Conall: The 93rd Highlanders, Book Two

by Samantha Kane

  “You’re right,” Conall surprised him by saying. “You can’t help your feelings and I can’t help mine.” He shrugged. “It’s not the first time someone loved and wasn’t loved back. Civilization survived. So shall I.”

  “This is not the time or place to get into feelings,” Graeme choked out. “But if you believe such nonsense, then you’re an even bigger idiot than I took you for.”

  Conall glanced his way, surprise on his face. “But you said—”

  “I know what I said,” Graeme told him. “But I don’t think you heard my words through your stubbornness.”

  Putting the Frenchman’s arm around his shoulders, Conall picked up both their rifles in one hand and helped him stand. Graeme jumped up and moved to the Frenchman’s other side as a sudden stream of French medics came running toward the Zouave wounded littering the ground. In their midst he could see Douglas frowning at them as Iain argued with Marine, who had appeared with the medics. With the stumbling man between them, Graeme shot Conall a heated look.

  “When we get back, Avril’s going to have some choice words for you,” he warned, “and so will I. And then we’ll talk more about all this love nonsense.”

  Conall grinned, looking straight ahead. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Whatever you say, Captain.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Avril was pacing in front of her little hut, ignoring Hamish and Brodie, who were sitting outside waiting with her for word of Conall and the others. Hamish was smoking his pipe calmly, and Brodie was rhythmically cracking his knuckles over and over. Alec sat beside Brodie, his pipes silent for once. They were all about to drive her mad. She’d started for the French camp, but Hamish had intercepted her and brought her back. He’d told her—quite logically which only infuriated her—that the woman she sought was most likely gone with Douglas and Iain, or off to tend the wounded. And so she’d sat here. And paced. And worried. For hours. It was morning already, and still no sign of any of them.

  Suddenly Hamish sat up, pulling his pipe out of his mouth as he peered over the steppe. Brodie stood up, tension radiating off him in waves. Avril turned and stared in the same direction they were looking. She could just make out some figures walking toward them, three leading horses and one without. Only the one without wore the kilt and the scarlet jacket. But it wasn’t the clothing that let her know it was Conall. It was the way he walked, that swagger that only Conall had. Avril picked up her skirts and began running, ignoring Hamish and Brodie as they called out to her.

  It was farther to reach them than she thought, but Conall met her halfway, running as hard and fast as she was. When they met he grabbed her and lifted her off her feet and spun her around while she clung to him, her arms wrapped around his neck. She was crying and she didn’t care who knew it.

  “You big looby ass,” she cried. “I could kill you.”

  “I love you too,” he said, nuzzling her cheek as he slowly set her down, holding her tight to him. She just cried harder.

  “Ah, Avril,” he said, not sounding upset at all. “You really do love me.”

  “Course I do, you idiot,” she said, hitting his shoulder even as she breathed in the scent of him from the curve of his neck as he bent over her. “Don’t ever do something so stupid again.”

  “Like attack the enemy when we’re at war?” he asked with a hint of humor in his voice. She couldn’t find anything humorous in it.

  “Yes,” she said illogically. “Like that.” He laughed, that big booming laugh she’d thought she’d never hear again, and she kept right on crying.

  “Then don’t you be threatening to leave me and telling me you’re not good enough.”

  “I won’t,” she whispered. Conall went still for a moment and then he picked her up and carried her in his arms as they crossed the camp. She vaguely heard people calling out to him in greeting, questions being asked, but she ignored it all. She looked over his shoulder at Graeme, who had caught up to them and was silently watching. She mouthed “Thank you” to him, and he smiled at her. His smile meant as much to her as Conall’s scent and his laughter.

  When they reached her home Conall put her down but kept his arm firmly wrapped around her as he shook first Hamish’s and then Brodie’s hands.

  “Well met, then,” Hamish said. He saluted Douglas and Iain and Graeme. “Glad to see you all made it back alive. That’s a good day.” Then he turned and walked off, puffing on his pipe.

