by Willa Blair
“Look. I don’t know why my mind conjured you up. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that second bottle of ale while I was getting dressed. But you need to take yourself back to wherever it is you go when I’m awake. I promise I’ll see you later in my dreams.”
Nessa turned on her heel and shook herself as she started jogging in the direction of the inn. “And I thought coming to Scotland would sort everything out in my life. What the hell could I have been thinking?”
Her face to the full moon and her determined stride headed for help at the inn, Nessa refused to look back toward the car again. She missed the loneliness aching in Latharn’s eyes as he faded into the night.
Chapter Eleven
“Strengthen blood, strengthen bone, purge spirit, cleanse soul, honored seductress hear my call…heal my body…give me all.”
He lay naked on the floor with the candles burning around his body. Gabriel mumbled the ancient chant three times. The flames of the candles sputtered and danced as his breath stirred the fetid air in the room. She said she would heal him but he had to remain this way all night to prove his complete obedience and dedication to her.
It was worth it. A dislocated knee and broken ribs took too long to heal the natural way. If she healed him overnight, he could fake his injuries to his advantage. Sympathy was sometimes a woman’s greatest weakness. Most women tended to be nurturers.
He drew a shaking breath and clenched his fists. The fierce throbbing worsened. Surely, her arrival would be soon. He shifted uncomfortably on the cold, damp floor. Her whisper echoed in the darkness as the chill of the room settled deeper into his swollen knee. Her icy fingertips tickled up his flesh. She searched for the broken edges of his painful ribs. His heart hammered faster as she stroked her hands up and down his sides...and then her icy touch slid lower.
The flames of the candles shot higher into the darkness even as a layer of frost crackled across the floor. His skin seared to the frozen stone surface. As he shivered, his flesh split and tore. Now she stroked him and purred in his ear. How could anyone ever deny her? He would serve her forever and even longer. She promised him power; she promised him pleasure, and, best of all, she promisd him sweet revenge.
Chapter Twelve
Nessa sat hunched in front of the glowing laptop, peering through the glasses on the end of her nose. With a groan, she yanked them off her face and threw them on the desk. Leaning back in the chair, she covered her face with her hands and massaged her gritty eyes. Last night had started out as a nervous mess and then plummeted into a catastrophe. Gabriel had ended up being hurt, and now sported a wrenched knee and three broken ribs.
She and Trish had gotten him tucked in at Cordelia’s house in the early hours of the morning. They had discovered Cordelia was not only his waitress but more like the family he’d never had. She and her mother had more or less adopted Gabriel when he’d first settled in Durness after leaving his homeland of Ireland. Cordelia was as fiercely loyal to Gabriel as any natural born sister would ever be.
When Nessa had gotten back to her room, she’d fallen into bed. She hadn’t even moved the pile of discarded clothes, just curled her tired body around them. She’d fallen right to sleep. But her dreams had been torture, not the usual erotic bliss with her loving Highlander. With a shuddering sigh, Nessa closed her eyes, replaying the nightmare from the evening before.
Her Highlander had appeared but he’d been enraged, so angry she thought he might speak for the first time since she’d met him. But he’d just gestured back and forth from his heart to hers. His eyes had flashed with rage as he’d pounded on his chest. He’d clenched his teeth and raked his hands through his hair. He’d reminded her of a madman. Toward the end of the dream, he’d spread his hands in front of her and somehow caused an image of Gabriel to appear. Horrified, Nessa had watched as her ancient Highlander had swung his claymore and separated Gabriel’s body from his head.
The Scot was an animal, panting like a primeval beast with blood and hatred in his eyes. He’d raised his bloodied weapon into the air with one hand and Gabriel’s dripping head in the other. He’d thrown his head back, lips curled into an open-mouthed sneer. The corded muscles of his throat had moved as though he roared a silent battle cry.
She’d awakened with her heart in her throat, unable to breathe as though someone had held a pillow over her face. Nessa swallowed hard and sat up in bed. She shook for hours afterward. Choked with tears, Nessa hugged herself against the fury of the dream. The image had been so real. She’d clearly seen the terror in Gabriel’s eyes as he’d watched the blade swing toward his neck. She’d witnessed as his body had slowly teetered forward. His warm, salty blood had sprayed over her face and arms.
