She loved her da and had missed him terribly. It hurt her heart to know she would have to leave him so soon after only returning home, and make a home with a man that was more foe than husband.
Raven did notice that Wolf kept careful watch to all going on around him and his attention drifted to anything his sister had to say. He was learning about her, hearing how happy her childhood had been and the loving parents she’d had, and how she loved Royden from when she was just a wee lass.
Purity and Arran had everyone laughing with the antics of their animals. King was a cat that she’d had since he was a kitten. Princess was a large, one-eyed dog whose back King rode on and helped guide her with a tap of his paw to her head. Then there was Hope, Arran’s mare who he had bought in poor shape and helped heal her.
Raven was glad to see how happy her family was and how it would grow with the birth of Oria’s and Purity’s bairns. She also saw that while her brothers smiled, teased—mostly Arran—and joked, they cast her glances of concern. They weren’t happy with her situation and no doubt felt guilty over it. After all, it was her brothers who were to save her, not for their sister to save them.
The night grew late and though Purity and Oria yawned often, neither remarked about retiring for the night. Raven knew what everyone was doing. They were delaying seeking their own beds so she wouldn’t have to seek her bed with the Beast.
Raven decided to settle it for them. “It grows late and I grow tired. It is time to seek my bed.” She cast a glance to Bethany.
The woman answered without Raven saying a word. “Your bedchamber is ready and awaits you.”
Raven stood, Wolf slipping off the bench as she did to stand as well. She turned to her men. “You’ll bed down here in the Great Hall.”
“As will my men,” Wolf said with a nod to them.
Raven looked to Bethany again.
“I will see them settled,” Bethany said.
Raven hugged her da and whispered, “Meet you here in the morning.”
He nodded and hugged her tight before releasing her.
Raven bid her brothers and their wives good-night.
“My bedchamber is not far from yours if you should need me,” Arran said, though it wasn’t his sister he looked at.
“Raven has a husband now. She has no need of her brothers’ protection,” Wolf reminded.
Raven was quick to speak up. “Husband or not, my brothers will always be there to protect me.”
Arran and Royden both smiled.
“Come, husband,” Raven said with a wave and led the way to the stairs.
Royden stood beside Arran watching her and whispered to him, “You may be right. The Beast may be getting what he deserves.”
Chapter 4
“Let’s get this over with,” Raven said, sitting on the bench near the hearth to remove her boots.
Wolf flung his cloak to land on a chest next to the door. “You have much to learn, kona,”
Wife or woman, equal in his language, though she wondered which he meant it to be. When she learned Brod was versed in several languages, a natural skill to him, she had him begin to teach her. She was especially interested in the language of the Northmen. She wasn’t fluent in it but she could understand a good portion. Not that she would make her husband aware of that. That would remain her secret and one, she was sure, that would serve her well. She had been surprised to find out that he spoke skillfully in her tongue as did his warriors. He was not an ignorant man nor a fool and she’d be wise to remember that.
“I could say the same of you,” Raven said and placed the boot, she had slipped off, near the hearth to keep warm.
“I intend to learn everything I can about you,” he acknowledged, remaining where he stood near the closed door.
“You mean you’ve learned nothing about me before agreeing to this arrangement or do you mislead me to believe that?” Her other boot joined the one already by the hearth.
She had a quick mind and she had proved she was skilled with a weapon when earlier she had drawn her knife on him, two attributes he’d be sure to keep in mind. He hadn’t expected that of her. He actually hadn’t known what to expect, since she’d been right about his failure to find her these last five years. At least now he knew why the task had proven difficult. She had disguised, and well, herself as a lad and joined a band of thieves. He had been so intent on dealing with her father and brothers, he had failed to learn about her. He had assumed she was a weak woman, pampered by her family and would easily follow his command. He was wrong.
“I’d say your lack of response tells me it’s the latter, but since you couldn’t find me, it means you don’t know anything about me. And I doubt Oria confided anything to you about me, since she’s like a sister to me and feels no kinship to you.” The slight tic at the corner of his eye told her that her words, like an arrow, had hit its mark.
“You reveal much about yourself to me already, kona,” he said annoyed he had allowed her barb to sting him. Oria was a sore spot with him. He wanted, at least, a friendship to grow between them, but he feared his sister would never forgive him for what had happened to her husband.
She grinned. “See that, I’m pleasing you already.”
“You will please me often, wife,” he said without a hint of a smile.
Raven had learned well to mask her feelings.
Let the mask slip and you become vulnerable.
She let the old man’s, who’d once led their band of misfits, words linger in her head. She missed him every day and wished she had had more time with him, but he had taught her more about life and how to survive it in the few years she had spent with him than anyone else, including her family.
She stood and began to remove her garments. “But will you please me, husband?”
