With tears running down her cheeks, she turned and ran. Tavin, who was waiting for her, followed behind but didn’t try to talk to her. He could overtake her, that she knew, but he gave her space.
Fleeing from the keep, she had no idea where she was going, only that she needed to put as much space between herself and Hamish as possible.
Over the fields, she flew, her agony pushing her legs faster and farther until they burned. Finally, when she could go no further, she collapsed to the ground near one of the abandoned buildings.
“Not here, lass,” Tavin told her quietly. “Ye doonae want anyone to see.”
“I doonae care,” she insisted, but she let him help her up.
“Aye, ye do care, because ye are a soldier.”
She didn’t feel like a soldier now as she leaned against him. Hooking an arm around her, he opened the door to the small shed, but when the smell hit them, they stopped short.
“What is that?” Grace murmured as she gagged.
A mask fell over Tavin’s features, and he put a hand to the hilt of his sword. “We need to get back to the keep. Now, lass. I know that ye are upset, but ‘tis not safe here.”
“What? What is it?”
“I know that smell, lass. ‘Tis corpses in the shed.”
Paling, Grace stumbled back and turned, but as soon as she took her first step, an arrow flew through the air. With a groan, Tavin fell to his knees.
“No!” With a bellow so loud that it shook the trees around them, she raced to Tavin’s side and felt only a glimmer of relief when she saw the arrow in his thigh. She’d seen enough wounds to know just how the thigh could bleed. “We need to get ye to safety!”
“Run, Grace! Take my sword and run,” he gasped.
She wasn’t going to leave him, especially without a weapon. Reaching into her dress, she pulled out the dagger. “I willnae leave ye,” she vowed. “And even wounded, ye are better with a sword than I am.”
“Lass, my job is to protect ye, and I cannae do that if ye willnae listen to me,” he growled.
“Aye, I have heard that before. I am still not listening.” They were still in danger unless they could put something between them and the shooter. Fortunately for them, they were right next to a building. “Up,” she commanded. “The faster ye listen to me, the sooner I will be safe.”
Tavin bared his teeth, but he let her pull herself up. Unfortunately, he was just as stubborn as any highland warrior and ended up dragging her around the other side of the building. Grace immediately turned and scanned their surroundings. Behind the building was nothing but farmland and cottages, so there were no great vantage points for the shooter, which meant that they would have to attack head-on.
Tavin grimaced but kept quiet as he readjusted his grip on his sword. They were back-to-back now, covering both sides, and she was grateful, for the moment, that he was trusting her to keep an eye out. Unlike the Sinclair guards, he’d never seen what she could do.
Today, she prayed that she would not let him down. Not like she’d let Maggie down.
Her blood roared in her ears, and she willed even her breath to be silent when she caught the movement of a shadow right around the edge of the building. She wanted nothing more than to attack, but it could very well be a Hamilton coming to her rescue after her scream.
“Identify yerself,” she demanded.
Then she saw the bow and arrow. Flipping the dagger in her hand, she took aim and let the blade fly. There was a furious shout as she hit her mark, and the bow fell. Quickly, she scrambled after, but by the time she got to the discarded weapon, the attacker was gone, leaving a trail of blood to the woods.
“Run, lass. While ye still can,” Tavin demanded, but his voice was weaker now, and she saw how much blood was pooling beneath his feet. She would not lose another friend.
Ignoring his protests, she ran back to him and ripped off a strip from her dress to use as a tourniquet around his leg. “I will go get help. So help me, Tavin, if ye die while I am gone, there will be hell to pay.”
“I know better than to die on the hellion’s watch,” he said with a grin, but before she could leave, he grabbed her arm. “Hamish is a good man, Grace. Ye should trust him.”
“Ye can lecture me all ye want when ye arenae bleeding all over me.” Straightening, she sent up a brief prayer that he would make it, and then fled for help.
22
Hamish kept quiet while he watched Lorna work on Tavin. The healer was paler than usual, and her hands shook, but she was confident that as long as infection didn’t set in, he would make it. The guard was sleeping now from a potion Lorna had given him, but he’d gotten a brief report from Tavin before the healer started working on him.
