He seemed surprised at the gesture and he swallowed hard while his eyes glistened with tears. He studied the necklace and nodded slightly, then buried it in his pocket. Then, he turned and marched off, and Abbie had to quicken her pace to keep up with his long strides.
“Did you ever hear the stories about the creatures in the forest?” he asked, but he kept on talking as though whether she had indeed heard of them or not didn't matter. “I always used to believe in them. I used to pray to them, and asked them to bless me and those I cared about but in the intervening years my faith in them has wavered. I thought I saw one once, as a young boy. I had been riding all day and I was growing weary. Night was falling and I was afraid that I was going to be lost in the woods, but the glow of a fairy guided me home. I never actually saw it, and to this day I wonder if my mind had played a trick on me, but at the time I was sure. Of course, everyone thought that it was just the work of a child's imagination.”
“I did hear the stories. I loved them as a child and I longed to see them come true. I would have given anything to experience what you did. I was always told that they would watch over us and guide our lives, make sure that nothing bad happened. They were responsible for the good in the world, and for that little piece of magic that made life wonderful, but I think somewhere along the way that illusion was shattered.”
“I don't know if they were killed off, or perhaps they grew tired of us and they left, but they no longer have any influence here and I think that's sad. I have long wanted to go on a quest in the mountains, for some have said that they enclosed themselves in a cave, protecting themselves from the outside world.”
“From what I've seen,” she said, “I cannot blame them. Especially when there are people like Callum around. I know that he would have seen them as the enemy and as a challenge. He's already destroyed enough...but I lost my faith because of him. Why did you lose yours?”
“I suppose now is as good a time to tell you as any,” he said, and a wistful look came upon his face. His hand moved into his pouch and he started playing with a necklace, and the reason for that became apparent when he launched into his tale.
“Many years ago I fell in love with the greatest woman in the world. She was everything I could have ever wanted from anyone, and our days were filled with happiness. We planned our lives together and every night I went to bed thankful for the glory the world had bestowed upon me. We were even blessed with a child, and I didn't think life could get any better. And it didn't. Shortly after our child was born my wife fell ill, and so did the child. I consulted all manner of healers. I prayed until my throat was raw but nothing helped, and before I knew it everything had been taken away from me.”
“The necklace. It was hers?”
“Yes. And Callum wanted to take it. I could not let him have it.”
“But he took it anyway. So you took me.”
“I did. I am not proud of it and I dread to think what my wife would think of me if she knew...”
“She'd think you were a good man, that you were a man of principle, a man who isn't frightened to stand up to those who seek to dominate others. She'd see you for what you are, a hero,” Abbie said, and with each word she moved closer to Duncan until she was standing by his side.
She breathed deeply and looked up at him with her deep green eyes. She ran her hand down his long arm and linked her fingers in with his, squeezing them until he released the necklace. He turned to her and they both saw in each other something that had been missing from their lives, a spark of innocence that they thought had been destroyed. She was so young yet had lived more than most, and he was a man, the head of a clan, with gray in his hair and beard and the burden of experience. But they each had something the other needed, wanted, and in that moment as they stood in the privacy of the trees attraction sparked between them.
It hadn't been anticipated or even necessarily wanted, yet it felt entirely natural. They were in a wooded clearing with the trees creating a canopy overhead. The branches reached over and blocked out the sun, so they were cast in green shade, and they saw in each other a common need for comfort and companionship. Both of them knew what it was like to lose something precious. They had both been jaded by events in their lives and needed to rediscover what they had been seeking for so long. Furthermore, both of them had a common enemy. Callum had destroyed the maturity that Abbie had been so looking forward to. She had been looking forward to growing up, falling in love, and raising a family, yet it had been far bleaker than she could ever have imagined. And now Callum was threatening everything that Duncan held dear. Both of them wanted to hold onto something that made them feel human, made them feel alive.
They stripped off each other’s clothes and barely a word was spoken between them as they peeled away the layers of fabric and fell to the ground. The grass was soft under their skin and they felt the unfamiliar flush of arousal surge through their bodies. Abbie had been so used to Callum's rough style that the tender touch of Duncan was enough to send thrills sparking through her body. She gasped and writhed as she welcomed him in close to her.
His hands roamed around her curves and her flaming hair was splayed out underneath her – a sea of red amid the green scenery. Their kisses were fervent and desperate. Their tongues twisted together. Abbie felt around his body, all the old scars and war wounds, but she stopped when her palm rested against his chest for she knew inside his heart lay the greatest wound: that of his wife. It induced within her great sympathy and attraction, and a desire to remind him of the good in life. She wanted to touch him in a way that few had and reignite the passion that once burned so brightly within him.
