A Beauty at the Highland Court: A Star-Crossed Lovers Highlander Romance (The Highland Ladies Book 7)

by Celeste Barclay

  Arabella flung herself into Lachlan’s arms as he lifted her off the ground. They clung to one another, neither saying anything, just rejoicing in the feeling of holding one another. Arabella leaned back until they looked at one another. They said more with the expressions in their eyes than they could with words. She cupped his jaw, and their mouths fused together. Their kiss seemed to last forever. Arabella’s head swam with much the same feeling as when she drank too much. But this time she was drunk from Lachlan’s kisses. Neither cared about what went on around them, they had eyes only for one another. When they were both breathless, Lachlan lowered Arabella to the ground, but neither let go.

  Lachlan brushed the hair back from Arabella’s face before clasping the cuff of his sleeve in his hand and used it to wipe away some of the splattered blood. Arabella looked at the red on his shirt as he drew his arm away.

  “I can’t believe I did that,” she murmured with disbelief.

  “Neither can I,” Lachlan chortled. “When he reached for ye, I feared I wouldnae get to ye in time. Then ye stabbed his ruddy arm. I thought he would snap ye in half for that, but then out of nowhere came yer other dirk. I shall give Firelight every apple from the Sinclairs’ orchard that I can find. I dinna think ye heard Beathan’s bellowing because Firelight was determined to escape. Beathan stood in his stirrups, raised the arm with yer knife in it, started yelling, then toppled dead from his horse.”

  “He’s dead?” Arabella asked, glancing around Lachlan’s shoulder but unable to see past the rumps of so many horses.

  “Dead and on his way to hell,” Lachlan replied. “Once he fell, his men surrendered. Only Graham and a few others didna make a sound choice. They shall be food for the crows, just like Beathan. The rest will come back to Dunbeath and take up residence in Uncle Liam’s dungeon until we decide what to do with them.”

  “I saw you on the hill. I don’t know how I knew which one you were, but I did. I tried to fall back, to stay out of your way when the fighting started, but Beathan noticed. He threatened me, which raised my hackles. I’d had enough. I acted without really thinking. All I knew was that I wanted to be away from him and get to you.”

  “Ye did just that, little one,” Lachlan grinned. “Took at least a dozen years off ma life, but ye bested him.”

  “Don’t fear. I have no intention of doing aught like that again. I was just so angry. Angrier than I ever imagined I could be. He tried to make me drink like last time, but I wouldn’t. I did everything I could to keep from swallowing any whisky.” Arabella bit her bottom lip as she looked down between them. “I didn’t trust myself. I was scared that if I had a little, I would want a lot. I was scared that I would give up like I did before, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to be aware. And I wasn’t going to throw away everything we went through to get me past needing it.”

  “I’m so vera proud of ye, Belle,” Lachlan whispered as his face neared hers. Their lips touched over and over in tiny kisses until they melted into one another again, their mouths becoming one.

  “Do ye think ye can let the lass breathe long enough to get her home?” Tavish crossed his arms over his pummel and leaned forward.

  “Nay, I dinna,” Lachlan snapped before returning to kissing Arabella. He drew one arm away from Arabella’s waist and made an obscene gesture behind his back. The men roared with laughter, making Arabella pull away. She looked at seven men who muttered to one another in Gaelic. A man of middle age smiled kindly at her. She assumed he was Laird Liam Sinclair because the four younger men around him bore a striking resemblance to him, and those men were nearly identical to one another. A fifth dark-haired man was beside Tavish. He didn’t look enough like the five Sinclair men to be one of them, but he blended in. Arabella realized she was looking at Laird Tristan Mackay, who offered her a warm grin as he called out something in Gaelic that made the younger men laugh and Lachlan blush.

  “What did he say?” Arabella asked softly. Lachlan look mortified as he shook his head.

  “He said welcome to the family, lass,” Laird Hamish Sutherland said as he walked up to the couple. Arabella shot Lachlan a look that told him she wouldn’t forget to ask again later. She sank into Hamish’s embrace; it was the most fatherly affection she’d ever experienced. She didn’t want to let go.

