Highland Burn (18 page)

James ran after her. “Wait… What girls are ye talking about?”

Chapter 15

Never mess with a dragon’s woman.

The ride back to Black Stone was eerily quiet. James rode ahead of his men holding in his rage. He worked his jaw until he felt his teeth grind together, never once sparing a glance at Abigale, because he didn’t trust himself not to come down hard on the lass. He was holding on by a fraying thread. Plus he didn't want to lose control in front of his men nor frighten the little girls who rode with Abigale.

If the lass would have just let him explain himself, she wouldn’t have found herself in the middle of a village raid and… James stopped mid-thought and shook his head. He couldn’t think about what that English filth was going to do to her.
God’s wounds
, he had ripped the man’s head clear off his shoulders with such viciousness. More like sliced it off. With claws extended, he cut the bastard just like a blade.

Then there was the issue of these wee girls coming to stay at Black Stone. There was no problem in taking care of your own, but with that came a risk. Who knew where or who their parents were?

As they approached the stables, James’s anger started to boil over as he saw Marcus help Abigale and the girls dismount from Fergus. James rushed to the great hall. He needed mead.

Shortly after James had entered the hall, Abigale and the girls followed behind him with Rory, Conall, Magnus and Marcus.

“What were ye thinking, lass!” The baritone of his voice rang out in rage and echoed throughout the great hall.

Abigale quickly gave Alice the little girl in her arms. “Ye’ll be safe with Alice,” she reassured the girls. Alice lifted the wee child up and on to her hip. "Come along my sweets.” Alice placed a comforting hand on the oldest girl’s shoulder and led her to the stairs leading to a bedchamber. Abigale was sure that Alice was going to pamper the girls with a warm bath and food.

Marcus, Rory, Conall and Magnus came into the great hall to join them and silently waited for their laird’s wrath. By the looks of it, it was going to be one hell of a battle of the strong-willed.

“Abigale!” The echo of her name being yelled made her shudder and sent a chill down her spine. James was furious with her.

Abigale closed her eyes and took a deep breath to settle her nerves before she faced the storm. As she turned around, she met an ice cold dark stare “My Laird,” she swallowed, “I went to the village for some fresh air. As ye may recall, I needed some time to think about my new-found knowledge of Bothwell Castle.”

James stood towering over her tiny frame, sternly looking down at her, his voice deep, low, and intimidating. “Ye wouldn’t have needed fresh air if ye would’ve let me explain." James’s jaw ticked in aggravation.

Abigale back-stepped until she felt the coldness of the stone wall on her back. James stalked toward her. “I didnae go alone… Marcus was with me,” Abigale meekly replied.

James turned his head toward Marcus and if looks could kill, Marcus would be a corpse. “And ye thought this was a good idea? Going to the village when there could very well be someone out there wanting me dead?” Just that thought alone raised his fury to the next level.

Before Marcus could answer, Abigale interrupted. “James, it’s no his fault, he tried to talk me out of it.”

James braced his large hands on either side of Abigale’s head, encaging her to the wall. Now she was defending Marcus. Like it wasn’t bad enough she left Black Stone with another man, now she defended him. James looked as if he wanted to rip Marcus's heart out and feed it to his dogs. His dragon agreed and begged to be released.

One thing James was learning fast was you don’t mess with a dragon’s woman.

“I want ye to heed my words carefully, Abigale.” James leaned his head down until their foreheads were slightly touching. His cold dark stare flickered with rage. “Ye will no leave Black Stone again. Is that clear?” James growled his demands deep and low.

She ducked down and freed herself from his entrapment. “I will no be a prisoner here. I shall come and go as I please.”

The silence was deafening in the great hall, not even a breath was taken. Everyone waited for James’s reaction. No one dared to defy a command from the laird.

Who did this lass think she was, denying his command? At first James didn’t know how to respond. If one of his men were defiant he showed no mercy… off with their heads. But he couldn’t very well do that to Abigale, though the thought of bending her over his knee and spanking her arse did.

