Just when she thought she’d had enough, Alan slid his hand down the length of her body and she moaned against his lips.
Her heart fluttered when Alan knotted his fingers in her hair, deepening their kiss with wanton yearning. With his body against her she could feel his arousal, bringing her ever closer to losing self-control.
She couldn’t think clearly; every sense was engulfed with Alan’s ragged breathing and the feel of his lips against her skin.
When he pulled away, it was only to shift slightly to the left and trail a line of kisses down her neck. Jain gasped, throwing her head back at the delicious new feeling. Warmth flooded deep into her stomach and she knew if they didn’t stop they would lose control completely.
Jain pulled away, running her fingers through his hair and tried to regain control of her beating heart.
Alan hung his head and placed a delicate kiss against her collar bone. “Now is not the time,” he whispered.
She nodded breathlessly.
“Soon,” he promised. “I want ye more than anything.”
Jain grinned. “Almost as much as I want ye.”
Alan took her face and cradled it gently in his hands before kissing her on the lips, sweeter this time and more innocent. Alan pulled away and rested his chin against her forehead. “When all this is over, Jain, I’ll come back fer ye. I would take ye as my wife.”
Jain smiled, letting out a haggard laugh. “And I would give myself to ye, but we have to deal with Leif and Ragnar first.”
“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together,” he promised. “Even if we have to run away.”
She nodded, taking him by the hand. “My parents are still back in Elign. I cannae abandon them.”
“We won’t,” he assured her. “But we need to come up with a plan first. Conrad is trying to position himself in a seat of authority, and some of them might fall fer it. Yer da is a good man though and I’m sure in the end he will prevail.”
“What if he doesn’t?” she asked him quietly. “What if Conrad wins?”
“Then we will fight him. I cannae accept that a man like Conrad will ever be chieftain. We’ll give it a few days fer the chaos to calm down, then we’ll go back and deal with him once and fer all.”
The sun was starting to set beyond the hills and the evening chill fell upon them. Alan rolled over on the grass, so he was looking at her properly. Jain quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why are ye looking at me like that?”
“I was just thinking how lucky I am to have such a strong, beautiful woman agree to be my wife.”
“Funny. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have a lad as loyal and good as ye to want me in the first place. Who else would have stood by me after they found out the truth about my past?”
Alan reached out and took her by the hand and said, “I guess we're both pretty lucky then.”
“I guess we are.”
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she pulled it up beneath her chin, kissing the tips of his fingers one by one. He watched her do this with clear intent, looking up at him. She took the last one in her mouth and sucked it lightly on the pad on his finger. Alan cursed aloud at she released it with an impish smile and looked up at him in wanting. “Ye’re a right vixen, ye ken that?” he teased playfully.
“Mmmm,” she hummed in agreement. “Are ye going to do anything about it?”
Alan growled, climbing over to the bed of hay that she had made and kissed her roughly on the mouth. She met him eagerly, wrapping her arms around his back when he climbed on top of her and dragging her nails down the back of his shirt.
“Ahh…Jain. What ye do to me,” he sighed. Jain smiled and lifted her head to kiss him deeply. When they parted slightly, Alan dipped his tongue inside and slid one of his hands down her waist until cresting the prominent curve of her hip.
To Jain’s disappointment, he pulled away suddenly and broke the kiss.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking up at him confused.
Alan chuckled through his raspy breathing and told her, “Nothing. Ye’re perfect. I just…I need a minute to think.”
He sat up on the grass beside her and breathed in the cool night air. Jain reached up to touch him and grazed her fingers across his back.
Jain looked to the horizon and sighed. “What about the cold?” she asked, leaning in to brush her lips across his. “I might need ye to keep warm.”
Alan sighed as Jain pressed her lips to his and kissed him deeply on the mouth. She slid one of her hands around his waist and pressed her body up against him. Her movements were slow but pleading while she tried to bring him onto the blanket of her cloak. Her tongue traced his bottom lip and she felt a low rubble in his chest as he deepened their connection.