  “Ye can have a hug anytime ye wish, nighean.”

  “Nighean?” Arabella tried to repeat the word the way it sounded coming from Hamish.

  “It means ‘daughter,’” Lachlan explained as he opened his arms to his wife and father. “Thank ye, Da.”

  “Yer mama and I are happy to have a third. The keep is so lonely now that yer sisters are gone,” Hamish chuckled.

  “Da!” Lachlan admonished. He playfully pouted. “I’m still there.”

  Hamish tutted with a smile before looking back at Arabella. “I welcome ye to Clan Sutherland, Lady Arabella.” Hamish formally bowed, and Arabella dropped into a curtsy befitting a royal. She supposed Lachlan and his family practically were royalty, since they were so close to King Robert and Queen Elizabeth. “Lachlan, yer mama will be at Dunbeath by now. We should return.”

  “Mama? But she stayed home.” Lachlan looked at his father in confusion.

  “Ye have much to learn, lad. Would yer sisters have stayed home?” Hamish asked.

  “Nay. They dinna listen,” Lachlan mused.

  “And who do ye think they get it from? Certainly nae me. I’m the model of obedience. I do just as yer mama says,” Hamish grinned. Arabella listened to the banter between father and son, and the love in Hamish’s voice as he spoke about his wife. While they weren’t on Sutherland land yet, she knew she’d come home.

  Thirty-Eight

  Arabella spotted six women of varying heights, builds, and hair color standing on the top step of the keep. The oldest woman was nearly a mirror image of Maude, so she recognized Amelia immediately. She’d met Lady Sutherland several times over the years, but she hadn’t let herself believe that Amelia would one day be her mother-by-marriage. She noticed Ceit and Deidre both held tiny swaddled bundles in their arms. A toddler clung to each of them, and Arabella realized that the women’s older and younger children must have been nearly exactly the same age.

  As though reading her mind, Lachlan whispered, “Aye. Tavish and Magnus have always been competitive. Magnus’s older child is two months older than Tavish’s, but the bairns are just days apart.”

  Arabella nodded as her eyes landed on a woman with nearly white-blond hair with three children standing around her. The woman was breathtaking, and her hair was the perfect contrast to the strawberry blonde who stood beside her, their arms around one another’s waists.

  “The redhead is Siùsan, Callum’s wife. The blonde is Brighde, Alex’s wife. Their bairns are quite close in age too. The tyke over there running down the steps is Wee Liam. As ye can see, the lad isnae so vera wee, but we call him that so he isnae confused with his grandda. He’s Mairghread and Tristan’s oldest, and the first of the next generation.”

  Arabella nodded as she watched the family gathered around waiting for their warrior husbands and fathers to return. She slipped her hand over her belly, realizing that her children with Lachlan would be part of what he called the next generation. The idea warmed her from the inside out. But recalling that the reunions taking place as the Sinclairs ran to their wives and Tristan enveloped Mairghread in his brawny arms were because they’d rode out to save her, she wanted to retreat.

  “Dinna fash, mo chridhe. There isnae a woman on those steps who hasnae had a rough start to her marriage, and none of them are timid. More than one has defended herself like ye did today. Nay mon underestimates them anymore. Ye’ll be trading war stories before ye make it to the dais. They will welcome ye just as Da did.”

  “They won’t be angry that I put their husbands’ lives at risk?” Arabella asked with disbelief.

  “Ye married a warrior, just like they did. They understand there’s always risk, but they value family above all e
lse, just like their husbands do. Ye are family.” Lachlan kissed her temple before climbing down from his horse. He helped Arabella to the ground and tucked her under his arm. She watched as the men greeted their wives with passionate kisses that would have shocked even the most scandalous members of court. Arabella even watched Hamish lift Amelia off her feet. He turned his back to the crowd, but Arabella could tell where the older man’s hands went.

