When he returned to her side, Lachann was almost glad to see that she had not improved. It gave him a good reason for what he was about to do, one she could not argue with. He suddenly smiled, knowing that Adeline could argue about anything.
Gently biting his wrist, he held it against her mouth. If he could not get her to take any of his blood this way, he would mix some in cider and force it down her throat. Lachann would rather not do that but, as he waited for her to react to the moisture on her mouth, he knew he would. Adeline would survive. She would recover from this wound hale and as sharp-tongued as ever, he vowed to himself.
After a moment so long it felt like an hour, her mouth moved against his wrist. Lachann firmly grasped her chin with his free hand and tugged on it, forcing her mouth open enough for the blood to drip in. She made a face much like a child forced to swallow bitter medicine and he relaxed a little. Adeline had to be aware in some part of her mind if she could react like that.
The feel of her mouth against his wrist, the stroke of her tongue as she lapped at what her mind thought was much-needed moisture, made his innards tighten with need. He knew sharing his blood could be a sensual experience, as he had had a few lovers amongst the MacNachtons, but he would never have thought that giving his blood to an insensible woman could be so. It was. Too much so. He was almost sweating from the heat rushing through his body. Lachann suspected that if Adeline suddenly woke up and smiled at him, he would be on her like a starving wolf.
Lachann gave her only a little blood before he forced himself to pull away from her and lick at his wound until it began to close. He looked at Osgar, who sat down beside him, leaning on him lightly. The boy was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.
“Ye need to rest, lad,” he said as he stood up and began to make a pallet for the child.
“Maman will get better, aye?”
“Aye. I have nay doubt about it.” He smiled at the boy. “She is too stubborn to do anything else.” He did not hesitate to give the boy hope this time, for he had seen far worse wounds on an Outsider mended by a few sips of MacNachton blood.
“Then may I sleep in the wee room o’er there with Meg and Tom?”
A quick glance into the far corner of the cave revealed a deep, narrow niche in the wall. “Ye will be far away from the fire.”
“I ken it but it doesnae matter. I can see weel in the dark.”
Lachann nodded and went to make the boy a bed inside the niche while Osgar relieved himself and cleaned his teeth. After carefully looking over the opening to the cave and the tunnel at the back to assure himself that both were well sealed with rocks, he released the cats. He and Osgar laughed as the animals raced around the cave with such exuberance he was surprised they did not bounce off the walls. After he got the giggling Osgar settled in the poor bed, the cats quickly curled up around the child and Lachann made his way back to Adeline’s side.
“Ah, lass, ye have raised a fine lad,” he murmured. “He will have no trouble finding his place within the clan. Neither will ye but I have the strongest feeling that ye will need some convincing ere ye will believe that.”
Chapter Six
Another cursed cave, Adeline thought as she woke to find a stone ceiling over her head. She sucked a breath in through clenched teeth as she became aware of far too many bruises and pains. Her body felt as if someone had tossed her around a room and made certain that she hit every wall.
“Adeline?”
She looked to her right to find Lachann seated by her bed of blankets. “Osgar?” she asked, her fear for the child rapidly building as she recalled what had happened in the wood.
“He is fine,” Lachann assured her. “He is sleeping in his own wee room but feet away.”
“Room? But are we nay in another cave?”
“Aye, but there is a small room cut into the rock. Osgar claimed it as his room. The cats are in there with him.” He patted her hand when she looked at him in alarm. “They cannae get out of here.”
“If we can get in, they can get out, Lachann.”
“Nay. The way we came in is now fully covered with large rocks, the sort I can move but many another mon cannae. The only openings are small cracks to allow air in and the smoke of the fire out. There is a wee bolt-hole in the back of the cave but it is also completely covered with rocks. I am nay sure where it leads.” He grimaced. “Should have studied the maps more closely.”
“Maps?” Adeline asked, although she was distracted by how much better she was feeling except for a very odd taste in her mouth.
