A Highlander's Home (6 page)

             
She harrumphed and said loftily, “You’re wrong.” 

             
He crouched there, half on the bed, reminding her of a large tiger stalking its prey.  Suddenly, he lurched forward, and she squealed as she jumped and ran for the door.  He caught her around the waist and laughed while she struggled.  He had not meant to frighten her, but this game she was playing was fun.

He le
aned down to her ear.  “Stop ye’
r
e
fussing, lass.” 

When she continued to struggle, he pulled h
er tighter against him.  “Or ye
can continue
to wiggle that firm body of yer
s against all the right places on mine.”

             
She stilled instantly, forgetting to breathe.  A little voice in her head
whispered that
it might be fun to continue wiggling. 

She tilted her head to look at him.  “What do you want from me?”

He confused her.  She just wanted his help to find another set of those magic stones, as he calls them, and get back home.  To civilization. 
To her microwave, her television, and soap operas. 
Anywhere that was not here.  She would be sure to give the Professor a piece of her mind.

             
Leith
’s eyes fairly glowed as he looked down at her.  From his vantage point he could see her ample
bosom
and the little bead of sweat that had formed and was on the verge of trickling over what he could only describe as delicious mounds of flesh
.  He tightened his arm around her waist just slightly and smiled as it pushed her cleavage together and higher even more.  “I want
you
, my lady.”

             
Her breath caught.  Small beads of sweat formed on her forehead.  She licked her lips.  No one had ever talked to her the way this giant did. 

She gushed,
“I am not your fiancé.  You have to believe me.  If you believe nothing else, at least believe that.”

             
He released his hold on her and turned her around while keeping her firmly boxed in between him and the wall.  He sighed dramatically.  “I know.  Lady Brighton will be here in a few short weeks so we best make haste and wed before she gets here.”

             
She blinked.  What?  He knew? 
The bastard knew?!
  She punched an unmoving pectoral. 

“What?!” 

She
hit him again because he just stood there
with that cockeyed grin, looking down
at her looking like a wolf who knew he was winning this particular game. 

             
He shook his head.  “T
sk, tsk, lass.  Do not anger yerself so.  Although to see ye
r cheeks so bright pink is quite desirable
, I have no wish to heighten ye
r…passion…this night.” 

He ran a finger slowly down her cheek, moving on to her neck
,
stop
p
ing only to feel her pulse as it jumped under his touch, and then slither tantalizingly over the upper most p
a
rt of a breast. 

             
She
shook herself.  Then she swatted his hand.  “You big oaf! What kind of man marries another woman before his true fiancé even knows what’s happening?  Isn’t this the time of honor and chivalry and all that?  I have taught classes that focused on how rules of society were strictly adhered to, where men protected their women, fought for them,
loved them.
  And yet you are trying to dupe your future bride!”

             
He gripped her arms and quite easily lifted her off the floor and above his head until she was looking down at him.  How different he looked from this angle. 
Quite attractive really except for the vein throbbing in his forehead. 

             
His teeth were gritted together so tight, she barely made out his words but his meanin
g was unmistakable.  “Because ye
know not our custo
ms here, and I truly believe ye
hail from a land f
ar from here, I will forgive ye
r words. 
This time only.
  Be aware, lady, I am an honorable man.  More honorable than most, I might add.  Things being as they are and the particular situation surrounding Lady Brighton, I have found a way to alter my promise of marriage made to her.  She will understand.” 

He put her down but kept his grip on her only slightly loosened.  “But be warned.”  He took a step closer and she could feel his breath against her skin.  “Do not question my honor again, madam.”

             
Her head had tilted so far back to meet his
eyes;
she thought her neck would snap.  The wall was cold against her back and legs, but the heat radiating from his body was immense.  Her green eyes were so large he thought he would drown in them.  The moonlight shone through the window and cast a bright light over her face while shadowing his. 

             
Och, this woman!  Who was she that she her mere presence would cause him to throw
caution
to the wind and entice him to break his vows of marriage to his fiancé?! 
Och, this was going to cost his treasury dearly.

His blood was boiling, first with
anger but now with something else.  Something that was making his trews feel extremely uncomfortable.

             
He lifted her up again, this time stopping when she was eye to eye with him.  She licked her lips
,
and her chin trembled slightly.  So much for independent
,
unafraid women.  She should say something, do something, hit something.  Make him hate her so he would be glad to be rid of her when she found those stones.

             
He closed the gap, small as it was, between them and showed no mercy.  His lips crushed her
,
and she tasted blood.  After a half second hesitation, she opened her mouth to him.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pinned her against the wall with his body.  Her feet dangled for a slight moment
,
and then she locked them around his waist.  Her arms entwined around his neck
,
and she held on for dear life. 