She had to turn her head when she caught the tic appear once again at the corner of his eye, another of her barb’s striking its mark. She didn’t want him to see her gloat. She was actually relieved with the banter they shared. It allowed her to focus on anything but what she was about to do—couple with the Beast.
Her stomach churned and she had to focus hard so that her hands wouldn’t tremble as she unwrapped her plaid. She had to keep her mask in place, not let him see how anxious she was about coupling with him. She certainly wasn’t ignorant of the act, though she had no experience herself. After catching a man trying to force himself on her, and seeing the culprit meet his maker, the old man had ordered his band of thieves to teach her everything.
His words rang again in her head. You’ll know how to defend and kill like a man.
He had kept his word and then some. She silently admonished herself for not keeping her mind clear, especially when she turned and saw that her husband was nearly naked. But her mask was firmly in place and she displayed not a trace of surprise.
She turned to let her plaid fall away and stood only in her shirt, the coarse linen falling to the middle of her thigh. That was as far as she would go. There was no need to stand completely naked in front of him or even do so to couple. She turned back and saw that he thought differently, since he stood naked, not a stitch of clothing on him.
His eyes not only intimidated, his honed body did as well. There wasn’t an ounce of flab on him. He was pure muscle. He was lean yet not thin, but not huge like her brother Royden. It was as if a master craftsman had chiseled him to perfection and the way he stood, commanding and confident, only added to his appeal. She was, however, surprised and somewhat relieved, to see that his shaft lay flaccid against him. And even though limp, it was sizeable.
Thanks to her crew, though more to the old man since he’d insisted she listen when the men laughed, boasted, or poked fun of their conquest of women, she knew more than she would have preferred to know about coupling. But the old man had told her that she’d be wise to know the true nature of men and, like always, he’d been right.
That her husband wasn’t aroused meant he didn’t find her appealing, though she was aware that a
man didn’t have to find a woman appealing to poke her. It was more a need, an ache and evidently he didn’t have either.
A shiver of relief ran through her and she took a closer step to the hearth to warm herself. His dark eyes followed her every moment with such chilling intensity that the heat from the flames did little to warm her. She wanted to turn away from him, not look at him and certainly not feel as if he was laying claim to her with his eyes alone. And if his eyes could shiver her senseless, how would his hands feel upon her or his shaft feel inside her?
The only way to get through coupling with him was to get it done and over. Her stomach churned at the thought and to delay any longer just might see her losing her supper, an embarrassing thought.
“Let’s get this done,” she said and his strong command stopped her before she took one step.
“NO! I will not touch you until I know you have had your monthly bleed.”
His words not only shocked her, but relieved her, her stomach instantly calming. Then his reasoning dawned on her. “You want to make sure I don’t carry another man’s bairn.”
“You shelter with thieves, live the life of a thief, behave like a thief,” he accused.
“So you assume I’ve spread my legs willingly for any man,” she said what he had implied.
“The life you have lived tells me this.”
“And how many women have you poked willingly and unwillingly?” she demanded.
“I have no need or want of an unwilling woman.”
While she was glad to hear that, she wasn’t certain if she should believe it. She had heard stories of the Northmen that would chill a person to the bone. “I am glad to hear you will never force me to couple with you.”
“I will not force you but I expect you to do your duty as a wife.”
She spread her arms invitingly, knowing full well he’d refuse her. “I’m willing.”
The quick tic at the corner of his eye was clearly visible this time and what was even more telling was the arousal of his shaft. It popped to life and he quickly turned away from her and went to the bed, slipping beneath the blankets.
So he did have a need, yet he would deny himself to make sure another man’s seed didn’t grow within her. That suited her, since she’d only recently had her monthly time. At least now, she had time to, somewhat, grow accustomed to him. Hopefully, that would make it easier to couple with him. Or would it make it worse?
“Come to bed. We leave at dawn,” he ordered.
“No!” she snapped. “We leave later. I have plans with my da early in the morning.”
He rested his arms beneath his head, the muscles growing tighter in each. “You had today.”
She slapped her hands on her hips and scowled. “And I’ll have the morn with him as well or you’ll have to drag me away and I promise that will not be easy.”
He turned an equal scowl on her. “Don’t tempt me.”
And damn if she wasn’t tempting him, something he hadn’t expected. But he couldn’t deny that he didn’t imagine how her long, slender legs would feel wrapped around him and how her taut nipples that poked at her shirt would taste against his tongue. And her shirt covering her intimate parts only made him more eager to explore what lay hidden beneath.
His lustful thoughts only worsened his arousal and he silently cursed himself. He may be straddled with her—he silently cursed himself for that word popping into his thoughts and painting an image of her doing just that. He might be stuck with her but he’d make certain that the first child she gave him came from his seed. With her thieving ways, who knew how many men had touched her and the thought sparked anger in him.
“I’ll sleep elsewhere, since you have no need for me,” she said, taking only one step when he bolted up in bed, halting her.