“Aye. We carefully map each route, the shelters that lie along it, and the places where we can get new supplies.” He carefully touched the bandage on her head. “How does your head feel?”
Adeline thought about that for a moment and then frowned. “Nay bad. And all the aches and pains I woke with are already fading away. The blow I took on the head must nay have been as bad as I thought it was.”
Lachann briefly contemplated not telling her about what he had done and then quickly cast the thought aside. Osgar would soon tell her if he did not. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to make his confession. How she reacted to what he had done would settle whatever last doubts he had.
“I gave ye a wee bit of my blood,” he said. When he saw only confusion on her face, he continued, “One of the MacNachton differences is that we heal quickly.”
“Aye, I have seen that in Osgar. ’Tis wondrous,” she said.
“Weel, we have discovered that our blood can help to heal Outsiders as weel.” He sighed, his hope that she would fully accept him shattering as her curious expression turned to one of utter horror and fear.
“Sweet heavens, Lachann, ye best be verra careful who learns of that.” She shook her head slowly. “It chills me to the bone to think of the danger that would put ye, and all of the MacNachtons, in.”
He had been an idiot, he thought as he smiled at her and carefully removed her bandage, not surprised to find the injury healed. Adeline’s horror and fear were all for what could happen to him and his clan. Lachann decided that he needed to think more on the matings between Outsiders and MacNachtons that were good, solid, and happy, instead of only on the bad ones. He had committed the sin of prejudging her, just as so many people prejudged the MacNachtons, fearing and hating them without even trying to come to know who they were.
“ ’Tis naught to smile about, Lachann,” she said as she cautiously sat up, noticing that she was feeling better by the moment. “Ye would have trouble with far more than the Hunters if word of how your blood can heal e’er spread. Everyone would be after a MacNachton just to make use of your blood, to cure themselves or their loved ones, or to sell to make themselves wealthy and powerful. I shudder to think of the tortures that would be visited upon ye and your people. They would tap ye like a barrel of ale.”
Lachann leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then smiled into her wide eyes. “We ken it. We are all verra careful. We have e’en killed to keep our secret, although the ones who died deserved their fate for far more reasons than that. Several of my clan are now carefully studying the matter. My laird’s wife wonders if it works only when given freely, willingly, when there is a bond between the giver and the taker.”
“A bond?” Adeline sternly told herself not to let her own needs and desires make her foolish, make her see more behind his words than there was. “Ye think we have some sort of bond between us?”
“Aye, I do.” Lachann struggled to think of some way to explain without touching upon the fact that he was certain she was his mate, all his doubts about that having faded away with each passing hour. “Do we nay flee the same people? Do we nay face the same dangers? Are we nay both feared and distrusted by Outsiders? Do we nay both love that wee lad, would willingly die to protect him? I think all of that makes for a verra strong bond between us.” She could not completely hide her disappointment over his answer and that delighted him. “Do we nay feel the same need, the same desire, for each
other?”
His low, husky voice warmed her. He did not speak of love or marriage, but, at that precise moment, she did not care. Lachann had just confessed that he desired her. The way he had ended the only kiss they had shared had made her begin to think that he did not feel the same fierce wanting that plagued her. Adeline’s heart pounded out the message that need and desire could easily grow into love. She ignored the more sensible part of her that warned her to tread slowly, that her heart could be blind and foolish.
“I think we do,” she answered quietly, ignoring the heat of the blush stinging her cheeks.
Lachann stroked her long, bright hair. “I ken we do. That kiss we shared told me so.”
“But ye thought it was a mistake and ye havenae tried for another.”
“Cowardice and unkind thoughts. Unfair judgments just because ye are an Outsider. I wanted ye to trust me but I wasnae willing to trust ye. Despite what ye have done for Osgar, a bairn who showed ye the beast within him from the verra first time ye held him in your arms, I allowed the sins of others to taint ye. That was wrong of me but it took a while for me to see that.”
