How a Scot Surrenders to a Lady

by Julie Johnstone

  He turned away and dashed out of the cave, glancing back only once to ensure she was following his orders. She glared back. Many a lass would be crying, distraught, after being shot at, especially when still facing mortal danger, but not Serene. Admiration filled him as he moved along the rock, staying as flat as he could make himself against it. Shortly, the overhanging ledge would end. He’d no longer be sheltered from view, but it wouldn’t matter. The thick woods met the shore where the ledge ended, and there, he’d be able to move through the cover of trees to move up to where the arrows had been shot from. Then, if the intruder was still there, he would capture the attacker.

  He quickly reached the end of the overhang, and he shoved his way past gnarled branches and sticker bushes to climb the steep hill that led to the ledge overhanging the shore below.

  Through the gray haze of the storm, he saw a lone figure standing with a flapping cloak on, arm drawn back, and arrow nocked. The rain had lessened as Cameron climbed and now drizzled into nothingness. The man moved suddenly, swiveling his body toward the right, and Cameron was filled with the certainty and the fear that Serene had come out of the cave. He flew across the distance separating him from the attacker and launched himself at the hooded man with a roar, crashing into him as the stranger let loose his arrow. Cameron swung his arm out and knocked the man to the ground before stealing a glance down to the shore. A shadow raced across the rocky ground toward him, skirts flying and hair flapping. God’s teeth! She was damned lucky she’d not been—

  The hit atop his head sent him to his knees and made his teeth jar together. Pain exploded in his head, but he rolled forward, coming up on his right knee and swinging his sword in front of him to defend himself. His blade sliced across the attacker’s cloak, and with a gasp, the man stumbled backward.

  “Cameron!” Serene screamed from the rocks below. Cameron did not have time to spare a glance. He scrambled to his feet, but the ground immediately swayed underneath him and he stumbled forward onto his knees once more as he watched the attacker turn to flee.

  “Devil take ye!” he roared, shoving up to his feet and swiping at the blood dripping from a fresh cut above his right eye.

  His thoughts were muddled, and his feet moved slower than he wanted as he started to pursue the attacker. Still, he pressed on through the gathering shadows in search of the man who had tried to kill him. No, that wasn’t right. The intruder had been here to kill Serene, which likely meant whoever it was thought she knew something about Katherine’s murder.

  He shoved through the thick brush, ignoring the cuts to his feet and hacking at the branches with his sword as he went. His speed gained as his balance did, but he had lost precious time. If the attacker was smart, he would head deep into the woods where trees, plants, and caves provided numerous places to hide. There, if he was not discovered, he could wait, biding his time for the next opportunity to attack Serene. A chill shot up Cameron’s spine at the thought, and he pushed on, up hills, over rocks, through streams, but the forest was vast and he needed aid.

  Cursing, he turned and raced back the way he had come, and as the shadows turned to darkness, he moved by moonlight and memory.

  “Cameron!” shouted Serene’s voice again, followed by a bellow that sounded like Angus, close and to the left.

  Cameron opened his mouth to give an answering call, but suddenly Angus and Serene crested a hill. Serene raced past Angus, dagger in hand, and over to Cameron, panting as she placed her free hand on his chest. “Are ye injured?”

  The genuine concern in her voice struck him like an arrow to the heart. He liked the concern. He wanted it, even. He gritted his teeth against the emotions for her, but the need to keep her from harm rushed through him, thicker than blood. He moved closer to her and pulled her to his side, telling himself it was for her protection, only for her protection.

  “I told ye nae to leave the cave,” he yelled, his fear for her making his words harsh. She tensed and tilted her chin up in defiance. “Come,” he ordered, slinging his arm over her shoulder to keep her close.

  Angus fell in step with him on Serene’s other side. Cameron didn’t think she realized they had formed a human shield to protect her.

  As they strode through the woods toward the shore, he growled, “Ye did nae heed my orders.”

  She huffed. “I could nae verra well sit helpless and let ye possibly be killed.”

  He looked at her, awed. Risking her safety for him had not given her pause. These were not the actions of a woman with evil intent. He stored the knowledge away to consider later, when all was safe.