Jain’s entire body became alive as his hands explored the curves of her waist and breasts, kneading them with his fingers. She broke their kiss and gasped. He hitched her skirts up higher on her waist and ran a hand down the sensitive flesh of her upper thigh. “Alan!”
“Ungh, Jain,” he moaned, trailing a line of kisses up her throat. “Ye have nae idea how long I’ve wanted ye.”
His lips came to hers again and Alan’s breathing grew ragged. The intensity of their kiss escalated quickly. She reached up to put her arms around his neck when Alan stopped her suddenly. His lips broke from hers and she sighed in disappointment. “Ah!”
Jain was surprised at first when he caught her by the wrist, but he chucked lightly and placed a feather light kiss against her neck.
“I love ye, Jain. I promise to have ye soon,” he said. “But not tonight. Tonight, we need to sleep. We’ll need to have our wits about us on the morrow.”
~ * ~
The next morning, Jain woke up on the ground with her cloak wrapped snuggly around her. Her back was sore from sleeping on the bank of the river. She sat up on the grass and saw Alan knee deep in the water trying to catch some fish.
“Are ye having any luck there, Alan?”
He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled. “Good morrow, Jain. I wasn’t sure how long ye would need to rest, so I thought I would catch some breakfast. Unfortunately, there’s been nae luck thus far.”
“Thank ye, that was very kind.”
Alan slowly waded out from the water and walked onto the bank beside her. “What do ye think, lass? Shall we stay here another night or go in search of another campsite?”
“I dinnae ken. What would ye do?”
Alan sighed. “I think we should keep moving. This place is not as secure as I would like. We should guide the horse on foot until we find some place better.”
Jain nodded and rose to her feet, saying, “Then that’s what we will do. And on the way we can search for berries or something else to eat.”
He dried off his hands on the edge of his tunic and untied the horse from where it was resting against a tree. Together, they headed off into the trees and Jain smiled at him.
After a while, there appeared a tiny cottage on the edge of the water. It looked abandoned and worn down compared to the other dwellings she had seen. The roof was in poor repair and the stone around the walls had begun to crumble. From a distance, it looked like the perfect place to hide out until they decided on the next stage of their plan, but a knot formed in her stomach at the sight of it and she couldn’t explain why. It was far enough from the village that she doubted anyone would come looking for them.
They approached it slowly, walking hand in hand and seeking any signs of life or habitation. The stone walls were in bad repair and parts of the thatching on the roof had fallen in. When they found the front door, Alan carefully nudged it in and led Jain inside behind him. There was a fireplace against the wall, but nae kindling for it to burn. He sighed, kissing her on the hand and then going back out through the doorway.
“Where are ye going?”
“I’m going to fetch some kindling fer a fire,” he told her. “It will get mighty cold here after dark and we have nae other way to keep warm.”
“I’ll come with ye.”
He sighed disapprovingly and glanced back the way they came. There was no sign of them being followed so he gave a gentle nod. “Aye, but ye’ll keep a wary eye out.”
They stepped out into the grass, picking up fallen branches and bringing them back to the cottage door. “That’ll do,” he told her. “It should keep us warm at least. We’ll wait till after dark to light it, otherwise they could see the smoke and find us.”
Alan knelt down in front of the fireplace and built a small campfire with some of the branches they had brought. Jain watched him for a moment and cast her eyes around the building.
“Does something about this place seem odd to ye?” she asked.
He looked back at her, then glanced around himself. “What do ye mean?”
Her eyes narrowed, standing up to look around more fully. “I dunno…it seems strange to me. Something about it is not quite right.”
Alan nodded, standing back once he’d caught a spark to ignite the campfire he’d been working on. “I suppose it is. It’s difficult to say without looking around a bit. Would ye like to search a bit in the morning?”