How could her gentle lover be such a beast? Take such pleasure in killing an innocent man? She might not have formed any feelings for Gabriel but she’d been horrified at witnessing his heartless execution.
Nessa shook herself free of the torturous memory, rubbing her face as she slung her arm over her eyes. Maybe she should check into some sleeping pills. Some that would send her deep into a dreamless haven. If she drugged herself into a mindless state of oblivion, she’d escape any more dreams of her Highlander’s rage. As a lover, he was more than welcome to visit her every night but last night Nessa had seen a side of him she never wished to see again.
She blinked hard and tried to focus on the daily reports of her students’ findings. With a disheartening jolt, Nessa discovered they were running about a week behind. Enough of her dreams, enough of men, at least she still had her work. Nessa beat on the keyboard in tired irritation. Her voice cracked with fatigue. “Trish, have you uploaded the latest scans of Area Four? James and Lyla specifically mentioned a significant readout… Trish? Trish!”
Nessa drummed her fingers on the desk and turned to find Trish’s chair vacant at her desk. “I wonder where she’s gone to this time,” Nessa grumbled as she grabbed her journal and rose from her chair.
Still massaging her tired eyes, she ran head-on into Gabriel’s chest as he pushed through the flap of the tent. “Oh hell! Are you all right? Did I hurt your ribs?” Nessa steadied him on his crutches as she cringed at her clumsiness.
Gabriel rubbed at his ribs and hopped on one foot as he struggled to regain his balance. “I’m fine. I just thought I’d stop in to see ye, and to thank ye for taking such good care of me on our first date. Cordelia dropped me off while she ran a few errands. I thought I’d sit with ye for a bit…if that’s all right with ye and ye have a bit of time to spare?”
Nessa pulled a chair closer to him and shrugged as Gabriel eased down into the seat. “After the way you ended up, I can’t believe you want to come anywhere near me. I figured you’d think I was a jinx.”
“’Twas a strange night.” Gabriel agreed. “But I doubt that it had anything to do with you.”
Nessa fretted with the corner of her journal as she thought back over the night and everything she had seen. She remembered the strange meeting with her ghostly Highlander. She wondered if Gabriel had also noticed his presence but she was afraid to ask. If he hadn’t seen the ghost, and from the way he was acting, he hadn’t, he’d think her insane if she mentioned it.
“Here are the latest reports from Area Six and there’s something wrong with the scans from Area Four.” Trish barreled through the door, her arms piled high with papers and rolled up charts of the surrounding dig.
Trish greeted Gabriel with a saucy wink as she dumped her load on the desk.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Before he could answer, she wagged a rolled up chart in his direction as though she meant to use it for a paddle. “I told you, you should’ve gone out with me instead. I’ve never been known to send a man away from a date with a set of crutches.”
Gabriel grimaced and held his ribs as he chuckled. “I’m much better today than I was last night and somehow, I think a date with you might’ve left me in even worse shape.”
Trish winked again and tossed a paper cl
ip at Nessa as she fixed Gabriel with a devilish grin. “Shame on you, Nessa. Have you been telling Gabriel I like it rough?”
“I think everyone pretty much gets that impression without having to be told.”
Nessa turned to Gabriel and patted him on the shoulder as she handed him an extra chair to prop his leg. “I can’t believe you’re already up and about. Didn’t Dr. Stuart tell you to take it easy for a while?”
Gabriel grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips as he gazed into her eyes. “I had to see ye since our date didn’t play out as perfect as I planned. The clerk at the inn said this was where ye would be. So, I thought I’d drop by to see if ye would go out with me again...at least out of sympathy for a poor battered man.”
Nessa caught her breath and forced herself not to snatch her hand out of his. Wariness settled like a ten-pound lump of lead in the center of her chest. Gabriel Burns was trying too hard. They’d just met. What was his game? It wasn’t as if she was the only female within a five-hundred kilometer radius. But then again, maybe she was over-thinking things. After all, she was exhausted.
