Highland Savage

by Hannah Howell

  Signaling a page, she had the boy refill her tankard of wine. Katerina knew she was feeling quite heady with drink already, but did not care. It was a celebration and she intended to celebrate until she had to be carried to bed.

  It did not surprise her when Lucas suddenly came to mind. She would like nothing better than to have him carry her to her bed. Caught up in thoughts of all they could do once they reached her bed, Katerina felt a hot blush sting her cheeks when a grinning Annie suddenly appeared at her side.

  “Has my wedding got ye dreaming of your own?” asked Annie.

  “Certainly not,” she replied, wishing that she sounded more adamant than she did. “’Tis just verra warm in here.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “Of course it is. Why dinnae ye just drag that verra bonnie mon off to your bedchamber and cure what ails ye?”

  “Naught ails me.”

  “Och, aye, it does.” Annie shook her head. ’Ye need to cease being afraid, Katerina.” Annie blushed, for she was still not accustomed to calling the lady of Dunlochan by her Christian name. “That mon has stayed here and helped ye without much more than a wee smile from ye from time to time. Do ye think he just needs something to do? There is only one reason he is still here and ’tis because of ye. I think ye need to find out what he wants.”

  “I ken exactly what he wants.”

  “Weel, of course he wants that. All men want that. They dinnae hang about a keep fixing stables to get it, though. Nay, not when they are as handsome as he is and will be a laird in their own right one day.” She patted Katerina on the arm. “I see my mon looking for me and I see yours looking for ye. The only one who still refuses to see that he is your mon is ye. Think on that.”

  Katerina watched Annie hurry over to Robbie’s side. For a moment Katerina felt the sting of envy and hastily pushed it away. Robbie and Annie deserved their happiness. They had risked their lives to help her regain what belonged to her. If she was not happy the only one she could really blame was herself.

  She felt Lucas was near even before he slid his arm around her waist. Knowing anyone who glanced their way would see how familiarly he was touching her, she almost pulled away from him. Then some still sensible part of her realized that that would hurt him, if only in his pride. After all he had done for her, she would not humiliate him by pulling away as if he had some disease she might catch from him.

  He touched his lips to her ear and she shivered, desire roaring to life inside of her. Katerina cast a look at her tankard of wine, then inwardly sighed. It was foolish to blame the drink, especially since no one had forced her to drink it. It was not the wine that was making her feel as if her blood was on fire; it was Lucas.

  “Ye havenae danced again,” he said. “I will dance with ye if ye like.”

  Katerina took a hasty drink of wine to hide her grin. Lucas sounded as if he had just offered to let her pull out his fingernails. She knew he would dance with her if she wished it just as she knew he would hate every minute of it. He would do it because it would make her happy.

  For some reason that made her feel like she was the biggest idiot of all. He had wronged her, hurt her more than she cared to think about, but was she punishing him now or herself? And, she decided, trying to come to some conclusion and clouding her mind with weighty thoughts after downing far too much wine was foolish. What she wanted to do, needed to do more desperately than she had ever wanted anything else, was take Lucas up to her bedchamber and make love to him until his eyes rolled back into his head. Then she might throw a little cold water on him and do it again.

  She turned around and looked up at him. Lucas Murray had to be the handsomest man she had ever seen and he wanted her. Whether it was just lust or not, at that moment she did not care. Katerina slowly ran her finger down the scar on his face and heard him catch his breath.

  There was a look in Katerina’s fine blue eyes that had Lucas feeling as if he had just run from here to Donncoill and back again. He glanced at her tankard and wondered just how much wine she had drunk. It could be the wine that had her looking at him in the way she used to. Then she leaned her body into his, her full breasts pushing against his chest.

  “Lucas,” she whispered.

  Suddenly he did not care if it was the wine. The way she said his name, her voice low and husky, made him as hard as iron before she had even finished saying it. She was making him sweat and he was debating the right and wrong of taking her to bed. His brother Artan would think he had gone insane.

  “Katerina, best ye be verra careful,” he said, not surprised to hear the tremor in his voice. He was astounded that his whole body was not shaking. “If ye say my name like that again I will be racing up the stairs with ye in my arms and headed for your bedchamber. And this time I willnae let ye shut me out.”

  For just a moment Katerina was tempted to see if he would do that, but a faint glimmer of good sense prevailed. Lucas did not make empty threats, or, she thought with an inner grin, promises. She slid her hand down his arm and threaded her fingers through his. Ignoring his slightly puzzled look she led him out of the great hall. Near the stairs she took a last good look around to make sure no one was there to see what happened next, and then she looked up at him and smiled.

  “Lucas,” she whispered.

  She had to bite back a squeal of laughter when he growled and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. What made her want to laugh was that she knew he was not completely jesting, that a part of him was feeling just like this and it thrilled her. Katerina was glad that no one saw them as he raced to her bedchamber. Somehow this did not seem as if this was the way the lady of the keep ought to act.

  Lucas went into her bedchamber and then set her on the floor, letting her lush little body slide down his as he did so. He was ready to tear off their clothes and have her up against the door, but he needed to give her one more chance to get away. The very last thing he wanted to face in the morning was her suffering from regret and embarrassment.