  “Told ye they embarrass me and ma sisters daily,” Lachlan chortled. Arabella nodded, but Liam caught her eye. He was the only man in the family who didn’t have a wife to greet him. He smiled indulgently at his children and their spouses as the grandchildren flocked to him. Arabella heart felt like it would burst as she watched the man she’d just seen charging toward the Gunns with his sword raised, looking fiercer than most, toss his grandchildren in the air and tickle them as they clamored all over him. Her mouth dropped open when he scooped up six of them and carried them up the steps toward the keep’s door. He did it with ease, and Arabella supposed he did so often. She’d never seen a man so engaged with children before. She looked up at Lachlan.

  “One day, mo ghaol,” Lachlan promised. Arabella concentrated really hard as she formed the words she wanted to say in her head. She recalled the quiet pledges Lachlan had made while she struggled through her recovery in the cave. She rehearsed the words so many times that she nearly missed her chance. Lachlan moved to step toward his family, but she put her hand on his chest to stop him.

  “Tha gaol agam ort nas motha na rud sam bith,” Arabella said, carefully forming each word to sound like Lachlan had as she said, “I love you more than aught.”

  Lachlan stopped short and looked down at the petite redhead he’d loved for years. He swept her into his arms and kissed her as he moved toward the keep’s steps. He ignored his cousins’ teasing or his parents calling out to him. When he reached the top of the steps, he turned to his family.

  “We’ll see ye in the morn.” Lachlan didn’t wait for a response, and Arabella buried her face in his shoulder, mortified.

  “Newlyweds in this family are all the same,” Arabella heard Liam say with resignation. When she heard a woman’s voice call out, she lifted her head to watch as the Sinclairs, Sutherlands, and Mackays entered behind them.

  “I bet ye that there will be a bairn born in nine moons in the middle of the month,” Mairghread said as she held up a dagger.

  “Nae this time, sister,” Tavish grinned. “I say eight and a half.” Tavish nodded then jumped when his wife swatted his arm none-too-gently. She tugged at him until he leaned over and she whispered something to him. Arabella couldn’t help her amusement as Ceit waved toward them as she scolded Tavish about something. When the barrel-chested warrior stood upright, his cheeks were ruddy. “I meant ten and a half moons.”

  Mairghread veritably cackled. “Too late!” She gloated. “Ye made yer bid. What say the rest of ye? I’ve had the dirk the longest again. Any of ye think ye can best me?” Arabella couldn’t hear Callum, Alex, or Magnus answer, but she could tell they were negotiating.

  “They’ve had that dirk since they were children. They place bets, and the dirk is the prize. Mairghread has the gift of second sight, or so her brothers claim, because she’s had it most often and for the longest. Maude says it’s because Mairghread is more observant than her brothers and reasons through things better. Blair just flat out says Mair is smarter than her brothers. I’m inclined to agree with both of ma sisters.”

  “Because they’re smarter than you,” Arabella giggled as she kissed Lachlan’s cheek.

  “That they are,” Lachlan merrily conceded. “But I’m going to show ye what I’ve observed and reasoned through aboot ye while I make love to ye for the rest of the night. Mama and Da can go back to Dunrobin in the morn. But Uncle Liam shall have to host us for at least a sennight because we’re nae leaving our chamber before then!” Lachlan declared as he bounded up the stairs and hurried down the passageway to the chamber he’d used whenever he visited since he was a child. He kicked the door shut behind them, lowering Arabella to the ground before locking and barring the door.

  Arabella pulled her lips in as she struggled to contain her laughter as she watched her husband double check that the door was secure. She pulled her gown down over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She was about to strip off her chemise when several pounding knocks came from the other side of the door. The rhythm told her several people were there. Five female voices demanded, “Lachlan, open up.”

  Mairghread’s voice drowned out the others. “Lachlan, open this door and let us in with the tub and soap, or ye will learn how I used to get into this chamber and put lizards and fish in yer bed.”

  “Lizards and fish?” Arabella mouthed.

  “Aye. Maude and Blair only had one brother to keep up with. And they had each other. Mairghread had four and nay sisters. She’s braver than anyone else I ken. A daredevil too. Dinna go along with any of her suggestions. They’re likely to wind ye up in trouble. Uncle Liam couldnae bear to punish her because she reminds him too much of Aunt Kyla. She didna take advantage of him, mind ye, but she got away with far more than her brothers. Or me.” Lachlan added for good measure.

