Tempting the Highlander

by Michele Sinclair

  At least this time her plans are for Craig and Crevan, he told himself. And it was their decision to agree to Schellden’s crazy scheme. It is only fair that they should have to pay the price.

  Chapter 10

  Raelynd stood motionless under the night sky, still somewhat stunned by everything that had happened. Yes, she had defended herself surprisingly well against Conan, but her shock was stemming from what occurred just before. Never in her life had she needed a hero more than when Conan first disparaged her in front of everyone, and when Crevan defended her, she could not have imagined a better one. Never had any man ever looked more attractive than Crevan when he punched his brother in the face because of what Conan had said about her.

  She moved her eyes toward Crevan, who was looking across the courtyard, but she knew his mind was elsewhere. His dark brown hair gleamed in the firelight. Like his brother’s, his hair fell just past his shoulders, but where Craig almost always had his pulled back, Crevan let his flow free. Remembering how it felt the night he kissed her, Raelynd resisted the urge to dive both her hands in the soft, thick mass.

  Without warning, Crevan shifted his gaze to meet hers. No longer did his expression reflect shame, but approval. The McTiernays were known for their brilliant blue eyes, but Crevan’s were different. They were a deeper shade, reminding her of sapphires. And tonight, it was not humor sparkling in them, but something else. Crevan’s eyes were filled with admiration, which rattled Raelynd to her very core.

  “Crevan,” she said softly, “thank you.”

  “I didn’t do anything. You were the one who made him stop,” he said firmly.

  Not wanting to argue, Raelynd glanced down and spied his knuckles, which were scraped and bleeding. Instinctively she reached out and lifted his right hand to take a better look.

  “It’s nothing,” he assured her, and halfheartedly attempted to reclaim his hand.

  Her touch was both reassuring and alarming. When Raelynd had entered the Lower Hall in a state of disarray, he had been appalled. He should have known that Laurel would have quickly recognized the same selfregarding tendencies in Schellden’s daughters he had witnessed. But instead of looking the other way or lecturing her, his sister-in-law simply made both Raelynd and Meriel live with the consequences of their decisions. As a result, in a mere half hour, Raelynd had revealed the strong woman he had always suspected lurked underneath. What he had not imagined was that when this side of Raelynd finally did emerge, how he would feel. Escorting her from the Hall with her on his arm, he had not only felt satisfaction, but deep honor at being the one to do so.

  All that emotion, her touch, plus the memory of their kiss were about to obliterate the little self-control Crevan could maintain around her. A surge of self-preservation took over and unconsciously knowing it would make her pull away, he said, “If that is how you are going to appear at dinner each night, it is going to make my brother’s job that much more difficult getting people to believe he would want to marry you.”

  Before Raelynd could even react, Meriel bounded out of the doors, laughing alongside Craig. “That was fantastic, Lyndee. Only problem was you did it before we ate. I’m starving!”

  Craig, oblivious to the tears welling up in Raelynd’s eyes, captured her by the waist and swung her around. “You were amazing!” he shouted. “Never has Conan been publicly trounced by a woman like that!” Then he set her down on her feet and pointed at Meriel. “And you . . . Lord, woman, what did you do to your hair?!”

  Meriel tried to frown at him, but she was unable to hold it for very long before breaking out into laughter again. “It wasn’t me! It was your sweet little niece Brenna.”

  “Bad idea! Never let her touch either of your heads again!” Craig commanded good-naturedly.

  Meriel playfully swatted him. “Not all our ideas are bad. Just think about how much easier your conquests with women will be once word spreads about tonight and how you will literally fight for their honor no matter what they look like.”

  Craig rolled his eyes. “That was the first and last time that will happen.”

  “Well, then at least applaud Raelynd’s idea to put our physical similarities to work,” Meriel said with mirth. “For the next month, it will not be your overly tidy betrothed sleeping in your room and cleaning up all your stuff. It will be me, and I just shoved it all to one side of the room so you can easily spread it all back out when I am gone.”

