Undeniable

by Violetta Rand

  “I am sorry for what I did, Jamie. I doona know if I can make it up to ye and Kuresh, or the other men.”

  Jamie rubbed her back. “Promise never to risk yer life again or to strike Kuresh, for he comes from a place where women canna even look a man in the eyes without being punished.”

  “He is a proud man.”

  “Verra,” Jamie said.

  “In that place he comes from, how would a woman be punished for looking at a man?”

  “Depends on the lass’s father. Tis why they cover their women from head-to-toe in dark robes and a veil, so no one can see them.”

  “I am glad we live in the Highlands.”

  “Aye,” Jamie said. “And now I’ll have that promise.”

  “I promise to never disobey ye—as long as someone hasna threatened yer life.”

  Jamie growled and wrestled his wife onto her back, hovering over her, struck by the determination in her eyes. “Ye’ve changed.”

  “Aye?”

  “I doona think I can call ye Helen of the Highlands any longer, it doesna fit.”

  “Then what will ye call me besides wife?”

  “My lioness of the Highlands. Mo theaghlach, mo dhuthchas, mo bheatha.” My family, my blood, my life.

  “I love ye, Jamie.”

  “And I love ye.”

  He rolled over, pulling her on top of him, and she laid her head on his chest. He knew he’d never let her go, and wished they could stay like this forever. But tomorrow, Jamie would deal with the rest of the Munroe men, and would choose a reward for his fearless captain and best friend, Kuresh. The man could have whatever he wanted, for he had saved both their lives.

  As if she had read his mind, Helen said, “Have ye seen the way Kuresh stares at Miran?”

  “Nay. Does the lass look at him?”

  “Aye, but only if she thinks no one is watching. She’s verra private and rarely speaks about herself.”

  “I am glad she came here,” Jamie said, kissing his wife.

  “Both of them deserve to be happy.”

  “Aye. And so do I.” He raised her skirts and caressed her leg, loving the velvety smoothness of her skin and the tiny sounds she made whenever he touched her. “Did ye forget my promise, my sweet lioness?”

  “What promise?” she asked, looking down at him.

  “To put a babe in yer belly before it grows warm.”

  She sat up, and Jamie lifted her wool gown over her head, followed by her shift. Helen kicked off her slippers, still straddling him.

  “Would ye like me to teach ye something new about bedsport?” he asked.

  “There is more?”

  “Och, aye,” he said. “Help me with my tartan.”

  Once his manhood sprang free, he gripped her hips and lifted her onto his length. As she lowered herself and he filled her, he guided her, showing her how to roll her hips with his, how to please herself by controlling how fast and deep he went. She leaned over, her golden hair cascading around him like a protective cloak.

  He stared up at her. He had known from the start that she would be his, that they were destined to be together. Love like that was undeniable, even if he was a MacKay, and she a Sutherland. And as God and fate would have it, she was a MacKay now—his wife—his brave lioness, the woman he’d love forever.

  Epilogue

  A week later…

  “I have offered ye gold, land, my own war horse, a ship…” Laird Jamie rubbed his unshaven face. “Kuresh, how can I reward yer bravery? Tell me.” Why did his right hand have to be so difficult? Jamie deeply admired the russet-skinned warrior, a prince by birth, educated by the best tutors from Europe. He spoke four languages, could negotiate like any seasoned statesman, and women loved him. Perhaps a wife?

  Kuresh shook his head. “I wish to take a trip.”

  “To Constantinople?”

  “No,” the captain said. “I want to see more of the Highlands, to understand my new home—to become a part of the people and the land.”

  “That isna a proper reward for saving my life and Lady Helen’s. Though ye have my blessing to take as many men as ye need and go, for I think it a wise undertaking to learn more about the place ye have chosen to live.”

  “People fear me—my dark skin, hair, and eyes. They call me diabhal.”

