The Highlander’s Hellion

by Eliza Knight

  “Sorry, lass, I should have warned ye I was letting go. I but wanted to set out a plaid for ye to sleep on.”

  Greer shook her head, wide eyes frantically searching in the dark. “I dinna want to sleep.” She supposed being scared of the dark was a new flaw she was supposed to deal with, for it wasn’t one she’d had prior to this journey.

  “Ye must.”

  She bit her lip, certain she was going to have nightmares. Probably of getting her throat ripped out by a wildcat. He didn’t say anything as he worked, and she kept her hands on him the entire time without him protesting. And when he rose, she still did not release him, her fingers falling to the muscles of his chest. They stood close. Close enough she could feel his breath fanning her forehead and the heat of his body. He smelled of warm wool, leather, and something unique to him, an enticing spice. Greer breathed him in, memorizing that scent and desiring all over again to kiss him.

  Still, he didn’t move.

  Should she?

  Aye, she should, and very far away, too. From there went a whole litany of should she, should she not that warred constantly within her.

  Well, if she was going to try to turn a new leaf, then she supposed this was as good a place to start as any. Greer let her hands start to slip away, only to have Roderick press his larger, warm and calloused hand over hers, stilling her, flattening her palms against his chest. Her breath hitched, and she could have sworn his did, too. Beneath her fingertips, his heart thumped. Her thumb brushed over that beating organ, and she found it hard to keep herself from stroking over his muscles, wanting to hold tightly and never let go.

  She let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding, only to suck it back in when his thumbs caressed her knuckles and he tugged her slightly closer so that the tips of her toes touched his. This was the forest all over again. The teasing whisper of a kiss.

  She’d never been as intimate with a man as she’d been with Roderick. Never felt the length of her body on another until him. And she was certain after the moments they’d shared, she would never be able to think of being close to any other man than her Grim.

  Her Grim.

  Och, I am in trouble.

  They were so close she could almost imagine his strong thighs braced against hers. The flat of his muscled belly flush to hers, enough so she could feel him breathing with her, as though they were one. Only a few inches separated them. All she had to do was take a step forward, and then she would experience all of the things she imagined.

  Greer licked her lips. She should say something, but what? Was he going to kiss her? Oh, how she wanted him to kiss her, and how she feared blurting out those very words.

  “Lass,” he murmured, his husky voice barely above a whisper. Another little tug, and her belly was flat to his, her thighs lining up to his strong stance, and his breath was closer now, fanning her cheek.

  She couldn’t find her voice, didn’t know what to say even if she could. All she wanted to do was get up on her tiptoes and press her lips to his. To do what she’d wanted to do for days.

  He hovered closer, and then just as abruptly, she felt the coolness of his retreat. She didn’t reach out for him, knowing it would do no good, also knowing it was for the best. She tried not to be disappointed. But she was. No matter what, she was pretty certain she’d not be able to get rid of that feeling. She wanted that kiss. Wanted it badly. Enough that her heart still pounded and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him not to leave just yet so she could grab the front of his shirt and tug him close. To fumble in the dark until her lips were pleasantly pressed to his so she could taste what a true kiss should be, and satisfy the craving she’d had ever since she’d turned to see him lying in bed with her.

  But she wasn’t brave enough for that. Not by half. For all the risks she was willing to take, the idea of kissing Roderick when he might reject her seemed one she couldn’t quite take the leap on.

  “Get some rest.” His voice was even more gravelly than it had been before, as though he were straining to get the vowels out. It made her think that just maybe he wanted to kiss her as badly as she wanted to kiss him. “I’ll be back with something for ye to eat.”

  Greer didn’t argue, though the idea of staying in the cave alone, even if only for a few minutes, was terrifying. Balling her hands into fists, she resisted the urge to reach out and grab hold of him.

  She nodded.

  “Lass?”

  “Aye,” she croaked, realizing he’d not been able to see her. Her sense left her more with every breath.

  She clamped her lips closed when she nearly begged him to hurry back. Instead, she sat down heavily on the floor, tucked her legs up under her chin, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She curled her fingers into the plaid, which had thankfully dried before the fire, even if the same could not be said about her boots. Sitting down now, she let out a great sigh. The weight was off her feet, and she could allow them some time to dispel the ache.