  Craig beamed. “Finally, a woman who understands me!” Turning back to Raelynd, he gave her a wink and bent over to plant a kiss upon her cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered with detectable sincerity.

  “Now,” Craig said, looking back at Meriel before grabbing her hand, “I believe you said you were starving. I’m famished as well. So I say let’s get some meat into our bellies before we make any more ill-fated decisions!”

  Giggling, Meriel craned her head back as she was being half dragged to a building situated between the Great and Lower Halls with doorways providing access to each. “Don’t worry, Lyndee! I promise to get you something too!” A second later, both figures disappeared as they entered the kitchens.

  Raelynd, still feeding off Craig’s gaiety, smiled and waved. Then, without thought, she glanced back at Crevan. Seeing his dark, brooding expression, instantly her cheerful one disappeared.

  Crevan knew he was overreacting. He had told himself to just leave the courtyard multiple times, but he could not bring himself to depart, giving his brother even more opportunities to charm Raelynd. She had been upset upon Craig’s arrival and he had hugged her, teased her, made her smile, even kissed her . . . all things he wanted but would not allow himself to do with her. If he did, he would do far more.

  Her grave eyes drew him in. Last night he had kissed her to end his swelling primal needs but now the memory only served as a tormenting reminder of what was in reach.

  Raelynd licked her lips and Crevan, unable to take his gaze away from her mouth, reached out and pulled her gently against him. Though her body was stiff and unyielding, she was trembling and he knew what would happen if he kissed her. Powerless to stop himself, Crevan slowly, inevitably, lowered his mouth to hers, smothering any possibility of her protesting. And like before, she melted into him, clinging to him in confusion and desire.

  Catching her face between his hands, his mouth ravished hers and in return her tongue was wild and thoroughly undisciplined. Soft and inviting, she was creating a desire inside him to unite deeply with her, to lose himself in the harbor of her depths.

  Raelynd closed her eyes and let herself fall into his embrace, sinking into the one pair of strong arms in which she would ever feel comfortable. His mouth slanted over hers and his tongue penetrated and stroked until she was breathless. Raelynd’s arms wrapped themselves around his neck, and she twisted her fingers into his hair, holding on for dear life. Her response to his touch shocked her and Raelynd was sure she was on fire, that every fiber of her was being aroused into a hot burning flame for nothing in her life had prepared her for the sensations Crevan was inspiring.

  Crevan could feel pieces of his soul slipping from his grasp. It was the most incredible kiss he had ever experienced. How long had it been since someone had kissed him like this? The answer was not too long, it was never.

  Feeling her begin to tremble, Crevan broke off the kiss, lifted his head, and sucked in air. Raelynd fell against him, her chest heaving with the effort it took to breathe. Suddenly, the doors to the Lower Hall opened and two soldiers exited, followed by others. Dinner was over.

  Raelynd quickly withdrew from his side before one of the men sauntered up to her, smiling. “You can come to dinner any way you want, my lady, if you’ll do that to Conan again.”

  He was barely finished and on his way when another shouted out at her, “Mighty impressive, my lady!”

  Then one of them walked up directly to Raelynd and kissed her hand, saying, “Run away with me instead. I like a woman who can look good with her hair tousled.” Crevan wai
ted for Raelynd to reclaim her hand and order him away, but she had no idea what the soldier had meant. She just stood, rapidly blinking her saucer-sized green eyes. Unlike her sister, Raelynd had not practiced how to flirt and be coy with men, but these soldiers—many of them he knew personally to be quite shameless in their pursuits—didn’t know that.

  A sense of overwhelming possession seized Crevan and he roughly shoved Raelynd behind his back. “Don’t say another w-w-word.”

  Raelynd, unaware of the silent challenge taking place, was furious. Men were complimenting her, even kissing her hand as a gesture of respect, and instead of applauding how she was handling the situation, Crevan was once again treating her like a child. Raelynd tried to shake off the grip he was maintaining on her arm and step back around. “I—” she began, but got no further as his grip on her forearm tightened.

