Highlander's Rebellious Love

by Donna Fletcher

  He held up their joined hands and stared at them as he spoke. “I took his hand and he grabbed mine, with what strength was he had left, and clung to it as if it would somehow keep death from taking him. He had difficulty speaking but managed to tell me he was sorry. That I was right about Greer and that I was to protect my mum and let her know he loved her. He wanted my word on it and I gave it. His last words were garbled, but he fought to get them out. He claimed me the rightful heir and laird of the Clan McLaud. But there would never be any way for me to prove it.”

  “I am so sorry,” Patience said, stunned by the terrible injustice he had suffered at the hands of his own brother. It was unimaginable to her that a brother could do that to another brother. But she had seen many in the Highlands who had allowed the desire for power to corrupt their morals. She was grateful her father had not been one of them.

  “So am I,” Hunter said, anger punctuating his every word. “Greer took my father from me long before he killed him and for that I will never forgive him. As my father lay dying, unable to speak any longer, I swore to him I would revenge his death. With what little strength he had left, he squeezed my hand and barely nodded his approval, and then he died.”

  “How horrible for both of you,” she said, tears clouding her eyes. “But at least he died a proud man, knowing his son had not spoken falsely or that he was jealous and that his son was a man of his word and would honor him.”

  Hunter brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “I do not think I will ever stop feeling as lucky or blessed as I do to have you as my wife.”

  She smiled. “Give it time, you might change your mind.”

  Instead of returning her smile with one of his infamous grins, his expression turned serious. “Never. I will always feel lucky and blessed that you are my wife and even more blessed that you love me.”

  Damn, there he went again tugging at her heart. She went to step away from him for their own good, but he refused to let go of her hand, refused to let her move too far from him. And with one strong tug, he brought her up against him.

  She pressed her hands against his chest to keep him at a distance. “I cannot trust myself to be this close to you, since I have an overwhelming urge to devour you. And now is not the time or place for such a wicked thought.”

  He took hold of her wrist and yanked her arms, spreading them to her sides, so that her chest fell against his. “You tempt me to shirk my duties far too much, wife, but my respect for you as a leader has me holding fast and thinking how I will make it up to you later.”

  She smiled again. “Promise?”

  “Believe me, mo chridhe, you have my word on it.” He kissed her quick and released her with a slight shove, not trusting himself to keep her close.

  Patience was relieved when he released her at a distance. If she remained in his arms, she feared she would make him surrender, not that it would take much to do so, and that had her smile growing.

  She forced her smile away, and asked, “No sign of the ghost warriors?”

  “None, which makes me wonder if your sister truly has escaped the Dark Dragon and he and his men are now busy hunting for her.”

  Patience paced in front of her husband. “The more I give it thought, the more plausible it seems.”

  “You would know better than anyone if Heather was capable of such a feat.”

  “I think that is what would have helped my sister the most, the ghost warriors thinking my sister too frightened and incapable of escape. Heather may look sweet and kind, but there is a strength to her none see. I sometimes think my father is unfamiliar with the depths of his daughter’s strength. The Dark Dragon probably assumes my sister too fearful to do anything but comply with his demands.”

  “Even in fear there is strength.”

  Patience stopped pacing. “My sister said the same to Emma and me one day. She told us that we were never to be ashamed of being afraid, for in fear there was strength and knowledge to be learned.”

  “Your sister is as wise as me. I look forward to meeting her.”

  Patience’s smile returned and she nodded. “I believe Heather will like you.”

  His infamous grin surfaced. “Of course she will, all women do.”

  Patience approached him and with a quick jab to his chest said, “Remember one thing, you are now my husband. You belong to me and only me and if you so much as dare look at another woman I,” —she jabbed him in the chest again—“why are you laughing? I am serious.”

  “I know,” he said, trying to contain his laughter, “and I love that you are jealous, though believe me when I tell you that you demand enough of me to keep me from wanting any woman but you. Besides, all women pale next to you. I want you and only you and I love you and only you.”

  Patience planted her hands on her hips. “How is it you always know the right thing to say?”

  He straightened up away from the boulder, his shoulders going back, his chest wide, and his chin up. “It is easy when you speak the truth.”

  “See,” she said, wagging her finger at him, “you did it again.”

  He laughed again. “And I always will, for I will always speak the truth to you.” He stepped forward, took hold of her waist and turned her away from him, though kept her in his arms. “The sun rises.”

  Patience leaned back against her husband and watched as light began to inch its way up past the trees to illuminate the sky in an orangey glow before the sun blazed across the land.

  Patience sighed. “Sunrises are beautiful.”

  “More beautiful when you share it with someone you love,” Hunter whispered near her ear and gave her cheek a kiss.

  Patience squeezed his hand that rested at her waist.

  After basking in the sunlight for a few moments, Hunter said, “We best get the camp moving.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Patience said and it was not long before everyone was ready to leave. Patience let it be known that they would reach the border of the Dark Dragon’s land by sunset if they kept a consistent pace and stopped to rest just once. Their nods and smiles told Patience that they were just as eager as she to get one step closer to home.

