“Oh, God, you don’t understand,” Cassie said. “Your intentions might've been noble, but Nicole will never see it like that. To her mind, you erased a truth she gave you in confidence no matter how drunk she was.” She bit her lower lip. “And Nicole doesn’t do forgiveness, period. She learned to fight from a young age. She doesn’t do hand-outs and, believe it or not, she’d see what you did as one.” Cassie sighed. “An epic one, in fact.”
“Well, there’s no hope for it now.” Niall hung his head. “I cannae be compassionate to her impending loss of hearing and I’ve got to pretend I know nothing of her upbringing. The verra reason she's so bloody difficult now. Because I got the impression that 'twas her younger years that did her the most harm."
“Yeah, for the most part.” Cassie looked right at him as though she could see. “I'm not sure how you should go about it, but you need to come clean with her. No more secrets. Because believe it or not, the best way to protect Nicole is to let her into your heart.”
Though tempted to pull his hand away, he did not. “My heart?”
“Yeah, your heart.” Now she squeezed his hand. “An honorable place.” Cassie leaned forward. “A place she’s not familiar with.”
Niall pulled away and refilled his mug. “You give me too much credit, lass.” He shook his head. “Considering all I just told you.”
“No, actually, I get why you did it.” She sipped from her mug. “Though you've hell to pay, you were only trying to spare her feelings. I, for one, think it was pretty great of you.”
He eyed her cautiously. “You do?”
A small smile came to her lips. “I do.”
“If my lass approves of your actions then so do I,” Logan said as he entered. “Because she’s wise, she is.”
“Am I?” She smiled and held out a hand. Logan took it, kissed the back then stood behind her.
He lowered enough to murmur in her ear. “What are ye up to, love?”
Niall drank and eyed them. What would it be like to have a lass adore him like Cassie did Logan? Did he even want such a thing? It seemed like too much.
Yet…
“So what secrets do ye keep, Cousin?” Logan said, scooping Cassie into his arms before he sat.
Too many already and he didn't like it one damn bit.
Restless, Niall stood. “They’re not mine to share, m’laird. We'll visit more later.” He kissed the back of Cassie’s hand. “For now, I'll leave you two be.”
Then he left, ignoring his father as they passed in the hallway. There were men he could please and men he could not. His father had always been one he could not and he was far past trying. Nicole called him a brute? She should get to know his Da.
His conversation with Cassie had left him discontented and out of sorts. He and Nicole might constantly be at odds, but something about Cassie's advice rang true. Yet how would he ever approach the topic with the feisty redhead? Hell if he knew.
So by the time he made it to the great hall his mood was foul.
He might be trying to evade the enemy, but he wasn’t entirely opposed to another good battle. The thrill from earlier had worn off. Or was it the fear he'd felt for her life? Hard to know. What he did know was that it would be a good time to find Nicole drunk.
Niall needed her to be boisterous. Defiant. He needed to get outside of his head and she did that for him.
But she was nowhere to be found.
Frustrated, fuming for no real reason, he stalked through the crowd and stopped random people. “Where is the foreigner? Where is the lass with the loud voice?”
Nobody knew.
Where was a good fight when you needed one?
“Nicole?” he roared.
Nothing. Everyone resumed eating and drinking as he made his way toward the fire. When his mind should have been on the trouble ahead, all he could think about was the way she had felt under him earlier.
Their kiss.
That kiss.
So much all at once. Too much. Fast. Furious. She had become his. He had become hers. Not magic but close. Something different. Worth repeating.
Something worth needing.
Bloody hell, he needed her.
He wanted to taste her again like he wanted nothing else. Her body delicate but fighting beneath his. Hating but wanting him. Painful but so bloody pleasurable. What was this?
“Nicole,” he roared again.
“She’s there,” someone said.
“Right there,” another whispered.
People pointed then turned away. But it was enough.
He found her.
