“I can understand why. It is peaceful here.” He felt a smile tickle at the corners of his mouth. It was her soft laughter that did it, or maybe it was her carefree smile, or the feeling of contentment sitting there beside her that almost brought a smile to his lips. His smile had been dormant so long, he didn’t think it would ever return. He just might be wrong.
“The woods that connect your clan and mine are lovely as well,” she said, recalling the endless times she’d spent there.
“You will not walk in the woods alone,” he ordered, a sense of dread gripping him of what might await her there.
Her smile faded. “Dictating already?”
“It’s my duty as your husband to keep you safe. I will walk with you in the woods.”
She thought to disagree with him but he obviously thought he’d solved the issue and it needed no more discussion. And it didn’t. She may have agreed to wed him, but she hadn’t agreed to surrender her freedom.
“We will be good together,” he said.
“Is that hope I hear in your words or belief?”
“Both,” he said. “And you? How do you feel it will work between us?”
Was this the time to tell him she loved him and had dreamt of being his wife, never, ever believing her dream would come true? Or did that remain her secret? “I believe we can do well together.”
She thought she caught the slightest lift of one corner of his mouth as if a smile tempted to surface. She’d love to see him smile again. He had such a gorgeous smile. Women would stare and sigh when he smiled and her heart would ache thinking that she had no chance of ever being his wife. And now here she was Arran MacKinnon’s wife.
His hand went to her face, resting against her cheek while his thumb skimmed her lips. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t stop touching her face. Maybe it was because her skin was so soft and her lips far too inviting. Or maybe it was her kindness. Whatever it was, he was glad he’d made her his wife.
He brought his lips to hers, eager to kiss her again and again ever since their first kiss. He kissed her with a slow pleasure, teasing them both with a tentative brush of his lips, then a light lingering that sparked passion in him and he felt it spark in her as well. He didn’t need to coax her lips apart, they parted on their own, inviting and greeting him with enthusiasm.
His one arm went around her back to rest his hand at the back of her head as his other arm circled her waist, then he slowly eased her back on the ground, following down over her, never breaking their kiss.
It had been too long since he had taken his time with a woman, pleasing her, teasing her, bringing her and himself immense pleasure. How long had it been since he found a woman who he wanted to enjoy that with, who caused his shaft to swell more from desire, then nothing more than a need, a persistent itch that needed scratching?
Purity continued to marvel at how wonderful a kiss could be and how eager she was to share them with her husband.
Husband.
She had a husband and that meant they could do more than kiss and the thought added to her excitement.
He warned himself to go slow. This was no place to consummate their vows and yet his passion was firing hotter than it had in quite a while. His hand drifted to her breast and that’s when King pounded on his back with a screech and he heard Princess growl.
He was ready to warn them both off when he lifted his head and saw Princess standing a short distance from them, her growl growing as she stared at the woods.
Arran was off Purity in a flash, yanking her to her feet as his other hand grabbed his sword where he’d laid it on the ground beside him and took a protective stance in front of her. He silently cursed himself ten times over. He had been so caught up in his desire for his wife, he had paid no heed to anything around him. He had left them both vulnerable. And again he was indebted to the dog and cat.
“We would have waited until you were done,” one of two men said, stepping out of the woods.
One glance told Arran that he’d have no trouble disposing of the two. They held their swords with little skill and their steps were far from measured. It didn’t take further thought to realize what drew the likes of thieves and murders to this particular area of the woods—a bounty on Purity.
“Yeah, then we would have let you watch while we took our turns,” the other said and they both laughed.
Arran didn’t, the thought of what they would do to his wife sending him into a dangerous, silent rage. He was ready to kill them, but he had to keep one alive, until he got his answers. Unless he could get them to talk first, then he could kill them both quickly and be done with it.
Purity remained behind her husband, though not out of fright. After seeing how easily he had dealt with the other men who had happened upon them, she knew these two men posed no problem for him. She didn’t want them to notice how her glance wandered, wondering where King had gone since pouncing with a screech on Arran’s back, alerting him to danger. Knowing him, he was readying himself to attack.
“What brings you both here to this section of the woods?” Arran asked.
The one went to speak and the other was quick to remind, “We’re not supposed to say.”
The man grinned. “Dead men can’t talk.”
The other man grinned as well, then looked to Arran. “We’ve come for her.”
“How much is the bounty?” Arran asked, hoping they would confirm his suspicions.
“Don’t think we’ll split it with you for handing her over,” the one man said.
“Why would you think I’d split it with you?” Arran challenged, glad his suspicion was finally confirmed, though there was much more to learn.
“What? You’re here to get her for the bounty too?” the other man asked, spittle flying out of his mouth along with his anger.
