Lass' Valor (The Pith Trilogy)

by Griffin, Kara

  “That is not funny, Colin.”

  He took his time looking over the manor house, which did appear to be large and well-built. Several flags adorned the turrets and steeples. At one time it must have been a wealthy fief, for it was made of stone and its security had been built to withstand sieges.

  The posted guard stopped them when they approached the gate.

  Colin moved forward, but Brendan stopped him. “Let me.” Brendan dismounted, and bid the rest of the men to do so. Though they’d only brought twenty men with them, they appeared hostile. Brendan couldn’t help that—it was their usual look.

  “I’m Brendan MacKinnon and I—”

  “Sir, we were told to expect ye.” The guard stepped back and motioned for them to enter.

  “Who told you to expect me?”

  “King Henry, he is still in residence and has not left yet to return to Londontown. He told us to tell you that he is within. Welcome, my lords.”

  Brendan nodded then walked off toward the entrance. He pushed open the large wooden doors and strode inside. For a moment, he stood still, looking around him. The room’s cleanliness and coziness reminded him of Kate. Everything in the room bore her touch. A large table sat in the center of the hall, on which sat three bowls, one at each end and a larger one in the center. All held fruit and vegetables. Beside the hearth, dried flowers hung on pegs scenting the room with their fragrance. Around the room, various chairs sat beside windows and under tapestries of rich colored scenes. There was even a woven rug in front of the hearth, with several homemade books sitting atop it. An aura of pride overcame him.

  “Brendan, Colin, you’re here.” Henry entered the hall through a doorway and stood nearby.

  Colin approached Henry and bowed. “Henry, we came to find out de Morris’ whereabouts. I aim to search for him, here in England.”

  Henry clasped his hands behind his back. “I knew you would. Very well, I will have my chancellor look into Richard’s holdings and inform me where the man is. Once we have a location, you can go seek him out.”

  “That is all I ask, Henry.”

  The king raised a brow and turned to look at him. Brendan wasn’t sure why, but it looked as though he smirked.

  “Is there another reason why you came, Brendan MacKinnon, besides wanting to kill Richard?”

  “Damned right, I came for my wife. What chamber is she in?”

  Henry actually laughed. Brendan frowned at Colin, who gave him a hopeful look.

  “Why would I tell you that? Kate has all but said that she wanted me to annul the marriage. She’s been downright insistent. I’ve never seen a woman so forlorn in all my days.”

  “She’s my wife, and I insist that you allow me to see her. You haven’t sent the request to Rome for the annulment, have you? I won’t allow it, Henry.” Brendan took a defiant stance.

  “You dare to make demands of your king?”

  Brendan swallowed his ire. If that didn’t beat all, Henry used his position to rile him. Aye, he was now Brendan’s king, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. “Nay, Henry, I just want to see Katie.”

  “Very well, she’s in her chamber, third floor, the only door there. Leads to a tower room where she dwells. I don’t know what she does up there, but she spends much time secreted away. She’s probably sulking over you. Why, I really couldn’t say.”

  He half-listened to Henry’s jesting, and took the stairs in a mad rush. Although the manor was aged, it appeared well tended, and even the steps had been daubed to seal the cracks. He stood outside her chamber, hesitant to knock, not knowing what he’d say to her. All the words he’d thought of along the way suddenly disappeared from his mind. Mayhap words would not be needed, he opened the door and stepped inside.

  Kate sat on the floor inside her rope, candles inside and outside of the rope dimly lit the chamber. Brendan could see a few tables laden with many bowls and pouches. He stood mesmerized for a moment before approaching her. Stepping around a chair, he looked down at her. Her beautiful eyes were closed, her lips parted slightly, humming. She didn’t hear him, she was so deeply into her meditation, and he could observe her closely. Her light hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she held her hands to the ceiling.

  “Katie.”

  She opened her eyes, which rose to meet his. “Brendan, what are you doing here?”

  He knelt beside her, took her hand, and held it firmly. She tried to rise, but he wouldn’t let her. He remained silent, content to stare at her. He’d missed her, and couldn’t stop himself from taking in her beauty. He pulled her to the ornate bed a few feet away—she had no choice but to follow.