She was sound asleep, curled up on a chair beneath the Viking tapestry. Enough with that. They needed to talk. Now. So he stalked toward her.
Chapter Six
“ARE YE AWAKE?” came a small voice. “Can ye hear me?”
Nicole jolted awake, discombobulated. It took several long moments to figure out where she was and who had spoken. Tucked on Niall’s lap, they sat in front of the monstrous hearth in the great hall. He was sound asleep and the place had emptied out. It must be late. Her eyes drifted up to the little boy standing on the landing high above.
He had spoken to her.
His eyes were huge and mournful as he gazed down. His voice was a whisper she should not have been able to hear from this distance. “They willnae stop talking into my mind.”
When she tried to move, Niall’s arms tightened around her. She peeked at his face. He was still out cold. Even so, there was no getting away. So she gestured at the boy to come down and spoke softly for two reasons. The first? She would rather not wake up the brute. The second? She didn’t want to frighten the boy.
“My name is Nicole,” she said. “Come sit with me. I won’t hurt you.” She nodded at Niall. “Neither will he.”
“Nicole,” the boy said. “I have heard of ye.” He made his way down then sat a few chairs over from them, eying his surroundings cautiously before his gaze met hers. “We passed through the oak ford together not long ago. Ye are Cassie’s friend.”
“I am.” She smiled. “And yes, we did pass through the ford at the same time. You’re Robert the Bruce, right?”
He nodded. “’Twas scary, aye?”
“It was,” she agreed. “You were very brave.”
“Aye,” he said softly. “I tried to be.”
“Me too.” It was hard to believe she was talking to the future King of Scotland. Someone who would become infamous. Yet right now he seemed so small and innocent. So vulnerable. “How are you doing, Robert? Are you all right?”
“I am.” He nodded before he slowly shook his head. “Or at least that is what I tell my Ma.”
“The voices in your head are frightening you, aren’t they?”
“Aye,” he whispered.
“Did you know I heard them too?”
He nodded. “Do ye hear them right now?”
“No.” She kept her eyes with his and her voice gentle. “But I did hear you speaking from above when I shouldn’t have so that’s a good thing.”
“’Tis?”
She didn’t have a lot of practice dealing with kids so she hoped she was saying the right things. “Yep, because that means I’ll probably hear you no matter where you are.”
He swallowed. “Where else might I be?”
“Nowhere but here,” she started then stopped. He might be young, but she felt he deserved honesty. She wished adults had been more honest with her when she was little. “And hopefully that’s where you’ll stay. But if for some reason you and I leave here, we’re gonna be brave together, right? We’re gonna be tough.”
“You mean if the evil lass gets me or those shadows,” he said, eyes growing wider.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” she said. “But I don’t think they will. You know why?”
He shook his head.
She nodded at Niall. “Because you have mighty warriors like this one protecting you.” Then she pointed at herself. “And good friends like me determine
d to watch over you.”
Robert’s eyes flickered between her and Niall. “Yer my friend?”
“Absolutely.” She nodded then patted Niall’s arm. “So is he.”
Robert was about to respond when a woman appeared on the landing above, visible relief in her eyes when they locked on him.
“’Tis my Ma,” he murmured. “I have to go.”
When the woman’s eyes met Nicole’s, she nodded hello. The woman nodded back.
“Goodnight, Robert,” Nicole called after him. “I hope to talk more tomorrow.”
“Aye.” He offered a little wave and then raced up the stairs.
By the time Nicole’s eyes returned to the landing, the woman was gone.
As she stared at the dying embers on the hearth, she again hoped she'd said the right things. While she didn’t want to scare Robert, overly coddling him did not strike her as the best course of action considering his circumstances.
“So ye’ve a kind heart after all,” Niall murmured.
“I should’ve known you were awake,” she muttered and met his heavy-lidded eyes.
Something about him like this, drowsy and vulnerable but still alert, struck her as super sexy. Not good. No super sexy Niall for her. But when she tried to sit forward, he kept her locked tight against his chest.
