He shook his head. She needn’t know his trouble thoughts.
Dawn thought otherwise.
She tapped her chest, then his and then crossed her heart reminding him that he had asked her to promise to trust him. Then she tapped his chest again and crossed his heart and shrugged, asking if he promised to trust her. Then she took hold of his hand and laced her fingers with his and squeezed tight, as if reaffirming their commitment to each other.
“You are asking of me what I asked of you... to trust you. He squeezed their joined hand. “That we are one and nothing can separate us.” He loved the way she talked with her hands, since most of the time to do so, she touched him. And he loved when she touched him, whether innocently or passionately he loved the feel of her hands on him.
Dawn nodded with a smile.
“You would never think of leaving me, would you?” he asked needing her to reaffirm that they were inseparable. He did not like the soft scowl that disappeared as fast as it had appeared on her face. He grew angry, though truthfully it was more worry. “You have thought of leaving me?”
She was not good at hiding her thoughts from him. He could read and hear through her silence too well. She released his hand, patted her stomach and shook her head.
“You thought I didn’t want the babe?” he asked though why wouldn’t she? He had demanded she take something to prevent conception. What had he expected her to think? And then it hit him... she would have left him to protect their child and he silently cursed himself for being such a fool. “You would have left me to protect our child.” His scowl deepened. “That means you would have accepted Kirk’s offer of wedding his friend.”
He turned such a fierce look on her that she felt a twinge of fear.
“I would have never let that happen.” He grinned then and proudly. “I would have killed him before you ever got the chance to wed him.”
Her twinge dissipated with his grin and she shook her head and poked him in the ribs.
He grabbed her finger and kissed it, then he brought his lips to hers and before he kissed her said, “Never ever doubt that I want our child and never ever doubt that we are one.”
She had no chance to respond, his lips settled on hers. She recalled the envy she had felt when Lila told her about her first kiss and how wonderful it had been and how she wouldn’t mind kissing Paul over and over again. Dawn had hoped one day she would feel the same about someone. As time passed she doubted that day would ever come, and then a miracle happened... Cree kissed her.
She finally got to experience her own joy at being kissed and would have never thought it could be so utterly magical or that she would never want his kisses to stop. And she loved all the different ways he kissed her, like now with a fierce possessiveness that confirmed what he had said... they were one.
Her body began to respond to his deepening kiss, which was something that always happened, whether his kiss was filled with passion or tender caring. It didn’t matter; her body quickened. And at that moment, besides feeling passionate, she was feeling playful and so she slipped her hand down to take hold of him.
She wasn’t surprised to find him hard. It seemed to be a perpetual state with him when they were in bed together. Though she was surprised at his reaction, he stopped kissing her.
“Your wound?”
She hadn’t even given thought to it and she didn’t intend to, at least not now. She shook her head and to prove her point she pushed him on his back and slowly climbed on top of him. Her passion surged with her actions and she found herself more than eager to have him inside her.
He grinned. “In a hurry?”
She halted her fumbling, not from the twinge of pain that caught at her wound but from his grin. And with sharp gestures she let him know that she needed him to be inside her right this very moment.
His grin faded and he took control, his hands taking hold of her hips and lowering her down on her back. It was a quick joining for them both, each building rapidly toward a powerful climax. And as they drew near... a heavy pounding sounded at the door.
“Ignore it,” Cree commanded as he quickened his thrusts.
Dawn gripped his steel-hard arms tighter and did as he said trying desperately to focus on nothing but his hard, continuous thrusts.
Both poundings continued and a voice was added to the one at the door.
“Cree,” Sloan yelled in between his fist hitting the door. “Cree! It’s important.”
Dawn shook her head and shoved at Cree’s shoulder to go see what Sloan wanted.
He growled like an angry bear. “Don’t dare move. I’ll be right back.”
Cree stomped out of the room, swung open the door, grabbed Sloan by his shirt, and jerked him inside and slammed the door shut.
“This better be important or I’m going to kill you,” Cree warned.
“Not only is Gerwan’s caravan about to enter the village but the King’s cleric is here to wed you and Lucerne.”
Both men turned at the noise. Dawn stood in her nightdress, her hand at her mouth as she hurried to a nearby bucket to retch.
Cree flew to her side and called out to Sloan, “Get some snow.”
Sloan flew out the door and Cree felt helpless as he kept an arm around Dawn and watched her suffer through dry heaves. When she finished he scooped her up and carried her into the other room and laid her gently on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her tucking it around her and sat beside her.
Sloan rushed in with a bucket filled with snow and stopped suddenly to say, “Dawn carries your child doesn’t she?”
Cree held his hand out for the bucket. “If you breathe a word of it I will cut out—” he stopped himself from telling Sloan that he would cut out his tongue, not that he ever would, but it was a way of letting Sloan know he had gone too far. Not anymore though, not with the way such words hurt Dawn.
Sloan understood without Cree having to say anymore. “I give you my word that I will not breathe a word of it to anyone.”
That was all Cree needed to hear, for Sloan was a man of his word.
Sloan handed the bucker to Cree and then stepped back.
