On fire, she clung to him.
Sin pulled back only long enough to look at her. His eyes blazed at her. Picking her up, he carried her to the bed.
Callie sighed as soon as she sank into the feather mattress. A sudden wave of dizziness assailed her and the room spun about crazily. Suddenly everything went black.
Sin dipped his head down to kiss her, then froze.
"Caledonia?"
She didn't move.
He shook her gently. "Callie?"
Again, no response. She was out cold.
Cursing, Sin pulled back, his groin burning like the fires of hell.
Aggravated, he watched her skin gleaming and taunting him. If not for his raging body that demanded hers so rawly, he would laugh at this. But there was nothing funny about the pain of his unspent lust.
"It's just as well," he said, pulling the blanket over her. He took this night as a sign. He had no right to her. Not really.
She deserved an honorable champion. A man like Simon. Someone who could love her and give her the children she wanted so much. His heart ached at the knowledge that he could never be that carefree man who could laugh with her and share her peaceful life.
So be it. He would heed this omen and content himself with just seeing her home to her family and bringing the Scottish rebels out into the light to be punished.
Still, as he watched her sleeping, a bitter ache settled deep in his heart, making him wish he were a different man. A better man.
Sin lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He would just hold her for a little while. Pretend that they had a future together. Pretend he had something to offer her that was worth having.
Callie came awake to a ferocious pounding in her head. Moaning, she blinked her eyes open and flinched at the bright daylight streaming through the room.
The door opened, sending spikes of pain through her skull. "Och, now, please walk softly," she breathed.
"Pardon me, milady," Aelfa whispered. "But his lordship is waiting below to start your journey to Scotland."
Callie sat up quickly, then gasped as more pain hit her. She was married.
And she was going home!
She looked around the room, but there was no sign her husband had ever been here. Fuzzy memories tangled in her mind as she tried to recall the night before.
She remembered Sin looking angry and vaguely recalled him carrying her to the room. The last clear memory she had was the feel of his chest under her hand.
Aelfa came forward with a towel. "I had them draw a bath for you in the antechamber, milady. I thought you'd like to bathe this morning before you head out on your long trip."
"Thank you, Aelfa," she whispered, pushing the covers back.
Her heart stopped as she saw the bloody sheets.
Aelfa gasped at the sight and crossed herself. "Baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary, milady, are you all right? Gor, but I never saw such like that in all my life. Is it your time of the month?"
Callie shook her head. Nay, she was midcycle, and even so, she'd never bled like this. Her thighs were completely coated.
"You best be moving slowly, milady." Aelfa helped her stand. "Are you feeling all right? Sore?"
"I feel fine except for this ache in my head." Callie wrapped her plaid about herself and headed toward the tub in the next room. The blood in the bed concerned her. What had caused it?
Nothing seemed to be hurting her. She wasn't so naive as to think women bled like that every time they were with their husbands.
Whatever could have happened?
How very, very strange.
Sin frowned as he made his way through the great hall. Everyone was staring at him rather oddly. Even more oddly than normal.
He couldn't fathom their stares until Simon joined him.
"What did you do to Caledonia last night?" Simon asked.
Sin grabbed a raw apple from a platter on one of the tables, then led Simon toward the stairs. "Nothing."
"You didn't murder her in her bed?"
He paused midstep and glared at his friend. "What sort of question is that?"
"Don't be angry at me. That's the story everyone is bantering about this morning. It seems Henry ordered Aelfa to bring him your bedsheets. Now everyone believes you must have cut her head off for there to have been so much blood on them."
Sin set his jaw and said nothing in response. He'd never taken a virgin before, so in an effort to make it appear he had slept with his wife, he'd cut his own arm and used his blood for the sheets. Apparently he'd used too much.
"So what happened?" Simon prompted.
He ignored Simon as he gazed up the stairs to see Callie and Jamie coming down them. She wore her plaid around her saffron kirtle again. Her hair was plaited down both sides of her face, and her cheeks and eyes were bright this morning.
The woman took his breath away and made him ache to finish what the two of them had started the night before.
When she saw him, she smiled a smile that made him instantly hot. Hard. One that reminded him all too well she'd fallen asleep before he had found any comfort whatsoever.
"Good morning, my husband."
His stomach clenched at the word. "My lady. How do you feel?"
"Still a bit of an ache in my head, but fine otherwise. You?"
He looked around at the courtiers, who gawked at her as if she were a ghost. "Never better, my lady."
Her smile widened.
Jamie ran past him to show Simon a handful of string.
"Are we leaving now?" Callie asked.
"I thought you would want to."
"Aye. The sooner, the better."
"Then come. We're all packed and ready."
Callie reached to take his arm, but he pulled away. Disheartened but far from daunted, she took a deep breath and followed him through the hall toward the door.
Henry met them outside the hall, his face grim. "You be careful," he said to Sin. "I don't want your head to come back to me in a sennight."
Sin nodded, then helped her to mount her horse.
As he reached for Jamie, the king stopped him. "The boy stays here as guarantee that no harm will befall you."
Jamie screeched out a denial.
Callie opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Sin spoke. "The boy goes with us."