“Stay,” he said softly. “I’ve a need to talk to you, lass.”
“You can talk to me just as easily without me on your lap.”
“Mayhap.” His eyes wandered her face. “But ‘tis not such a bad thing having you here.”
“I’m not wiggling my ass for you this time,” she grumbled. “So stop trying to warm up to me.” Her eyes narrowed as worry over Robert was replaced by renewed anger with Niall. “Why didn’t you tell me about Cassie?” She frowned. “Why didn’t Rònan or Darach? I assume you all knew.”
“Because I felt as if you already had enough to deal with,” he said. “And I suspect my cousins felt the same. Or mayhap they felt it was Cassie’s information to give.”
That made sense she supposed. Still, it somehow irked her that Niall kept it from her. It almost felt like a betrayal. How come, though? They weren’t close. “Why do I feel so frustrated that you above all kept it from me then? And it wasn’t because we had sex. I don’t work that way.”
Niall shrugged, a strange look on his face when he murmured, “I dinnae know.”
Why did he almost seem guilty? “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“If I let you off my lap, will you stay and hear me out?”
That didn’t sound good. “Yeah, maybe. It depends on what you’re about to say.”
“You willnae like it, but I’m of the mind to be honest with you.” His eyes searched hers. “I dinnae want the constant strife betwixt us anymore.”
“And you being honest is going to put that to rest?” She grew tense. “Something tells me it’s gonna have the opposite effect.”
“Mayhap.” He released her. “But it needs to be said.”
“Because you apparently want to be friends now,” she said, standing.
“I just dinnae want the strife,” he reiterated. “If we’re to protect the wee Bruce, we cannae constantly be bickering as we have been.”
“Okay.” She put her back to the remnants of the fire and crossed her arms over her chest. “Have at it.”
He contemplated her for a long moment before he said, “We didnae have sex last night.”
Oh, he did not just say that. Anger started to bubble up. “Are you serious?”
“Aye.” He crossed his arms over his chest as well. “And our first kiss was today.”
Ah, so she had not forgotten their first kiss. That, at least, was a relief.
“Why the hell did you lie to me?” She shook her head. “You let me think I’d been a total slut. Why would you do that considering all I’m going through right now?”
“Because I was offended that you were so disgusted by the idea that we’d lain together. I have a wee bit o’ pride you know.” Then he said something she never could have anticipated. “And I didnae know yet if I wanted you for myself.”
The same thoughts she’d had about Darach.
Best to stay focused, though. And damn was she pissed. “So first you thought I was a piece of meat you could give away to Rònan.” When he looked surprised, she said, “Oh yeah, I heard about that one.” She narrowed her eyes. “Then you figured you’d lie about us having sex to what, stake some sort of temporary claim on me?”
“I didnae think you were a piece of meat.” Niall ground his jaw. “I would never think that.”
“Then what gave you the right to offer me up to another man!”
“’Twas just a means of pushing you away.” Niall’s tone was low and his eyes level. “But I dinnae feel that way any longer.”
Her brows rose. “Oh, you don’t do you? Well, I hate to break it to you but your chances with me are slim to none.”
The corner of his lips curled up and the look in his eyes was a smidge too knowing. “So there’s a slim chance, is there?”
Disarmed by his cool confidence, she shook her head. “Let me rephrase. There’s no chance.”
Yet she wasn’t storming out of here like she had every right to do. Instead, her feet were frozen to the floor and her eyes still locked with his.
“Nicole?” It was Cassie. “Is everything okay down there?”
Niall and Nicole kept eying one another. Was everything okay? Not in the least. But when she yelled up to her friend, it was that all was well. Go back to sleep. Then she realized Cassie might need help. When she started forward, Niall came to his feet and stopped her. “She's already gone. She knows how to find her way back to Logan.”
Her eyes rose to his. “If we’re going to work toward getting along you need to stop blocking my path…in general.”