Cree took some snow and placed a small amount by Dawn’s mouth. “At least you won’t dry heave if the babe protests again.” He then turned to Sloan. “How long before everyone arrives?”
“The cleric is about an hour away and Gerwan about thirty minutes or more. Turbett and Flanna have everything in hand for their arrival.”
“Go,” Cree ordered. “I will be there shortly.”
Sloan nodded and left.
Cree placed more snow by Dawn’s lips. “Is this the first time the babe has made you ill in the morning?”
She shook her head, though held her hands apart to gesture a gap.
“It has been a while since you have felt this way?’
She nodded.
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I am asking you to rest today, since ordering you to do anything doesn’t seem to work. And it would be cruel of me to punish you for not obeying when you already suffer... in far too many ways. Though I remind you to trust me and believe me when I tell you that all will be well.”
She had no trouble trusting him and feeling poorly she had no intentions of going anywhere... for now. So it was easy for her to nod and let him know that she would rest.
He stood and dressed, then leaned over her and kissed her. “Later I will make certain we finish what we never got a chance to.”
She smiled and crossed her heart and shrugged.
He tweaked her nose and smiled. “I promise, though it isn’t necessary. Nothing will stop me from making love to you.” He gave her another quick kiss and left.
Dawn didn’t care for the shiver that ran through her. She feared with Gerwan’s arrival that Cree’s visits would be fewer. But she trusted him, not that she wasn’t going to still see what she could find out for herself. She yawned, feeling a bit tired and decided to do as he had asked and rest. She snuggled beneath
the warm blanket and before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
~~~
Cree had washed and dressed in fresh garments and then consulted with Sloan in his solar. Cree wasn’t at all pleased to find out that the tracks left by Dawn’s attacker had gone cold and the culprit had yet to be found.
“Someone helps this person,” Cree said after hearing Sloan explain.
“My thoughts as well,” Sloan agreed.
“You spent some time with Lucerne the other day. Do you think she is capable of such treachery?”
Sloan rubbed his chin. “She’s an odd one. One minute she was lashing out over just about everything and the next minute she collapsed against me, as if everything was too much of an ordeal for her. Damn, if she never stops complaining about how her head aches. And then just when I couldn’t take it anymore, she suddenly calmed and turned pleasant. She wears too many faces for my liking, which leaves me to think she cannot be trusted.”
“What of Bree? Can she be trusted or do you fancy her too much to see her clearly?”
Sloan cocked a brow. “Fancy her or not, I won’t let any woman blind me. She seems sincere enough and worried that she’ll be made to return to Lucerne and serve her. Old Mary doesn’t seem to have a bad word to say about her and since the old woman has an eye for seeing beyond, I figured she would know if the lass should not be trusted.”
“A point I considered myself,” Cree admitted. “What of Lucerne’s other servant? Magda is it?”
Sloan nodded. “She spends all her time stitching Lucerne’s garments and mostly keeps company with the servants that do the stitching for the keep.”
“Keep a good watch on them all,” Cree ordered. “There is something there that we are missing.”
Sloan nodded, and then cleared his throat.
“Say what you will,” Cree said knowing Sloan was preparing to say something that Cree might not want to hear.
“You’re not going to let you’re babe be born a bastard, are you?”
“No, never would I allow that.”
“What about the agreement you made with the King? He’ll take these lands from you if you don’t wed Gerwan’s daughter.”
“But Lucerne is not Gerwan’s daughter,” Cree said and went on to explain what Kirk had told him about his affair with Gerwan’s wife years ago. He then finished with, “And with McClusky land bordering Gerwan’s land it would give the King an even stronger hold on this area if he joined the two. Besides, he wants that port built and he knows I’m the only one capable of seeing it done. I can get this to work if I can prove without a doubt that Lucerne is not Gerwan’s daughter and that Dawn is Kirk’s daughter. I’m concerned though that the King will demand concessions. He’ll want to appease everyone so that no one rants against him.”
Sloan scratched his head. “Damn, this could work.”
“Yes, it could and while I rued the day that Kirk McClusky arrived here, I am now grateful that he did. And until we can sort this all out, Dawn—and now my child—are not safe.”
“The extra guards were added. She’ll not be able to go anywhere without them. And Kirk’s warriors also mull about her cottage. I don’t see how anyone could get to her.”
“How often have you known me to order her to stay put and she does otherwise? Add to that the many times you didn’t hear me tell her and you now know that Dawn does what she wants, when she wants.”
Sloan grinned. “Damn, I haven’t known anyone who dared not obey you.”
“I should have cut out that ton—” Cree stopped abruptly and shook his head.
Sloan’s grin grew. “Damn, can’t say it anymore, can you? Guess my tongue is finally free of worry... thanks to Dawn.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Cree snapped.
“Oh hell, we both know you would have never cut my tongue out. It was just a warning that I had gone too far.” Sloan laughed. “Now I can go as far as I like.”
Cree turned a murderous scowl on him.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Sloan said continuing to laugh.
“Keep it up, I’ll find a way to make you pay.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sloan teased.