“Ye do as I say.”

Hands on her hips. “And what if I don’t?” Abigale’s cheeks flushed red with anger.

James approached Abigale dominating and demanding. He grabbed her arms to make a point that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. “If I have to, I’ll lock ye in the bedchamber… tie ye to the bed… I’ll do whatever necessary to ensure yer safety. Do ye understand me?”

“James, leave the lass alone. If ye want to place blame then place it on me.” Marcus began to walk toward James until he was standing face to face with him. Both men were the same height, but Marcus was leaner. His bright blue stare challenged James.

James didn’t back down, he stood firm. “She is no business of yers, cousin. I suggest ye back down before someone gets hurt.”

“Are ye threatening me?”

James’s jaw ticked. The feelings running through him right now were foreign to him and he didn’t know how to control them. However, it didn’t help that his dragon was restless and itched for a fight. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion he was used to.

“Nay, no threat. I’m just curious why the sudden interest in my wife. Do ye want her for yourself?”

Marcus smirked. “I can no deny the fact that she deserves a better man than ye.”

Before Marcus knew what hit him, James shoved him with such power that Marcus stumbled back. Marcus threw his arms up as if he was beckoning James to take the first punch. He was not a coward and he didn’t fear his cousin, not by a long shot. “Go ahead… make yer move, Laird Douglas,” Marcus mocked.

James had had enough. Emotions of jealousy, anger, and confusion were running amok in his head. He didn’t quite understand why Marcus was challenging him like this. Was he really trying to make an impression on Abigale? Or did he have other ulterior motives? Regardless, he was being challenged and knew he needed to decide what he was going to do about it. Oh, he knew damn well what his dragon wanted to do. Shred the bastard. Nay, he would grab ahold of whatever was left of his self-control and be a man and walk away. In time he would fix things between him and Abigale, because there was no way in bloody hell he would let her go.

James looked Marcus up and down as if he was disgusted by his mere being. He stayed silent and turned to walk away.

“Or are ye a coward like yer da?” Marcus pushed on.

James charged him, spearing his stomach with his right shoulder until his body slammed against the stone wall. Marcus’s head bounced off the stone with a thud and he smirked at James with the devil in his eyes. He was mocking him again. Against James’s will, he cocked his right arm back and his massive hand pummeled down on Marcus’s face. He was going to make damn sure to knock that smirk off his face. James readied himself to repeat the assault on Marcus when he heard Abigale shriek, “Stop it!”

Abigale rushed over to James and held on to his arm before he could hit Marcus again. James pushed her off his arm and Abigale stumbled from the force. She tried again and stepped in front of James as Rory and Conall grabbed Marcus and escorted him outside. With all her might Abigale forcefully pushed her hands into James’s rock solid chest. "This is quite enough!”