  If the soldier was aware of Crevan’s hold on her, he said nothing as he stared Crevan directly in the eye. After several seconds, the soldier nodded, gave a slight shrug and headed across the courtyard to catch up with his friends. Both he and Crevan knew that if he had not walked away, he would have received far more than a punch.

  Once the wayward soldier was out of earshot and the Lower Hall had been emptied of men, Crevan eased his grip. “Just why did you feel it necessary to bruise my arm?” Raelynd demanded, yanking free.

  Raw possessive emotion still coursed through Crevan and her naivete caused him to snap. “I wouldn’t have to if you were a mature woman who knew when she was playing with fire.”

  Raw, cutting pain flashed in Raelynd’s hazel eyes. “And just who are you protecting me from? Because the only man I am in danger of being near is you!”

  The doors to the kitchens opened, lighting up the northern section of the courtyard. Raelynd could feel the weight of her sister’s troubled eyes upon her, but could not muster the ability to say anything reassuring. Instead, she spun on her heel and marched across the bailey, entering the North Tower.

  Crevan watched as Raelynd disappeared into the large drum tower. His face was unreadable, a graveyard to the emotions spinning inside him. Standing quietly in shock, both his brother and betrothed were staring at him. It would not be long before Craig would be seeking answers. “Mo Chreach!” Crevan cursed, and then headed out the main gate.

  Craig swallowed the bite he had stopped chewing and looked at Meriel. Her smile had disappeared and her infectious laughter had ended the second Crevan barked uncharacteristically at Raelynd. Both heard the departing insults, but neither could discern just why they were spoken.

  “Maybe we should just keep the two apart,” Craig finally suggested.

  Meriel nodded. “Far, far, far apart.”

  Crevan vigorously shook his head as he emerged from the water, scattering droplets around him. Despite the time of year and the months of summer sun, the loch was still cold as the rivers feeding it originated from even higher in the Torridon Hills, just north of McTiernay lands. And yet the noticeable chill of the water had done nothing to ease the tension coursing through him.

  Grabbing his leine he threw by the shoreline, he donned the garment and then started to pleat his plaid when he heard a crunching sound of feet approaching the semisecluded portion of the shoreline. Only one person would guess he would have come here. A second later, Craig emerged from the woods and without a word, walked up to where Crevan had placed his blanket and began to spread out his own.

  Crevan frowned, but said nothing as he picked up his things and sauntered up to his blanket. He had intentionally not joined the men, either in the Warden’s Tower or those in the training fields. He wanted to be alone, but he should have known that was not going to happen after Craig witnessed his grotesque lack of control back at the castle. Tossing his sword and dagger on the soft grass beside the dark material, Crevan lay down, propped his arm so that he could use it as a pillow, and braced himself for a well-deserved condemnation of his cruelty to Craig’s betrothed.

  Craig took a deep breath. Realizing his brother was not going to say a word—neither an apology nor a justification, he exhaled deeply and sank down on the blanket. Letting his arms rest on his bent knees, Craig mentally wondered again just why Crevan and Raelynd disliked each other so much. The answer eluded him, but after the latest fight he just observed, the two had to stay apart.

  It was difficult enough to convince any Highlander to do anything or not to do anything, but one of his brothers? And Crevan, due to years of being ridiculed, had a stronger sense of pride than all seven of them together. He also had learned to ignore anything said which he did not want to hear.

  Suddenly Craig was struck with an idea. Only one person could convince Crevan to change his methods when dealing with Raelynd. Somehow, Craig needed to get Crevan to have a little chat with himself.

  “I was wrong,” Craig began, smiling internally as he knew those three words would be the best ones to get his brother at least to hear what he was saying. “I should be the one dealing with Raelynd, not you.”

  Craig paused. Crevan still said nothing, but he knew his brother was listening. If he wasn’t, he would have turned over to his side. But he hadn’t. Craig picked up a stick and began drawing in the dirt. “Raelynd is pretty, prettier than most, but she is stubborn and often immature. I realize that she can be grating to someone who prefers quiet, demure women not so vocal with their opinions.”