His hands grew tighter around her as the sexual energy bristled through their bodies. Abbie felt him harden and swell. Their lips scorched each other as their bodies entwined together. His long fingers searched her body and found the burning wetness, making her tingle all over. His hot breath washed over her as he buried himself in her neck, while her delicate hands ran down to take his hard lust, curling her fingers around it and stroking slowly. The sensations were so foreign and distant but everything came back to them quickly and they did what came naturally. Their bodies welcomed each other and melted together in the heat of the afternoon. They locked eyes and knew that there was no going back. She was married and he was from a rival tribe yet neither of them felt as though they were doing anything wrong.
Being together and feeling the sheer excitement of attraction and intimacy again only added to their pleasure, and neither of them wanted to turn their back on it. They both smiled as they descended into the erotic bliss; their exposed skin brushed against each other, both of them gasping as their bodies shifted, twisting together until they became one entity.
She breathed in his scent and clung to him tightly as he plunged himself inside her, his hips moving in a steady, thrusting rhythm. He braced himself against the ground and pounded her body, and as her mind cracked everything that she used to be came pouring out and she was reborn. Her spirit rose through her body like a phoenix and she was gripped by the excitement of resurrection, and glowed with a new kind of beauty. She shrieked with delight and spun the two of them so that she was resting upon him, straddling him, her red hair falling behind her like a cape.
Duncan held her hips steady as she rode and writhed atop him, basking in her glory as she recaptured all she had lost. A wide smile adorned her face as her naked body convulsed and shuddered. For the first time in her life she was making love instead of having it forced upon her, and gone were the shackles of Callum's wedlock. The heaving rhythm of the sexual sea caused a flood inside her. Every fiber of her being shivered as the pulse crackled through her body and swarmed her mind, flowing out in a long warm release. When she collapsed against Duncan's sweaty, sticky body she did so with a long, anguished moan of delight.
Nestling against the crook of his shoulder, she felt the comfort of his beard against her, and felt a new sense of security. And, for the moment, she enjoyed the bliss th
at came with the sexual heaven, even though in the back of her mind she knew that Callum was already on his way, and he would not take kindly to this turn of events.
6
Almost a week had passed since Abbie and Duncan had shared passion in the forest. Ever since then they had enjoyed sexual union many times, and were sharing an intimate bond that was new and exciting to both of them. They told each other their innermost secrets, and tried to avoid the impending attack of Callum. The sentries watched the horizon carefully but there was no sign of Callum yet, and gradually Abbie became more and more distracted.
“If you want to stay here, I will fight for you. We need to make a stand against Callum and his bullying ways. I will not let him treat you the way he has done. You deserve better than that.”
“I am his wife, and I will go back to him if it will avoid a war,” Abbie said, with sadness in her eyes.
Inevitably Callum did come, and when he did it was with force. The small army waited outside the village and a few of the warriors, led by Callum, marched through the village to meet with Duncan. When he arrived, Callum demanded that the return of Abbie and was surprised when Abbie walked out freely, with no restraints.
“You will find that she has not been harmed,” Duncan said, trying to hide the pain in his voice.
“I do not care. You have transgressed against the agreement between our people and now you shall pay the price. I will take my wife back, and your life shall be forfeited,” he said, raising his mighty sword and pointing it directly at Duncan, who merely looked weary of all the macho bravado. It was at this point that Abbie stepped forward.
“Callum, what are you doing? These people have no quarrel with you. All they want is to be left in peace. You should not demand things from the other tribes. We should be working in harmony together, to share things and—”
“Are you really siding with them against your own husband? Your own clan?” Callum asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “They took you in the dead of night and you claim that I am in the wrong here?”
“They only did that because you threatened them, because that's what you do! You treat people like they owe you the world, and when they refuse to bow to your whims you think there's something wrong. There's not, and I'm not standing for it any longer. Callum, turn around and go home.”
“Only if you come with me,” he growled. Abbie hung her head and looked at her husband, and then at Duncan. Then, she walked towards Duncan and linked her arm in with his, much to the shock and dismay of Callum.
“I am not leaving here. I'm happy.”
“You are my wife and you will do as I say.”
“No,” she said, and with that word Callum's strength crumbled. The defiance of the one he had controlled for so long broke him, and she could see it in his eyes. His face twisted into a cruel manifestation of evil and he gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to kill anyone and anything that stood in his way but Abbie had more to say. “You will leave here now without any conflict and you will stop your barbaric ways. Look into yourself Callum and see the person you have become, it is not the hero that everyone sees.”
“Give me one good reason why I should walk away from here and not skewer you all on my sword.”
“Because I am pregnant.” The revelation took Callum and Duncan both by surprise. Duncan looked at Abbie, although she did not meet his gaze. Callum then looked at the two of them and suddenly became aware at what had transpired between them.
“You treacherous—” he began, but Abbie interrupted him before he could finish the thought.
“That may be, and yes, I do not know who the father is between the two of you, but do you really want to take the chance of killing your own son? There is still a chance for you to do the right thing. I will tell him about you, but it is your choice about the story I tell.”
