

Logan greeted them at the stables. “Ramsey wants us all gathered for supper,” he said. “Are ye feeling stronger, Cara? Ye look well. Yer color is returning.”

Cara nodded. “Yes, I feel much better, thank you.”

Granted, her high color was likely more from their lovemaking than any restored health, but she would let Logan go about thinking the ride had set her spirits aright.

“
I’ll be in later,” Alec said to her. “I’ve some matters to see to. Logan...”

“
I’ll speak to Ramsey,” Logan said.

Cara threw one last wondering glance over her shoulder as Logan escorted her into the keep. Alec disappeared into the stables to see to whatever task he’d laid out for himself.

Supper itself was a slow, cool affair. Sabrina exclaimed over her vigorous appearance, stating that a good outing was just what Cara had needed. “You’ll be able to return home soon, I think,” she said, as they all feasted on the first course.

“
How wonderful,” Cara said, only half-meaning it. Yes, she longed to return to her home, but what about Alec...?

Don’t think about him.

Ramsey looked around for Alec and shook his head when the man failed to show, then leaned over to Cara.

“
Lass, since ye are the last McHugh, ye’d best know I will be sending men back with ye to help restore your lands.”

“
Thank you, Ramsey.” The Munro clan could hardly have many men to spare, and sending some along with her would stretch their resources further. She could do far worse than to have these people as neighbors. “When will I be going back?”

“
Within the next few days,” Ramsey said. “A sennight, at the latest.”

Alec arrived at that moment, dropping into a chair opposite his brother and reaching for the wine. Ramsey stared at him. “And where have ye been, lad?”

“
Had some matters to care for,” Alec said. “I’m here now.”

“
We were discussing sending several men back to the McHugh lands with Cara,” Ramsey said.

Alec nodded briskly. “Aye, that’s a wise idea. Keep her safe.” He barely looked at Cara as he spoke, save a brief glance in her direction.

Cara’s heart sank.
You got what you wanted from me and now you can’t wait to see me off?
She had heard stories like this around the village—men who used women for their own pleasure, only to cast them aside once they’d attained it.

She had not thought Alec would do such a thing...

After supper, Sabrina grasped her by the shoulder. “Come,” she said, “let’s find you some clothing for the trip back.”

***

Alec found his older brother in the study, surrounded by maps, scrolls, and reports from scouts. He had no doubt most of them were in regards to the McHugh lands.

“
Ramsey,” he said, “we must speak.”

Ramsey glanced up, a weary smile tugging at his face. “Aye? What is it?”

“
We must decide what to do with Cara, with the McHugh lands, with the Gunns.”

“
Ah.” Ramsey set aside the missive he was reading and stood up, stretching his hands over his head. “Ye have thoughts, I gather?”

“
Some. What is it you intend to do?”

His brother ambled over to the hearth, holding out his hands to the blaze. The study was a cozy room, but some of the night’s chill still managed to creep in. Alec edged closer to the fire, holding out his own hands.

Ramsey took a deep breath. “We can hardly leave the McHughs to fend for themselves; to do so would leave our flank open. But we are sorely low on men, and those I sent to help Sabrina’s uncle have yet to return…”

Yes, a costly act of charity there, brother.
But Alec bit his tongue. Antagonizing Ramsey would get nothing done, and might well jeopardize the fragile plan he was concocting.