Cree suddenly grinned. “I think you should remain by Lucerne’s side throughout this whole ordeal.”
Sloan’s smile quickly faded. “You don’t mean that.”
“But I do mean it,” he said and stood.
“I was only teasing you,” Sloan said in the way of an apology.
“I’m not,” Cree said and walked to the door. “Stay by her side every moment and see what you can find out.”
“What about Bree? Wouldn’t it be better if I became her shadow?”
“I’ll assign someone else to her.”
“Who?”
“Not your concern.”
Sloan shook his head as he walked over to join him at the door. “Having my tongue cut out would have been less painful.”
“But not as much fun for me,” Cree said and slapped him on the back.
Chapter Twenty-three
Dawn woke with a start. She wasn’t sure what woke her. It was as if someone yanked her out of her sleep. She didn’t mind; she felt rested and wanted out of bed. She hurried and dressed, all the while listening to her stomach rumble with hunger.
She combed the tangles out of her hair with a worn bone comb and then plaited it and let the braid fall down her back. Then she went in search of something to eat. She was disappointed when she found that no food had been left for her on the table and laughed silently. Had she gotten spoiled with having food brought to her? She certainly was capable of cooking for herself. It was just that right now, she was so hungry she wished that she didn’t have to wait to eat.
With a quick glance at her cloak, she thought about walking to the kitchen and getting something that was already prepared. She went to grab her cloak and stopped suddenly recalling that Gerwan had been due to arrive and not knowing how long she had slept meant that his troop could be arriving this very moment. And she had no desire to watch his entrance into a village that no longer belonged to him.
A knock sounded and the door opened and in came Dorrie with a basket of food. Dawn smiled brightly and ushered her in with an eager wave.
“We were ordered to let you sleep, but being it’s close to noon Flanna insisted food be brought to you.” Dorrie sat the basket on the table and began taking things out.
Dawn didn’t wait. She reached for a piece of bread and began munching on it, her eyes growing wide with each delicious item Dorrie placed on the table. When she finished Dawn handed her a tankard of hot cider.
Dorrie took it with a smile and sat. “I can’t stay long. The kitchen is busy. The Gerwan party will be here any moment and though none wish to greet him, all have agreed that it would be a poor reflection on Cree if they didn’t.”
Dawn smiled and nodded agreeing with the villagers and happy to know that they thought highly of Cree and chose to show respect for him.
Dorrie leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Are you truly Kirk McClusky’s bastard daughter?”
Dawn shrugged, for what proof was there?
“The villagers continue to worry that there will be a battle over this.”
Dawn shook her head and tapped her chest, then waved her hand back and forth.
Dorrie smiled. “You won’t let that happen.”
Dawn nodded.
“I told everyone that. I told them that you would do what was best for the village just as you did when Colum sent you to tend Cree. You are an unselfish soul and your choice would be for the good of all or even one person.” She smiled. “Just as you protected me, you would protect others.” She jumped up then. “I must go or Turbett will get upset. He is so much more than he appears. He gives extra food to his workers and he teaches them. I have learned so much about food from him that when it came time for my punishment to end I asked to stay on and Turbett was pleased to have me. Another thing I have you to thank
for.” Dorrie gave Dawn a quick hug and left the cottage.
Dawn ate with a cluttered mind. She certainly didn’t think of herself as a selfless soul. She had done what she had to do to survive just like many of the villagers. Cree’s capture of the village had heralded in a prosperous time for all and no one wanted to see that change. Life was good and everyone wanted it to remain that way.
Another knock sounded and in walked Kirk. “I came to see how you were feeling.”
Panic rose in Dawn. How did he know she had been ill this morning?
“Your wound does not cause you too much pain I hope,” he said as he approached the table.
Dawn smiled having again forgotten about her wound and waved for him to join her. He hurried to do so. She shook her head, pointing to her side that truly did not cause her as much discomfit as everyone assumed.
“I am glad you are feeling well.”
Dawn pointed to the food and her mouth.
“You are hungry.”
She nodded and handed him a piece of bread.
He shook his head. “I have eaten, though my appetite is not what it should be. I worry about you and your mother. I do not want to see her suffer after all these years and I do not want any harm to befall you.”
Dawn wondered what Ann Gerwan would do when she laid eyes on Kirk after all this time. And what would she do when she learned of Dawn? Would she want to meet her or would she want nothing to do with her? But more importantly what did she herself want from her true mother?
~~~
“The King has sent a cleric?” Lucerne all but screamed at Cree when she learned the news. “But we are not to wed for at least a month’s time yet. Does he expect us to wed sooner?”
Cree hadn’t thought of that. Could that be why the cleric had arrived early? Did he have a message from the King for the wedding to proceed immediately? He had to solve the riddle of Dawn’s birth soon or all could be lost. If he had been concerned for just himself, he would take Dawn and go off with her and to hell with everything. They could be happy together just the two of them. But it wasn’t only about him. It was about all the men who had fought beside him and the women who had endured hardships with the promise that one day they would all have a home.
Forbidden Highlander (Highlander Trilogy 2) Page 19
