“I suppose I won’t be traveling overly much now, will I? I must return home to my lands, tend to those who need tending…” she swallowed hard, and Connor watched the movement of her throat. “I am the McHugh now.”
For all his growing fondness for Cara, Alec could not help but scoff inwardly at that proclamation. “Nonsense, lass,” he said. “A lass cannot be the leader of a clan.”
“And why not?”
“Because it’s not done that way.”
“But why not?” she pressed. “I admit, I’m not as well-learned in the ways of leading people as Connor was, but he learned, and so can I. Why can I not lead them as he did?”
She’d been so reasonable only moments earlier as they reminisced about the carnival. Why, now, was she veering into the ridiculous?”
“Cara,” he said patiently, “even if ye could…even if yer inner circle agreed to follow the orders of a woman—unlikely, I might add—yer enemies will not, nor will many of those you now call friends.”
She stared at him, one eyebrow lifted in what he now recognized as a challenge to go on.
“Ye think them all quite friendly and kind to ye now, but what will they do when they see ye without protection? They will turn on ye, sure as the sun will rise, and ye will have no one to defend ye.”
“I don’t think that’s true. There are trusted men—”
“Aye. Men. And men are men. Some of them will give ye a chance, aye, some of them will even follow ye into oblivion. But most will not. I tell ye, Cara, ye cannot be the McHugh.”
She straightened up, placing her hand along the wall. “Let us continue, then.”
They proceeded at a slow, almost painful pace. Alec longed to scoop her up and drag her outside into the sunshine, where she could breathe in the cool, crisp air and hear birds chirping, but Sabrina had cautioned that she was far too weak for such an outing.
So they crept down the corridors with tiny steps, she quietly seething, he wondering if he should have said anything at all.
“Cara,” he began, absurdly eager to repair their conversation, “it is not me. You’re a clever lass, and I think ye could learn as Connor did, as ye said…”
“But you wouldn’t follow me, is that it?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I doona know what kind of leader ye’d make. Many a clever and intelligent man has proven a poor leader, just as utter fools become great ones—not that ye are a great fool, mind, only that it could happen.”
She walked another few steps, her back straight as a sword. “You don’t believe I could do it.”
“What would ye do?” he asked. “How would ye protect yer folk? Rebuild their homes and see them fed? How would ye do it? Where would ye begin?”
She didn’t answer him.
“Men are more moved to follow those with plans,” he said. “What would you do, as the McHugh?”
He’d intended it as a pacifying comment, but Cara seemed to think long and hard on it. “I will have to ruminate on that,” she said stiffly. “I must see the full records of what has happened to my lands and my people.”
Ugh. This might help her, though; it would give her something to work toward, something to live for. And if she produced a good idea or two, well, the McHugh lands would benefit.
They came to a staircase, and Cara peered down it nervously. Much of her prior bravado seemed to flee, and she reached out, touching the the wall hesitantly. “Perhaps we ought to go back.”
“The kitchens are right down this way,” Alec said. “Would ye care for a meal, Cara? I’m rather hungry.”
“I’m tired of stew,” she said.
“Then let’s get ye something more filling.” He stooped to pick her up, then realized she might take offense at such a gesture. “Will ye let me carry ye, or should we attempt the stairs?”
She only thought about it for about a half-second. “You may carry me,” she said. “I think it would take us far too long to walk it.”
He scooped her into his arms, surprised by how frail and delicate she still felt. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and he heard her sudden intake of breath when he secured his grip on her.
His heart was pounding. Dear Lord, what’s she doing to me?
Precious cargo held tightly, Alec began his descent to the kitchens.
***
The next day, her cousin Fergus arrived without any form of protection.
Cara heard Ramsey bellowing at the boy for being so foolish, and was able to make her way out of her room before Sabrina and Alec swept in to stop her. “Easy, lass,” Alec cautioned, picking her up before she could take another step. “We’ll get ye to him.”
Fergus looked well enough, though he’d grown even more peaked than usual. His freckles stood out painfully against his pale skin, and his overbright eyes seemed too big for his face.
“Fergus,” Cara said, waving a hand.
Fergus took in her position in Alec’s arms, his jaw tightening slightly. “What is this?”
“The lady is still too weak for stairs,” Alec explained. “And she needed air. Here she is.”
Cara attempted to nod authoritatively. Fergus nodded back, though he didn’t look entirely happy about the situation.
“Lad,” Ramsey said, his anger seemingly barely contained, “it’s bloody foolish to go traipsing about without protectors. After Cara, you are next in line…”
“And next to be targeted. Aye, Laird Munro, I understand. But I needed to see my cousin for myself, and your missives have been…” he paused, glancing up. “…brief.”
Cara felt Alec stifle a chuckle.
“Put me down,” she said. “I would embrace my cousin.”