  Jamie chuckled. “Are ye nay a devil? Duncan Munroe swore ye were. And I am sure as yer blade cut through Baran Munroe’s worthless neck he cursed ye as one.”

  Kuresh grinned. “He deserved to die. And if you wish, I will travel to the isles and bring Duncan’s head back for you.”

  Jamie knew well that in the future he would clash with the new Munroe laird. For Jamie had humiliated him in front of hundreds of people and would eventually find out it was he who had done the whipping. “I will deal with the man in my own way. We have unsettled business between us.”

  Kuresh bowed his head. “I have another request.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I spoke with Petro on many occasions about Highland tradition. I served with Laird Alex for seven years in my homeland and here. I have no desire to return to the desert. But if I am ever to be taken seriously, to be honored as a true Highland warrior, I must take a Scottish name.”

  “I can give ye a few suggestions,” Miran said as she entered the near-empty great hall from the kitchens.

  Kuresh immediately spun about. “You’ve called me beast and monster, woman.”

  “Ye earned those titles, telling me a woman shouldna speak unless she’s spoken to.”

  “I gave you valuable advice—to help you find a husband.”

  Miran braced a hand on her hip, frowning. “I doona want a husband.”

  “I believe you need one, woman. One who will teach you how to behave properly.”

  Jamie sat back in his chair, watching his cousin and Kuresh interact. Helen had warned him that the two dinna get along overmuch, but she had also told him about their mutual attraction, which wasna so obvious now.

  “Go back to the kitchens,” Kuresh commanded.

  Miran blew out a frustrated breath. “I am nay a maid ye can order about.”

  “I am the laird’s right hand.”

  “And I am his cousin—invited here as his wife’s companion. Perhaps I should ask ye to fetch me some water!”

  Kuresh stomped over to where she stood and gripped her by the arm. “If it’s water you seek, I will happy to escort you outside and to the loch where I will dunk you beneath the frigid water until you promise never to talk to a MacKay captain so disrespectfully again.”

  Miran pushed him away. “Nay… Let me take ye to the loch, tie ye up in a bag filled with rocks so ye sink to the bottom and drown like the vermin ye are.”

  There was a tense moment of silence and Jamie stood, ready to rush across the chamber in case Miran slapped Kuresh or he decided to toss her over his shoulder and follow through on his threat.

  How had he missed their interactions after all this time?

  “If ye doona wish to hear the name I was going to suggest for ye…” Miran said.

  “And what title would you choose for me?”

  “Leod.”

  Kuresh cast a quick glance at Jamie. “I have never heard this name. What does it mean?”

  Jamie tried to contain his laughter. “Beautiful warrior,” he lied.

  Kuresh narrowed his eyes. “Beautiful warrior?”

  “Jamie!” Miran said. “Doona fib to yer captain.”

  Jamie wagged his fingers at her in warning, but Miran dinna listen—she never did.

  “What is the true meaning of the name?” Kuresh asked her.

  Miran stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear.

  “Ugly?” Kuresh’s angry voice boomed.

  That’s when he picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.

  A small crowd had begun to gather because of all the noise, and as Miran squirmed and kicked to get away, Kuresh ignored her and headed for the doors. No one challenged him,
not even Jamie. For he believed his cousin, as much as he loved and admired her, needed the lesson Kuresh had threatened to give her.

  “Jamie!” Helen joined him near the entrance to the great hall. “What is Kuresh doing to Miran?”

  “Something I should have done long ago,” he said, taking his wife’s hand and following the onlookers outside.

  Kuresh marched to the half-frozen loch. “Do you have anything to say to me, Miran?”

  “Lady Miran,” she corrected him.

  “Do you?”

  “Ye are the ugliest creature I have ever set eyes on! Now put me down!”

  “As you wish, Lady Miran.” Kuresh tossed her in the shallowest part of the loch.

  Miran screamed and spluttered, splashing like a crazed duck as she surfaced. “I will find the right moment to exact my revenge on ye, Kuresh.”