  Who were they running from? Who were Roderick’s enemies? She didn’t realize until just then that she’d never taken the time to find out. Aye, he’d mentioned the Ross clan had been raiding, but there were two armies headed their way. She knew for certain he was an ally of her father. It was one of the reasons she’d trusted him so readily. He had to be well respected if he were an ally of her father’s. That meant he might have fought alongside Robert the Bruce like her father, uncles, and brothers.

  Then a terrifying thought occurred to her. What if Grim’s enemies were her father’s allies?

  Greer kept her gaze toward the front of the cave where the darkness faded from pitch black to dark gray. Her vision played tricks on her, showing shadows that were there and then weren’t. The men moving in and out she was certain of. Then a figure loomed in the mouth of the cave, and she slammed her hand against her mouth to keep in her gasp. In the darkness and shadows, she could only make out the breadth of him. The hilt of his claymore over his right shoulder.

  Roderick’s scent reached her, calming her to his presence, and she thanked the heavens it was he and not the enemies that chased them down.

  “Who’s there?” she whispered, needing the confirmation of his voice beyond his mesmerizing scent.

  “’Tis only Grim, lass.” His soft tone was comforting, and she breathed out the breath she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding.

  “I never thought I’d hear someone say they were Grim and I would be so pleased to see them.”

  He chuckled, shuffled forward, and sat down before her. His fingers brushed her folded legs, and she reached out and took the bannock he passed her.

  “Sorry, this is all I have for now, lass. We’ve gone through the nuts, and ’tis too dark to forage for anything else ye might be able to eat.”

  “And too dangerous. This is more than enough. I’m not all that hungry, besides.” She spoke the truth. Her stomach had been twisted up in knots for hours now, and there was no point in forcing food into a belly that would only rebel.

  “Water?”

  “Aye.”

  He passed her the waterskin, and their fingers brushed again. Every time he touched her, a jolt of awareness ran through her limbs, and her skin hoped for another gift of his touch, however small.

  “I’m going to take first watch. Ye’ll be safe here. Sleep.”

  As he said it, men started to shuffle inside to roll out their plaids and sleep. At least she wouldn’t be alone. That made her feel more comfortable about sleeping with him outside the cave, rather than him holding her like the scared bairn she felt like.

  “Thank ye,” she murmured, handing him back his waterskin.

  “No thanks required, my lady. I aim to protect ye and return ye to your father.”

  Roderick cleared his throat, stood, and retreated without another word. What had she expected him to say? Sorry that he’d not kissed her? Sorry that he’d made her think he might?

  It wasn’t as if he were going to admit to anything in front of his men, no
r did she truly expect him to acknowledge such things to her anyway.

  Greer finished her bannock cake and then lay back on her makeshift bed, listening to the sound of the men snore and the odd way it echoed in the cave. She put an arm over her face and concentrated on her own breathing, but despite how exhausted she was, she couldn’t get the idea of kissing Roderick out of her head. Och, but she was a naughty lass, that was certain.

  She rolled onto her side, feeling the hardness of the cave floor straight through to her bones. Tucking herself up in the blanket, she found herself missing the warmth of Roderick’s body as he slept beside her. Only a couple of nights together, and she’d already grown used to having him near. That was going to be a problem when she arrived back at Dunrobin and he subsequently returned to Gleann Mórinnse.

  A little while later, the feeling of Roderick lying down beside her roused her from a sleep she couldn’t recall falling into. She smiled when he wrapped his arm around her middle and pulled her into his warmth.

  Chapter Twelve

  Roderick jerked awake from a shake to his shoulder. His jolt woke Greer, who butted her head into the bottom of his chin, causing him to bite the tip of his tongue. He groaned, rolling back and tasting blood.

  Angus loomed beside him in the dusky gloom.

  “My laird, the sun will rise soon,” Angus said. “Ye slept hard.”

  In more ways than one.

  Disentangling himself from Greer’s limbs, he stood and stretched out the kinks the night of sleeping with Greer had given him. He was grateful the jolt awake had at least tamed the part of him that was constantly rising to attention where Greer was concerned. “Let’s pack up.”

  Without a word, the men all rose and packed up their horses. All the while, he tried to remain completely oblivious of Greer, which only made him all the more aware of each of her movements. From the corner of his eye, he could see her brushing her fingers through her hair and re-plaiting it. She swished some water around her mouth from a wineskin one of the men offered her. Then she rolled up her extra plaid, carried it out to Grim’s horse, and slipped the roll into the satchel attached to the saddle.