             
She had had a few men in her life, had gotten serious with a couple of them.  But it never lasted.  They always came on too strong and threatened her way of life, her independence.  Other than a little heavy petting, she had never let them go any further.  Although her friends teased her endlessly about being a virgin throughout high school and then college, she just hadn’t felt like pursuing the intimacies of the bedroom with any of her former
beaus
.

             
Why or how she knew to wrap herself around this almost complete stranger was mind boggling.  Her blood boiled when he was near and got even hotter when he barely looked at her.  She was in unfamiliar territory.

             
He pulled away and smiled when she whimpered in protest.  Then he laughed as she tried to lean up to recapture his lips.  As much as he would like to plunge himself deep within her woman’s secrets, he had other things to accomplish before he allowed himself that luxury.
He grinned.  After all, he was an honorable man.  And he would show her.

             
He put her down and stepped slightly away but kept her i
n his embrace.  “I will feel ye
r passion
to its depth on our wedding night, but not before then.  Other things call for my attention before that night that I must attend to.”

             
He bent to nip at her neck.  She arched back and gave him full access before she realized what she was doing.  He groaned and bit harder.  She made a small noise, either of pain or pleasure he was not sure, but the
leg that wound itself around his
thigh assured him that it was a good thing.

             
He chuckled.  What a little spitfire she was!  Most of the women he had had did not like his tendency to bite them, but perhaps this one was different.  She had already showed her willingness to continue their kiss even when he knew that she must have tasted the blood from the harshness of his mouth.

             
“I must take my leave, lass.  I will see you in the morn.”

He lightly touched his lips to hers and reluctantly pulled away.  It would be so easy right now to take her, and it would not be against her will, he was sure.  That she was lost in her passion made him smile. 
How quickly her anger had turned to passion, he mused. 
Perhaps this marriage would not be such a bad thing.  He must begin negotiations with Lord Brighton to end the marriage contract with his daughter.  And quickly.

             
Raines stood there, leaning against the wall, her fingers lightly touching her swollen lips.  The room seemed so empty without him.  She barely knew him but had not wanted him to leave.  But she was glad he did.  She was not a flighty girl to give in so easily to the first man who took her fancy.  She frowned.  What if he
thought she was some loose woma
n he could just have at a moment’s notice? 

             
She stomped to the bed and flopped down on it.  With arms crossed, she stared at the ceiling.  Well, she would just have to prove to him otherwise.

Chapter 6

             
The following morning was unusually warm with the sun shining down on the inhabitants of the castle.  Children laughed and chased one another while their parents watched and exchanged gossip.  Even the animals sensed the lightness of the day. 
There was n
ot a cloud in the sky.

             
Leith
found himself whistling as he strolled to the fighting arena.  He had had it built for the specific purpose of his men having the best training facility in the land.  One never knew when one would be set upon by one’s enemy.  His castle was not known as Hell’s Gate for no particular reason.  Many men, good and bad, had lost their lives either trying to invade or prevent invasion of this keep.  He had buried too many of his friends and
villagers
because the Brit
ish could not leave the Scots
alone.  Hell’s Gate in particular was on prime grazing land, fresh and fertile.  Every year yielded an abundance of crops, cattle, and wool.  And almost every year, they were invaded by the bloody British, mainly
Leith
’s fair haired English cousin, Alisdair. 

             
The two boys had been best of friends growing up. 
Leith
born to two Scottish parents, Alisdair born to a Scottish mother and British father.  Eventually, as the political strain upon the country increased, Alisdair’s father began despising the Scottish, saying they were a filthy, heathen lot.  The fact that he had married a Scots woman seemed to escape him.

             
Eventually, Alisdair and his parents
gained favor with the English throne.  People wondered whether it was by underhanded dealings or the family heritage that Alisdair’s father called upon when necessary.  The fact that an ancestor he had only read about had at one time in the long ago past had
fought for and
saved the
King
’s life was usually all the leverage he needed.

             
Alisdair had been raised to turn on his Scottish heritage
.
A
nd turn he did.
  With all the strength and vigor a young man could.
 
To him,
Scotsmen and all things from that country were beneath him
.

             
Leith
watched his men sparring in the manmade arena.  It was set away from the
castle
walls far enough to give the men room to move freely to practice all of the necessary fighting moves but close enough to provide shade for the onlookers.  Robbie was in the ring with a young boy
,
teaching him the proper way to hold his smaller, wooden sword.  Both were bare-chested and wore only breaches to allow the maximum freedom of movement. 

             
The boy stepped forward and swung his sword which Robbie deftly sidestepped and swatted the boy on the backside.  The boy was not deterred.  He turned and spread his feet, tightened his hold on his sword and raised it above is head.  Robbie prepared to parry the boy’s blow, but the boy changed direction at the last minute and kicked Robbie in the shin.  Robbie let out a howl while hopping on one foot and grasp
ed
the injured
leg
.  The surrounding men guffawed and laughed at how the young boy had made his play.  Robbie growled at the lad and made to give chase but the boy laughed and ran to hide behind the crowd of watching men.