Adeline nodded and smiled faintly. “Aye, it was, but I can understand the why of it. That doesnae explain why ye should call yourself a coward, however. That just isnae true. No mon who faces four armed men for a child and a woman he doesnae ken is a coward.”
“Facing four armed men is naught but a nuisance compared to facing what I felt when I kissed you. I was fiercely stirred by an Outsider female and that set me back on my heels.” That and the fact that he had ached to mark her as his own, but he knew it was too soon to tell her that.
“So, ye didnae kiss me again because ye didnae trust me, because I am nay a MacNachton.”
He winced to hear how his prejudice sounded when spoken so bluntly. “Aye, but I finally shook off that foolishness.”
Anticipation raced through Adeline’s veins when Lachann slipped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her closer to him. His beautiful eyes held a warmth that quickly seeped into her blood. Her mouth watered, eager for the taste of him again.
“I should leave ye be,” he whispered as he followed the delicate lines of her face with soft, teasing kisses. “Ye were badly injured today.”
“I feel as if naught happened to me, though I ken that my injury was far more serious than I had thought it to be.” She shivered with delight as he kissed her ear and then gently nipped the lobe, astonished that such a simple thing could make her so breathless.
“It was.” He moved back just enough to study her face. “E’en the bruising has faded to little more than a faint color.”
“ ’Tis wondrous.” She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, a little afraid that he was thinking of leaving her again. “’Tis a shame that ye must keep it a secret, that people would prey upon ye for it instead of allowing ye to help them of your own free will.”
“Right now, lass, I dinnae think I want to discuss the wondrous healing power of my blood.”
“Nay? What do ye want to do?”
“First I wish to kiss you.”
“Oh, aye. Please.”
Lachann covered her mouth with his. He planned to seduce her slowly, gently, but the moment his lips touched hers all the hunger he felt for her broke free of the chains he had put on it. The way she softened in his arms, her lithe body fitting against his in eager welcome, only added to the sharp, demanding need he suffered. He had almost lost her and he ached to assure himself of how alive she was in the most primal of ways. Lachann wanted to revel in the sweet heat of her desire, to learn all the secrets of her body, and to mark her as his own.
“Adeline,” he groaned against her throat, “I think we had best cease. The tether on my desire isnae a verra strong one. I am but a heartbeat away from spreading your fine little body out beneath me.”
His rough words had Adeline nearly panting from the strength of her need. She wanted to strip him of his clothes so that she could touch his skin. She wanted to look at his strong body without having to hide her delight in it. Although she had never even kissed a man before now, she knew all that could be shared between a man and a woman. A healer saw and heard a lot. Despite a tiny pinch of virginal fear, Adeline wanted to share that with Lachann.
“Nay, kiss me again,” she demanded. “And again and again until I cannae breathe or think.”
“If I kiss ye again, I willnae stop until ye are fully mine.”
“Oh.” She trembled, passion tearing through her at the mere thought of what they were about to do. “I ken it. Kiss me again.”
Lachann growled softly and kissed her, making no attempt to govern his need. She did not pull away as he had feared she might but pressed even closer. When she tentatively parried the thrust of his tongue with her own, he cast aside all doubt and restraint and pushed her down onto the rough pallet. It took what little willpower he had left not to tear off the thin linen shift she wore, hurl aside his own clothing, and bury himself deep inside her.
It was not until she heard herself moan as Lachann kissed the skin between her breasts that Adeline realized she wore only her shift and he was rapidly removing that. Uncertainty pushed aside a little of the haze his kisses and caresses had clouded her mind with. She knew a man as handsome as Lachann must have had many women, beautiful women. Suddenly, Adeline was not sure she wanted to be naked, not even if he was also naked.
The sudden tension in Adeline’s body was enough to remind Lachann that he was dealing with a virgin. Her body had been untouched, and unseen, by any other man. He quickly finished removing her shift, allowing her no time to act upon her sudden attack of maidenly modesty.