Abbie saw in his eyes a transformation. He looked down at his sword and then at the people around him, his enemies who cowered in fear and his allies who were ready to go into battle for him, and in that moment he wondered how he would be remembered. He took a last look at Abbie and then sheathed his sword, and everyone in the village breathed a sigh of relief.
After he had gone, Duncan and Abbie went somewhere alone.
“Is it true?” he asked. Abbie nodded.
“I wanted to tell you earlier but I didn't know how. I don't...I'm sorry that I don't know who the father is.” Duncan embraced her tightly and cradled her head.
“That does not matter to me. If you are happy to stay with me I will raise the child as my own and we will give the baby the life that it deserves.” They looked at each other, smiled, and kissed tenderly, knowing that they had given each other a second chance. Abbie felt something she never thought she would feel again – happiness.
And, although she was saddened at having to say goodbye to her home and her friends like Maggie, she knew that ultimately it was for the best With Duncan she felt safe, like she had always imagined feeling when she used to dream of being in love. Duncan pulled the necklace out of his pouch.
“I want you to have this,” he said, and placed it around her neck. This time it was a gift given freely, with love, and she cherished it in a way that she would never have been able to had she not encountered Duncan.
Sometimes after that day she would gaze across the water at her old home and wonder if Callum had truly changed. All she knew for sure is that there were fewer reports of barbaric behavior, and she hoped that in some way the events would shape Callum into the hero that he always thought he had been. And, on some lonely nights she would sit at the edge of the village and gaze into the dark forest. She rested a hand on her belly and spoke in soft, dulcet tones to her unborn child, telling it all the stories of the mysterious creatures that lived in the forest and how they watched over everyone and protected them.
As she repeated the stories she had heard so often as a child, that feeling of wonder grew inside her again, and sometimes when the light was low she swore that she saw a soft glow amid the trees, and smiled to herself.
THE END
The Highlander’s Taken Bride
The sounds of judgment are terrifying. They are shrill, aching pandemonium. What begins as an ordinary day, one full of blue skies and gentle breezes, escalates into strange and terrifying intervals of eerie silence. That is the point where one realizes that something is coming, and that this something is nothing less than what you deserve.
Allia McQuarry certainly felt the threat of silence and she wasn’t the only one to feel something stirring in the air that evening. The medicine man and sworn protector of Fonnelly Village was named Angus. Whenever Angus went outside to meditate publicly, through no intentional spectacle of his own, it always aroused the locals. The young lads made fun of him and his theatrics. But the wise knew that when he sensed something coming, it was time to prepare.
“What is it?” Allia said, always fearing the worst and in these desperate times, usually getting just what she feared most.
“I don’t know. I only follow the sensations as they are dispersed through the wind.”
“But it’s trouble, isn’t it? We’re going to have to run.”
“Something tells me…no. There is no reason to run. Not this time.”
She smiled in hope…only to realize that the statement seemed more cryptic than reassuring. Allia went to bed that night, fearing the worst. She was the daughter of a noble man and an heir to a throne—a throne that may well exist one day, should the village meet up with enough men to create something worth fighting over. For now, all she had was royal blood and the trust of her cousins and brothers.
She didn’t have much experience in combat herself. Her brothers and male cousins all went without her, while the women stayed behind and tended to the young. But depending on what Angus sensed, and how bleak a prediction it was, she would have to learn how to fight quickly…or perhaps learn how to rule very quickly. If by some chance it was good news, perhaps reinforcements sent from the north,
or the surrender of a nearby province, it would be a good sign. Their luck was about to change.
Don’t run, he said. Whatever that meant, the coming weeks would prove interesting, or so she thought before learning firsthand that the future was never too bright for an honest woman.
The next morning the sounds of silence were deafening. For hours in the dawn, she tossed and turned in her hut, fearing the worst was about to happen. By the time she heard the screams and the sounds of marching horses and warriors, she knew that Angus’ prediction was far from good news.
“This is an invasion!” she cried to her cousin Rose who slept in the bed next to her, another royal family member in waiting.
“Who is invading? Oh dear God…is it the highlanders?”
“They are on the border,” she said, fretting at the idea of those monsters among men pillaging the village.
“It must be them. We have no quarrel with anyone else. They are the only ones who could reach us overnight.”
“What can we do?”
Allia listened in dread as the sounds of war—chopping, screaming and metal clanking with metal—only grew louder.
“Sack the village! Kill everyone!”
“Wait!”
“RUN! RUN!”
The voices increased in their fury and not a minute passed until the rummaging reached the huts and the adobes, dangerously close to where Rose and Allia were staying.
“Where are all of our fighters?”
“I don’t know…what do we do now, Allia?”
“We pray…there’s not a lot more we can do.”
Taken By The Forbidden Highlander (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 28