  She started to speak, but closed her mouth. He set her on the bed and lay next to her. He just wanted to hold her a moment before he broached the subject of their marriage. Much needed to be said, most importantly, how much he loved her.

  He felt her sigh.

  “Brendan, I cannot believe you came. Oh, good Goddess, I asked the king to send to Rome for an annulment. You really shouldn’t be here.”

  He stroked her face gently and smiled. “Is that all you’ve been thinking about since we parted, our annulment?”

  “Of course, what else should I have been thinking of?”

  “Mayhap, my mouth doing this.” He trailed light kisses down her neck. “And mayhap you missed my body doing this.” He pressed his body against hers. “Have you thought about how hot I make you feel when I do this?” He caressed her breast, and stroked his hand over her stomach to her femininity. Forget talking, his arousal rejected everything but making sweet, passionate love to her.

  Kate sucked in a breath, and waited to see what he would do next.

  “Mayhap you missed me?” he murmured in her ear.

  She opened her mouth to respond, but his mouth took full possession. So like him, not to give her a chance to respond. He easily coerced her into accepting him by continuing to kiss her, while using his body to overwhelm her senses. Every touch scorned her attempts to reproach him. She wrapped her arms around him, and deepened the kiss. He never wanted her to let go.

  Brendan steeled his legs over hers, to keep them still. He wasn’t sure if she was angry that he’d let her leave or not. He shook with an urgent need—the need to remove her clothing and feel her soft, hot skin against his. Her tongue responded ardently, it swamped him with raging lust, so excruciating and yet thrilling. He had to stop, but didn’t want to. She fisted his hair and tugged on it gently to get him to move closer. He berated himself, and remembered what he needed to do.

  “Love, cease, or I won’t be able to stop. I want to talk to you.” Brendan recalled what his brother, Robin, had told him about how he’d gotten Tess to accept him. He removed Katie’s hand, and placed it on his chest. She began moving it in circles, and he stilled it by placing his over it. “I mean it, Katie, we must talk. Let us discuss this annulment that you’ve asked Henry for.”

  When he didn’t say anything more, she sat up and turned toward him.

  “Brendan MacKinnon, I can’t believe you just left. I went to say goodbye to you at the cliff.”

  “I was upset, Katie, about Walt and needed to come to an understanding. I saw you that day, and heard your farewell.” His voice was a whisper against her neck. He sounded quite sad, not angry. He couldn’t believe she had more tears to shed. Her eyes watered, but he knew she resisted it, because she wiped them away, and smiled. He pulled her into his arms. Brendan caressed her cheek with his thumb and changed the topic on her. “I do not want us to be apart again, and we will not speak of an annulment.”

  “I can’t have you here, Brendan. You must understand that,” she said low, but wouldn’t look at him. She turned to face a tapestry that hung on the wall beside the bed.

  He turned her face to him. “Understand what, Katie? Why can’t I stay? I am your husband.”

  “Because, I c-can’t live with a man that doesn’t l-love me.”

  “I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to stay wi
th a man who loves you very much.”

  Incredulous, she asked, “You do?”

  “Aye, Katie, I would die for you, go to hell and back for you, as a husband should.”

  “Now, you’re telling me this now?”

  Brendan leaned his head to touch hers. “Aye.” He looked at her affectionately with his usually cold-gray eyes. “I realized it when I was on the cliffs, when I had gone off to think. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, even though my father had just died in a battle with Richard’s men. I had only just found out that Walt was my father. You wanted me to leave my home, a place where I have always been accepted, well by my brothers. There was much to consider.”

  “You never knew about Walt being your father? I had guessed he was your father when I spoke to him, but you hadn’t introduced him as your father when we met him on our arrival. Walt was indeed a nice man. I’m sorry you had to deal with that pain alone. You should have let me console you, that’s what wives are supposed to do.”