Afterward, he asked Lorna to look over Grace even though she insisted that nothing was wrong with her. Grace avoided his gaze the entire time, and when Lorna was done and announced that Grace was fine, Grace went right back to Tavin’s side.
“Did ye see the bodies that were in the shed?” Grace demanded as soon as Lorna walked away.
They were in the keep and surrounded by his own men but MacSeaver’s men as well. Not wanting to be overheard, he looked at Reed to take control of the situation and gently walked Grace out of the room and toward his chambers.
After today, he wasn’t sure he was going to let Grace out of his sight again.
“Hamish!” she protested. “I am fine. I doonae need to lie down!”
“I doonae want to be overheard,” he said tightly. When they were alone, he shut the door firmly behind him and immediately gathered her in his arms and held her, assuring himself that she was safe. “Ye ran from me.”
Holding herself taut for a moment, she sniffed and then collapsed against him. “I was angry. I am still angry, so doonae read anything into this. I was scared for Tavin.”
Smiling a little, he kissed the top of her head. “He says ye are deadly accurate with a blade. I didnae know. Sounds like ye worked as a team. Who taught ye to throw a blade like that?”
“Randall is one of the top swordsmen in Connor’s army, so he taught me. He refused to teach me how to use a sword until I could appreciate the destruction one could wreak with a blade, so he taught me to throw first.” She trembled as if she were just now realizing how close she was to death. “I fear the attacker knew that and was why they felled him with an arrow first. They know who I am.”
That was his fear as well. “‘Tis also possible that he was simply guarding the bodies in the shed hoping they wouldnae be discovered. ‘Tis the Armstrong guards inside.”
Pulling back, she stared at him. “First Maggie and then Armstrong’s men? Why? What is going on, Hamish?”
“I doonae know, my sweet, but I intend to find out. I am going to leave Reed to watch ye for now. Once I have looked over my men for wounds to make certain that they werenae the ones who attacked ye, I will station some men outside yer door. Grace, promise me that ye willnae duck them. Think of Edina and Lorna, who are often with ye.”
He had no problem using guilt to keep her safe, and she glared at him but nodded. “Do ye think it is yer men?”
“Nay, I trust them implicitly, but the MacSeavers and Theo’s men willnae be happy if I doonae treat them all equally. I will need to check the MacKay men as well.” Unable to help himself, he bent down and brushed his lips across her. “We should marry soon love, so yer status here will also help protect ye.”
“If being the sister of two powerful lairds wasnae enough to protect me, what makes ye think that the wife of one will?” she challenged.
She was still pushing against him, and it infuriated him. “Do ye really think marriage to me will be that hard? Do ye have no trust that I will be a good husband?”
“‘Tis not the point, Hamish, and ye well know it.”
“Ye will marry me, Grace, and ye willnae hate me for it.” He meant it as a prediction, but he could tell she was taking it as a statement of fact. He left her still bristling about his inflated sense o
f self. It gave him a little chuckle but did nothing to help him feel better.
Someone was hunting his future wife.
After checking his patrols and, predictably, finding no culprit among them, he gathered the rest of his men and the visiting guards into the courtyard.
“My future bride and one of my own was attacked today outside a shelter containing the missing Armstrong guards,” he thundered as everyone stared at him. “This attack willnae go unpunished. The culprit was wounded but still managed to escape. Ye will unroll yer sleeves and show them to me.”
His men, without hesitation, began to unroll the sleeves of their tunics and held out their arms for inspection. The MacKay guards did as well, but the MacSeavers balked. “Ye dare accuse us!” Braden bellowed. “We are here to help ye!”
“I havenae accused anyone,” Hamish said coldly. “But if ye continue to balk, ye may be the reason that yer clan finds yerself at war. What will yer laird say then?”
Braden and Kendrew exchanged a look before they rolled up their sleeves and stuck them out defiantly.
Their arms were clean.
