April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 01 (3 page)

Annella gasped at the sight of Rory’s manhood. Long, hard and pointing directly towards her. Redness heated her face, but it was the heat she began to feel elsewhere that caused an unusual ache between her thighs. Her heartbeat grew faster. She feared her pounding chest was so loud, he might hear her. 

              Turning around, she closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the tree trunk. She didn’t know what was happening to her and she didn’t like it, mostly. She hoped that he would leave and that her presence was undetected.

"The water is all yers...my lady," Rory said standing directly in front of her with nothing but his kilt wrapped around his body. Stunned that she had been caught, she remained speechless and looked down at her feet hoping to turn invisible.

              "I believe that now we are even, my lady. I have seen ye and ye have seen me," he continued.

"I was no’ staring, if that is what ye were thinking. I simply walked down here and saw ye but a moment.”

              With a devilish smile he asked, "Did ye like what ye saw?"

              "How dare ye ask me such a question,” she barked pressing her lips together.

Staring at her pouting lips all Rory could do was think about how badly he wanted to kiss those plush, pink morsels. He took a step forward but she instantly retreated.

"Do ye always leave the keep unattended?"

"I have nay a need for guards. I can take care of myself and besides, I prefer to be alone and I have nay a need for yer company either."

"Do ye want me to leave then?"

With a mischievous smirk, he took another step closer and could feel her heavy breaths on his skin which made him shiver.  

"I would assume ye have had enough company for one day," she snapped.

"What do ye mean?"

"I ken Myra went to yer room last night and I dinna pretend to ken how she is."

Rory looked into Annella eyes and could almost feel the burning look she was giving him. He realized that Annella sounded jealous. But why, he wondered. He was going to enjoy this game.

"Ah, Myra, was that her name? Aye, she is full of companionship, isn’t she?"

Annella’s jaw dropped in shock by his remark and uncanny behavior. She had never met someone so callous and rude before.

"Ye are an arrogant brute," she said accusingly and began to walk away from him.

"My apologies, my lady."

Rory couldn’t help his smirk. He found some humor in her anger.

Annella marched back to the keep and went directly into her room. The nerve of him
,
she said to herself, while yelling vulgarities in her head, directed at him. She aimlessly walked back and forth across her room not having the patience to sit down. She was too worked up. She wanted to go back downstairs and tell him what kind of an arse he was but then that would put her back in close proximity which she preferred to avoid.

A small part of her wouldn’t have mind. As much as she hated to admit it, he was unbelievably handsome. When he stepped close to her, she was sure he was going to reach out and kiss her. She had never kissed a man before and the idea was both intimidating and intriguing.

Interrupting her verbal banter to herself, she heard commotion from out her window, momentarily preoccupying her thoughts. She walked over to the window and watched Rory and his men while they trained in the courtyard. The way he wielded his sword was quite impressive. With only his kilt on, his upper body glistened in the sun as sweat rolled down his back and chest.

She observed him and his men for a few more minutes after realizing that she seemed cowardly by hiding in her room. Going out riding was the only thing that was going to clear her head. She grabbed her bow and headed out to the stables.

On her way down the hall, she passed Myra cleaning up one of the guest rooms.

"Good day, my lady. I trust that ye slept well last night," Myra said.

"Aye. Did ye enjoy yer evening with Laird MacKinnon?" Annella asked with an accusing tone.

"My lady, I dinna ken what ye mean. I offered my company but he dismissed me. Normally men invite me into their bedchamber but when he dinna, I left."

"Ye mean, ye dinna sleep with him?"

"Nay, my lady," Myra replied looking a little confused because Annella had never shown an interest in who she had bedded down with before.

That lying boar
. "Thank ye, Myra."

Annella continued her way down the stairs, her head loaded with questions. Why would he lie? Did he purposely try to anger her? And why does it matter if he had slept with Myra or not? Feeling overwhelmed, she quickened her pace to the stables to saddle her horse. The sooner she got out of there the better.