“I’ll always block your path if it means protecting you.” His eyes dropped to her hand. “But mayhap ‘twill be a path we walk together.”
He was looking at the Claddagh ring that had mysteriously appeared on her finger. A ring whose clear stone would apparently turn to a gem that matched the eye color of the MacLomain wizard she was meant for.
“I think you hope for too much.” She twisted the ring so that the crowned, heart-held stone was facing palm side. “Because I don’t do love. Never have. Never will.”
“Nor I,” he assured, stepping back so she could pass if she wanted to. “But that doesnae mean I havnae grown curious.”
“Human nature,” she said carefully. “There are two more Brouns coming. There’s a good chance one of them is meant for you.”
“Aye,” he agreed, still standing far too close. “But ‘tis not them I’m curious about.”
“You should be. They’re awesome.” Her eyes stayed with his. Why wasn’t she stepping away? What kept her from barely breathing? It was an odd and unfamiliar feeling. “They’re damn beautiful too.”
She got the sense he was as perplexed by his behavior as she was by hers.
“You’re damn beautiful,” he murmured.
Men had always liked her looks and said as much. Yet there was something different about him saying it. Somehow it weighed better on her in an unexplainable way that she couldn’t put her finger on. Then it occurred to her.
He wasn’t saying it to get in her pants.
Outside of her friends, it might just be the most genuine compliment anyone had ever given her. Startled by the revelation, she tore her eyes away. Though she wasn’t in the least, she said, “I’m tired. Where should I crash?”
“In our chamber,” he said. “I’ll show you the way.”
Her brows flew together as her eyes shot back to his. “Our chamber?”
“Aye. ‘Tis far too dangerous now to have you out of my sight.” Then an edge of humor met his voice. “But worry naught. There are two beds.”
“Yet every time I’ve woken up, I’m in your arms,” she muttered and strode for the stairs. “Sh
ow me. I’m wiped.”
She would never admit it, but everything that had happened at the MacLeod’s scared the heck out of her. And Niall had gotten her out of there in one piece. Yet again, he had her back. Where she came from, that meant something. More than he knew.
The chamber was far more spacious than she anticipated and the beds far apart. There were four windows, rounded on top and flat on the bottom. Two on one wall. Two on the other. Nautical tapestries hung around most of the room. But one was different. Where the others were simply ocean landscapes with warm colors, this one was more intense with a single Viking longship sailing its seas.
She stopped in front of it as Niall lit a fire. “He sailed that one, didn’t he?”
“I did,” whispered through her mind.
Nicole blinked and shook her head.
“Who?” Niall asked.
“The Viking in that huge tapestry downstairs,” she said softly.
“My name is Naðr Véurr Sigdir.”
“Aye, ‘tis the Viking King’s ship.” Niall came alongside “How did you know that?”
Surprisingly unafraid, she looked at him. “I think he might be inside my head.”
“Och, ‘tis good that.” He didn’t doubt her in the least. Warmth filled his eyes. “There is no better ally to have except mayhap Adlin MacLomain himself.”
The idea that a ninth-century Viking might be speaking to her telepathically was a lot to swallow. “This is crazy.” But she found herself smiling at Niall. “No kidding, seriously?”
“Seriously.” Niall met her smile. “Try speaking back to him.”
“How?”
“Picture the Viking in the tapestry downstairs and address him directly within your mind.”
“That’s weird.”
“’Tis how you do it.”
Always up for a challenge, she nodded and gave it a shot. Picturing the Viking, she spoke within the mind…which was really just thinking.
“Hey, nice to meet you Naðr Véurr Sigdir.”
“You as well, Nicole,” floated through her mind.
“Oh, damn.” She kept grinning at Niall. “I think he just responded!”
Niall chuckled. “You didnae get nearly as excited when you spoke within the mind to the wee Bruce at the MacLeod’s.”
Honor of a Scottish Warrior Page 9