  Glancing past her to Angus, he said, “How did ye come to be out here?”

  “I led the lass to ye earlier,” Angus said. “I stayed near in case she proved treacherous.” He shrugged, almost apologetically, and looked toward Serene. “I heard her scream, and I came running. I misjudged ye, lass,” Angus admitted, remorse in his tone.

  A short laugh escaped Serene. “I kinnae rightly be cross given how I came to ye. I forgive ye,” she said simply.

  Cameron was struck with how gracious and brave she seemed to be, and his mind swirled with it as they returned to the castle.

  The thoughts were still in his head when they entered the great hall, all three of them sopping wet. The hall hummed with the normal sounds of supper, the inhabitants of his clan oblivious to the danger in the woods. Cameron strode up to the dais, his hand firmly grasping Serene’s, where Iain sat with Marion, Lachlan, Bridgette, and Lena, among others. Iain stopped talking to gape at him, and Lachlan spit out a mouthful of wine as they approached.

  “Sound the alarm,” Cameron said without preamble. “An enemy is lurking.”

  Serene felt very out of place with Cameron’s entire family staring at her from the dais, especially when his sister, Lena, turned an icy stare on Serene at the word enemy. She tried to disentangle her hand from Cameron’s and move to a corner out of view, but he curled his fingers tightly around hers, his hold like a vise. He pressed her closer to him.

  At first, she thought he might be questioning her, too, but when he moved slightly in front of her as if to guard her from his sister’s anger, she realized he was trying to defend her. Shock caused her to inhale sharply, and when Cameron’s gaze landed on her briefly and she saw the concern in his eyes, her knees suddenly felt weak. The sense of being an unwelcome intruder lessened instantly.

  It struck her as rather odd—and a bit frightening—that a man she hardly knew seemed to have such sway over her emotions. Surely, it was because currently he was all she knew, even if it was precious little. Before she could ponder it, a flurry of activity commenced. Supper abruptly stopped, the castle horns announcing an enemy sounded, and the men left the hall with such speed that Serene would have believed none had ever been there if it was not for Cameron, who lingered for a moment, along with Marion and Lena. The other women, Bridgette, and Marsaili, left the great hall as the men did.

  Cameron’s hand came to the small of Serene’s back, warm and reassuring, as he guided her to Marion and Lena. “Watch out for her,” he said to them both.

  Marion nodded and smiled, but Lena scowled.

  “I’ll watch her,” she growled. “Already she brings trouble to our door, and—”

  Before Lena could finish her sentence, Cameron took her by the arm and dragged her across the room. Serene shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortably aware that Cameron’s problem with his sister was because of her.

  Marion patted Serene’s shoulder. “She doesn’t hate you truly.”

  Serene snorted. “It certainly seems that way.”

  Marion nibbled on her lip with her head cocked for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Finally, she whispered, “I cannot explain it all now, but Lena was taken from here as a young child, which meant she was denied the opportunity to be a doting sister to her brothers as they grew from boys to men. And as Cameron was the youngest, she would have had the role of protecting him as his older sister, and that was a
lso taken from her.” She gave Serene a tight, sad smile. “She only recently returned, and all the brothers except for Cameron now have wives to care for them. I do believe she is trying to be the older sister that she was not able to be earlier in life. Unfortunately, I also think it may seem to her that none of her brothers need her.”

  Serene thought about what Marion had just revealed as she watched the exchange between Cameron and Lena. He was speaking and waving his hands in the air, but when Lena’s shoulders sagged and she bit her lip, Cameron suddenly stopped talking and pulled his sister into a hug. Serene’s chest tightened at the display of brotherly love, and Marion sighed.

  When Serene looked at Marion, she was smiling. “Cameron is especially sensitive to Lena’s feelings,” Marion explained. “Likely because most of her attention is focused on him. He watches over her, as well, but in a more reasonable manner.”

  When Serene looked back toward Cameron, he was leaving the room with Lena. He turned at the last moment, and his gaze found Serene’s. He stared at her for the space of a breath, making her heartbeat quicken before he departed.