“Where I sleep, you sleep. Now get in bed!” he ordered and pulled the blanket back on the empty side.
Something in his dark eyes warned her not to argue. Besides, if she made a fuss it would draw not only her brothers but her men as well, and she didn’t want that kind of confrontation. She walked over to the bed and slipped in, keeping to the edge and turned on her side so her back faced him.
She felt him turn, grateful it was away from her. She’d survived much, she could survive this night. She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep, needing strength for tomorrow and all the days to come.
Raven stared at the flames in the hearth, letting their fiery dance soothe her as had campfires done many nights through the years. Her thoughts calmed as did her worries and that’s when something he had said came back to gnaw at her.
The proposal you offered.
She hadn’t initiated the proposal to wed him. She’d been told he had.
Chapter 5
Raven didn’t glance back, if she did she was afraid she’d burst into tears. She’d only returned home and she had to leave her family again. She wasn’t going far this time and she’d be able to visit often, but still, she’d barely gotten to speak with her family, visit with them, before having to leave once again.
She’d been grateful for the time she had gotten with her da this morning. She had quietly left her husband sleeping soundly in bed and met her da in the Great Hall. The day was barely dawning and so as not to disturb or be disturbed they had left the keep and walked through the village that was beginning to stir to life.
They had spoken of many things as their footfalls left tracks in the light snow that covered the ground. She had clung tightly to his arm as she had done as a child when she needed his attention, only now she didn’t speak of what troubled her. She had gotten him to talk about what had happened to him after the attack five years ago and near the end of their walk, when close to the keep, he had reminded her that she had yet to confide to him all that had truly happened to her in the years they’d been separated.
She had promised him that in time she would tell him and he had graciously accepted her excuse. But truthfully, she didn’t know if she ever wanted to share it with him.
Oria and Purity had promised they would see her soon and she hadn’t needed her brothers to tell her the same, she had seen it on their scowling faces.
“You are hurting.”
Raven turned to Clive riding alongside her. “I won’t deny it. I am hurting. I miss my family, though I am grateful you and the others, my other family, remain with me.”
“We’ll never leave you. We gave our word and we’ll keep it no matter what others think. Most don’t understand it, but there is honor among thieves.”
“I know and I am grateful that all of you gave your word,” she said, recalling the day the five men stood around the dying old man and swore to keep their word to always protect her just as her brothers and da had done those many years ago. Not one of her men had expressed any desire to leave her when they had learned she would wed Wolf. Fyn had said it best. We’re family and we stay together.
She would see them kept just as safe as they would her.
Clive cleared his throat, an indication he wanted to ask her something that he was having trouble asking.
“Get it over with, Clive, or you’ll make your throat raw,” she said with a chuckle.
Clive hurriedly spit it out. “Was he kind to you last night?”
She didn’t have to blush at the question, Clive did it for her. And he more than blushed when she said, “He won’t touch me until he knows I don’t carry another man’s bairn.”
Clive’s face burst red with anger. “He thinks you a whore?”
“He thinks me a thief and all that supposedly goes with it.”
“Those who have never known hunger or cold know nothing about thieves. A bit of stolen food and a blanket can help one survive.”
“I know that all too well.” Raven shook her head. “Though, I never thought I would learn it through experience.”
Fyn came up from behind her to ride along her other side. “We’ve all been there. It’s often what forms a thief—the need to survive. Some are luc
ky and can begin life anew. Many, however, are stuck in the life they never meant to enter. Then there are others, the lazy lot, who choose such a life. But none of that matters now. As I’ve said many times and will repeat as often as necessary. We’re family and we stay together.”
Raven was eternally grateful for having met up with the band of thieves and to have a second family and one that would always remain with her.
It wasn’t a far ride to Learmonth and while she recalled being there once when she was very young, it didn’t mean she hadn’t returned. Unknowing to those at Learmonth, she had visited a few times, and Clive and George had visited when they posed as traveling merchants. So she had some knowledge of the place.
What Oria had confirmed for her was that there had been more building going on there. Of what nature, she didn’t know, though was curious to find out. She didn’t care that Wolf had ignored her since leaving her family. He rode with his men and paid her no heed.
It made her realize that he thought her unimportant, a mistake on his part. If he thought she was going to be a docile wife who minded his every word, he was in for a huge surprise. Though she was also aware that the Beast should not be taken for granted nor should she assume he thought in a particular way. She had learned he had a cunning mind for strategy, which made him victorious more often than not when it came to battles. He was not a warrior to underestimate.
Raven was shocked when they entered the village occupying the area at the bottom of the hill of the keep. It had changed tremendously from her last visit. More land had been cleared, doubling the number of cottages and the size of the village. The people seemed content enough, though she surmised those who called out greetings to Wolf and his men were his people and those that turned their heads in uncertainty were those original to the Clan Learmonth.
Highlander Oath Of The Beast Page 4