Alec set her on her feet, and she managed to cross the distance to Fergus on her own. He hugged her carefully, his hands clammy and shaking. “My poor cousin,” he crooned. “We must get you home soon, so you may recover faster.”
“She’s too weak to travel yet,” Alec said.
Fergus glanced at him. “What do the healers say?”
“I don’t need a bloody healer to tell me she can’t travel, and I suspect ye doona, either,” Alec snapped.
Alec, what are you doing? Cara felt Fergus tense, and awkwardly patted the nape of his neck. “Might we go inside?” she asked, eager to avoid fighting. “I am famished.”
Everyone seemed to think that was a fine idea, although she did not miss Fergus’ suspicious looks in Alec’s direction.
Of all my cousins to send, of course it would be Fergus. True, he had the highest standing of any McHugh after her, but he’d also been groomed to believe he was third in line for…well, anything.
This had led to Fergus developing a rather high opinion of himself and his actions from the get-go. Cara knew quite well that she could be exceedingly unreasonable at times, even before Alec pointed it out, but Fergus rather surpassed her in that regard.
He would not do well with the Munroes.
They feasted on warm bread, lamb, and a touch of honeyed mead. Cara did not miss the concerned glances that Fergus sent her way; she had lost a great deal of weight during her illness, and it would be some time before she was strong enough to return home. Surely he must see that?
“Fergus,” she said, “tell me of home.”
Fergus glanced at Ramsey, who nodded.
“It isn’t good, Cara. Laird Munro has graciously agreed to send us food to help tide us over for the winter, but it will be a hard one nonetheless. The Gunns killed two healers and the midwife…I have sent out word for others, but we are without them for the time being.”
“There must be other midwives,” Cara said. “I know there are. Mother had at least three listed on record…”
“That is not all,” Fergus said. “Many have gone into hiding, fearing they are being targeted…”
“Kill those who help the injured,” Alec murmured. “Most cunning.”
Cara scowled at him. “Most atrocious, you mean.”
“Aye, but also cunnin
g.” He did not seem cowed by her stare. “Ye must admit it is a fine tactical move, Cara.”
“It’s unforgivable! It’s not enough that they wipe us out, they feel they can make us live in fear, instead?” She slammed her hand down against the table, then had to grab hold of it as the world spun wildly around her.
Alec caught her before she could topple over. “I think it’s best to get this one back up to bed,” he said, scooping her up. “We can continue this discussion when you are stronger.”
“It’s atrocious,” she said. “Atrocious.”
“Aye, it is.”
Fergus stared after her as she was carted away. “Laird Munro,” he said, scooting closer to Ramsey and Sabrina, “I’ve a proposition for ye that may help us all…”
Cara strained to hear him, but Alec turned a corner, and the new stains of conversation were lost to her.
***
The weeks passed by slowly as Cara recovered her strength. Not a day went by when she didn’t see Alec, and she began to look forward to their meals together. When she was strong enough to leave her chambers, he carried her to the great hall to have meals with his family. He was never not at her side, and Cara found herself drawing strength from him. Whenever his large hand moved to the small of her back, she instinctively pressed herself against him as warmth radiated from where his body made contact with hers.
News from the McHugh holding came in each day. Buildings were being repaired. Families buried their loved ones. Crops that had been salvaged were being stored. People moved forward and waited. Cara wasn’t sure what they were waiting for. Her brothers and her father were dead. Most of her father’s family was dead. Who was supposed to lead them now?
“I’d tell ye to stop fashing yerself if I didn’t think that crease in yer forheard weren’t so damned adorable.”
Cara blinked, returning to the walk she and Alec were taking near the stream on his property.
“I’m sorry,” she said, brushing long tendrils of hair away from her face. “I can’t help but think of the families over those mountains. How am I supposed to help them?”
“’Tis a man’s duty to help them, Cara. Don’t worry your pretty head about it.”
She turned around too fast, and her vision briefly swam. “I do wish you wouldn’t speak of it like that. They are my people. My family’s people. I have every bit of right to worry about them, to want the best for them, to do the best for them, even if I am a woman.”
“And what is it you’d do, were you to go back to them?”
She felt her brow crinkle again as she tried to decide whether he was making fun of her. Alec seemed earnest enough, however, and she took a breath. “First I’d see to it the remaining food stores are taken into account and distributed to the families hardest hit. Those who still have crops will harvest theirs, and food will be shared by all. Then...then I would determine what we need to lay in for winter, and I would purchase additional stores from other places. The Munroes, perhaps.”
Alec chuckled. “My brother would not take yer coin for food, and ye know it.”
“He must have something. We would also need to arm ourselves; the Gunns will strike when we are at our most vulnerable.”
He studied her with a sort of intensity she hadn’t seen before, and it made her stomach do little flip-flops. “Ye think wisely, Cara,” he admitted. “Woman or not.”