  “Well,” Marion replied, linking an arm with Serene’s as she stared toward where Cameron had disappeared. “It seems you have made quite the mark on Cameron’s mind.”

  He’d made quite the one on hers, too—years before, earlier, just now—but she intended to keep that to herself until she could figure it all out.

  Six

  As the first light of morning broke and the mist that covered the land started to dissipate, Cameron rode between Lachlan and Iain as they left the woods and headed toward Dunvegan Castle. The night had been long and full of tension as they had combed the woods for the invader, but to no avail. Between himself and two hundred other MacLeod warriors, they had been unable to find a trace of the man or the direction in which he may have gone. Whoever had shot the arrows at him and Serene was skilled at disappearing.

  Steering Winthrop toward the courtyard, which had just come into view, Cameron glanced at Iain. They’d tracked in almost complete silence so as not to give away their position, but now Cameron felt he could talk. “Whoever it is out there,” he said, glancing back toward the woods they had just left, “is intent on killing Serene. They were shooting at her even when I was nae anywhere near her, and when the man had the chance to kill me, he did nae take it. Instead, he fled.”

  Lachlan’s eyes narrowed. “Why did the attacker ever gain an opportunity to kill ye?”

  Cameron heated with embarrassment at the question. His jaw twitched as he opened his mouth to answer honestly. “I turned my back to him for one moment.”

  “Why the devil did ye do that?” Iain roared.

  “Brother,” Lachlan said, in a stern tone, “ye ken better than that. Ye are smarter than such folly and well versed on the ways of fighting.”

  Cameron nodded, unable to argue with his brothers or soothe their anger, which came, he understood, from concern. “I needed to see that she was still safe. I’d left her below in a cave, thinking to keep her from harm. I told her nae to move…” He let his words trail off at the mixed looks of incredulity and surprising understanding on his brothers’ faces.

  “They never stay,” Iain said with a sigh. “At least Marion never stays when I tell her to.”

  “Bridgette dunnae ever stay, either,” Lachlan added, a frown furrowing his brow.

  Cameron’s brothers exchanged a long look, then both focused their steely gazes on him. “Strong women dunnae ever remain, Brother,” Iain said as Lachlan nodded his agreement.

  “I would have looked, too,” Lachlan said, “if I feared for Bridgette’s safety. I may have been just as reckless.”

  Cameron felt his lips part on his brother’s astonishing admission.

  Iain scowled. “I would have seen that Marion was safe by keeping one eye on my enemy and turning one toward her.”

  “That would be quite the trick,” Lachlan drawled.

  “I’m laird,” Iain said in a blunt tone. “I can do anything I say. That is but one benefit of being laird. Ye dunnae get to question me,” he added with a pointed look at Lachlan. Then he gave the same look to Cameron. “It dunnae bode well, considering Eolande’s prophecy, that ye compromised yer own safety for a lass that dunnae mean a thing to ye. Ye just met her.”

  Iain’s words were all true, but his saying them irritated Cameron, nonetheless. “Ye married yer wife after kenning her for less than a day,” he growled.

  Iain’s faced darkened, showing a bit of the temper he usually kept so well restrained. “Ye ken well that I married her by edict of her king and mine.”

  “I ken it,” Cameron said slowly, “but nary a king ordered ye to care for her as quickly as ye did. It just was in ye.”

  Iain’s jaw fell open. After a breath, he snapped it shut, grunted, and said, “Are ye telling me—”

  “Us,” Lachlan corrected.

  Iain flicked his gaze to Lachlan before settling it on Cameron once more. “Are ye telling us ye care for the lass?”

  “Nay,” he answered immediately. “Nae in the way the two of ye care for Bridgette and Marion, but I feel—” What did he feel? As they drew to the entry of the courtyard, he paused his destrier while he struggled to find the words to describe what he himself did not understand.

  A crowd was gathered at the entry to greet them, and Serene stood off to the side, alone. She had on the same gown she had worn the previous day when she had come to talk to him, the one that showed too much of her enticing breasts. It heated him to recall just how very well he could see the rounded mounds and her hard nubs straining against the wet, gossamer material. Desire roiled through him in unstoppable waves. His muscles tightened with blossoming, aching need. He wanted her. He barely knew her, but it didn’t matter. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another.