  The captain dinna say a word. He removed his fur cloak and threw it on the ground in front of Miran. “Put this on before you catch your death, woman.” Then, he strode away.

  Helen ran to Miran and picked up the cloak. She shook it out. “Come, Miran. I’d better get ye inside by the fire.”

  Miran let Helen wrap the fur about her shoulders as her teeth chattered. “Jamie.”

  “Aye?” He dinna want to get between Kuresh and Miran. They needed to work out their differences alone.

  “I hate him,” she said. “Send him back to Laird Alex, please.”

  “Nay,” Jamie refused. “He is an asset to this clan, the best sort of man I’ve ever met.”

  “Ye are blind.”

  “Miran,” Jamie said, “perhaps I should let him take a whip to yer arse, as I did to Duncan Munroe’s.”

  “Come along now,” Helen urged, and they started back toward the manor house.

  “In fact…” Jamie began. “I know how to make peace between ye.”

  Miran stared at her cousin. “I doona want to make peace with that man. I wish him a painful death.”

  Jamie ignored her. “Kuresh is planning a trip across the Highlands, and I will ask him to recruit new soldiers along the way. Why not combine yer efforts? I will send ye with a few other women to find maids who wish to work for me.”

  “Jamie?” Helen said. “Is it safe to send Miran out? After everything that has happened…”

  “Tis the best time to do so. Yer father has offered his blessing, Baran Munroe is dead, Duncan is out of the way for the rest of the winter, and there isna another clan foolish enough to challenge the MacKays right now.”

  Jamie tipped his cousin’s chin up so his cousin had to look him in the eyes. “I doona know why ye are acting like a spoiled bairn all of a sudden. Ye are usually quiet and keep to yerself.”

  “Ask the captain why,” she said defiantly.

  “Has he disgraced ye in some way?”

  “Aye,” she said. “He told me I was beautiful!”

  Jamie chuckled. “How is that wronging ye?”

  “When I admonished him for doing so, he went out of his way to find me and say it over and over—in front of the servants and soldiers.”

  “He is teasing ye,” Jamie said.

  “Attention I doona want or ask for.”

  “Miran,” Helen soothed. “Ye are beautiful—strong and capable. How can any man keep from telling ye?”

  “I willna go with him, Jamie.” Miran shivered into the folds of the over-sized cloak. “And if ye try to make me…” She dinna finish her thought, but instead, stormed off.

  “What has come over the lass?” Jamie asked his wife.

  “I think she loves him,” Helen offered.

  Jamie’s red brows shot up.

  “Aye,” Helen said. “And I think she resents him for it. He isna the kind of man her father envisioned her being with—not from what she’s told me.”

  “She’s stubborn,” Jamie said. “Used to having her way. I see the error in it now. Alex and I indulged her to make up for the loss of her parents. We wanted her to be happy.”

  “She is happy.”

  Jamie pointed in the direction Miran had gone. “If that is her way of acting happy, what is she capable of when she’s angry?”

  “Give her time to adjust to her new life here. We all need to get used to living with each other.”

  Jamie tugged his wife into his arms. “Ye are a very clever woman.”

  “I am?”

  “And verra beautiful.”

  She smiled.

  “Please doona send her away with Kuresh.”

  “I willna change my mind, Helen. Let her get a taste of what it’s like to be outside in the dead of winter. Perhaps she will come to appreciate more of what she already has.”

  Helen had taught Jamie how to love without intending to. And now, he wanted his cousin to learn not to reject love. For that’s what Miran MacKay needed more than anything—the love of a good man. She’d lived so long without it, without her parents, without any brothers or sisters, that she’d neglected her own heart, living as a maid to cover up the pain.

  “I will speak with her tonight.” Jamie said.

  “I hope she will listen,” Helen said. “But I warn ye, I don’t think she will. She’s too much like her cousins for that. Far too much like you.”

  THE END

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