  “I couldn’t be near anyone then. I never knew he was my father until right before his death. He and my mother had an affair. Walt made Colin promise never to tell me that he was my father. Walt made a vow to my mother that he would never claim me and I lived my life believing that I was Donald MacKinnon’s son, who was a heartless dog. I had a lot to deal with just then. You left, and I was angry. I did not feel you would accept me.”

  “Brendan, I hardly knew you when I told you I loved you. I didn’t love you because you were a son of a laird. It certainly wasn’t due to your charm or gentle nature either.”

  “Why do you love me?” he dared to ask.

  Kate knelt on her knees, watching his expression. “I had this vision, you see, I am much like my grandmother and my mother. We pray to the spirits of the earth, the sun, wind, water, and fire. I honor my Celtic ancestors and—”

  Brendan reached out, he tried to take her in his arms, but she held him off. “Nay, let me finish. When my mother died, I began praying to the spirits to show me the way and guide me. Lolly, my attendant, was a good friend of Madam Serena’s, a Celtic woman who was a friend to my mother and grandmother too. She began showing me the faith, and as I learned how to harness my beliefs, a vision kept appearing. It was of a warrior with dark hair and gray eyes—it was you. Madam had powers that I could never dream of having. She said I would go on a somber mission, and that I would meet the warrior when I met the child. Now you know why I reacted strangely when I first saw you after you bathed the paint away when we arrived.”

  “I though you were brazen or mayhap brave, Katie.”

  Kate smiled. “I was scared to my toes. I knew that I was sent to you for a reason, and thought it was because of Bonnie, but now I know why I was sent to you.”

  “Why is that?” He grinned.

  “Because you need me. I was sent to make you happy and bring you back.”

  “I admit I was distant toward everyone, have always been. It was hard to deal with Walt’s death, and the fact that he was my father. He was a good man, and we cared about him. I still am torn up about it.”

  “I only spoke to him once, at Laila and Garrick’s wedding. He came to me and told me how honored he was that his son married me. I felt graced by his kind words. Walt was a noble man.” Kate took his hand, her eyes bore into his.

  “Aye, he was. I did not think I was worthy of you, being born a bastard and … then you left, and I realized how much you meant to me.”

  “Oh.” Kate turned her head, looking to the window. She watched dull rays of the sun lessening. She became quiet, seeming not to know what to say to him. “So you didn’t find Richard?”

  “Nay, he got away. I worried that he would send his army here, and that you and Henry were in danger. He hasn’t come out of his hole yet. Henry is having the chancellor find out his location.”

  “Now that you’re here, it’s over, and we can …” She trailed off when he shook his head.

  “But it’s not over, Richard is still out there, and I won’t rest until I find him.”

  Kate sighed, but nodded. “So you really intend to stay here with me in England?”

  “Katie, I want you to inform Henry that we will remain husband and wife and that he should not send to the Pope for an annulment. Aye, my place is with you, wherever that might be, even if it means living in England.”

  “Don’t sound so disgruntled, Brendan, it won’t be so bad, being married to me.”

  Brendan laughed at the words she threw back at him, and he recalled saying such to her. He pulled her into his arms and smiled at the courageous woman he held. She needed his protection, and he would make certain she was kept safe. They lay still for a while, not speaking, just enjoying the silence. His body suddenly reminded him how much he’d missed her. A stirring of desire snuck into his loving caresses. He chuckled at the thought. She snuggled by his side, and his hand moved over her bottom. He moved her onto her back, watched her thick lashes fan her cheeks, and her full lips part.

  “I want you,” he said hotly.

  Passion clouded her eyes when she opened them. “I need you.”

  Brendan clumsily fumbled at removing her gown and his tartan. He stripped in a rush to feel her nakedness. Every hair on his body seemed to prickle when her soft body touched his. He didn’t have the fortitude to go slow. He wanted to be inside her and retreat to the mindless aura of finding pleasure only she could bring. He touched her moist folds, knowing it would send him beyond reason. His arousal throbbed, wanting to feel the warmth of her.

  Kate moaned at the sensation of his breadth pressed against her. She pulled his shoulders, encouraging him to continue, but he didn’t move.