  This is a dangerous place for me to be,” he said, struggling to catch his breath and sound like a man courting a woman instead of one who was ready to go down on his knees and beg her to let him stay just this one night. Then she could go back to being proper and he would try to go back to courting her.

  “Is it now? Dangerous for whom?”

  “Dangerous for ye.”

  “Oh, nay, I dinnae think so.” There was a part of Katerina that was shocked at how much she was enjoying herself. She kicked the door shut and then latched it, all the while staring at him with a little smile on her face. “I think ye may be the one in danger tonight, Sir Lucas.”

  “Oh, thank God,” he breathed and reached for her.

  Katerina finally found the strength to lift her head and looked around the bedchamber. Her and Lucas’s clothes were scattered everywhere. She hoped they had not ripped too many things or the laundry women would have a hearty chuckle.

  “Ye are a wild mon, Sir Murray,” she murmured.

  “Thank ye, m’lady,” he said as he nuzzled her breasts.

  Humming her pleasure over his touch, Katerina knew she ought to send him directly to his own bedchamber. Sleeping wrapped in his arms held an allure that she might find too hard to give up again. Waking to him in the morning could also prove very risky indeed. She shivered with pleasure as he dragged his tongue over her hardened nipple and lightly nipped it

  “Savage.”

  “Ye flatter me.”

  She laughed and then squirmed a little when he drew the tip of her breast deep into his mouth and suckled her as if had all the time in the world and was not driving her mad. Katerina threaded her fingers through his thick hair and held him close, closing her eyes as pleasure washed over her. She had missed this, missed him. Surely for just one night, one short night she would end before morning came, she could indulge herself.

  Lucas looked at her as he slid his hand down to her stomach and idly stroked her soft skin. She was so beautiful when her passion was ru
nning hot She was even more beautiful when she was tearing his clothes off as fast as he was tearing hers off, he thought with a satisfied grin. Katerina could be as wild as he was and he was more grateful for that than he could say.

  “Katerina, are ye certain ye arenae drunk?” he asked, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt as he wondered yet again if he had taken advantage of her.

  “Aye, I am certain. A wee bit mayhap, but ye need not thrash yourself about taking advantage. I do believe I, er, pushed ye a wee bit.”

  A soft gasp escaped her when he slid his hand between her legs and began to caress her. She was not sure if that gasp was from a lingering shock at such an intimate touch or delight and soon she did not care. She clung to him as he tormented her with his caress. When he began to kiss his way down her body, she tensed a little and blushed a little when she realized it was with anticipation. The first touch of his warm mouth made her shudder, pure fire racing through her body. Even as she thought that she ought to pull away from something so intimate and shocking, she no longer wanted to.

  Lucas grasped her by the hips to hold her steady as he loved her with his mouth. He savored her soft cries and the way she slowly opened for him, her body reveling in his intimate kisses. When he felt her begin to tense, her release nearly upon her, he quickly joined their bodies. He kissed her as he thrust deep inside her and caught her cry in his mouth. A moment later he fell into passion’s abyss with her, his body shuddering from the force of his release as he poured his seed deep into her body.

  As soon as he could move, he rolled onto his back and pulled her into his arms. Lucas was still uneasy for this was too big a change from what she had been even a few hours ago. He prepared himself for being sent away and, perhaps, finding himself right back where he had been come the morning. The fact that she still felt the same fierce need he did, that her passion still ran hot and wild for him would be some consolation, but it would also make it a lot harder to go to bed alone again.

  “Woman, I think ye are trying your best to drive me mad,” he muttered.

  Katerina smiled against his chest and then slowly licked it. “Mayhap I was suddenly verra tired of being good,” she said softly.

  “Ah, weel, I think ye are being verra good right now.”

  “Do ye?” She slid down a little and licked his stomach. “And this?”

  “Even better.”

  For a little while she idly kissed him and stroked him with her tongue. Tasting his skin, teasing his belly-hole with her tongue and savoring the hair-covered roughness of his legs. She could tell by the growing tension in his body that he was waiting to see if she would bless one certain very prominent part of him with a kiss or two, but she teased him just a little more.

  “How about this?” she asked and dragged her tongue very slowly up his shaft.

  “I think this may be the best,” he said, not surprised that his voice was hoarse and unsteady. He was surprised he could speak at all.

  “May be? Weel, I shall have to see if I change that into an is.”

  For as long as he could Lucas savored the way she loved him with her mouth. He was surprised that having made love to her twice was not enough to give him a lot of control, but he decided he had been too long without her. Only a few minutes passed before he knew he had to be inside her. He grasped her under the arms and brought her up his body. She immediately guessed what he wanted and lowered her body down onto his with a tantalizing slowness. The way she rode him, as if every glide of her body over his sent shivers through her, soon had him as crazed as he had been when he had first entered her bedchamber. Lucas grasped her by the hips and urged her on to a faster speed.

  They soared together and the feeling was so rich and fine, Lucas quickly gave up his plan to linger on the edge of release for as long as possible. When they came together, their cries blending as their releases tore through them, Lucas decided that it was the sweetest music he had ever heard. He held her close when she collapsed into his arms and could tell by the way she seemed boneless but heavy that this time she would probably have to sleep for a while. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he could also use a rest.