"Are you mad?" Henry demanded. "Without the child, there's no guarantee of your safety."
"The boy goes with us." The sharpness of Sin's voice surprised her. She doubted if Henry would allow any man save her husband to use that tone without putting irons on him.
"I assure you," Sin said more calmly, "I can handle myself even against the devil himself, but I will not leave an innocent boy here with no protector."
Henry stiffened. "You insult us if you think we would allow a ward of ours to—"
"I was once one of your wards, Sire." Sin gazed at Henry, his face expressionless.
Guilt flashed in Henry's eyes before he recovered himself. "Fine, then. Take him if you must."
Without another word, Sin picked Jamie up. The lad threw his arms around his neck and held him tight. She saw the confusion in Sin's eyes.
"I like you even if you are an English dog," Jamie announced, pulling back to pat Sin's head. "You're my favorite one. Well, you and Simon."
Sin gave a crooked smile. "Then I thank you, I think."
Jamie grinned as Sin put him on his horse. Without another comment, Sin pulled himself up into his saddle.
Henry took the bridle of Sin's mount and looked up at him. "We want word the minute you arrive at the MacNeely's castle and a note for every week thereafter. Should we not receive it, we will send an army to determine your well-being."
Sin looked much less than amused. "I will be fine."
Henry nodded a farewell and then they were off.
Sin led the group while Simon and Jamie rode abreast of Callie. Luckily, they traveled light. She and Jamie had packed very little for their trip to their aunt's, and Sim
on and Sin seemed to need nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
But then, she had already learned her husband wasn't the typical Englishman who needed an entire entourage with him at all times.
They rode well into the afternoon before stopping for a small repast.
As soon as they dismounted, Jamie ran off into the woods to heed nature's call, while Callie set about unpacking some of the foodstuffs Aelfa had gathered for them.
They had left London behind hours ago, and all she could do was look forward to when she would be home again.
Closing her eyes, she swore she could almost feel her crisp, heather-scented Highlands seeping into her weary bones. She'd been gone far too long; but then, even a week away from home seemed an eternity.
Jamie came bounding back out of the woods at the speed of a dodging hare and accidentally ran into Sin as he fed the horses. The grain spilled all over Sin's boots and made a huge mess.
Callie held her breath, half expecting Sin to strike out or at the very least shout at the lad's clumsiness. He didn't. Instead, he picked the lad up and made sure he was unhurt, then brushed Jamie off and sent him on his way with a hushed warning to be more careful lest he hurt himself. Once Jamie was hurtling toward Simon, Sin dropped to his knees and silently cleaned up the mess Jamie had made.
His gentleness amazed her. The other Englishmen had never once hesitated to cuff the lad for such carelessness. Even her Uncle Aster and Dermot were quite intolerant of Jamie's clumsy ways. Sin said nothing more about it. Not even when he had to remove his right boot and dump grain out of it.
As Simon and Jamie ran past him, Sin caught the lad up in his arms and tossed him up over his shoulder to dangle down his back as he walked. Jamie squealed with laughter as Sin toted him to where she sat with the food.
"Put me down!" Jamie said, his voice broken by laughter.
"You need to eat if you're to grow to any size." Sin flipped him over his shoulder and laid him gently on the ground by Callie's side.
Jamie scrambled up, but before he could run again, Sin caught him. "Must I tie you down?"
Jamie laughed, then dropped to the ground and sat with his legs crossed while Simon joined them.
"Will we camp outside the entire way?" she asked Sin as she handed Jamie some bread and chicken.
Sin shook his head. "There should be inns most of the way and Simon's brother lives farther north as well. Two days hence, we'll stop on his lands. So, you'll have a bed every night until we reach Scotland."
Heat descended over her face as a memory of last night flared. She remembered standing naked with her husband and holding him in her hand.
It pained her that she couldn't remember exactly what they'd done. She'd overheard many women through the years talking about what went on with men and women in the night. And once her friends had started marrying, she'd heard even more details about it. She'd never dared tell anyone how many nights she'd lain awake in her bed wondering if she'd ever experience it herself, and now that she had…
Well, it was quite unfair to have no memory of it.
Biting her lip, she wondered if he would claim her again tonight. Heat rushed over her face as she considered him lying beside her. Of his hardness deep inside her.
She glanced to her husband, then quickly looked away.
Sin saw the blush in her cheeks and wondered what caused it. His gaze dropped to her lap and in his mind he saw the ripe curves of her inner thighs. Felt the softness of her skin as he had rubbed his own blood over her to disguise what he had yet to do.
Touching her last night without easing the desire of his body had been the hardest thing he had ever done.
Even now he could remember the feel of her supple skin under his palm. The lavender smell of her hair. The taste of her lips.
How he wanted her. Ached for her. He shifted slightly, trying to alleviate the tightness of his chausses against the part of him that demanded her most.
Callie saw the look of hunger on Sin's face from the corner of her eye. He stared at her in such a way that it made her tremble with nervousness.
Simon cleared his throat. "Should I take Jamie for a walk to the next county?"
Sin dropped his gaze to his food. "Nay. We need to get back on the road. I don't want night to fall on us while we're in the woods."