The day was clear and beautiful, getting warmer with each passing hour. With her bow and arrows strapped to her back, she rode across the fields towards the loch on the other side of the forest. She needed to think, needed to be alone and needed to vent her anger.

She found a small knot on a tree and used it as a target. Notching an arrow onto the bowstring she took aim and released. Hearing the swooshing sound through the air, her arrow hit its mark. She scanned the trees looking for other potential targets and released several more arrows all hitting their marks as well.

"Ye are quite skilled, my lady."

Startled by the absence of noise, she turned around with an arrow still notched in place and pointed it directly at his heart.
How does he keep sneaking up on me?
   

“Why are ye following me?" she demanded looking Rory straight in the eyes.

“Ye may want to lower that before ye accidently release yer weapon on me. For I do value my life, my lady.”

Not realizing that she still held up her bow in his direction, she slowly lowered it.

“I was no’ following ye, my lady; I was already heading in this direction.” He grabbed the reins of his horse and climbed down.

“Oh. Well then, dinna let me distract ye." She turned back to her mark and released the arrow.

Wanting to stay and learn more about this captivating lass he suggested, “I will make ye a deal. If I hit yer next target I stay, if no’ and I miss, I will leave."

Wondering what game he was playing she agreed, but only because she was not going to make this easy on him. “Aye, I will agree to yer bet.”

She looked up through the trees trying to find a mark that she knew would be tricky to achieve. Then she spotted it, a small knot on an Ash tree several yards away. “There, if ye hit that knot ye can stay, if no’ ye must leave me alone.”

“Agreed.”

Rory looked over to where she was pointing and grabbed the bow and arrow from her hand. Placing the arrow above his thumb to keep it in place, he carefully pulled back the string. Annella smiled at his awkward body position and stance.  He glanced over at her and let it fly. Missed.

"Ha, ye missed," Annella said with a wide grin on her face.

“Aye, perhaps I am no’ as good with a bow as I am wit my sword.”

“That may be true, cause ye are terrible wit a bow,” she teased and burst into laughter causing Rory to laugh as well.

For Annella it felt so good to laugh. It had felt like years since she had a good hearty laugh. With tears in her eyes she smiled at Rory. When he smiled back, a sensation of warmth flushed over her body and her smile died quickly.

“Where did ye learn to shoot like that?”

“My mother, Mairi was her name. She died from fever when I was young.”

“I am sorry to hear about yer mother. She must have been quite skilled for ye to inherit her talent.”

“Aye she was. When I was young I used to watch her participate in target shooting with others in the clan. She would let me go out and practice wit her. After she passed, my father argued against it. He believed a lass should no’ compete in a mon’s sport. He is no’ a verra understanding mon. He is a hard mon. But I ken if only he would give me a chance I would win. After all, it is in my blood.”

Rory smiled down at her. This new insight into Annella’s past made him all the more interested in wanting to learn more about her.

“Will ye be leaving now? That was our agreement.”

Feeling disappointed for not coming up with another excuse to stay he replied, “As ye wish, my lady; I will have to practice the next time we meet. As soon as I find someone as good as ye to teach me.”

“Maybe there is a solution for the both of us. I can teach ye how to shoot an arrow if ye teach me how to sword play,” she proposed before she realized that she just invited him to stay.

“Sword play? That is quite dangerous, my lady, but yer suggestion has merit. It is sometimes good for a lass to ken how to protect herself and as ye so directly pointed out, I am no’ as skilled with a bow. I shall give ye yer first lesson.”

“Really?” Annella was unsure if he was serious or not but she had always wanted to learn how to wield a sword.

“Sure.” He pulled out a long jeweled-studded dagger out of its sheath that hung onto his belt. “Here take my dirk. Hold it in yer hand like this,” he said demonstrating how to properly hold onto the hilt.

She listened attentively to him and mimicked his every move as she swung the dirk from side to side. With his sword he tried to block her advances. While going over each rule of combat, they taunted and teased each other like children at play.

“Verra good. Ye are a quick learner, my lady. Ye have already mastered the foot work.”

She smiled up at him feeling good about her accomplishment and by his appraisal.