  Eyes remained alert and hands were never far from their weapons as the troop’s pace remained steady throughout the day.

  Patience sat by Una under the covering of a large pine when they stopped for a brief rest and to grab whatever food was left available to them. Ewan had taken himself off, probably to see if any of the ghost warriors would contact him and Hunter had gone off for a few moments of privacy, though Patience wondered if he intended to follow Ewan.

  Beast came over to her after she sat and plopped down beside her, resting his head on her leg. She rubbed behind his ear and said, “I never properly thanked you for saving my life.” The dog moaned and turned his head as if letting her know he wanted another spot rubbed. Patience smiled. “You are a good dog, Beast. Your master will be proud of you.”

  “He is a good dog,” Una agreed. “It took a strong love to send him away so that he would be safe, but then Saundra is a strong woman stuck in a loveless union like far too many women. I feel for my son Rab as well, since he has always loved another and had hoped his father would have approved of the union, but he did not. So, Rab married the woman my husband chose for him. The only difference is that Rab continues to practically live with the woman he loves,” —Una shook her head— “I have often wondered if Rab has ever consummated his wedding vows, always hoping that one day he could have the marriage annulled.”

  “At least they both would be free to live as they please,” Patience said, thinking how horrible it would be to be stuck in such a terrible union. She truly was lucky to have wed and fallen in love with Hunter. She could not imagine sharing the intimacy they share with someone she cared naught for or who cared nothing for her.

  “Unfortunately, Greer will never allow it. Saundra’s marriage to Rab sealed the ties between the McLaud and McDolan clans. Greer made it clear to Rab that h
e expected the marriage to prevail, though would prefer he delayed any children until Rona got with child. And if she fails to conceive soon, I fear he will find himself another wife.”

  Patience scrunched her brow. “Are you saying he will—”

  “Aye, he will rid himself of his wife with one swift blow and think nothing of it,” Una clarified. “Greer is ruthless in his pursuit of power and wealth, and I fear if he is unable to stop you and Hunter from returning home safely that he will devise an excuse to start a war with your clan.”

  “He will not care that our clans are united?” Patience felt a chill run through her, for she feared Una might be right.

  “Not in the least. He will see that the Macinnes clan is blamed for some vicious act against the McLauds, an act that will require retaliation, an act that will begin a war.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Clouds moved in overhead blotting out the sun and turning the day as gray as Patience’s thoughts as her horse plodded along the rutted path. Una’s words kept repeating in her head, bringing with them the distinct possibility of war for the Clan Macinnes and its allies. Unless, of course, Greer succeeded in killing her and Hunter before they returned home. Then there was Ewan, having informed her upon his return from the woods that the ghost warriors were nowhere to be seen. What truly was happening to her sister?

  “There is more than one thing troubling you,” Hunter said, riding alongside her. “You did not take note when I rode up beside you several minutes ago. Tell me what so disturbs you that you pay your handsome husband no heed.” Hunter grew worried when he saw that his usual teasing did not bring a smile to her face. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. “Your troubles are heavy, share them with me.”

  Patience did not hesitate. She told him of her conversation with his mum, and voiced a thought that had nagged her ever since. “You know your brother well. You must have known that our union would delay, but not stop him from doing what seemed to be his plan all along... wage war against the Macinnes clan. So why wed me?”

  “To save you.”

  She shook her head. “Save me?”

  “I was not about to let a beautiful woman die.”

  “Are you telling me that Greer had plans to kill me?”

  “He had plans to kill whoever your father sent here to aid the McFarden and make it seem like the Macinnes troop started the war. I had hoped to find some way to prevent the massacre he had planned. When I saw it was you, Donald Macinnes’s daughter, I knew there was only one way to save your life and delay my brother’s plans, and that was to wed you.”

  “You were dishonest with me,” Patience accused. “You should have told me of your brother’s plans.”

  “Would you have wed me, knowing my brother intended to wage war regardless of our union?”

  She was about to shout no, when she stopped and gave it thought.

  “When you think about it as you are doing now, you see that there was truly no alternative. Greer would have killed you and your men and plunged your clan into war. This way you had a chance to survive and perhaps somehow still prevent a full scale war.”

  “And what plans did your brother have for you if we never wed?”

  “An accident similar to my father’s, I imagine,” Hunter said. “No matter what way we view it, joining in marriage was the best thing we could have down to delay and hopefully prevent a war.”

  “Now I fear even more for the MacFarden safety,” she said, thinking of the small, vulnerable clan.

  “Do not worry about them. They hold no power, so they are insignificant to Greer. He believes they will soon belong to him and does not worry over them. It is you that became the major pawn in the game when you arrived on his land. He believed his plan would be even more successful than ever, claiming that the daughter of Donald Macinnes started the war.”

  “Until you announced that we would wed.”

