Branded by a Warrior (13 page)

Growing uncomfortable at the eyes on her, s
he had tried several attempts to
distance herself from Broderick. E
ach attempt
was expertly
countered;
he
k
ept her at his side all night. He needed to touch her in some fashion; if she got too far away he would simply move closer. Usually such possessiveness would irritate her, yet she couldn’t be mad at him, she simply smiled and pretended she didn’t notice how he hovered.

The wedding had been inspiring, just what her heart needed. In this desperate time, she needed to be reminded of love, of vows and of the future. She refused to let her heart harden, seeing Isobel, seeing the young couple before her promise their lives to each other gave her hope.

Once the wedding was over the mass of people moved to the keep, where the banquet was set up, a small group of
musicians
played in the corner as everyone found a seat.

Broderick
had never
felt more powerful than when she walked beside him,
it was as if he felt he could conquer the world. She was his equal; he had never met another woman he’d be more willing to follow into battle, or bed.

Broderick helped Elisabeth be seated to his right, a
place
normally
reserved for the wife of the laird, a chair that had b
een empty for over ten years
.
His brother had taken the seat across from her; he smiled at Broderick with a knowing look
as he watched her tuck her in
. The brothers
had never seen another wom
an sit in their mother’s chair, nor had any member of the clan. It was widely known the chair of the boys’ deceased mother always stayed empty.

The sight of Elisabeth regally smiling and waving to his people as they sat at the head of the table
pleased Broderick
;
his mother would have loved Elisabeth.

“What do ye think of my people Elisabeth?” he asked, leaning forward so only she and Kendrix could hear him.

Turning t
o address him, “Ye should be proud Broderick, I’ve never experienced such genuine warmth and welcome before” smiling brightly.

Kendrix leaned forward too, “Wait till ye taste the wedding feast Elisabeth, ye may never want to leave this castle again lass! Oh and the music, I hope ye like dancing lass, our people dance!” he teased in earnest.

Chuckling
she watched as dish after dish came out of the kitchens,
honey
mead flowed freely, tankers clanked and the MacMillan peopl
e celebrated. Conversation
flowed freely, Kendrix and Broderick kept her well entertained with their stories from their youth. She had never laughed harder, the brothers were a joy to be around. She ate until she was sure she couldn’t eat another thing.
The mead
tasted
like ambrosia, she felt a delightful tingle in her face
after her third goblet.

She watched as couple after couple made their way to the large open area of
t
he keep
where people were
starting to dance.

From his chair, Kendrix had noticed Elisabeth
her bouncing her feet and clapping along
to the music. She smiled
at
passing dancers with happiness while she drank her mead and became rosy cheeked. Rolling his eyes to the sky, he had given up on his older brother, the lass needed to dance.
He had waited long enough for Broderick to make his move, annoyed at his older brother he knew just want to do.

Just as the musicians started a new tune Kendrix stood up and
offered his hand to Elisabeth, “Would you care to dance
Elisabeth
?”

Smiling with joy
she looked up at him
, “I would be honored Kendrix, I love to dance!” taking his hand she allowed him to help her from her seat.

The two walked away from the table without a backwards glance to Broderick
, quickly joining the dozens of dancers floating around the room.

Elisabeth was so thankful that Kendrix asked her to dance; she
had a great affi
nity with music, she had patiently been waiting for Broderick to ask her to dance
.

Holding Kendrix’s strong
arms
,
he swept her into the quick paced dance with ease, twirling her
around;
a laugh escaped her lips as she circled around the room.
She had missed dancing and music; she forgot how much happiness it brought her.

Forgetting her troubles, she got lost in the music and enjoyed her dance with Kendrix.
He was an excellent dancing
partner;
he made her laugh and never once stepped on
her toes.

Kendrix kept her out on the dance floor for over three songs, by the end of the
third;
her face felt like it was going to split from smiling and laughing so much. Kendrix and the surrounding dancers had been an absolute delight; it was exactly what she needed.

Several times she caught Broderick’s eye as he conversed with others at the table, she had been tempted to stick out her tonged at him like a child.

“I need a drink Kendrix
,”
she stated after the third dance had ended.

“Come, lets take you back to the brooding wolf, maybe he’ll finally ask ye to dance?” he joked as they approached the table where Broderick sat.

Sliding into her seat with
a happy
sigh, she drank deeply from her cup in appreciation. This was the most activity she had gotten in weeks; it felt incredible, and tiring.

“I bid you ado Elisabeth, I must seek out my
next
dance partner for the evening” bowing to her, Kendrix winked as he walked away.

Broderick couldn’t take his eyes off her all night,
“Ye are a skilled dancer as well? Is there anything ye can’t do Elisabeth?” he asked, smiling at the angel at his right. 

The few kisses they had shared had sparked a desire he didn’t know existed.
He had watched her dance with his brother, jealousy had coursed thro
ugh his veins, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in many years.
A feeling he did not like at all.