  Craig stopped again and gave his brother an opportunity to say something, but Crevan remained silent. Still he had not rolled over. Taking that as a positive sign, Craig continued. “I guess it is lucky that I, and not you, am her betrothed, because after what you said tonight, Raelynd probably never wants to see you again.” Craig let go a soft chuckle and twisted around to face Crevan. “But that was what you intended . . . right? For her to leave you completely alone and just ignore you?”

  Nothing.

  With a shrug, Craig turned back around. “I mean what does it matter if you and Raelynd get along? In less than a month, she will be back home, free to marry someone who either appreciates her independent ways or is wise enough to not change them. Until then, maybe you and she should just refrain from being around each other. And when that is not possible, I promise to do a better job of running interference.”

  Craig inhaled and stretched his back, hoping he sounded supportive enough that his brother might latch on to the suggestion. Standing up, he looked back at Crevan, who still was lying prone but his eyes were now closed. He had not moved a muscle, and though his breathing was steady, Craig deep down knew his brother was far from asleep and had heard every word.

  Deciding he could do no more, Craig grabbed his plaid. “I’m going to go and sleep with the men in the fields. The humid air is more oppressive here than in the open. Talk to you tomorrow.”

  Alone with only his thoughts, Crevan listened as the soft echoes of snapping branches turned into the light sound of Craig’s mount riding off into the distance.

  Crevan knew his brother had been trying to dissipate his anger toward Raelynd. Craig had even admitted to being in error, which meant that he was near desperate to end hostilities. Problem was that Crevan was not angry with Raelynd, but himself.

  The effect she was having on him was baffling, for Craig was right, Raelynd wasn’t the type of woman he typically sought for company. Plus, when he spent time with her, it was not long before all his years of practiced self-control disappeared. It shouldn’t take a lecture from his brother to stay away from Raelynd, he should be wanting to keep his distance. But for months now, he had done just the opposite.

  Raelynd was ignorant to the effective ways of running a castle, but at least she had undertaken the responsibility and Caireoch’s size made it an onerous task. At first, Crevan had only felt a slight admiration of her courage to keep trying, to rally in defense when criticized. But in the last couple of days his thoughts had been consumed with her. This just wasn’t like him! Blaming the kiss was too easy. He had kissed lots of women, many of whom�
�unlike Raelynd—actually knew how to kiss. In the past, he had been able to easily compartmentalize such experiences and effectively ignore them. His reactions had been rational not emotional, and Crevan longed for them to be so again.

  It was imperative he regain control over his emotions and behavior. To do that, Raelynd needed to be absent from his thoughts, and for that to happen, they needed to meet. Together, they would calmly discuss their relationship and the two kisses they had shared. After agreeing how it meant nothing and how it would never happen again, the tension between them would dissipate, to everyone’s relief.

  That was the solution. They just needed to talk.

  The sooner the better. For both of them.

  “Come in,” Raelynd said just loud enough for Meriel to hear, hoping she would not have to get off the bed.

  She had suspected her sister would be venturing up to her room if enough time passed. For as long as Raelynd could remember, she and Meriel spoke before retiring, discussing their day, their frustrations, new revelations, and making plans for the morrow. Tonight, however, Raelynd was not in the mood to talk, and certainly not with Meriel.

  “I should have known you weren’t going to come down and see me,” Meriel stated as she closed the door behind her. Like Raelynd, she had finishing dressing and combed the knots out of her hair.

  Raelynd flopped down on her back. How could she explain that what she wanted, more than anything, was just to be alone . . . in Crevan’s room . . . with her thoughts. She did not need Meriel to tell her she had overreacted. Even as she marched across the bailey to return to her bedchambers, she had known that Crevan was both wrong and right. He thought her immature, and Raelynd refused to accept that condemnation, but if she were being honest, she had to admit to being somewhat self-centered. What was truly irritating was that it had been Conan who had made her realize it. And now that she had, Raelynd did not know what to do about it.