by Hannah West
He glared at him before turning to the room where most of his men were occupying.
“Ready yourselves, we need to go fetch my wife,” Ian snapped, then turned to Brock, “And you will show me where she was taken.”
Ian put on his sword belt and marched toward the inn’s front doors, with his men following closely behind.
He was in turmoil, how could he not notice his wife had gone missing? Had he truly been too caught up in his plans and relaxing in a real structure where they could rest without worry, to notice his wife had gone off?
Yes, he had, but she had also slipped out from under the noses of him and his men. The only one who had been doing his task of protecting Ian’s wife had been Brock.
It grated on his nerves that Brock was more attentive toward Marie, then Ian had been it would seem. He was angry more at himself for not paying attention then Brock watching his wife.
How could he have lost focus on his beautiful wife?
He and his men stormed down the docks with Brock leading the way. Brock stopped them before one of the largest ships in the bay.
He signaled his men to surround it then he, Brock, Jack and Duncan boarded the ship by way of the gangplank. The moment they set foot on the deck a crew member spotted them and called out in alarm.
Next thing before they knew it, hidden crew crawled out of the woodwork surround them.
Chapter Fourteen
There was the sudden pounding of feet on the upper dock and before Marie could ask what was taking place on the ship’s upper deck a ship’s boy scrambled down the steps into the cargo bay.
“Captain,” the young boy shouted, “We are under attack, the ship has been boarded!”
Torin cursed and then looked at Marie. “Sorry for the slip of my tongue, but you must stay here.”
“I most certainly will not,” Marie said at the same time Gillian said, “Like bloody hell.”
While hearing her ship had been boarded made Marie nervous, she was not scared. She had a pretty good idea who it was. She had felt someone watching her and Gillian on the dock, but ignored it. This had not been the way she had planned on telling Ian, let alone the way she had wanted this to happen. However now she had no choice in the matter.
Well now she would have her answer.
Marie walked toward the stairs and gave a pointed look at Torin’s arm that he held out to block her path.
He did not budge.
“You are not prepared for this, Lady Marie,” he said in quietly to her, not wanted to offend.
“I know who is aboard my ship, Torin,” she said with a sigh slight distress. “While it may not go well, none shall hurt me or this crew.”
“I still insist until we are sure,” he said in a tone that broke no argument.
Marie was about to growl in frustration. What was it that made men so stubborn? This was the first time Torin had not listened to her or her words.
“I am going above deck, but you may lead the way if you feel you must.” She had up a finger to silence him as he opened his mouth. “If you tell me nay again, your sister will captain this ship.”
Gillian grinned at that while Torin scowled, but took the lead going up the stairs.
As a man slightly older then herself she expected him to be mature in all manners, but he was sulking as he walked up the narrow stairway to the deck that opened to the main deck.
Marie worried a lip as she climbed the last few stairs followed by Gillian.
“What is going on upon my deck,” Torin demanded in a loud booming voice.
The deck grew quiet, and then someone spoke up.
“Where is my wife,” Ian demanded harshly.
Torin stepped forward to confront Ian and stood before her massive tree of a husband.
While Torin was muscular he was also lean, which made him appear diminutive when standing next to Ian whose arms were as thick as a trees trunk. Without a doubt you could tell Ian had spent his life fighting, while Torin had spent most of his sailing on the seas. It also happened Ian was a head taller than Torin who was the same height as Marie herself.
“I do not know you,” Torin said in his captain voice which silenced arguments, “But I can assure you we do not have your woman. Now be gone from this ship, we do not want any trouble.” He waved the crew off of the highlanders and they backed away but kept a close watch on their weapons. “Leave and there will be none.”
By the look on Ian’s face she could tell he was not going to leave. In fact it made her feel warm inside at the thought of him coming to fetch her. She would have to find out who told him she had left, but she was almost giddy he would come to get her back.
“I know my wife is here. One of my men saw her taken aboard this ship,” Ian snapped, “Return her or beware my wrath.”
Gillian caught her eye and motioned to Ian then to her ring finger with a shrug. She wanted to know if this was her husband.
Marie nodded.
Ian had not noticed her yet so intent was he on Torin and as amusing as this was she had to stop this before someone was hurt.
Gracefully Marie stepped around Torin and gave him a sheepish smile.
“True to be known this man is now my husband,” Marie said walking over to a furious Ian.
“What the hell, lass,” Ian growled at her, “are you doing! Do you know these men?”
Without knowing how to put it she gave him the truth. “My lord, I am aboard this ship because it is mine. I had wished to tell you of this privately, but here we are and this will have to do,” Marie said with a small shrug.
Ian looked at her as if she had a grown an extra head. “You say this ship is yours?”
She nodded in agreement, “Aye tis’.”
“Nay, lass, it canna be. I remember the contract it stated nothing about this in our marriage,” he argued, disbelieving.
She looked to Torin and Gillian, “It is mine is it not?”
“Aye,” both said in unison.