“I want ye to keep this. You can use it to help ye practice.”

“Nay, it is yer dagger.”

“Aye, I want ye to have it.”

Gazing into his fiery eyes, she could feel his intensity and emotion as he looked down at her. Feeling his unwarranted attention, she looked down at the dagger in her hands.

“Thank ye.”

“My lady, I owe ye an apology for my behavior this morning by the loch and last eve."

Continuing to look down she softly asked, “Why did ye want me to think that ye slept wit Myra?"

“I dinna say I slept wit her. Ye assumed I did.”

Knowing he was right, that she did assume made her feel foolish. She looked up and curiously asked, “Why dinna ye?”

“To be honest wit ye lass, I am no’ interested...in her.” He moved towards her so close he could smell the rose scent of her hair. She withdrew away from him in hesitation.

Not wanting to scare her off he asked, “Shall we continue our lesson?”

“Aye, my laird” she said feeling nervous by his behavior. 

“Please, call me Rory.”

She nodded her head and he continued his lesson. They spent a good hour together going over the moves. Once he was confident that she understood the basic movements and tricks if an opponent attacked from the front, he wanted to show her a different tactic.

“Now if an opponent comes up from behind ye like this, ye will want to block his arm so that he dinna have an opportunity to take advantage of ye in this position,” he said as he walked behind her and pressed the front of his body up against the curve of her back.

With one of his hands on her hip and the other holding onto her right shoulder she started to feel light-headed by the physical contact. Each breath became forceful as she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck. Both of them stood still. Feeling his thumb lightly rubbing back and forth on the top of her shoulder gave her goose bumps.

Feeling uncomfortable at the close contact, Annella leaped out of his hold, just as her feet got tangled up by the skirt of her dress. She began to lose balance when Rory scooped her up in his arms to prevent her from falling. Slowly, Annella pivoted and tilted her head up to him.

Rory took this as an invitation and brought his lips down to hers. It was only meant to be a light kiss but, when she began to kiss him back that was all the encouragement he needed. With his tongue, he pressed it onto her lips enticing her to open. When she complied, Rory swept his tongue into her mouth. Kissing her, tasting her. He threaded his fingers through the long locks of hair at the back of her head to deepen the kiss. With his other hand he placed it onto the small of her back and held her close to him.

Annella was not sure what to do, but took her direction from him and swept her tongue along his. He let out a deep moan and pressed her body closer and tighter to his. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around the back of his neck. She wanted more, but unsure of what more meant. Rory positioned himself between her thighs and she could feel the hardness of his manhood pressing up against her stomach. She found a sense of joy knowing that he was just as affected by this kiss as she was.

Rory knew he had to stop soon before he lost control. He could not take her maidenhood from her out here in the woods. He could not take it from her at all. But he yearned to touch her. He wanted her more than any woman he ever had. But he couldn’t stop. His body would not cooperate. Her lips tasted like honey and he was buzzing like a bee.

Feeling the awkward tension between them, she abruptly stepped out of his embrace.

Nervously she said, “It’s getting late, I must go.”

Suddenly regret filled Annella's mind.
What have I done?

Watching her stomp away towards her horse, Rory quickly ran over to her and grabbed her by the hand. "Please, dinna leave. Ye have nay any reason to fear me."

"I dinna fear ye. This should no’ have happened and I can no’ be around ye. Ye make me feel things, things I dinna want to feel."

Rory was not certain what she meant by that but knew that he too was starting to feel something for her as well. He enjoyed spending his time with her. He had never felt like this towards a lass before, but any feelings he had would have to be denied. He knew that he had nothing to offer her. No promises. No future.

He watched her as she picked up her skirt and set her foot into the stirrup of the saddle to mount her horse. With a jerk of her wrist she yanked onto the reins luring Finlay into a fast sprint.

Chapter 3

Annella was the first to sit down at the table for the evening meal. Berta walked through the kitchen door with a plate of warm fresh bread in her hands. Looking awkwardly at Annella, she could tell that something was amiss.