  Her gaze locked on his, and relief swept across her face as she picked up her skirts, called his name, and raced toward him, heedless of the stares she was drawing.

  “Bound,” he finally said to Iain and Lachlan. The husky word held a ring of finality that worried him. It felt unstoppable, as if despite whatever he did, he would still fall under her spell. “Bound,” he said again at his brothers’ puzzled looks. “To her, I feel bound.”

  She wasn’t quite sure what response she expected from Cameron, but dismounting his horse, taking her by the hand, and leading her away from his brothers and the many warriors who had just come up behind them took her by complete surprise. Yet, she did not worry, nor feel she needed to question or fight him. He gave her a look to calm her, then his fingers curled firmly around hers, causing her to suck in a sharp breath. Desire jolted through her, sparking a fire in her veins.

  It was only when she realized he was leading her back to the seagate stairs, toward the shore where they had been attacked, that she hesitated. “Is it safe?”

  “Aye,” he assured her with such confidence that she did not doubt him. He paused on the steps and turned to her, his vibrant gaze holding her captive. “Iain tripled the watchtower guards and set men to defend the woods in sections, along with the entire perimeter of the castle and land surrounding the loch. “Nae a single enemy will get through this day again.”

  She exhaled a relieved breath. “What of all the other days? The men kinnae be kept away from their families day after day.”

  “They are warriors, and they will do as commanded to keep ye safe. Now you, however…” His eyes narrowed. “I told ye nae to leave the cave, and ye vowed ye would nae. Does yer vow nae mean a thing?”

  Her first instinct was to be angry, but she quickly realized he was worried for her and that realization stole her anger. “Aye. It means something,” she growled. “If ye intend to yell at me, though, I prefer ye do it where yer entire clan kinnae hear ye. Nae anyone but Marion likes me, and I’m nae sure she truly likes me, either. I fear it’s more that the lady is just too nice to be cruel to anyone, even someone suspected of killing the king’s mistress.”

&
nbsp; Cameron gave her a pensive look, and she suspected he was making his mind up what to do. When he finally turned toward the loch again, took her hand, and continued down the stairs, she exhaled. At least the entire MacLeod clan would not hear him yelling at her.

  Once they reached the shore, he led her to some rocks and guided her gently down, then sat beside her. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees, and she could not help but notice how the muscles of his back and arms coiled, as if prepared to fight.

  After a long silent spell, he faced her, yet did not sit up. His golden hair just touched his right shoulder as he tilted his strong face to her. She didn’t think there was likely a more compelling warrior on the Isle of Skye. “Do ye have a lass?” she blurted. She slapped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

  When he frowned at her, she forced her hand down and mumbled, “I’m sorry. I dunnae ken why I asked that. It’s nae any of my concern. I dunnae ken what is the matter with me. Ye affect me oddly. I cannot say for certain why, though, since I kinnae remember my past.” She wrinkled her nose at how greatly she had managed to mess up the apology and make herself look like a fool.

  A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, making her heart squeeze. “I dunnae claim a lass as my own.” The smile that had been curling his lips disappeared abruptly. “I wonder if a man has a claim on ye.”

  The displeasure that the thought brought to him was apparent in the tightening of his jaw and his hard, clipped words. She was startled by the jolt of pleasure his jealousy gave her. She may not know what had been in her mind in the past, but right now, Cameron MacLeod possessed her thoughts.

  “I dunnae feel claimed,” she mumbled, heat burning her cheeks. “I feel adrift, except when I am near ye. I think it must be because my only memories are of ye and the woman with the dark hair. Who is she? Is she someone special to ye? Did I meet her?”

  He let out a jagged sigh, then shoved his hands through his hair before cradling his head between his palms. “She’s a seer, and nay, ye did nae meet her, as far as I ken.” She watched as his fingers dug into his thick locks. Something was weighing very heavy on his mind. Hesitantly, she touched a hand to his bare, muscled shoulder. He flinched, and a low growl sounded from him, but he did not move her hand away, nor did she. The contact with his warm skin made her feel safe.