As she remembered her nightmare of the evening before, she shook herself and shoved her misgivings to the back of her mind. As an after-thought, she made herself a mental note to stop and buy those sleeping pills. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and nodded in vague agreement. “We’ll see. As soon as you’re better, we’ll see about another date.”
“Dr. Buchanan! You’ve got to see this!” Shouts of several students echoed into the tent from the corded off section of area one.
Nessa scooped up her glasses off the desk and waved to Gabriel as she darted out the door. Grabbing her journal, she shouted back over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back. It sounds like they’ve found something major. I’ve got to see what it is.”
She jogged her way down the rough terrain. The old excitement roared its way through Nessa’s veins. There was no emotion she could think of to describe the thrill of a new find. No way to tell someone what it was like to be the first to uncover a bit of the past. Only a fellow history hound would understand the current exhilaration coursing through her body like a locomotive.
The students swarmed like a nest of ants around a tasty picnic tidbit. They parted as Nessa entered the site and waved her in to see what they’d found. She squatted down beside the student brushing away the last of the debris. Nessa’s hand clenched over her mouth. The bile rose at an alarming rate as she recognized the find. Perfectly preserved in the Scottish soil was her enraged Highlander’s claymore from last night’s dream. There was no mistaking the crest inset in the intricately carved handle or the still-lethal razor sharp blade.
Her fingers dug deeper into her cheeks. Nessa’s stomach churned, dangerously close to overflowing. She shivered against a clammy, nauseous sweat. Gabriel’s beheading replayed through her mind against all her efforts to block it. The coppery smell of the warm blood filled her mind until she tasted it on the back of her tongue. She clamped her lips tighter together. Her nostrils flared as she took deep breaths to clear her head. She had to pull herself together. She couldn’t let any of them know. They’d think she’d gone mad if any of them knew the thoughts assaulting her senses.
“This is great, excellent! It’s a beautiful piece. The blade and crest are still intact. You have all done yourselves proud!” Nessa lavished praise upon the students as she struggled to choke back the rising nausea. As she stood, she managed to stay steady on her feet and smile at the sea of excited faces. She couldn’t let any of them know she’d been unfortunate enough to see the efficiency of this weapon in action.
Nessa eased away from the group of chattering students and made her way back to the tent. She forced herself to see the ancient claymore for the archeological find that it was. She reminded herself just how pleased the University of Glasgow and the Royal Commission for Ancient Artifacts would be with the find. This would validate her grant. Her work in Scotland was safe and her peers would give her their nod of approval.
Nessa raised her head at the sound of an approaching vehicle, and gave a weak wave as Cordelia pulled up in her jeep.
“Good morning, Cordelia. Do you think you’ll actually be able to make him get some rest or are you going to have to tie him down?”
Cordelia returned a dimpled smile of agreement as she joined Nessa at the pathway leading to the tent.
“He’s a stubborn one that one is. Ye would do well to remember that whenever ye’re dealing with Mr. Gabriel Burns.”
With that opening, Nessa decided to find out just as much about Gabriel Burns as Cordelia was willing to share. If she knew the inside story on the handsome man it might answer her suspicions as to why he was so avid in his pursuit.
“Cordelia, tell me. Is he really as nice as he seems or am I dealing with just another wolf in sheep’s clothing?”
As she rubbed her thumb across her plump chin, Cordelia gave Nessa a quick up and down. “Ye don’t think very highly of yourself, do ye? At least not when it comes to your looks?”
Taken aback, Nessa really didn’t know what to say. Cordelia’s observation wasn’t what she’d expected. She was looking for answers about Gabriel’s ardent behavior, not an observation of her own insecurities. “I’m honest about my looks. I may not be anything special, but what’s that got to do with Gabriel?”
“How can I say this without ye taking it the wrong way?” Cordelia circled Nessa’s body, frowning as she gestured up and down Nessa’s tiny frame. “Gabriel has always been attracted to the underdog, shall we say? A woman who’s unaware of her own worth in this world is more tempting to him then a rare vintage wine.”