"Very well, but remember, I did offer."
That was the last anyone spoke until after they resumed their long trek.
They traveled for the rest of the day. At dusk, they stopped at a small inn in a town she'd never heard of before. Jamie was so tired, he complained he couldn't make it inside. Ever patient with the lad, Sin pulled him from the horse and carried him.
Once she and Simon dismounted and their horses were turned over to the inn's servants, Sin led them into the inn, where a rotund man greeted them.
"I'll be needing three rooms for the night."
She widened her eyes at Sin's request. "Jamie can't sleep alone," she said. "He'll be frightened."
His little red head of tousled curls shot off Sin's shoulder. "I will not! Think you I'm a little lass, to be scared—"
"Nay, love," she said gently, smoothing down one of his wayward curls. "But you don't need to sleep alone in a strange place."
The innkeeper cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I only have two rooms left."
Sin nodded. "Very well, then, I'll take those." He shifted Jamie to his other side, then spoke to her. "You and Jamie will share a room."
"And you?" she asked.
"I'll sleep in the barn."
Simon stepped forward. "I'll—"
"Nay, Simon," Sin said, cutting him off. "I am more used to it than you are." His tone made it clear there would be no argument.
The innkeeper brought them food and they ate in silence. Exhausted from the trip, they retired as soon as they finished.
Callie tucked her brother into bed, and once he fell asleep, she left her room in search of her husband.
She found him outside her door, leaning against the wall with his sword beside him.
"Sin? What are you doing?"
" 'Twould appear I am sitting."
"And why are you sitting there?"
"Because it's rather difficult to sleep while standing."
Callie faltered as his meaning became clear. "You are sleeping outside my door? Why?"
"Because if I slept outside of Simon's door, the innkeeper might think I'm strange."
His sarcasm was beginning to wear on her. Still, a smile hovered on the edges of her lips. "You could come inside and sleep."
Sin stared at her body wrapped in plaid. Her curves evident from the light behind her, she wore her coppery hair loose around her shoulders. She looked like a goddess standing there. A breathtaking angel come to save his rotten soul.
And he wanted to devour her like some ravenous wolf. To take her into his arms and sate the aching burn in his blood. It was an urge so strong, he was quite amazed to find himself still on the floor and not inside her.
Nay, he couldn't sleep in her room. Not with her. Not when he felt so out of control with himself. "I am quite fine where I am."
"Sitting on the floor?"
"Exactly."
To his astonishment, she knelt beside him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. His skin burned from the softness of her lips. "Thank you, my fierce protector. I shall sleep much better knowing you are out here growing stiff and cold."
Sin arched a brow at her sarcasm. He was stiff, all right, but far from cold.
She rose and moved back into her room. "By the way, should you see Old Red Cap out to harm us, please give him my best."
Sin snorted as she closed the door. Little did his wife know, he was Old Red Cap.
Callie tried her best to sleep, but after an hour, she couldn't stand it anymore. The thought of Sin outside on the cold floor was more than she could stand.
Getting up, she grabbed her blanket and pillow and opened the door, then paused. Sin slept with his back to
her, stretched out across the doorframe.
Her heart lurched at the sight of him lying there on the cold, hard floor, where his black armor no doubt bit into him. He didn't even have a blanket to cover him. There was no way he could possibly be comfortable lying that way.
Wanting to give him whatever comfort she could, she took a step forward.
Faster than she could blink, Sin rolled over, drawing his sword and angling it at her. The tip of it was barely an inch from her throat.
She gasped in panic.
Blinking and frowning, Sin lowered his sword. "Forgive me, milady. I should have warned you that I sleep lightly and that I come awake ready to fight."
"I shall remember that."
Awkwardly, she handed him the pillow and blanket in her hands. "I thought you might have need of these."
Sin stared at the items. In all his life, no one had ever seen to his comfort. Indeed, he remembered a time once when his stepmother had purchased apple drinks at a local fair for his brothers.
Barely seven, he had watched them gulp down the cider while his own parched throat had burned.
Might I have some, too, please? he'd asked.
His stepmother had curled her lip at him and scowled as if he had asked her to give over one of her limbs. Find water if you're able. It's free and good enough for the worthless likes of you.
It had been the last time he had ever asked for anything. "Thank you," he said, taking the pillow and blanket from Callie's hand.
She smiled and returned to her room.
Sin placed the pillow on the floor and lay down again. As soon as his head touched it, he caught a whiff of lavender. Callie's scent. Closing his eyes, he savored the sweet smell of her and imagined the way her thighs had felt as he ran his hand over them.
The entire time he'd touched her, all he had thought about was burying himself deep inside her. Feeling her arms holding him tightly.
Pain assailed him. Why was she kind to him when she, even more than the others, should hate him? He was her enemy. Her father had hated all things English, and yet she showed compassion and kindness to him.
Morbidly, he tucked his sword back under his body where he had learned long ago to sleep with it. The cool steel pressed against the heat of his chest as the hilt and chain mail bit into his flesh. It reminded him of what he was. A warrior. There was no place in his life for comfort. No place in his beleaguered heart for a wife.
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