  Douglas frowned after him. “Good day indeed,” he huffed. He pointed at Conall. “Don’t think I’m letting you off without a thorough dressing down,” he told him. “I’ve got to get back and pay Marine, but later today I’ll be here.” He pointed to the ground at his feet. “And you’ll stand up like a man and take my words.”

  “Yes, sir,” Conall said blithely, a smile on his face. “I expect you’ll be hearing from the French. I saved a couple of those Zouave officers. I think they want to give me a medal.”

  “The French give medals for shitting in the woods,” Douglas told him with a derisive snort. “Don’t be getting too big for your britches.” He signaled at Iain and the two men walked off the way they’d just come.

  Brodie still looked pale and shaken. “If I’d known what a fool thing it was to let you go,” he told Conall, “I’d have beaten you black and blue to stop you.” He shook his head. “What am I supposed to do if you up and die?” he complained. “Like losing my right arm. Come see me later. I need a drink.” He walked off and Alec fell in beside him with a wave goodbye.

  Conall wasted no time dragging Avril to the door. As they passed Graeme he briskly told him, “Inside.”

  When they were all three inside Conall slammed the door and faced her and Graeme. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said to them. “Avril is going to marry one of us today. No arguments,” he said, placing a finger against her lips as she started to speak. “There’ll be no more talk of leaving out of either of you. Or of not being good enough. This is how it is and how it’s going to be. I don’t give a damn what anyone else says or thinks about us. If you do, you just send the bastard to me and I’ll take care of it. Understood?”

  “You must marry Avril,” Graeme said. “You just carried her across the entire camp, causing another scene. I expect the colonel will be here before long, making ultimatums and threatening to send her away.”

  Avril watched Graeme as he spoke. He didn’t seem upset about her and Conall marrying. She wasn’t sure if she was hurt by that or not. “You don’t want to marry me?” she asked, trying to sound just curious.

  “I’d love to,” Graeme said. “But the fact is you and Conall were together first. It was always the two of you. I won’t come between that.”

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Conall said. “You know damn well Avril and I love you.”

  “You throw out love as though it isn’t an inconceivable notion, this idea that you love me.” Graeme looked confused and wary. “How can you love us both?”

  “You don’t?” Conall asked, putting his hands on his hips. “Tell me true. You don’t love me? Or you don’t love Avril? Which one of us?”

  Avril held her breath. Just as Graeme thought she and Conall had loved first, so she felt the same about the two men. Hadn’t they found each other before the three came together?

  “I…” Graeme shook his head. “I haven’t let myself say the words, not even to myself,” he said quietly. “All my life I’ve been alone. I’ve hidden my feelings and my desires and I accepted that I’d always be alone because of them. You two weren’t supposed to come along. You weren’t supposed to make me want something that can’t be.”

  Conall walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Well, it can be. It is. I said it and I meant it. This is the way it is and the way it’s going to be. Us.” He motioned among the three of them. “I’ll marry Avril, because what you say is true and makes sense. But you hold as strong a place in my heart as she does. I love you both, equally, in the same way. I want you both in my be
d. Do you understand?”

  “And when the war is over?” Avril asked. She had to know. She had to know if her heart would be broken by one or both of them. “When the Ninety Third is sent someplace else? India? Canada? What then?”

  Conall looked at her and held out his hand. She came to him, no arguments. “Then we go together. Or both Graeme and I sell our commissions and we go home.”

  “And at home?” she persisted. “What then? Where shall we go? What shall we do?”

  “Whatever we want,” Conall said. “I may be a fourth or fifth son, but I’ve my own money and I’m my own man. I’ve always wanted a farm of my own, raising sheep and a fine pack of hounds, on the hills in Glenfinnan, near my family.”

  “And where will I be?” Graeme asked stoically.

  “By my side,” Conall said without hesitation. He put a hand on Avril’s shoulder, mirroring the one on Graeme’s, uniting the three of them. “Where you both belong.”

  And at long last, Avril believed him. She believed every word he said, and her heart soared.