  Without opening her eyes, she whispered, “Now, Brendan, make love to me.”

  His body shuddered in sheer lust at her sweet plea. He drove onward and stopped when he could not move further. Incapable of speech, he reeled at the spectacular feeling. He wanted to stay there until he met his end, the end came sooner than he thought. His body took control, moving in gentle but forceful strokes. Every thrust inched him closer to euphoria. He couldn’t believe he was about to lose complete control. He touched her, hoping she found pleasure before his need expelled him. Too late, he couldn’t hold back, his groans of pure culmination sounded throughout the chamber.

  His deep groans tangled with pleasure, helped Kate relinquish her caution. The intense orgasm swept through her soul, wringing her limbs in a shaking overpowering force. Minutes passed as he listened to their rasped breath, smelled his masculine scent mixed with her feminine fragrance. Brendan was finally content.

  Kate looked at him between her slit of her eyes, and ran her cool palm over his chest. She yawned and closed her eyes. Brendan rolled to his back, and without saying a word, pulled her on top of him. She placed her cheek where his heart still beat madly.

  He laughed, and said in a husky voice, “Damn woman, if that’s how it’s going to be …” He didn’t continue, but smiled at her disgruntled look.

  “If you don’t like doing it, why do you insist that we—”

  He stroked her arm as he thought how best to answer her. “Don’t like doing it? Hell, if I react like this every time …” He didn’t finish, his lovely wife had fallen asleep. He joined her a minute later, after he pulled the covers over them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kate awoke to loud humming, she opened her eyes and smiled. Was her scowling warrior humming? She giggled into her pillow, but he heard her. He stood across the chamber, leaning on the window casement, looking out. What held her enthralled was his naked body with every inch of his hardened muscles uncovered for her view. He continued to hum, and walked to the tub, which had been filled with steaming water. She hadn’t even heard anyone enter.

  Happiness bubbled inside her. She couldn’t believe he’d come to England for her. That remarkable fete had to be love. Madam was right, it all worked out. She’d found her vision, married him, and now she wasn’t certain what would happen. Wou
ld he find a place in her life? She would make sure of it, she promised herself.

  “So you’re finally awake?”

  “Why are you so cheerful this morning?” She moved off the bed, approached him, and knelt beside the tub. She leaned her elbows on the rim.

  “Because I’m beginning my life with my wife, a very beautiful lady, this day.” He took her hand and kissed it, his warm lips tarrying over her knuckles.

  Kate laughed. “Brendan, I have never heard you speak so eloquently. What’s wrong with you? Do you have the fever?” She felt his head to see if indeed he’d gotten ill.

  “Nay, love, if I’m hot, it’s because you make me so. Join me.” He patted the water then reached for her, but she backed away, shaking her head.

  “The tub is rather small, and you’re taking up all the space.”

  “I’m finished.” He rose, and dripped water on her.

  Kate’s eyes filled with love when she saw his magnificent form stalk her. She jumped on the bed and squealed when he threw himself beside her. She touched his shoulder in a gentle caress.

  “What is going to happen?”

  “I’m going to make love to you until supper.”

  She laughed. “Nay, I mean, are you really going to live here with me?”

  “As much as I detest England, lass, I’d live anywhere as long as I can be with you. Aye, I will live here and become the lord. I cannot believe I’m saying this.”

  “Does it distress ye?”

  “Nay, but I will visit home, Katie, from time to time. I promised Bonnie we would visit in the spring. You should have seen the potion she concocted to make you return. She even crushed up an insect.” He laughed.

  Kate’s eyes shone, hearing that. “Oh, Brendan, so that’s where my spell went for bringing those you love back to you. I thought I had lost it. I should have known Bonnie had taken it. Oh, I would so love to visit her in the spring. I shall miss her.”

  Brendan ran his hand along her leg, until he reached her thigh. “Before we go down to the hall, I want to make you squeal again.” He did more than that, and she giggled when he tickled her knee. He discovered a few ticklish spots she’d hidden from him.