Frustrated to find that he still didn’t have a culprit, he dismissed most of them. No one was missing from the men that he had gathered, but there was one person he still hadn’t included but who had managed to find them anyway.
Lounging against the blacksmith wagon, Theo looked on with mild interest. Hamish dispersed the rest, assigning some to assist those that were following the blood trail in the woods. Catching Theo’s eyes, he jerked his head, indicating he wanted the man to follow him.
Not even taking the time to get Theo alone in a meeting chamber, he cornered the man in one of the small empty serving chambers and rounded on him.
“Show me yer arm,” Hamish demanded.
Theo didn’t look surprised but didn’t roll up the sleeves of his linen shirt either. “I am laird of the MacDougal clan,” he said calmly. “If ye have reason to suspect me going after yer betrothed, then explain yerself. Otherwise, I might see this as a break in the peace treaty and declare war on ye.”
Fury rose and his blood boiled. “I have every reason to suspect ye!” Hamish hissed. “Ye have been eyeing Grace from the moment ye laid eyes on her, and ye fabricated this weak reasoning to stay after Maggie was murdered.”
Raising his eyebrows, Theo cocked his head. “So now ye are accusing me of killing a member of yer clan, lusting after yer betrothed, and then attacking her? I suppose ye will be accusing me of murdering the Armstrong guards next.”
“Damnation, ye know vera well ‘tis all connected! Ye are only here to undermine me because ye cannae stand that yer bastard brother is in power!” Hamish roared. “Now roll up yer damn sleeves, or we will see which of Father’s seed is the strongest.”
With a grim smile, Theo actually looked satisfied as he rolled up his sleeves and held his arms out for inspection. Hamish almost reeled back. The man’s arms were covered in scars from a whip and burns. There was nothing fresh, but the marks were telling of the life he had led. “I was wondering when ye would admit that we are brothers,” Theo said mildly. “As ye can see, ye got the better deal.”
Hamish jerked his head up. “Yer father did that to ye?”
“Our father did that to me. And so much more. Ye should see the rest of me. I suppose the only reason he left my face alone was because he thought I wouldnae make a good laird if my face reflected the rest of me.” Theo unrolled his sleeves and pushed them down. “I have a good memory, and one has always stuck with me. The one where a lad not much younger than I dared to defy my father. Good old Patrick MacDougal got drunk that night and railed against yer mother, for he has a nasty scar on his back from where she tried to kill him. Then he turned his displeasure onto me. I often wish she’d finished the job. When I was older and had more power, I sent men out in search of ye—quietly, of course, so as not to draw Father’s attention yer way. Ye moved around quite a bit, but then ye settled here on Hamilton lands and made a name for yerself. ’Twas easy enough to find ye.”
All this time he had been plotting his revenge, and his brother was looking for him. “Ye did go after Loch Moran,” Hamish breathed. “To get close to me.”
Theo shook his head. “Nay, what I told ye was the truth. I didnae go after it, but when it was presented to me, I saw an opportunity to get to know my brother. When I received yer invitation, I came not knowing if ye wanted to be blood or be enemies.”
“But ye came anyway?”
Theo nodded. “Aye. I came to be blood. To be neighbors. I stayed because ye had trouble, and I wanted to help. I didnae stay for yer betrothed. She is beautiful and intriguing but far too wild for my taste.” He hesitated. “She was injured right after Maggie was attacked. She was with her, wasn’t she?”
Still not certain what to do, Hamish studied Theo. He hadn’t realized until now how desperately he wanted a relationship with his brother, and he couldn’t be certain that those desires weren’t clouding his judgment. Simply because Theo and his father were enemies did not mean that he and Theo could be friends. It did not mean that Theo could be trusted.
But instinct told him that Theo could be more than an ally. They could be family if he let him.
“I have too much going on right now to trust ye,” Hamish told him, “but I willnae accuse ye of anything else without proof.”
