The Lord's Captive (Border Series Book 2)

by Cecelia Mecca

  “Catrina, listen to me—”

  “Nay. Sara, I owe you so much. You were kind to me, tried to help me. I will forever be in your debt and hope we can be friends.” Catrina hated the look of sorrow in Sara’s eyes. She was hurting her, but it couldn’t be helped.

  “But I can never forgive what he did. How he left. I could be a married woman by now.”

  Every bit of color drained from Sara’s face.

  “Are you?”

  Mayhap she should be. Marrying for love seemed a ridiculous notion at the moment. Every one of her brothers seemed to think it such.

  “Nay. But don’t look so relieved. It doesn’t matter.”

  Sara didn’t say a word, but Catrina could tell she didn’t quite believe her.

  She was lost to him.

  Kneeling to men he would have slayed on sight a month earlier was as difficult for Bryce as anything he’d ever done in his life.

  With the exception of losing Catrina. That loss made every other one he’d endured shrink in comparison.

  He walked the ramparts for most of the evening. Bryce had no desire to join in the evening meal. It would be too painful, though no less than he deserved.

  “May I join you?’

  The deep voice was one he didn’t recognize. Bryce turned, his hand at his side.

  “Will you challenge every member of Clan Kerr then?”

  It was Catrina’s brother Alex. After speaking with him earlier, Bryce had understood Catrina a bit more. Her adventurous spirit. Her quick wit. And her propensity for cussing. Alex Kerr may not look like his younger sister, but his behavior was eerily similar.

  “Nay, no longer. I just didn’t expect anyone up here.”

  They stood side by side, watching flickers of light as people holding lanterns made their way through the courtyard.

  “Who killed my parents?”

  “Your father, I know not. Your mother, a man by the name of Rurark. Toren had no wish to attack Bristol, and even less to slaughter innocent women. To hear the story told, your mother came at Rurark with a pickaxe.”

  That sounded like his mother. She wasn’t one to hide meekly in her bedchamber with a battle unfolding in her home.

  So it was not Toren.

  “He would have been dead had your mother had her way. We would all be dead if your king had his.”

  Bryce couldn’t argue that. And it was likely to get worse.

  “Catrina told me once the raid was ordered by your king.” He had not believed her at the time, but Bryce knew now it was true.

  “Tis true. Toren was none too pleased about the prospect.”

  Bryce felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. “Why are you here?” he asked Catrina’s brother.

  Alex cleared his throat but didn’t answer.

  “You know about Catrina and me.” Bryce said. It was a statement, not a question. The fact that Alex had sought him out meant she’d told them the full truth. He was surprised they hadn’t tried to run him through as soon as he stepped into the hall earlier that evening.

  “Aye, she told us. It’s the reason I’m here. And also because she loves you.”

  Loves. If only it were true. “She may have once. But your sister feels nothing but hate for me now.” As much as he wished it were otherwise. He’d seen the look in her eyes earlier.

  “She does,” Alex conceded. “But she doesn’t want to. She nearly fell off her horse more than once watching for you the day we returned to Brockburg.”

  That only made him feel worse.

  “Catrina doesn’t hide her emotions very well,” said Alex.

  Bryce frowned. “I noticed.”

  “She wanted you to come for her. Even after what happened.”

  He said it with such confidence, Bryce could almost believe it was true.

  “I know why you sent Fergus. He asked too many questions for his return to be a coincidence.” Alex moved toward him. “Listen to me. Do you think this is easy? Appealing to the man who held my sister captive? Who took her virginity the night before he nearly killed my brother?”

  Bryce took a deep breath. What the hell was the blasted man trying to say?

  “Fix it,” said Alex.

  “I’m trying, damn it.”

  Neither man moved. For a moment, Bryce thought Catrina’s brother had changed his mind about their tentative truce.

  Fists clenched, Alex abruptly turned and walked away.