James snapped his attention to Abigale and looked down at her. His chest heaved up and down as his breathing labored and his hands were bloodied. His irises swirled amber with reptilian slits as pupils. A sinister stare pinned Abigale. He had lost all control and let his dragon take over.

~~~~~

Hysteria billowed behind Abigale’s eyes, turning them huge and full of fear. She couldn’t quite comprehend what she’d seen. In disbelief she stared back at James or who she thought was James. His eyes! No human ever had eyes that swirled like his. And the thin black slits that centered in his depths, nay not human at all. Animalistic, most definitely. Her hand shook over her mouth to stifle a scream that was lodged in her throat. She shook her head in disbelief.

“Abigale, let me explain.” James took a slow step toward her.

Abigale backed away from him, “Don’t come near me.” Her words were barely a shaken whisper.

Abigale needed to find a way to escape.
What type of monster is the Black Douglas
? she thought and what was he going to do with her? No more was her sense common. There was a beast standing right in front of her waiting for a good chase. Looking over her shoulder she saw the twin wooded doors leading to the outside bailey just a few feet away. Could she make it to those doors and escape before he caught her? She turned back around and met his amber glare and a shiver raced up her spine sending her straight into flight instinct. Fear took over as she dashed through the great hall and out the door.

Relieved to see that Fergus was still in the bailey waiting for the stable groom, with much haste she grabbed the leather reins and hoisted herself up onto him. Taking off in a full gallop toward the forest, she didn’t know where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to be far away from Black Stone and that monster.

Chapter 16

Until we meet again…

Hooves thundered through the forest disturbing a flock of black birds sending them up into the gray cloudy sky. Abigale’s heart raced faster and faster with each stride Fergus took. Scrapes streaked her skin as low-lying tree branches whipped at her face. She maneuvered her steed, zigzagging between heavily rooted trees when the hem of her dress caught on a branch and ripped a chunk off. She knew she was pushing Fergus faster than she should, but fear had grabbed a hold of the reins and drove her forward. The quicker she was far away from Black Stone, the better she would be.

Those eyes… swirling amber with evil sinister snake-like slits, continued to play in her mind, causing her to look over her shoulder, paranoid that the Bogeyman followed closely behind.

Abigale turned back around and focused intently on getting through the glen. There was a clearing up ahead, not too far. Perhaps there would be a village or town nearby that she could lie low in until she figured out what to do.

It all happened so fast when Fergus stumbled over a root. Before Abigale could catch her balance, she was thrown to the ground. A rock bit into her ribs as she landed on her stomach. The dampness of the forest floor chilled her to the bone as she saw her beloved horse tumble to the ground right before her eyes. She heard the air escape from his lungs. A loud agonized groan echoed through the forest.

Rolling to her side, Abigale clutched her ribs and winced as pain stung her body. When she lifted her auburn head, now full of dry, dead leaves, she saw Fergus lying a few feet away snorting and groaning. “Nay… Nay…” Abigale stumbled to her feet and slowly walked toward her friend.

As she got closer to him she noticed that an unforgiving unearthed root had wrapped around Fergus’s hind leg. He tried to move but he couldn’t; his leg was stuck. Abigale fell to her knees next to his head and sobbed uncontrollably. Fergus nickered low and deep as she picked his head up and laid it on her lap. “Nay, Fergus. Ye have to get up,” she begged with tears trickling down her cheeks. “Ye have to get up."

~~~~~

James ran through the great hall like a bat straight out of hell, bursting through the double wooden doors toward the stables. Hopping up on his mount, he kicked his mare into a full gallop and took off toward the glen. The need to find Abigale and make her understand he wasn’t a beast, drove him with commanding force. Damn him for a fool! Why hadn’t he just walked away like he had planned to do? Why had he allowed rage to overcome him? Why had he lost control?

“Marcus,” he growled. “He’s a dead man."

James rode his black mare with God speed following Abigale’s trail through the woods. A blue piece of material clung to a branch. James stopped briefly and took the fabric in his hands.
Abigale.
He was right on her trail.

When he finally reached her, the sight before him shattered his heart into a million pieces. Abigale sat next to Fergus, sobbing. He jumped off his horse and proceeded with caution. He desperately wanted to go to her, wrap her in his arms and take away the sorrow he’d caused her. She was frightened and she looked as though she was hurt.

James moved closer to Abigale, yet still keeping some distance between them. “Lass, we need to talk.”

Abigale snapped her head up and froze, her body tensed. He’d found her. Slowly she released her dirk from her thigh and stood. With the dagger in her shaking hand, she pressed it to her slender neck. “Stay away or I’ll cut my throat,” she demanded.

James put his hands up in surrender. “Abigale, I will no hurt ye. Please put the dirk down,” he pleaded and stepped closer. Was she that frightened of him that she was willing to cut her own throat?

Taking a steady step backwards, she pressed the cold metal into her neck until blood was trickling down her skin. She’d meant what she said.