Purity understood what her husband was doing, getting as much information from the two men as he could before—she didn’t want to think that Arran would again be forced to kill. She also didn’t want to think of what she would have done if Arran hadn’t shown up. She had thought herself safe here, as safe as Wren had been all the years she had lived here alone. But Wren was a witch, or so people believed, and they feared her retribution if she was harmed in any way. Besides many needed her skills so she’d been left alone.
Not so Purity, and now it looked as though someone wanted her bad enough to offer a bounty on her.
She hurried out from behind her husband to stand at his side and shouted at the two men, “Does my father offer a bounty on me?”
“Don’t know your da and don’t know who offers it,” the one man said.
“And we don’t care,” the other chimed in.
“Where are you take me to collect his bounty?” Purity demanded.
Arran was impressed that his wife knew what questions to ask so it wouldn’t appear as if he didn’t know anything, and that he was there to snatch her up for the bounty.
“Clan Macara,” the one man said and Purity could feel herself turn pale. Why now would her father offer a bounty on her? And where did he get the coin to do so?
“I’ll not be going with you,” Purity said calmly.
The one man laughed. “It’s not your choice.”
“No, it’s not. It’s my choice,” Arran said so frosty that the two men shivered.
Then we’ll just have to kill you,” the one said, gathering his courage before he stepped forward.
King came flying down out of the tree behind the man, landing on his shoulder and swiping his sharp claws across the man’s face, not once but twice before jumping off him to swipe at his ankles. King’s attack alerted Princess and she was on full charge toward the other man, but Arran reached him first. One swing took the man down and another finished the other man who swung wildly with his sword gripped in one hand while his other tried to wipe the blood from his eyes.
“Good work,” Arran said with a nod to King, then to Princess before returning to Purity. “Enough of this. There is no telling
how many more will come. We leave tomorrow for home.” He took her arm to return to the cottage.
“The fish. We need to eat.”
Arran didn’t argue with her. She was right. It didn’t take him long to catch three fish and be on the way even with giving King the first fish. After all, he deserved it.
They ate outside, Arran refusing to eat inside the cottage. He wanted to keep watch to make sure he wasn’t caught unware again. He also ordered the animals to protect her while he went and set traps just inside the woods that bordered the approach to the cottage.
Rain drove them inside as night approached and it was only then that they talked of the day’s incident.
“I don’t understand why my father would place a bounty on me. He must know how dangerous that could be for me,” Purity said, the thought having troubled her since hearing it.
“You are to be delivered to the Clan Macara. Neither mentioned your father, the chieftain,” Arran said, having thought endlessly on it himself.
“What could that mean?” Purity asked, even more confused.
“Any number of things, which is why it is good we wed,” Arran reminded her. “No matter what we face when we return home, no one can take you from me.”
Purity didn’t expect the jolt of terror that struck her, twisting her stomach, and had her heart hammering. The thought that she could be torn away from him filled her with horror. Her love for him was a lot stronger and deeper than she realized. She would question her marriage to Arran no more. It may not have been the way she had hoped it would someday be, but it had been the right thing to do and she’d be foolish to think otherwise.
However, she knew how devious and determined her father could be when it came to gaining power and wealth and the only way to do that in the Highlands was to gain more land. He would have used her to obtain both. It was the true reason he wanted Arran to wed her five years ago. With their two clans united, it would afford her father the influence and power he so desperately craved.
“Your father could look at your absence as a blessing or a hindrance,” Arran said. “If you were found, you would have been forced to wed a man of his enemy’s choice and your father would have seen his land stolen out from under him. But it also left him vulnerable, unable to do much with his only daughter missing. And if he should die, what then? With your brother dead, the Macara name, the bloodline, would come to an end.”
“Something my father reminded my brother Bayne of endlessly. He was determined to see Bayne wed within the year. It troubled him that Royden and Oria would wed and have a child, securing the MacKinnon name and clan before he had secured Bayne a marriage arrangement. I was surprised when Bayne told your da he was interested in wedding Raven.”
“I often pitied the unknown man who would wed my sister,” Arran said. “She will not make an easy wife. At least at one time she wouldn’t. I have no idea if that still holds true. We have all changed. I imagine Raven has as well.” He shook his head, thoughts of his sister’s fate disturbing him and guilt over not protecting her rising up to torment him. “I will keep you safe as will King and Princess.”
He didn’t have to keep telling her she was safe with him. He’d proven it several times, but it wasn’t her who he needed to prove it to. She realized he had to prove it to himself. He had to prove that no matter what his captives had taken from him, they hadn’t completely robbed him of his honor.
Purity broached a subject both of them had avoided. “My father will be expecting us to live at the Macara keep with him.”
“Your rightful home and one I will serve well,” Arran said.
“You will be chieftain when my father passes.”
“I will do my best to keep the clan strong and provide well for the people,” he said.
“You say what is expected of you, but I remember well that you never wanted to lead a clan. You were happy your brother would be chieftain of the Clan MacKinnon and not you,” she reminded.
“It is my duty as your husband and I will see it done.”