  If there was any chance…if Alex was correct about her feelings…Bryce was sure as hell going to find out.

  But he needed help.

  26

  Was someone calling her name?

  Opening her eyes, Catrina was startled to find Sara’s lady’s maid, Faye, standing next to the bed.

  “Good morn, my lady.”

  Catrina blinked away the fogginess of her fitful sleep.

  “Is it so late, Faye?”

  The maid stood to the side as Catrina reluctantly left the comfort of her temporary bed.

  “Nay, but I’ve a message from Lady Sara.”

  Sara knew she and her brothers were planning to leave immediately. It was just too painful to be here with Bryce.

  “She requests you join her on the beach before leaving for Brockburg.”

  Catrina inwardly groaned. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, but her gratitude for all that Sara had done for her left only one possible response.

  “Of course, Mistress Faye. Please tell Lady Sara I would be delighted.”

  “Very good, my lady. I shall send someone to assist you straight away.”

  “No need. Thank you, Faye.”

  The maid left, promising to relay her message to Sara and inform Catrina’s brothers of their delayed departure. She also bade her to prepare quickly.

  What was the hurry? What did Sara have planned?

  Once dressed in her new breeches paired with a soft blue tunic that stopped at her waist, Catrina braided her hair and tied the end with a ribbon. Faye told her Sara would bring a light repast with them, which was just as well. Catrina was hungry after spending the evening meal pushing food from one corner of her trencher to another.

  After she arrived at their prearranged meeting spot, Catrina took a deep, salt-tinged breath. Why hadn’t Sara walked with her from the keep?

  Her answer emerged on the same path she herself had taken moments earlier.

  When she sensed a presence behind her, Catrina turned to see the very man she hoped to avoid. She looked in every direction for an escape, but found none. He had chosen the location wisely.

  With each step he took toward her, Catrina felt more and more trapped. Her chest tightened as the man who had stolen her heart made his way down the rocky decline. She watched him get closer until he stood just a few feet away.

  “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Catrina, please—”

  He grabbed her arm, and she yanked it away from him, ignoring the heat even that brief touch shot through her.

  “Nay, do not touch me.”

  “I was wrong,” he said.

  She stared straight into his eyes. “You made love to me knowing you planned to murder my brother.” Saying it aloud strengthened her resolve.

  “Not murder. And that was a mistake.”

  “Why are you doing this? Why now?” She wanted to turn away. Her stomach lurched, but something held her back. What was she expecting from him? Nothing he said could make this right.

  “I love you.”

  Before she could regain control of herself, her eyes welled with tears. She loved him too. But that wasn’t enough. Not now. Not anymore.

  “It’s too late.” The words nearly stuck in her throat. She concentrated on staying calm, the way Bryce seemed to do even when he was anything but. “If you had really loved me, Bryce, you wouldn’t have tried to kill Toren.”

  He reached for her again, more slowly this time. She just wasn’t strong enough to resist. His touch felt as it always had.

  Assured.
Comforting.

  His large hand engulfed her own. He took her other hand, and Lord help her, she was lost.

  “That isn’t true. It can’t be true. Because I do love you.” He released one of her hands and reached into a pocket in his tunic. His hand emerged with Emma’s tattered yellow ribbon. For the second time in two days, she watched as he got down on his knees. He dug a small hole in the sand, placed the ribbon inside, and smoothed the sand over it.

  Standing, he wiped away the single tear that had escaped despite her best efforts to remain unmoved. Bryce took her hands once again. “I held on to that for too long. I couldn’t see what my own brother tried to tell me. What you tried to show me.”

  She wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words out.

  “You weren’t responsible for my parents’ deaths. Your brother wasn’t responsible. I wasn’t responsible. You told me once we weren’t all that different, with the exception of the place of our birth. But it wasn’t until I lost you that I realized…a woman like you could only have been raised by someone equally as honorable. And loyal. It just so happens you’re loyal to a different king than I am.”