“I have yet to find anything I
cann
a
e
master
,
” she smirked as she
finished off her goblet of mead, giggling into the cup.

Holding out his hand, “Dance with me my love
,
” he whispered so only she could hear.

Seein
g the beautiful redhead nod, he pulled her closer as
he entwined fingers with her yet again. Walking
h
and in hand
he ran his thumb over the top of her soft hand.
Swinging
her out into the rotating couples with expert skill before bringing her body
spinning back into his embrace.

“
Broderick, please d
innae call me your love,” she whispered against his neck as they danced to the sensual music that filled his hall.

“Why?” he retorted instantly in a husky voice,
pulling
her even closer.

Feeling her chest expand against his made his blood boil, the sexual tension between them vibrated, he looked down at he
r rosy face and
locked eyes with her.

“It makes me feel things I should nae,” she professed in compl
ete and utter honesty with him, her cheeks flushed a vibrant shade of pink.

Taking her into a series of tight turns, he kept her close and whispered into her ear, “
tell me what you feel
my l
ove
” sinking his fingers gently into her hip with emphasis as they spun around the room.

“I want you
,”
she
confessed,
quickly gasping with shock that she had actually said that.

Her words floored him; he could feel her heart pounding against his chest, the erotic way she swayed with him as they danced. It was as if the words came out before she had a chance to stop them, complete honesty from
his
queen.
It pleased him greatly.

Turning together into a wide turn he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “I want
you
my queen, I want all of you
.” H
earing her suck in a breath at his words, he smiled to himself as they danced.

He had never been one for dancing, but with Elisabeth it was magic. They danced as one, effortlessly and sensual. Her every touch made him hard with desire for her.
Warm desire emanated from them as they looked into each other’s eyes as they rotated around the room with other dancers. The world was forgotten.

The famous dance they were so deeply engrained in required them to separate and spin
individually;
releasing her reluctantly
,
he
did the steps before turning back. Running his hand across her hip as they came back together he
looked into her eyes and saw tears
, fresh raw tears
.

“What is wrong lass?”
he questioned immediately, bringing her closer so none could see her cry, he knew she would be embarrassed.

“Accident, someone ran into my shoulder,” she admitted trying to banish her tears.
The floor was indeed crowded, little room to maneuver caused the occasional run in from time to time.
She looked up at Broderick’s strong face and saw his jaw muscles clench, as he pulled her out of the dancing circle.

Entwining his fingers with hers again he pulled her over into a secluded corner of the hall and searched her face, “Would you like to go upstairs lass?
As l
aird
I cannot join you just yet, but if you’d like to go rest I’ll come up in a bit. The d
ogs are up there waiting for ye
.
”

Nodding in agreement
she clenched her jaw in attempt to stop the tears of pain from rolling down her face. She
was
weary
and her shoulder throbbed
in agony
, she needed to lay down
, the quietness of his room sounded heavenly right now.

“Go on upstairs
love
, I’ll see you soon,” he ordered as he gently nudged her in the direction of the tower rooms.
Watching
her walk away, one hand holding her injured shoulder
until she disappeared down the darkened corridor.
He
turned back to the celebration; his mood had been drastic altered seeing her in pain.

As laird, he had to stay for several mor
e hours before he could turn in. H
e wanted nothing more than to follow
Elisabeth upstairs
and peel that dress off her with his teeth
and kiss away her pain
.
Yet, he had to see to his duty. Joining a group of elders, he
got a fresh cup of mead and attempted to whittle away his time until he could join her.

The music faded in the background as
Eli
sbeth rubbed her throbbing
shoulder;
trying to contain the tears of agony she felt building up. While dancing
,
she had taken her outside steps and ran directly into a fellow female dancer with tremendous force
, directly into her
injured
shoulder.
It was the
same dark-haired
woman she had yet to meet, and the same one who always glared at her. Tonight
had been no accident, the wench was jealous. 

Walking from the keep towards the tall tower she hea
rd voices down the hall that captured
her interest, whispers
down a darkened hallway
during a celebration couldn’t be a good thing. Hearing
Broderick’s name
made her notice even more.
Unable to see them, as they were down an adjoining hall,
she could hear a pair of women.

“He acts as if our betrothal doesn’t stand any longer!
Did you
see the way she sat in his mother’s chair?
No
woman has sat in that chair in almost ten years Mother! They act as though they are already lovers
” the fir
st woman spat out in a tantrum down the darkened hall.

“Broderick
will
marry you
Siobhan, he’s still punishing you for running off all those years ago. The Drummond girl will never
be our queen, you will Siobhan. The
entire clan expects it. Broderick will do what is right as he always does my sweet, fear not,” the
older
woman
cooed
in a
soothing tone trying to calm down a very
jealous Siobhan.