  The wedding was a simple, rushed affair. Brodie barely made it in time, having to wait for young Miss McMillan to put on a pretty dress to attend. Graeme was surprised to see her there, but then again Conall was making an honest woman out of Avril, which must please the colonel. Perhaps Miss McMillan’s presence was his stamp of approval.

  To Avril’s shock, Miss McMillan had brought her a bride gift, a beautiful silk scarf from India that the pretty girl had draped around Avril’s shoulders, hiding her plain black dress behind its vibrant colors that brought out the rose in Avril’s cheeks and the blue in her eyes. She’d never looked more beautiful.

  Graeme supposed he ought to feel some jealousy or hurt over Conall and Avril marrying, but he didn’t. It was the logical thing to do, after all. In some strange way, Graeme felt responsible for the two lovers at last finding a happy ending. With a jolt, he realized it was his happy ending as well. While he might not be the one getting married, their bond tied Graeme to them as firmly as their vows to each other. He simply couldn’t imagine his life without the two of them. It was that simple and yet so complicated.

  When he arrived here he’d been set in his ways, resigned to a hard life in the 93rd and most likely an untimely death at war. Then he’d met Conall and he’d begun to come alive, had found in him a reason to rise and greet each day, even if his feelings remained hidden and unrequited. He’d never expected to love Avril. Had seen to her comfort and safety when Conall was injured because he knew Conall loved her. But it hadn’t taken long for her practical nature and fresh beauty and kind heart to snare his affection as surely as she’d won Conall’s. Again, Graeme had thought his feelings would remain hidden and unrequited. He hadn’t counted on the change in Conall when he returned from Scutari.

  Battle seemed to bring out the best in Conall. Graeme wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But ultimately it was Conall’s newfound strength and stubbornness that had made Graeme let loose the reins on his unruly emotions and finally take what he’d desired for so long. First Avril, and then Conall himself. For a solitary, hard man like him, it was hard to accept that he suddenly had all he desired.

  As Conall said his vows, he looked over at Graeme. Avril followed his stare and smiled at him, her face radiating joy. There was love in their eyes, and not just for each other, but for him. He let them see his own emotions, let them see how he felt, not caring who else present saw it.

  When the chaplain pronounced them man and wife, Conall thoroughly kissed his bride and then turned to Graeme. “Husband’s privilege,” he said with a grin. He held his hand out and Graeme shook it, wanting nothing more than to pull him in close and kiss him as he had Avril. From the look on Conall’s face, he was wishing the same thing.

  The camp used the excuse of the impromptu wedding to celebrate heartily. Graeme stood behind the couple all evening as they accepted well wishes. He’d tried to leave them alone, but Conall would have none of it. He’d ordered Graeme to stay put, and so he had. But he mentally listed all the ways he’d make Conall pay for it. The three of them got knowing looks from several people, but no one said a word.

  Finally, Alec played a call to attention on his pipes. “Away!” he called out. “The wedding night approaches, and I don’t think Conall wants any help.”

  Avril blushed profusely as the men around them guffawed at Alec’s comment. Several declared he may not want help, but he’d get it all the same, and Graeme had to fight to keep his face blank. To his shock, no one had disapproved or cast disparaging comments their way, though clearly most knew of the circumstances of their union. Graeme’s father had once told him that as long as you give people the pretense of what they want, they’ll accept it and look the other way. This wedding proved his father was a wise man indeed.

  “When all is clear, return to us,” Conall whispered to him as Avril hugged him. He nodded and watched as Conall lifted her in his arms and carried her into the hut to the cheers of the other men. He stood there for a long while, as the revelers wandered away and the fire died. Only when the night was the only witness left did he push open the door and go to his lovers.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Graeme finally entered, Conall had Avril undressed and draped across the cot, his face buried between her legs. As the cold air from the open door swept across the room Avril came, crying out his name, her hand clutching his head, holding him to her.

  “I can’t leave you alone for a minute,” Graeme said, his voice deep and dark with wicked intent, and Conall shivered, as naked and ready as Avril was.