  “Bryce I—”

  “Nay, I’m not finished. I owe you an apology. For mistreating you as my prisoner, for taking your innocence. It wasn’t mine to take. In my need to secure Bristol, I failed to remember why it was such an important task.”

  She immediately understood. It was to protect the people who lived there.

  Standing before her was the man she’d vowed to hate for the remainder of her days.

  The man she loved.

  Catrina sighed.

  As he waited for her response, Bryce thought of his last tournament. Lord Huntington had insisted his “champion” participate in the Tournament of the King even though he’d left his service two years earlier. Held once a year on the first day of spring, the tournament celebrated the people’s loyalty to their sovereign—a play by Huntington to enlist the king’s attendance and solicit his approval. Bryce was living with his Uncle Simon and Aunt Lettie at the time. He, Geoffrey, and Hugh were attempting to gather men to retake Bristol and agreed it was an opportunity to enlist mercenaries to their cause.

  The lord’s only daughter, Lady Elena, now a married woman, presided over the opening festivities. Bryce watched her from the field and felt nothing for the woman he had thought he’d loved. He’d assumed that utter lack of emotion would be with him always. Indeed, he had worked hard to ensure that feeling of emptiness would protect him from another Lady Elena.

  Until Catrina.

  It seemed like he waited forever for her response. The sound of the waves was near deafening.

  “I thought I lost you,” she whispered.

  “You nearly did.”

  Bryce reached for her and, in one quick motion, lifted her off the ground.

  “Where are we going?”

  Rather than answer, because there were no words for what he felt, Bryce took long strides until he reached the spot he looked for. Unlike the open space near the sea gate, this was a secluded spot surrounded by tall grass.

  He set her down and reached for the bag over his shoulder. His sister-in-law had prepared him well.

  Spreading out the blanket Sara had provided, Bryce pulled Catrina to him. With her body pressed against his own, he let her feel the need that threatened to explode.

  He opened her mouth with his own, willing her to feel his desire. His love. She met his tongue with her own, but Bryce willed himself to slow down.

  Not yet. This time he would do it right.

  He had held back that first time knowing what the next day would bring. But not today. It didn’t take long to relieve Catrina of the strange tunic and shortened chemise that accommodated the belted hose she wore. He tore off his own shirt, wanting to feel her against him, and groaned when the tips of her breasts touched his bare flesh. He reached for them.

  Catrina’s breathing quickened.

  He softened the pressure of his lips and ran his thumbs over the peaked nubs. Coaxing. Teasing. He cupped both breasts and squeezed gently. His cock throbbed, demanding attention.

  It would have to wait.

  Bryce reluctantly released her firm, heavy breasts and bent down on his knees. He planned to worship her with his hands…and his mouth.

  He started by trailing kisses down her body. He unbelted her hose, removed the strange breeches, and pulled both of them down in one swift motion. After freeing her from every last stitch of clothing, Bryce kissed her thighs and splayed his hands across her buttocks, pulling her closer. He kissed her hip, ignoring the gentle tug on his hair as she tried to pull him back to her. Every inch of her required his worship. He ran his tongue across her smooth flesh but avoided the siren’s call of her womanhood. That would come later.

  She didn’t say a word. Instead, the woman he had nearly lost forever watched him warily. Waiting for his next move.

  God, she was beautiful.

  His throat thickened. Was she truly his? He wanted to ask, but the words would not come out. He cupped her face, wanting to tell her what he was feeling. But how could he put this into words?

  He leaned into her instead and ran his tongue between her closed lips. They opened for him. Slowly, softly, he touched the tip of his tongue to hers and cupped her down below. Pressing his palm to her, Bryce slipped a finger inside. So wet.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  His tongue and his finger moved as one until Catrina moved against him. He increased his speed then, pulling down gently on the back of her head to give him greater access to her mouth. She thrust into his hand.

  She was close.