Jain bit down on her bottom lip. “Aye. I have this strange feeling in my stomach.”
“Try not to think about it,” he suggested. “We need to get some rest. Ye can have the bed yerself. I wouldn’t have ye thinking I’d take advantage. I’ll make a bed on the floor.”
“Nonsense, ye’ll sleep up here with me,” she told him. “I won’t hear another word about it.”
Alan eyed her, his eyes filled with desire. He glanced back and forth between her and the feather mattress. “Jain…”
“Alan,” she responded in a challenge. “We’re betrothed, aren’t we?”
“Aye, but still not married yet. I appreciate what ye’re trying to do, but it isn’t right. I will share yer bed when ye’ve agreed to be my wife and not before.”
Her lip twitched as she gazed back at him trying not to smile. “Ye really place such high value on a woman’s virtue?”
“On yer virtue, aye,” he responded instantly. “But it’s not about that. It’s about respect. It’s about what’s right and proper.”
Jain sighed, returning to the bed. Alan laid out a blanket on the floor and exhaled a tired sigh before settling down herself. She watched him longingly and wished he would reconsider the offer of joining her on the bed, but knew that he was right, they would have to wait for that until later.
“Could I ask ye something?” she asked him quietly.
“Of course.”
“Sometimes when we go walking ye'll sing fer me on the road...”
“Aye,” he confirmed, not really sure where she was going with their conversation.
“I ken that ye won't share a bed with me till we're married, but it might help me get my mind off other things. I like it when ye sing fer me,” she whispered. “Would ye do it fer me now?”
He smiled at the request and said, “Anything fer ye, my dear.”
Chapter Twenty-two
It was a rough night for sleeping.
Even on the comfort of a bed, Jain’s mind kept running around in answerless circles of how they were going to solve this crisis. She was worried about her family and hoped Conrad had been put in his place. She’d tossed and turned for hours before sleep eventually claimed her, and Jain succumbed to unconsciousness.
Jain woke up in the morning and sat up on the bed, looking around blearily at her surroundings. Alan was already awake and keeping watch in the doorway. “Mmmm…good morrow,” she told him quietly.
Alan turned and gave her a crooked smile. “Good morrow.”
“How long have ye been sitting there?”
He turned back towards the door and said, “About an hour. It’s been quiet through the night and there’s still nae sign of anyone, so we might be safe.”
Jain tossed her legs over the side of the bed and let out a yawn. As she did, her stomach rumbled, and she blushed from the sound of it, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“Dinnae worry about it,” Alan grinned. “We should be getting some breakfast soon. I’m starved as well.”
“Where do ye suggest we get some food?”
He pointed out the door towards the river. “We could catch some fish in the stream,” Alan told her hopefully. “Ye were right about the house.”
Jain looked up at him in surprise. “What do ye mean?”
“The bed is new,” he told her. “Look at the mattress. It’s the only useable piece of furniture in his house.”
Jain glanced around again, taking in the dirt floor covered with rushes and decrepit ceiling one more time. He was right. It didn’t make sense to have a useable bed when everything else was rotten. Unless…that was the sole purpose of coming to this place, to use the bed and leave.
“Ye think this could have been a secret lover’s hideaway?” she asked him, smiling.
Alan shook his head in unmasked horror. “No, I dinnae ken it was romantic as all that.”
Jain’s brow furrowed with confusion. “What do ye mean?”
Alan swallowed hard walking past her towards the bed and ran his fingers across the headboard. A series of faint scratches were clawed in deep to the wooden surface. Her eyes flickered to the wall beyond where a few spots of dark liquid had dried onto its surface, leading down into a puddle on the floor. Jain went pale at the sight of it and with a trembling hand pulled back the feather mattress to get a better picture. A smell became more prominent, filling the room with its signature aroma of rust and salt. Old rust and salt – the kind which had congealed and settled there for days until it stank of death.