“I’m so pleased you approve.” But she touched his hand to make sure he knew she was jesting. “Thank you. For...for not letting me go when I wanted to.”
He seemed surprised by the touch, and glanced down at their hands. “Thank ye. For not leaving, though ye dearly wanted to.”
The sun was setting and Alec gazed toward the sunset. The bright oranges and yellows of the harvest sky illuminated his honey-colored eyes like fire. She stood mesmerized by them.
“Cara,” he said after a moment. “I’ve been thinking about how ye need to get married…”
Married? He wanted her married off? The realization that she’d have to leave sooner or later hit her square in the belly, and she found it hard to breathe. Panic began welling her in chest, but Cara fought back. She was tired of feeling powerless. Of being sick. Of waiting to heal.
Before Alec could say another word, Cara snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. His eyes widened in momentary surprise when she pushed her lips to his, and she worried he would break the kiss.
But he didn’t.
Instead, Alec Munro, the pompous boy she’d grown up dreading, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against the length of his body. His mouth slanted down on hers and she let him kiss her like a man was supposed to kiss a woman. Primal. Predatory. Possessive.
The heat spreading through her body was like a wildfire—out of control and gaining intensity. With a gentle tug on the hair at the nape of her neck, Alec exposed the sensitive skin at her throat and nipped and kissed his way down. Down her collarbone, across the top of her breasts exposed by her gown, and to the edge of the fabric where the bodice began. Cara thought that would deter him, but with deft hands, Alec undid the lacing at her back, loosening the fabric. He gave it a yank and within a moment, she stood on the banks of the stream in her thin chemise.
Spurred on by the fact that Alec wanted her as much as she needed him, Cara boldly pulled his linen shirt over his head and ran her hands down the rippling muscles of his chest. His skin was hot and his body hard as she let herself explore him with hands and mouth. She kissed Alec again as her hands traveled down the taut muscles of his abdomen to the top of his pants. She considered stopping, worried what he might think of her if she let passion rule, but in the end, she was powerless against the pull Alec had over her. She struggled with the fastened breeches, not sure how to undo the tight knot keeping them on and was relieved when Alec came to her rescue by yanking them down in one swift motion.
In no time, he was naked and stood in front of Cara while her eyes took him in. All of him.
Alec was glorious. All hard lines and masculinity, from his rugged jaw line to the erect shaft that stood proudly between them. In that instant, Cara lost her bravado and stood still, unsure of what to do next and praying Alec did not take her hesitation for anything other than inexperience.
As though he read her mind, Alec leaned in and kissed her, swiftly silencing all the questions, fears, and doubts she might have over what she was about to do. He gently laid her down on the pile of clothing they’d discarded and settled above her. He kissed her even more ferociously while his hands traveled up and down her body, teasing her nipples with a slight pinch or kiss, trailing down her belly until he reached the junction of her thighs.
His touch there was firm, a sensual pressure that he started with the pad of his thumb and worked in torturous, slow circles and started a fire deep within her. Initially a spark, it became an inferno by the time he hovered above her, gazing deep into her eyes.
“Are ye sure, lass?” he whispered in a hoarse, ragged voice.
“Please, Alec,” she said, digging her nails into his shoulders, praying he wouldn’t stop now.
And he didn’t. Though it was fleeting, the pain of his entry was stabbing and intense. He stayed perfectly still while her body accustomed itself to him. When he felt her relax into him, Alec began a slow rhythm, in and out, that Cara eventually caught up to. A sensation began to build deep within her that she feared would drive her mad—but the wave eventually crested into an explosion of ecstasy that Cara could never have imagined. Her mind reeled and her body shivered as Alec moved into a frantic pace before finding his own shuddering release.
He collapsed on top of her and smoothed the damp hair from her forehead before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Cara wrapped her arms around Alec and prayed for time to slow. She did not want to return to the life waiting for her any time soon.
***
They walked back to the Munro keep at a leisurely pace, he saying little and she saying less. Words no longer seemed
to matter. Not after what they’d shared.
Logan greeted them at the stables. “Ramsey wants us all gathered for supper,” he said. “Are ye feeling stronger, Cara? Ye look well. Yer color is returning.”
Cara nodded. “Yes, I feel much better, thank you.”
Granted, her high color was likely more from their lovemaking than any restored health, but she would let Logan go about thinking the ride had set her spirits aright.
“I’ll be in later,” Alec said to her. “I’ve some matters to see to. Logan...”
“I’ll speak to Ramsey,” Logan said.
Cara threw one last wondering glance over her shoulder as Logan escorted her into the keep. Alec disappeared into the stables to see to whatever task he’d laid out for himself.
The Munro Clan Highlander Collection (The Munro Clan Highlander Romances) Page 9