Marie turned back to face her husband. “I made some wagers that proved fruitful some years back and I was interested in trade. It was only natural I invested but I did so carefully. No one knew but those who work for me, not Father or Uncle William. Not only would they be appalled, but they would have destroyed my hard work for the coin it could bring. I have a small merchant fleet at my fingertips.
Marie drew close to Ian and asked him, “Are you angry with me?”
He shook his head still trying to take the news in.
His expression was no longer angry, but confused and she hoped that boded well.
Ian reached for her and she went willingly to him. He folded his large arms around her, placing his chin atop her head and gave her a squeeze.
“Nay, I am not angry, my lass. But you scared me witless to find you gone. Why did you not tell me of this? It seems to mean much to you.”
“I thought you would forbid me as my father would have. Please let me keep this, it is all I can call my own. I have worked for this; there is something about that which calls to me. I built it from nothing.” She looked up to him with pleading in her eyes. “It also means more coin for us. My dowry was little, poor even, I am not.”
Ian tsked. “I have no need of your coin, lass. You may keep your venture if it pleases you. Curious though, how many ships do you own?”
“Only a dozen or so,” she answered with a brilliant smile for him.
Chapter Fifteen
Ian sat stunned once more at a table in the inn and listened to his amazing wife tell him about her shipping company and how daringly she made it thrive under the unknowing noses of her father and King William, her god-father.
Of all the things he expected from her this had not been one of them. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, she was also cunningly smart.
But the hours of the night turned wee and his men had turned in for the night leaving them alone together for the first time since they had left Norfolk.
He stared at her across the empty space bet
ween them and felt a warmth bloom in his gut as he watched her looking into the burning embers of the dying fire with an odd smile on her face.
“Why do you smile so?” Ian asked her softly.
She turned to look at him and her smile faded. “I was thinking about how much has changed yet remains the same. It reminds me of my mother and I think on how she is doing.”
Her eyes misted and she looked away back to the embers. Sadness etched on her face.
“You said you have seen her over the course of your life, correct?” Ian asked.
“Yes,” she said before wiping at her eyes. “But the last time was nearly six years ago and it had been an accident. Father would not let me speak with her or even see her even then. I do love her, but I do not have many memories with her.”
“Where is she? Has she passed on?”
Marie shook her head at him. “She yet lives. My father has her stowed away at one of his holdings back in Norway. He has banished her. I have a servant at the holding to write me of her a few times a year. It was my greatest comfort of the years. My father has never been rich and I have sent funds to sustain her from my trading.”
Ian smiled at that. He could well imagine his bold wife doing just that. However it spoke ill of her father for not taking care of his wife. There was not a chance in hell Ian would do that to her.
He glanced over his wife’s body, her softly round edges wrapped in the soft wool of her riding habit. She looked tired and worn, but she had never looked more desirable.
Before he knew what he was doing he had her in his arms and he was kissing her senseless. She responded to his touch by melting against him and asserting her as close to him as possible. His mind clouded over when a little sound escaped her between their lips.
Suddenly they found themselves on the floor before the hearth. He had twisted so she landed on top of him and she leaned up laughing breathlessly.
He was mesmerized as she smiled down at him, her long hair spilling around them, giving them a private curtain for their private moment. He watched as she licked her bottom lip, stared at his then heard her breath hitch before she leaned down slowly to push her lush lips against his.
Ian’s eyes fluttered in pleasure as his heart sped up and all his spare blood rushed beneath his belt. He groaned as the pressure of her body rubbed slightly and he grew hard.
She lifted passion glazed eyes to his and smiled enchantingly. “I never thought something so base could become something so much more,” she murmured before she leaned down once more.
With her lips a hairs’ breath away from his, just as he anticipated the feel of those sweet lips someone cleared their throat. She became startled and scrambled off of him as her face turned a charming shade of pink and she refused to look at wo came in so he position himself in front of her to block their view.
It was the innkeeper who looked quiet bemused at seeing them together on his floor.
“Pardon the interruption, but I am closing up for the night, my boy. Perhaps you and the lass ought to find your way to bed, hmm?” The innkeeper said kindly.
Ian grinned broadly, even as he struggled to curb his lust, “Indeed we should. Come, wife,” Ian said standing and pulling her up to her feet.
He saw that the front of her frock had come open and relaced it up before kissing her on her nose.
She giggled nervously and batted him away, but she didn’t meet his eyes. Shy was she after that? Well he did enjoy her whimsical ways.
The innkeeper, a smart man, had left already and headed for the back of his establishment.
“Are you ready for bed, my lady,” Ian asked gallantly, giving her a low bow and his most charming smile.
She finally looked up at him, her gaze curious but wary, her inner turmoil surfacing. She didn’t seem nervous, but more unsure.
“We don’t have to finish what we started,” he assured her. He wanted her, but he would make damn sure she could not resist him when that happened. She would have to push Ian on the bed in this case.