“You never paid much mind to duty before,” she said, wishing his handsome face would show some sign of emotion, of how he truly felt.
“It is necessary now and I do what must be done.”
Again, he showed not a trace of feelings. It was nothing more than a chore to him that had to be done—like their marriage. One day, she hoped, it would no longer be a chore to him.
He got up off the barrel he had been sitting on by the door and began removing his garments. “It is time to consummate our vows.”
Chapter 8
“Disrobe and get in bed,” Arran ordered when she didn’t move.
Purity stared at him, her mouth slightly agape, though it would have been much wider if she hadn’t stopped it from falling open in shock. She had looked forward to coupling with him, but not in such a cold and unloving manner.
“I don’t recall you being so blunt with the women you poked in the barn,” she reminded.
“That man is no more,” Arran snapped. “And where’s the obedient lass I once knew?”
“She’s no more as well,” she admitted, not at all regretful. “What if I don’t want to consummate our vows now?”
He stopped removing his garments. “I would never force you as some husbands do, and you are aware of why it is wise this not be delayed. I will, however, remind you that once our vows are sealed it would be more difficult for anyone to break them, especially if you got with child. Sealing our vows seals your safety.”
“Duty. Right?” she asked, annoyed with herself for expecting more.
Arran walked over to stand in front of her. “If I don’t take my duty seriously, you—my wife—could be harmed and I will not see that happen.”
She had told herself to no longer question her marriage to him, so why question the duty that came with it? She was being foolish, wanting something she couldn’t have. He wouldn’t love her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t continue to love him. Still, though, as much as the thought of coupling with him was appealing, something gnawed at her, urging her to wait.
“No one would know if our vows were sealed, but us,” she said.
A scowl surfaced fast on his face. “I warned you before our marriage that it would be permanent, so if you think to wait to see what happens upon our return home and think to end our union for any reason—that will not happen. We are husband and wife and will stay husband and wife.”
“That isn’t why.” She shrugged. “I’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s the day, the deaths, my father setting a bounty on my head.” She shook her head. “I just—”
Suddenly, his arms slipped around her and he drew her against him slowly to hug her tight. That he offered comfort instead of judgment melted her heart. Her arms went around his waist with a familiar ease, as if she had done it a hundred times before, and her head fell on his chest with the same familiarity.
“I should have considered that. We will wait until we return home where I trust you will be safe,” he said.
She was relieved and yet oddly enough somewhat disappointed.
“Then I will be able to see that you’re pleasured appropriately,” he said with a kiss to her temple.
Once again his remark, while not intentional, was a reminder that she was a chore, a duty to see to. And she worried that coupling with her husband might prove disappointing.
He eased her out of his arms. “You need to sleep. We leave in the morning.” He cast a look down at Princess, sleeping close to the fire. “She is well enough to walk?”
“She should do fine,” Purity said. “The journey isn’t long. We’ll reach home by day’s end, and then she can rest.”
“We take a different path, one that none will expect us to take, but one that will take a day and a half to reach home,” he said as he moved the barrel from in front of the door and replaced it with the chair.
“You think more men will come for me?” she asked, seeing him once again ready to guard the door.
“Aye, I have no doubt.” And that was what disturbed him. More would come, but how many? He was a superior swordsman, but a swordsman could only fight so many men. He needed to get his wife home to her clan. There’d be no more bounty then. First though—“We will stop at my home before we go to yours. I will see my family, let them know I am well and that we are wed.”
“I would be pleased to see your family. It will be nice to speak with Oria again,” she said, though it was Raven she wished she could see again. She had been the one who had helped her find her courage. “Perhaps we can spend a couple of days there before continuing on to my home.” She would prefer several days. Even though she was curious about what her father knew about the bounty on her, she wasn’t eager to see him.
“Word spreads fast and once your father hears you are at the Clan MacKinnon and wed, he will waste no time in coming after you.”
Purity stretched out on the bed. She didn’t want to think what it would be like to see her father again. He’d done nothing but dictate to her when she’d been in his presence, which hadn’t been that often.
“I don’t think my father likes me very much,” she said and wondered if she should have admitted what she had felt all these years, though it gave her courage to say more. “I believe I’m a disappointment to him and he’s ashamed of my deformity. It didn’t help that I’d been shy or that I have such plain features. Most everyone paid as little heed to me as my father did, that or being called the spawn of the devil because my three-fingered hand resembles a claw.”
“You’ll suffer none of that now that I’m your husband. Your clan will answer to me if they disparage you in any way, and I will make that known from the start. One gossiping tongue, one slur, and the person will regret it, and the sample I make of him or her will be enough to stop anyone from doing the same.”
The icy anger and command in his voice had Purity not doubting for a moment that he would see it done. Though, she didn’t want to think what he would do to punish the person or the consequences of it.
Entrusted to a Highlander Page 7