  He gently eased their bodies apart but kept her in his arms, her soft body sprawled on top of him. For a while he just held her, stroking her hair and savoring the feeling of being completely sated. Lucas knew this was what he wanted, what he needed, but he was having a difficult time convincing her. It might be time to get in touch with one of his cousins who had a way with words and knew what a woman liked. Aside from this, he thought, and grinned.

  Lucas wanted a wife and a lover, the perfect blend in one little woman with big blue eyes and hair the color of clover honey. He had known it a year ago and he knew it now. For some reason he had lost sight of that, gone a little mad for a while, but he had to convince Katerina that he would never do that again. It was a huge problem for a man who had little skill with soft words and explanations. He had not even been able to spit out a proper apology yet.

  “Lucas, ye need to seek out your own bed,” Katerina mumbled against his chest.

  That stung, but he had been expecting it.

  “We cannae have anyone in the keep seeing ye leaving my bedchamber.” She hastily covered her mouth when a huge yawn shook her. They would guess what we have been doing.”

  He was tempted to tell her that, with all the noise they had been making, he doubted many were unaware of what they had been doing. Lucas knew it was important to her not to be seen as anything like Agnes, however. She knew what they did together was nothing like what her half-sister had indulged in, but she was right in thinking others would not see much difference. He did not care what people thought, knew that the ones who mattered would never condemn them. Yet, despite how much he wanted to stay with her, he would go seek out his own bed because he did not want to ruin this night, or end it on a note of disagreement.

  “In a wee while, Kat. ’Tis hours before dawn and I suspicion a few hours before all the guests have left or sought out a place to sleep.”

  “Oh, aye, I hadnae thought of that.”

  It was only a few moments later when he felt her body go completely limp and he knew she was sound asleep. It was tempting to just join her in sleep and claim that as an excuse for still being in her bed in the morning, but he was determined not to give in to that temptation. He would wait until all was quiet and there were no more unsteady footsteps passing by the door and then he would slip away to his own bed and hope no one had fallen into it while he was gone. Tomorrow, however, he would sit Katerina down and they would have a talk. He could not abide this anymore and he did not want to wake up one more morning without her in his arms.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Katerina opened one eye and stared at the broad chest she was sprawled over. Her stomach knotted and then began to churn. The foul burning was creeping up into her throat. She knew what was going to happen next. It had happened every morning for a fortnight. It was why she had ignored her growing need for Lucas, stayed firm in her decision to keep him out of her bed long after she began to ache to invite him back in. It was why she should have made certain he had returned to his own bed last night. Groaning softly, she leapt from the bed, uncaring about her nakedness, and raced for the bucket in the far corner of the room.

  Lucas frowned as he woke up to the sound of someone retching. For a moment he feared some guest had come into his room in the night and was now paying dearly for having drunk too much at the wedding. He hoped they had at least found the bucket. Then he recalled where he had been last night and he cautiously looked around. A soft curse escaped him as he realized he had gone to sleep and, if the light by the window was any indication, he had slept late into the day.

  Which meant the retching he heard had to be from Katerina, he thought with alarm. He sat up and immediately saw her. She crouched by an old bucket, nearly hugging the thing, and she was completely naked. He knew he would have enjoyed the view if she had not been emptying her stomach and, if h
e was hearing correctly, crying and cursing at the same time. Lucas suspected she would not appreciate him commenting on how he would have thought that was impossible.

  He got out of bed and hurried to her side. When he reached out to touch her, she swatted at him. Cautiously he caught her hair in his hands to hold it out of the way and, although she snarled at him, she did not try to hit him again. After several minutes he began to grow alarmed. He was sure she should not be this sick simply because she ate something that disagreed with her or drank more wine than she was accustomed to.

  When she collapsed back against him, he ignored her weak insistence that she could take care of herself and carried her back to the bed. He fetched her some water and held a bowl while she rinsed her mouth out several times. She collapsed back onto the pillows and closed her eyes. Lucas dampened a rag in her bowl of wash water and, after warily sitting on the side of the bed, he began to gently bathe her face. She looked very pale and a whisper of a moan escaped her now and then.

  “Too much wine?” he asked softly, as he inched his way beneath the covers and slowly took her into his arms, relieved when she allowed him to comfort her.

  “Nay.”

  Lucas stared down at her. Her response had been more of a grunt than a word. Slowly her body grew heavy and her breathing eased. He relaxed as he realized she was going to sleep. If she was ill from more than drinking too much wine or eating too much rich food, he did not think she could go to sleep so easily. Such fierce retching troubled him, however, and he was determined to make her rest until he was sure it was no more than just her body violently ridding itself of something it did not want.

  “See, Kat? Ye need someone to take care of ye,” he murmured.

  Thinking on that, Lucas decided he liked the idea of having someone to care for. What made it even more appealing was the sure knowledge that Katerina would not need such care all that often. She was healthy, strong, and a woman who did not need a man to tell her how to do everything. It was what would make caring for her when she needed it a privilege instead of a chore.