IntoEternity (11 page)

Without hesitation, Gusty rushed to Alexander’s side. His
heavy arm fell about her shoulder and he pulled her tightly against him. At
that moment she realized how much she had come to trust him. In the short time
they had spent together he had never harmed her. He had shown her nothing but
respect and he had been patient with her less-than-loving slurs about his
manhood. Was it possible he might turn out to be a real-live knight in shining
armor?

“She speaks the truth, Bart. She is indeed my wife. And you
would do well to show her the respect due the lady of the keep. I will not
tolerate less.”

For a moment Bart looked startled. Then his cunning eyes
narrowed as he stared intently at Gusty. “When did you take a wife, nephew?”

“Last eve.”

“Who is she? What clan is she? Do we know anything about
her? Is she suited to be the wife of the great Highland Wolf?”

“She has courage and beauty, Uncle. She is the daughter of a
clan chieftain so I see no reason why she would not make a suitable wife for one
as well.” Alexander pushed her behind his back so she and his uncle could no
longer see each other.

“Whose daughter is she?”

“Her sire is Malcolm Sinclair.”

Black Bart made a strange noise, remarkably like that of an
enraged wild boar, but he did not say another word. In the next instant he
stormed past Gusty and Alexander and out a side door. Gusty stepped from behind
Alexander and sighed with relief. She was more than a little pleased to be rid
of the rude, vicious man. She had not cared for him at all and she now
understood why Alexander and Davin had been so concerned with his presence
here.

“What are you doing down here, woman? I left you in the
security of our chamber for a reason! You should have done as I commanded!”
Alexander rounded on her, his anger simmering just under the surface.

“I’m sorry! But I got bored up there by myself. I didn’t
think it would do any harm to do a bit of exploring.” She tried to shrug off
the stupidity of her actions in defying his orders with the delicate movement
of one shoulder, but despite her bravado she had a difficult time meeting his
angry silver gaze.

“Damn it, Augusta! The next time I tell you to stay put, you
had better stay where I put you!”

He took her hand and all but dragged her back up to their
chamber. He opened the door, pushed her inside.

“For your own protection, stay here.”

Before she could respond he slammed the door in her face.
The sound of the key scraping in the lock brought Gusty out of her dazed state.
Anger overtook all other emotions.

“A knight in shining armor? Did I really think Alexander
Sutherland could ever be one?” With a trembling hand she wiped a traitorous
tear from her cheek. “Well shit! He’s nothing but a bully. An unfeeling bully
at that. What did I do to be treated so abominably? Sure I disregarded his
command to stay in his chamber. Give me a break. What do I know about the
dangers that lay in wait for a girl raised in the future?”

Gusty paused her angry monologue and wiped the remaining
tears from her cheeks. Comprehension hit her like a blow to the stomach. “Oh my
God!” Her hands covered her face, hot with sudden shame. He had done no more
than ask her to stay safe. It was her own fault she had ended up in such a
compromising position. He had done no more than come to her rescue and how did
she repay his good deed? She acted like a spoiled child…

If the evil Black Bart was an example of the hazards she could
run into, she would have to be more vigilant. The villains of this world were
just as dangerous as those of the twenty-first century. She would never have
put herself into the situation she’d encountered downstairs if she had been
using her brain. She was very fortunate Alexander had found her before Black
Bart forced himself on her. And based on the way he’d looked at her, she was
pretty sure that was exactly what he’d had in mind. She shivered at the memory
of the lust-filled eyes in his dog-ugly face.

She only hoped Alexander’s temper would cool down by the
time he returned. She didn’t think she had the energy to deal with a large,
angry Highlander this evening.

* * * * *

Black Bart seethed with rage. His anger knew no bounds and
the long ride through the cold night to keep his assignation with his mistress,
Lady Brigitte Urquart, had done little to calm him. After leaving the
Sutherland holdings, he had ridden straight there, trying to figure a way out
of the dilemma in which he found himself. How could the wee bitch do something
so stupid? She had ruined all his plans with this impetuous marriage. How had
she come to be married to his nephew? He hadn’t even realized they were
acquainted with each other.