  “It infuriated him, for the power suddenly shifted to me.”

  “And you ruined what had become a perfect plan for him with my unexpected presence.”

  “He is out for blood and will not stop until he gets it,” Hunter said.

  “I have to get home and warn my father,” Patience said, knowing preparations had to be made and allies engaged.

  “You do realize that you must delay your search for Heather or chance losing your own life if Greer should find you and use you as a pawn that would start the war between the clans.”

  “And what of my sister?” she snapped annoyed that he was right. “If she has escaped the Dark Dragon and is on her own, Greer’s men could possibly find her. Then what?”

  “Greer wants to keep favor with the Dark Dragon. I do not believe he would take the chance and harm her if he found her. And from what you tell me of Heather, would she not be the first to tell you to protect the clan? Besides, we cannot be certain that Heather has escaped the Dark Dragon.”

  “But I can hope it is so and with Ewan not seeing a ghost warrior in sight, it is a likely chance. Unless something else goes on that we do not know about. We should reach the border before sunset and we shall see if the Dark Dragon has a message for me then.”

  “You do realize that my brother most likely has a contingent of men waiting to attack once we leave the Dark Dragon’s land.”

  “I do and I am thinking on what can be done to prevent it.”

  Hunter grinned. “If you find a solution, then you truly do deserve to be laird of the Clan Macinnes.”

  “Make certain you tell my father that when you meet him.” Patience rose up some on her horse to cast a glance around her. “Our pace has slowed and that will not do.” She sat her horse once again and turned to her husband. “That promise you made me earlier might need to hold until we get home. We need to keep focused on the dangers at hand.”

  “Aye, you are a distraction, thoughts of making love to you come unbidden to me far too often as well as places where we could sneak off to, to share a fast, hard poke.”

  A sharp tingle hit her between the legs and she had to ask, “And where would that be?”

  He nodded to her left. “Just beyond there, behind the trunk of that wide tree. A quick lift off the ground, your legs around my waist, the tree truck to balance against, and a quick slip in, since you are probably already wet and I am already hard and with my mouth on yours to stop you from screaming out in pleasure, I would have you coming in no time, maybe even twice.”

  “Enough,” she snapped. “You are purposely tormenting me.”

  “And myself as well, though it is one of the ways I will have you when we reach home. You do have sturdy, wide trees, do you not?” he teased.

  “Many, and I may just have you try all of them.”

  He grinned. “Promise?”

  “Only if you promise that our first night home we make love in my bed all night long.”

  “I will not be restricted to only your bed, so I promise we will make love in your bedchamber all night long.”

  The intensity of his blue eyes, the boldness of his words had her nearly reaching out and dragging him over to the tree.

  “You best ride away, mo chridhe, or I will satisfy that burning passion in your eyes and the hell to the danger it may bring.”

  Patience froze for a moment, ready to surrender to him and the danger, then she shook her head and without saying a word rode away.

  He fought against the overpowering desire to go after her, yank her off her horse, and take her behind the tree and satisfy both their heated passions. He kept reminding himself it would not be a wise thing to do, though his hard manhood argued otherwise.

  Patience had her troop pick up the pace and for the remainder of the ride she kept her distance from her husband. She needed to let her passion ebb and being near him would not allow her to do that. She cursed her attraction to him, feeling it out of control, something a wise warrior did not allow to happen.

  At the moment, her thoughts were her enemy, constantly drifting to her husband
and the wickedly wonderful things he did to her body that made her feel... she almost groaned aloud.

  It stops. It stops now, she warned herself silently. There were far too many important matters to think about than getting a fast, hard poke from her husband. The thought the image evoked worsened her aching desire and she silently cursed her husband, then herself, then his brother and anyone else who popped into her head.

  It was when Heather entered her thoughts that they finally changed. Emma joined in her thoughts as well and she realized just how much she missed her sisters. She would love to talk with them about Hunter and how she felt about him and how he made her feel. She wondered if Emma felt the same way about her husband. Did she enjoy making love with Rogan? Father had said that they loved each other and that Emma was happy. She prayed it was so. Heather and she had always worried that Emma would never find anyone who would accept her and her vast knowledge and penchant to learn, that came along with her. Now, though, it was Heather who was left alone, in more ways than one.

  Was she out there now walking through the forest alone, frightened for her safety, worried she would never find her way home? Patience was never more grateful for having forced Heather and Emma to learn how to navigate woods if they should ever get lost. If Heather remained calm, there was a chance she could find her way home.

  Patience felt a grip to her heart. With the Dark Dragon and his ghost warriors going after her, not to mention Greer’s men and allies searching for her and Hunter, Heather’s chance at succeeding was dismal. Still, she had to have hope. It was the only help she could give her sister right now.

  The path soon opened to clear, soft rolling hills, and they left the forest to further quicken their pace. It would not be long now before they reached their destination and with thoughts of her sister clearing her mind, she began to devise a plan.