Her brows creased and she looked slightly concerned. “I want to, but I am not sure I am ready,” she confessed.
Her honesty spoke volumes to him, showing him that she now trusted him with herself.
“Then,” he said taking her hand in his, “we shall wait, but I am sure that I will make up for it. I can tempt you with other things, teach you stuff only a man could teach a woman,” he whispered in her ear.
“I always did like to learn things, I was a sort of scholar, you know,” she murmured back into his ear.
She was flushed but no longer shy with just him to hear.
~
Marie got into his bed on shaky legs and laid herself out and closed her eyes hoping it would be over soon.
Ian climbed into the bed and looked down at his wife in puzzlement. She laid there flat on her back, eyes closed and muscles tense.
“What are you doing, lass,” he asked her with amusement coating his tone.
She peeked at him with one eye before replying. “I am waiting.”
Ian couldn’t help himself. “For?” he prompted.
She finally looked up at him with both eyes. “For you to do what it is you need to do. I was told that if I wish for you to be pleased with me I must lay still here while you go about your business. Also I should not try to speak to you while you, um,” Marie blushed, “Work,” she finished lamely.
Ian belted out a loud laugh as he scooped her. “Lass, you are a breath of fresh air!”
He settled her into his lap.
“What are you doing,” Marie gasped in surprise as he settled her on his lap then wrapped his arms about her waist.
He had her trapped.
“I am making sure you can’t get away,” he said gleefully. “Now, lady wife,” he said looking into her eyes, “Who told you to do such imbecilic things?”
“My cousins,” she answered with a wince.
He nodded as if he now understood a great mystery and truth.
“Then not only are they dolts but so are their husbands,” he said with a shake of his head. “If I preferred a cold fish in my bed I would have gotten one on my way from the kitchens.”
A furious blush spread from her ear to her cheeks and chest.
“I would like you to be a part of the act. I want you to please me as I will please you. I would not mind if you turned into a wild cat in my bed. I would prefer it,” Ian said with a lazy grin.
“Truly,” Marie asked shyly. “I did not believe laying there and doing nothing would not be comfortable.”
“I should say not,” he agreed. “I want to pleasure you and make it where you demand my presence so in our chamber.”
Though she was shocked, she was pleasantly so.
“In that case how about that lesson,” she asked with a growing confident grin.
Chapter Sixteen
When Marie woke the sun was streaming through the thin crack between the shutters in her room and she closed her eye and turned around to curl into the warmth of her blanket.
But instead of curling up just into her blanket she curled into a warm wall of well-muscled chest and froze for the barest of second before she remember that her husband had joined her in the bed. And that they had done other things, unspeakable things, to each other until the wee hours of the morning when she had to beg for rest.
She was enjoying being wed to this man. It was nothing like she had ever heard about. It was very enjoyable on both sides though there had been a few things she had not liked.
“Good morn to you too, lass,” Ian said huskily before he stretched and pulled her across him. “Be a good wife and give a kiss to your husband.”
She saw he was still half asleep and smiled at the thought of him talking in his sleep. But she leaned down and gave him a quick kiss before pulling back.
He opened an eye, “That was a peck, not a kiss.” He grabbed her, pulling her down and gave her a sound kissing before letting her go and sitting up.
; He had a few odd short hairs mixed in with his longer locks, that stuck up at the oddest angle, making him look like a young lad. He grinned cheekily at her from his spot.
“Now that was a fine way to go to bed and wake up. Being wed suits me well if it is to you, lass,” Ian mused.
Embarrassed at where his gaze went after that she pulled up her covers and tucked them under her chin. His grin widened.
She was about to chastise him but he kissed her once on the nose then forehead and rose from the bed buck naked for all to see and her eyes were draw to his now limp member that suddenly began to grow. She gulped and looked quickly away.
“Aw, lass, a single look from you makes my poor body jump to the ready,” Ian said gaily as he pulled on his change of clothing. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You can sleep a while yet as it is still early. The men and I have a few things to see to, before we can head for home. We have another few weeks before we arrive.”
An idea struck Marie as she thought about another long few sennights in the saddle and she asked, “Can we not take one of my ships to your home? There is more than enough room after the wares are unloaded this morning. Did you not say your holdings face the sea?”
Ian gave her a knowing grin. “Had enough of riding?” Then his expression turned thoughtful. “If we take a ship it would save us on time. Mayhap even only take three or four days to reach Dungrave. Would you mind us taking one of them home?”
Marie smiled broadly. “I insist. While I like riding now, I do not think I could last the time it would take to reach your home. It has been a good long while since I was on deck of a ship. I do love the sea so.”
“Then I shall inform the men we shall take one home. The only one who will not be happy about such is Jack. He is not fond of water but I am sure you can charm him into going.” He looked at her wide eyed for a moment. “Never would have figured my new bride as a tradeswoman. Left alone the owner of a galley ship.”
“Well I never thought the man I would wed would be a Scottish warrior and laird of a large clan,” Marie quipped with a hint of jest.