A coldness settled over Nessa’s body as she returned Cordelia’s unwanted appraisal. “Look, I know I’m an excellent archeologist. I know I’ve got a sharp mind. But that said, I’m also smart enough to realize that I’m nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to looks.”
“Ah…but don’t ye see? There’s your beauty in Gabriel’s eyes. Deep inside ye don’t think ye deserve the attention of a man like him. In your mind, ye don’t think of yourself as his equal. Ye might say ye see yourself as a bit of a lesser class.” Cordelia shook her finger in Nessa’s face as she nodded her head with each of her words.
How dare this woman stand there and psychoanalyze her. Nessa’s growing dislike for Cordelia simmered up at least a couple of notches. “So what are you saying, Cordelia? Are you telling me Gabriel is only attracted to me because he thinks once he’s got me hooked he’ll be able to dominate me, that I’ll do anything to make him mine? Are you telling me he thinks I’m so insecure that I’ll bow to his every whim?” Nessa’s voice shook with humiliation. It infuriated her that Cordelia had voiced what Nessa had suspected all along.
“Oh, no!” Cordelia pulled a horrified face, shaking her head as she glanced toward the opening of the tent. “What I’m telling ye is that Gabriel is attracted to women such as yourself. It…it…angers, that’s the word, it angers him that society has made it so difficult for a woman to know her true worth. Society needs to learn to see...to see…to see beauty in every shape and form! It’s almost as though building up your self-confidence is his…is his calling, a duty to which he feels honor bound. But if the two of ye do happen to fall in love, you’ll never find a more devoted man.” Cordelia stammered and sputtered her words, wringing her pudgy hands in front of her.
This conversation had gone past the point of ridiculous. Nessa smelled a rat. Why was Cordelia so nervous? Why did she keep glancing at the tent? The woman was obviously having trouble remembering her speech. If she hadn’t been so irritated, Nessa would’ve laughed. She was positive Cordelia watched to see if she believed the words she spouted. Nessa didn’t trust her. Just looking at the woman ticked her off. Nessa hugged herself as she stood there, tapping her foot. This was just great. She would’ve liked to find a nice relationship but she wasn’t about to become a cowering bitch on a leash. It sounded as though Gabriel Burns was looking for a woman
with such low self-esteem she’d never mind walking at least two paces behind him. And there was just something odd about the nervous emotions flashing in Cordelia’s eyes. Something was wrong with Mr. Gabriel Burns and Cordelia had just confirmed it.
Her heart fell as she realized she was going to cut this relationship off before it ever got started. Her past experiences with men had always ended in disappointment and it appeared this one wasn’t going to be any different. Great. This day just kept getting better. A perfect finale for last night’s fiasco.
“Well, I think it’s a little early for discussions about devotion,” Nessa snapped as they walked through the door. Nessa motioned Cordelia inside with a snap of the canvas flap and looked toward the corner where Gabriel sat with his foot propped in a chair.
“Devotion? What has this wee minx been telling ye about devotion?” Gabriel eased his foot down out of the seat. His lips curled into a predatory smile as he edged his way up onto his crutches.
Planting both hands on her ample hips, Cordelia adopted her fiercest stance. “Nothing about devotion, ye great hulking beast. Just a good deal about stubbornness and how strongly ye embrace that trait. Now on your way and into the car with ye or I’ll be bringing Mother over to box your ears.” She urged Gabriel toward the door, casting an apologetic smile at Nessa as she passed.
Gabriel paused in front of Nessa on his way out. “I’m determined, lass, to hear a yes. So ye promise? As soon as I’m released from this tyrant, we’ll retry our first date?” Gabriel leaned closer. He fixed her with his most beguiling smile and waited.
Nessa forced the irritation out of her voice and phrased her careful reply. “I promise I will think about it, Gabriel. Now listen to Cordelia and try to get some rest.” She took a slight step back. Nessa’s heart sank with renewed disappointment. Even with the odd misgivings she’d felt around Gabriel, she’d hoped there was a little bit of excitement to be found. Now even the thrill of a new chase was gone. As it turned out, she’d only been wasting her time.