  He unbarred the door and unlocked it. He barely moved aside in time as the door swung open. Mairghread, Siùsan, Brighde, Deirdre, and Ceit hustled inside followed by a team of servants who brought in the largest tub Arabella had ever seen along with buckets of steaming water. Mairghread walked over to Arabella and smiled. She dropped a soft kiss on Arabella’s cheek.

  “Welcome to our family, Arabella,” her voice kind as she offered a sisterly embrace. When she straightened, a mocking smile shone on her face. She looked at Lachlan and tipped her head toward the tub. “Ye can thank me later. A ride on Spiorad should do.”

  “Nae on yer life. Ma wee beasty willna survive the way ye ride,” Lachlan teased. “Besides isnae it a family tradition for the newlyweds to tuck themselves away for a sennight?”

  “I can wait.” Mairghread’s tinkle of laughter followed her as she left the chamber, the other wives and servants disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Arabella looked at the tub and couldn’t believe what she found. The servants had filled the enormous wooden barrel more than halfway, and there were rose petals floating in it. The scents of lemongrass and lavender wafted to her. A stack of washing cloths and drying lines sat beside the tub, and a shiny bar of soap lay in a dish on a table she hadn’t seen being brought in. She noticed someone had turned down the bed too. She marveled at how so much was accomplished without her observing and in such little time.

  “Will you fit?” Arabella asked seductively.

  “Havenae I shown ye I do already?” Lachlan replied as he toed his boots off and dropped his clothes to the floor. When they stood before one another naked, Lachlan trailed the back of his fingers over her collarbones to her shoulders then down her arms before returning to run them over her chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, unable to wait another moment before they had full skin-to-skin contact. Lachlan lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His cock found what it sought and slid into her. Lachlan walked them to the tub before climbing in. He settled them, helping Arabella find a comfortable position. As the water lapped around them, Arabella leaned against Lachlan’s chest. They were both content with the moment of solitude. But it was the calm before the storm. Arabella shifted at the same time Lachlan did, and it ignited a maelstrom of need and passion.

  Lachlan grasped Arabella’s backside, his fingers biting into her flesh as she rocked her hips, riding his cock as their desire spiraled beyond control. Arabella’s moans filled the chamber. The more she made the more she noticed Lachlan’s excitement. He whispered, “ma Belle” over and over, worshipping her body and her soul. When their release engulfed them, it was cataclysmic in strength.

  They soaked in the tub until the water turned cool. Forced to hurry, they scrubbed one another with the lavender and lemongrass soap
. As they helped dry each other, what they’d assumed was a satiated hunger flared back to life. Their hands roamed everywhere as they stumbled to the bed. Lachlan playfully tossed Arabella onto the bed before prowling toward her. He settled with his shoulders between her legs, and the wolfish grin that made her core ache reappeared.

  “I am famished, and there is only one thing I wish to feast upon,” Lachlan purred. “Do ye ken what that is?”

  Arabella shook her head as she watched him lower his face to her mound. His tongue flicked out, laving her from stem to stern. Her body twitched, unprepared for the sensation. She rested on her elbows as she watched Lachlan.

  “It’s yer honey.” Lachlan winked before launching his attack. But he was unprepared for Arabella’s response.

  “Does that mean I can feast on yer sausage and taters afterward?” She asked as she infused a burr into her accent. Lachlan’s stunned expression at his wife’s randy comment made Arabella giggle, but she was soon gasping when Lachlan growled and launched his attack on her senses. His tongue flicked her bud over and over before laving her once more. He rubbed the bristles from his unshaven face over her sensitive nerve endings, making her hips buck off of the bed. His teeth grazed the nub before he sucked it into his mouth as he pressed three fingers into her passage. Arabella’s hips rose and fell as she struggled to get closer to Lachlan. Her fingers fisted in his hair as she pressed his face to her mound. When his tongue pressed into her along with his fingers, she was certain she would expire. When he bit her nub with just pressure and no pain, her tether snapped, and her body gave in as pleasure coursed through her.

  Arabella gasped as she tried to catch her breath, astonished by what had just happened.