  “Come here,” he said, holding his hand out behind him to Graeme. When Graeme took it Conall pulled him down to kneel beside him. “Help me,” he told him. He leaned back down and licked a delicious path along Avril’s sex, so wet and tart with her arousal. Graeme understood what he wanted immediately, and he leaned over and sucked on the tiny nub at the apex of her slit and she cried out weakly. Conall ran his tongue up to meet Graeme’s lips there, and they kissed, sharing it with Avril in a decadent and erotic way. It was enough to make her peak again, both their names escaping her on a shivery sigh.

  “Here now,” Conall said softly, taking Graeme’s hand and guiding it to Avril’s bottom. Graeme jerked back and looked when he realized Conall had his finger inside Avril there.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, looking between Conall’s hand and Avril’s face. She looked to be lost in pleasure.

  “If you can fuck me there,” Conall told him, “then I can fuck her there. While you fuck her properly.”

  Graeme’s breathing had deepened and quickened noticeably. “I’ve heard men talk of doing that,” he said cautiously. “Do you want that, Avril?”

  “Yes,” she cried out, her back bowing as Conall pulled his finger out and thrust it in again. “Yes,” she said with a sob. “I want both of you in me tonight. It’s our wedding night. Both of you.”

  It seemed to be all the encouragement Graeme needed. He stood up and began to pull off his clothes.

  “Watch your buttons,” Avril said breathlessly and Conall had to laugh. Graeme shared a smile with him and everything in Conall clicked into place, as if a lock had turned and opened his heart. This was perfection. As perfect as it could get, sharing laughter and looks and bodies and hearts.

  When Graeme stood before them nude, bathed in firelight, he took Conall’s breath away. Graeme had been right earlier, because the idea that a man as magnificent as he could love foolish Conall Fletcher was inconceivable. And yet here he was, his look as he gazed at Avril and Conall possessive and lustful. He was a man in complete control of himself and the world around him and he wanted—nay, needed—Conall and what Conall could give him, just as much as he needed Avril. It rocked Conall to his core. There was no denying his entire world had been changed at Balaclava when he’d looked into Graeme Munro’s eyes and wished for something he hadn’t even known he wanted until that moment.

 
Graeme caught his stare and leaned down, sliding his hand into Conall’s hair and gripping a fistful almost painfully as he slammed his mouth down on Conall’s. The kiss was base and erotic, wet and messy and hard. Graeme tasted like Avril’s cunt and it was enough to make Conall light-headed. Graeme broke the kiss as abruptly as he’d started it.

  “Move,” he said. It took Conall a few seconds to understand the command. He sat back on his heels and stood, backing away from the cot.

  Graeme lay down and lifted Avril easily until she lay over him. She moaned and Conall saw thrust her hips into Graeme, rubbing her stomach on his hard cock as she arched her back.

  “You’ll get what you want,” Graeme told her roughly. “It’s a good thing you’re a woman who likes cock, since you’ve got two to satisfy now.”

  Avril laughed in sheer delight, shivering as Graeme pinched her bottom as he nipped her breast. “It’s true,” she purred. “I can’t deny it. I never thought I’d see the day I’d crave cock the way I do you two.”

  “That’s it,” Conall said, his patience at an end. “I’ve waited hours to be inside my wife with my lover. I want this.” He cleared his throat. “I, um, asked someone with experience in the matter how to go about it. Avril, straddle Graeme first and take him inside.” Ham had told him in excruciating detail how two men went about fucking a woman together. Just the description had had Conall nearly coming in his kilt. The celebration had been endless after that, and the wait for Graeme even longer.

  “You should fuck her too,” Graeme said. “Coat your cock with her cream before you take her bottom. Like I did with you.”

  “Oh God,” Avril moaned, writhing on top of Graeme. “If you two talk about it anymore, I’m going to come again and I’ll be spent before you ever get inside me.”

  “I just want you to know,” Conall told them both as he climbed on the bed and straddled Graeme’s legs behind Avril, “that I never in my wildest dreams imagined fucking would be this decadent, messy and good. So damn good.” Avril and Graeme laughed.