Straddling her with his legs, he sat up and removed his shirt. He ached to remove his breeches as well but did not dare let her loose. The way her gaze settled on his chest, her green eyes darkening with renewed desire, made him inclined to preen, but he resisted the urge. He needed to be skin to skin to her, to feel her full, soft breasts against his chest. Even as he returned to her arms, he stealthily unlaced his breeches so that they would be easily, and quickly, removed when the time came to be free of them.
“Ye are so verra beautiful, Adeline,” he said and then he kissed her.
When his warm, smooth skin pressed against hers, Adeline lost all concern about her nudity; she began to revel in it. She wrapped her arms around him again and stroked his broad back with her hands. Adeline savored the feel of his taut skin and strong muscles. She tipped her head back as he kissed his way down her throat. He slid his hands up her rib cage and over her breasts, using his fingers to tease and stroke her nipples until she thought the aching he stirred there was too fierce to endure.
“Lachann!” she cried out in shock and delight when he took the hard top of her breast into his mouth, licking and suckling until she was half mad with need.
“Hush, love,” he said even as he continued to torment her. “Ye are a virgin.”
“And that is why ye must drive me to madness with this play?” she asked, a little confused by his statement.
He chuckled hoarsely. “Nay. I but prepare ye for your breeching,” he said and stroked his hand over her soft stomach and then between her legs.
The hot, damp welcome he found there nearly undid him. Lachann gritted his teeth, determined to hold on to enough control to stir her passion to such heights that she would feel no pain when he finally joined their bodies. He wanted to kiss her there, to taste her sweetness, but promised himself that delight later when she became more accustomed to having him as her lover. Such an intimacy done too soon could chill the desire she now felt. He plunged his finger into her heat and worked to prepare her for his entry. To his relief, she was ready for him, so caught up in passion’s snare that he knew it would not take long before he could seek his pleasure.
Adeline feared she was about to break apart. She had not realized passion could be so fierce, forcing everything within her to its will. Certain she was on the brink of madness, she called La
chann’s name and, suddenly, he was there, kissing her. She lost herself in his kiss, only faintly aware of how he spread her legs.
It was not until she felt him start to join their bodies that she was able to grasp some control of herself. A sharp pain made her gasp but then a heady surge of desire washed it away. They were now one. Adeline wrapped her legs around his trim hips and heard him growl his approval. He began to move and she quickly caught his rhythm. Her body grew taut and something curled tighter and tighter low in her belly until it was both a pleasure and a pain. She had the fleeting thought that something must have gone wrong with the joining and she shattered. As she tumbled down into a deep pool of blinding pleasure that had her calling out to Lachann, she felt another sharp pain—in her neck. The bliss that was sweeping over her increased tenfold.
Lachann groaned as Adeline’s body clenched around his as her release tore through her. Even as his own release shook him, he sank his teeth into her neck. The sweet, hot taste of her blood in his mouth combined with the hot clasp of her flesh around his had him emptying himself deep into her womb. She was still gasping and trembling in his arms when he licked the small wound on her neck, closing it. He knew, however, that this mark would never fade.
Adeline began to come to her senses as Lachann gently bathed her, wiping away the signs of her lost innocence. She blushed and closed her eyes, embarrassed by such an intimacy. A moment later he was beside her, pulling a blanket over them and then taking her into his arms. She looked up at him and suddenly recalled that second sharp pain she had felt before she had lost all ability to think. Touching the side of her neck, she felt a slight mark beneath her fingertip.
“Ye bit me,” she muttered. “Why did ye bite me? Do ye hurt?”
“Nay.” He kissed her and then turned her so that her back was pressed against his front. “The passion between us raged so hot, I couldnae help myself.” He inwardly sighed with relief when she relaxed against him. “Did I hurt ye?” he asked as he kissed her shoulder.
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