Her eyes bulged in horror when she realized what it was: Blood.
Blood that had been spilt before they got there and hastily cleaned up. Whoever was responsible, missed where the dark stain had dripped down the wall and stained the rushes on the floor.
Jain gasped, backing away from him slowly. Now that she was aware of it, there was little else that could rip her eyes away. On further inspection, she also realized there were rips in the mattress fabric. Whatever happened here was violent and caused Jain’s stomach to churn with bile.
A moment passed before she turned to him and sobbed. “Did ye ken?” Jain asked him forcefully. “Did ye ken about this place when ye brought me here?”
“Nae! Jain, I swear to ye. I dinnae ken. I saw the claw marks when ye were sleeping and I couldn’t bring myself to wake ye. Ye were so tired.”
She processed that for a moment and gave him a single nod. “I believe ye. It’s a horrible thing to find. That poor girl, whoever she was–”
“Deserves to find justice,” Alan stopped her. “We cannae do anything out here unless we find proof.”
Jain’s eyes were misting with tears as she caught sight of something sparkling in the bloody rushes. She knelt to inspect the area further and pulled a piece of chain out of the underbrush.
Jain went pale when she realized what it was and let out a tiny gasp.
“What is it?” he asked her curiously.
She started breathing heavily and pushed past him to get outside, clutching her stomach with pain. “Get me out of here!”
Alan followed her into the grass but didn’t approach her right away.
“I’ve seen that necklace before,” Jain told him. She brushed her fingers across the chain – treating it with reverence, like it was something sacred. “’Twas Heather’s.”
Her eyes were misting over with tears, so he wrapped his arms around her to try and comfort the pain of loss.
“We’ll keep it safe,” he told her. “I’ll make sure it returns to her parents when we go back.”
She nodded in agreement and pulled away from him, exhaling a gargled sob. “The blood in the house…it belonged to her as well, I’m sure of it. We’ve got to bring this necklace back to her parents, so they can ken what happened.”
“Nae, tis too soon,” Alan told her. “Ye may still be in
danger.”
“How can ye speak of such things when we’ve stumbled upon such compelling evidence? Heather probably died in that house and it’s our duty to let her family ken.”
Alan sighed. “Jain, I ken ye dinnae want to hear this, but Heather is already lost. Tis yer life that I’m protecting at the moment. Her parents deserve to ken what we found, and they will, but not until ye’re safe. It won’t do Heather any good to rush back before we’re ready and it may put us both in danger. We have to wait.”
“Alright. Where are we going to sleep tonight though? I cannae bring myself to go back in the house. Not when…please dinnae make me.”
“Of course not. We’ll camp out here instead. There’s plenty of hay fer us to make some beds outside and I can make a fire to keep warm.”
She smiled at him weakly when he took her by the hand and kissed it. “Alan, thank ye…fer everything.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Jain and Alan made their way over to the water’s edge and searched along the coast for fish. Her breath was visible in the cold and the water was freezing as it ran along its stream.
Alan held a makeshift spear in his hand while they waded into the water. Jain frowned casting her eyes down the stream when there was a splash and he cried out in victory. “Ah! There she is!”
“Ye got one?” Jain inquired with a laugh.
He held up the spear with a speckled fish impaled along the end. “Looks like I just caught us breakfast.”
Jain clapped her hands together and lost control of her footing on the mossy rock. She fell headfirst into the water. “AH!”
She landed in the frigid stream with a tremendous splash, soaking her dress and hair. When she reached out to pull herself up, Jain reached for the nearest thing she could find and then a scream tore from her lips. Amid the ripples, something nefarious appeared in the waters depths, causing Jain’s blood to run cold.
“Jain! Are ye alright?” he asked rushing up to her.
She sputtered in the cold and coughed up a mouthful of water, trying to get away before looking up at him. Alan took her by the arm, helped her to the shore and cast his fish along the river bank.
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