“You are a fool, Bart, a half-witted fool at that. Any woman
who sets her eyes upon Alexander Sutherland would of course take what was
offered. She was just fortunate enough to have caught the great Sutherland’s
eye.” The half-dressed woman, lounging upon the bed as if she were a sleek and
sated feline, purred contentedly.

Until she spoke, Bart had not even noticed her. But by the
way she mocked him he realized he had been ranting aloud. He did not need this
intrusion. Her presence was anything but welcome to him right now. He had
things to reason out. His plans had been ruined and he needed to determine what
to do now.

“What will you do?” She queried, a scornful smile touching
her full, red lips.

He turned his furious gaze on her. How dare she laugh at him?
He took several deep breaths and marshaled all his self-control to avoid taking
her lovely, long, slender neck in his hands and squeezing the life out of the
rich bitch. He’d had enough of her and her acerbic tongue. But he would wait.
Aye he would wait. For now, he still had need of her and her fortune.

“Keep your tongue behind your teeth, woman. I do not need
you badgering me with your inanities. I am at my wits’ ends. My strategies have
all been shattered.”

“You are being overly dramatic, Bart. At worst your schemes
have been slightly sullied. We just need to find a way to clean them up a bit.”

With the gracefulness of a feline she arose from the bed and
Bart realized he’d been mistaken. She wasn’t half-clothed, she was naked.
Despite his exasperation with her, his body responded to the obvious invitation
she was extending with noticeable enthusiasm.

He watched her warily, well aware she could be just as
vicious as a cat with its claws out if pushed the wrong way. At the moment he
wanted her soft and biddable and on the bed with his engorged shaft buried
between her soft, white thighs. He whispered raggedly. “What do you have in
mind, love?”

“My dear Bart, this complication could actually work in our
favor. Just think about it. It is now possible to gain more power than you had
ever dreamed. Now instead of having just two clans at your command, you could
have four. Set the lairds to war against each other. Attack and retreat,
leaving behind false clues. None of them will know their true enemy. If you
work this neatly, it seems, my dear, we have had our sights set too low.”

“A mistake I am going to remedy immediately.” Bart listened
to her with only half an ear as his gaze swept up her lush body. His mind was
slowly shutting down, his lust growing to uncontrollable proportions as the
wench worked her magic on him. He should have been immune to her charms after
using her for years but his carnal appetite for the delights of her willing
flesh took control of him and he was barely able to continue the conversation.

“I never leave things unattended, my sweet. I find if you do
so, you will be sorry later,” he said.

He eyed her with burning lust and flexed his hands as he
watched her pose and preen before him. She walked sensually across the distance
that separated them, swaying her hips suggestively until she was within his
reach.

“Is that so?” she asked in a low, hoarse whisper, one hand
slithering down his torso, the other finding its way up his thigh to grasp and
fondle his thickening cock.

With a guttural growl he grabbed a handful of her hair and
dragged her to her knees. He thrust the blunt head of his cock against her
lips.

“Open for me. Now.”

Her pink tongue swept out and over her lips, wetting them
before she licked the tip of his cock, wrapping her tongue around the swollen
head and then taking him deep. She looked up at him but he avoided her gaze and
threw his head back with a groan, forcing her to take more of him. She sucked
his cock, licking it as she stoked her hands up and down the length of him.
When he could stand no more he pulled back, lifted her to her feet and pushed
her toward the bed. She landed on her back and he flipped her onto her stomach.
He ran his fingers over the tender flesh between her thighs, finding her wet
and ready. With a grunt of satisfaction he thrust his cock deep into her
welcoming heat and took her hard and fast, temporarily forgetting all his
scheming for a few moments of bliss.

* * * * *

Alexander sat astride Caesar as Augusta, on the small mare
he had saddled for her to ride, followed him down the narrow path that led to
the seashore. He had decided to give her an outing to cool her temper and his.
The incident with his uncle had nearly pushed his anger to its limits when he
had sequestered her in their chambers. Only a good two hours of hard training
cooled his rage.