  He continued until she screamed. It was a beautiful, sensual sound that he would never forget. He stilled his hand. Then, unable to wait a moment longer, he tore off his own boots and hose. Bryce scooped her up and clenched his jaw. Her soft thighs against his hard cock…he couldn’t wait much longer.

  He tugged Catrina to the ground with him and looked around. Nothing but sand and tufts of grass. The sound of the sea not far from where they lay caught his attention. He knelt on either side of Catrina’s luscious thighs. The air was warming, but it was the sight below him that had every hair on his body standing at attention.

  The same full lips that had enticed him from the very first day they met were swollen from his kisses. Red-brown hair spilled everywhere. Catrina’s gold-speckled eyes lit with a promise that made his already hard cock throb in pain.

  Suddenly she moved her hand toward him. She wouldn’t?

  She did.

  She touched the tip with her fingers, exploring.

  Blood pounded in his ears at the gentle caress. “Wrap your hand around me.”

  She did. Though he’d been touched that way many times before, never, not once, had he nearly spilled his seed over such a tentative touch. Bryce opened his eyes and guided her hand away.

  Bryce positioned himself above her and entered slowly.

  “By God’s bones, Bryce, what are you waiting for?”

  He smiled. “Your tongue is as sharp as ever.” The urge to thrust was so powerful, his legs shook with the restraint it took to hold back.

  “And will be sharper still if you continue to torment me,” she bandied back.

  “I can’t,” he said.

  Her eyes widened.

  “I have to know, Catrina.”

  She squirmed beneath him. His hands, which held him above her, began to shake.

  “Bryce.” Her voice, low and thick, begged for him to continue.

  “I love you, Catrina Kerr.” Oh God, he had never loved anyone more. “I need to know, do you forgive me? Will you be my wife?”

  He watched her expression turn from shock to…something else. A barely detectable lift of the sides of her mouth allowed him to breathe for the first time since asking the question.

  “Aye. I do, and I will.”

  He thrust into her, the sound of her agreement ringing in his ears.

 
“Oh my…” Catrina’s fingers dug into his back.

  He pulled out and thrust once again.

  “Kiss me,” she said.

  He would do that and more. Bryce pressed his body to hers, careful not to crush her. But he wanted to be as close as possible. His tongue matched the movement of his cock deep within her. He thrust and pulled back, slowly at first and then with increasing speed. He wouldn’t be happy until she cried out. Murmurs of pleasure weren’t enough.

  Bryce wanted everything.

  She was going to die.

  It was a shame because, for the first time since she’d come to in the middle of nowhere, half immersed in a stream, Catrina was truly happy. Maybe happier than she’d ever been in her life.

  And now she would die.

  Because there was no way one could survive such delicious torture.

  Bryce’s muscles strained under her fingertips as he held himself above her. The feel of his mouth moving from her lips to her neck. And damn. The fullness of him. She pushed herself up, wanting to be closer still.

  If the entirety of Kenshire’s army rode by them now, Catrina would not know it. Nothing existed except the man making love to her. She wanted so badly to feel that release again.

  “Please Bryce.” She knew he could make it happen. “I beg you.”

  His tongue touched the sensitive flesh of her ear. “Anything, my love.” His deep voice penetrated her soul. My love. It tore through her as he thrust deep inside, forcing her to scream. Or was that Bryce who had called out?

  Throbs of pleasure made her dizzy. Eventually Catrina became aware of his back, slick with sweat, the muscles dancing under her fingertips. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Slowly, she started to notice their surroundings again. Catrina closed her eyes, her body covered by the man she had just agreed to marry.

  The man who was once her enemy. “Holy hell.”

  Bryce laughed. It was such a rare sound that it startled her. She pushed against him, and he rolled onto his side. Propping himself up with one elbow, he watched her. His eyes lowered from her face and settled on her breasts. She drew her brows together, confused by the stirring deep within her. When Bryce shifted inside, her eyes widened.