It was a small concession, but the only one he was able to give. Theo seemed to understand and nod. “If I am still welcome on yer lands, then I would be happy to keep an ear out for news and help to keep an eye on yer bride-to-be.” He grinned suddenly. “Assuming that she intends to marry ye at all. There is another wager going on—started by the Armstrong guards, but has caught fire—that she willnae marry ye after all.”
This wagering on Grace really did need to end. “She will marry me,” Hamish growled. “I will make certain of that.”
When Hamish returned to his chambers that night, he was pleased to see that Grace was in his bed rather than hers, and he was even more satisfied to see that she was asleep. Despite feeling like he’d let her down, she felt safe here.
He would do whatever it took so that she could continue to feel that safe.
Undressing, he sat on the edge of the bed and pushed back the blanket. Startled, he stared down at Grace.
She was completely naked.
The cold chill must have woken her, for she murmured and opened her eyes. “Hamish?”
“Aye, lass. I am here.” Sliding in the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Even as his cock hardened, he was content to just hold her, to know that she was alive.
“I tried to stay awake for ye.”
“’Tis late.” He kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”
“Tell me what happened.” More awake now, she blinked her lovely green eyes at him and wiggled against him until he was clenching his jaw. He was trying to be a gentleman and be mindful of the fact that she might be sore after last night. He hadn’t exactly been gentle. “Did ye find anything?”
“Nay. I am sorry, Grace.”
“I doonae blame ye. ’Tis not yer fault!” she said fiercely as she pushed herself to her elbows and stared down at him. “And we will find who did this. I know it.”
She had so much faith in him. It meant the world to him considering how angry she was. Amazed, he reached up and ran his fingers through the tresses of her hair. “Ye returned to my bed tonight, lass.”
She blushed but didn’t pull away. “Aye.”
“Ye continue to put yer faith in me.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. “On some things,” she admitted.
“What does that mean?” he growled playfully as he reached down and tweaked her nipple.
“I have faith that ye will keep me safe.” Sucking in her lower lip, she moaned as he played with the other breast.
“But?” Leaning up, he kissed the side of her neck.
“But when it comes to women, I have no faith in ye
at all.”
“Then I will just have to work harder at restoring yer faith,” he whispered, as he pulled her completely astride his thighs. “Because I assure ye that I do know how to pleasure a woman.”
“Ah, but tonight I want to pleasure ye,” she declared.
Everything she did gave him pleasure, so long as it wasn’t trying to get herself killed, but the sight of her over him, her sinfully red hair spilling over her naked breasts, was nearly his undoing.
“Then ride me,” he whispered as he put his hands between her thighs. She was already soaking wet for him, and it took all his control not to impale her on him. Just the thought of the way she’d enveloped him nearly sent him over the edge.
“Not yet.” To his dismay, she slid down his thighs, away from his cock. “Last night, ye used yer mouth on me. Tonight, I want to use my mouth on ye.”
“Grace,” he groaned. “Ye doonae have to do that.”
She hesitated. “Do ye not like it?”
Oh, aye, he liked it well enough, but he knew plenty of women who didnae enjoy that part, and he would be just as happy slipping into the heat of her sex rather than the heat of her mouth, but something on his face must have encouraged her for she bent her head and tentatively licked the tip with her tongue.
Her innocence drove him wild, and he gripped the sheets as he endured her sweet torture. She gained boldness and confidence, and when he could take no more, he took her arms and yanked her back up so he could roll on top of her.
“Enjoy yerself?” he asked as he hovered over her.
Grace gave him the most wicked of smiles. “Aye, vera much.”
“A witch indeed,” he growled and drove himself into her until his name was echoing off the walls and they were both lost in each other.
23
“What do ye mean that I amnae allowed out of the keep?” Grace argued. “Not even to feel the sun on my face?”
Reed looked nervous. It was the next morning, and she’d been arguing with him all through breakfast. Hamish was already gone, and she was incensed to learn that she couldn’t leave the keep. It was one thing to keep her safe, but it was another to keep her prisoner. There must have been a dozen men waiting for her when she opened the door. Surely by agreeing to a small army, she would be allowed to leave the keep.
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 51