He had finally returned to his chambers to tell her he had a
surprise for her at the stables. He found her sitting miserably at the window,
her eyes red from weeping. Without giving her time to say nay he had dragged
her down to the stables and presented her to the small mare. When he told her
the horse was a gift, she had thrown her arms about his neck and kissed his
cheek.

“Thank you.” She’d whispered in his ear before she stepped
back and turned to run her hands over the neck of the mare. “You lovely thing.
Just look at you,” she crooned.”

“Her name is Sera. I bought her to breed with Caesar. They will
make good stock.”

“I hope Caesar is gentle with her.” It was a statement that
had barely hidden significance.

He knew she wasn’t happy with their handfasting but neither
was she opposed to his lovemaking. She welcomed his embraces and kisses with a
warmth that left him believing that with time she might even come to care
greatly for him. He looked forward to awakening her passions. She was a
beautiful, passionate woman and he meant to keep her and wed her.

“Oh it is beautiful here. Look! Look! Are those seals out on
the rocks?”

He smiled at her pleasure in finding the creatures he loved
to watch whenever he had time to spend just wandering the length and breadth of
the seashore.

“Aye, my selkie. Perhaps they come looking for their lost
kin,” he teased her. He remembered the wee lass he had once found sunning
herself on the rocks with her long dark curls whipping about her in the strong
sea breeze.

Carefully making their way through the rocks, they finally
reached the shore. With a wild yell he kicked Caesar into a hard gallop down
the beach. He glanced back to find Gusty following him, her hair flowing wildly
over her shoulders as she kicked the mare to keep up. Her scream of delight was
lost in the wind as they rode for a distance before pulling up.

Alexander dismounted first. He moved to Gusty’s side and she
smiled down at him, her cheeks pink with exertion, her lips tempting his
greatly. He reached up and grasped her about the waist and lifted her into his
arms. With a slow, deliberate motion he let her slide down the length of his
body until her feet touched the ground. The feel of her luscious curves under
his hands had his body hard and needy instantly.

Her gasp let him know she was just as affected by the
intimate contact. He lowered his head and his mouth covered hers in a sweet
exploration of lips. She opened her mouth and her tongue timidly touched his
but after a moment he pulled back. He wanted her, thought about taking her to
the ground and slaking his need then and there but he owed her better.

“Sweet selkie.”

She stepped away and he allowed her to slip out of his
hands. She looked down the beach and then back at him.

“Come. Let’s walk a bit.” She invited him and then she shyly
slipped her hand into his.

The sight of his large, sun-darkened hand holding her small
pale one gave him more pleasure than he could have thought possible.

They walked side by side to a large, sun-bleached log and
sat holding hands, staring out at the incoming waves that crashed onto the
shore and then receded. The sound of seabirds and the roar of the crashing
waves hitting the rocks down the beach provided relaxing background noise, and
they sat and talked for hours. He watched her watching him when she thought he
wasn’t looking. At some point he had realized he was wooing his lady. Something
he had meant to do but he hadn’t known how to proceed. She had made the task
easy. The lass was very knowledgeable, a serious woman who listened to his
views on war, horses and the needs of men. Not many women would understand such
matters. He would have to thank whoever had educated the lass.

* * * * *

Gusty sat in the wooden tub, her hair piled high on her head
with just a few curling tendrils escaping her combs and clinging to the damp
skin of her face and neck. Her shoulders and the tops of her breasts were
visible above the waterline as she soaked in the comforting hot water. She sensed
Alexander’s presence the moment he entered the room but she pretended otherwise.

She smiled, thinking back on the afternoon they had spent at
the beach. He had been kind and patient and instead of having a hot sexual romp
on the sand they had talked. Actually talked. Their conversation had been
enlightening. He was a medieval Scottish warrior, a Highland laird, a man’s man
and yet he was gentle, kissing her sweetly when he left her at their bedroom
door.