  Last night, when he’d held her close in the cave, he’d been so close to kissing her that if he’d flicked his tongue out, he would have touched her skin. The only thing that had stopped him had been the hitch in her breath. It wasn’t that he worried she didn’t want him to kiss her. Nay, the lass had given him every indication that kissing was exactly what she wanted, needed.

  But kissing would lead him down a path he wasn’t certain he was yet prepared to take. Pleasure didn’t matter, for if it did, he would have kissed her soundly and then made love to her. God, how he would have worshipped her.

  Blast it all, but just thinking about making love to her had blood pooling in his groin. Aye, he wanted her. Body, mind, spirit. To want a woman was not unusual for any man. Even to decide one was good as a wife.

  But him? Him and Greer?

  Together, they would be a disaster waiting to happen. So why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?

  Roderick marched toward Twilight, his boot heels digging a little more forcefully into the ground than they had before Greer had swept up onto his beach.

  “Grim.”

  The soft feminine voice stilled Roderick as he was about to mount, and he turned to face Greer, sliding his hands off the pommel of the saddle.

  Her face was still flushed with sleep, and dark half-moons lined the undersides of her eyes. “Am I to ride with ye?”

  He’d not realized he needed to tell her. He’d assumed she would understand that was to be the way of it until they reached her father’s lands. With the danger that followed them, he couldn’t let her go.

  “Aye, lass.”

  She stumbled forward, exhaustion etched on her features and in the uncoordinated way she moved. She took another step and then pitched forward, and he caught her in his arms. Her head hit his chest as he wrapped his hands around her ribs. The tips of his thumbs brushed her breasts, and Roderick gritted his teeth, quickly shifting his grip lower.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m just so tired. And my feet hurt.”

  “There is no need to apologize.” Roderick wrapped his hands around her waist, lifted her up onto the horse, and mounted behind her. “Do ye want something to eat?”

  The crown of her head brushed his chin when she shook her head, a few strands of her locks getting caught in his beard and making him twitch as they tickled. He smoothed them out, marveling at the softness of her. Greer settled against him, her head leaning back against his shoulder and her arms over his that draped at her waist. Within a few minutes of riding, she was asleep. So deeply, in fact, that she kept slumping forward, and he had to gently nudge her back in place else she fall off the horse.

  The lass had been through so much over the past few days that he was not at all surprised. They should have remained at Gleann Mórinnse. He should have sent a messenger to bring Magnus back his way instead. But she’d insisted she was well enough to travel. When they stopped to rest the horses, he eased off his mount with her in his arms and carried her toward a tree to keep her out of the sun. She woke before he got there, shifting slightly in his arms to glance up at him.

  “Ye can put me down.” Her voice was groggy, but when he peered into her eyes, they were bright with curiosity.

  “Glad to have ye back with us,” he teased and settled her feet on the ground.

  “How long did I sleep?” Greer stretched her arms over her head, rolling out the kinks in her body as he watched—oh Lord, did he watch…

  The gown strained against her breasts, and when she undulated her behind and hips, he thought he was going to lose his mind. He’d seen any number of women stretch after a long ride or a day working hard in a field. Yet the sight of Greer doing something so commonplace left his mouth dry and his blood rushing from his extremities toward his core. It boggled his mind.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “All morning. ’Tis noon I’m guessing. The scouts have not spotted our enemies close as yet. ’Tis a good sign.”

  “Ah, that is a relief. I feel much better.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “I think I’ll walk a bit to stretch.” She glanced around as if to catch her bearings and then headed away from him.

  Of course, his gaze was drawn to the sway of her hips, and then he noticed she was limping a little. He didn’t want her to fall again like she had that morning. Maybe he could convince her to remove her boots and let him see her feet, wrap them at least to protect them. “Wait, I’ll walk with ye.”

  She glanced up at him, looking surprised. “Are ye certain?”

  “Aye.” He glanced at her skeptically. “Why?”

  “The last time we were alone…” She trailed off, and he grinned.

  “I promise not to abuse your company.”

  Greer’s mouth gaped open, and her eyes grew wide as bannocks. “I would never think such a thing about ye.”

  “All the same, I promise not to take liberties that are not mine to take.”

  White teeth scraped over her bottom lip, and she glanced away, avoiding his gaze. What did that mean?

  “How are your feet?”

  Greer still did not look at him. “They are better now.”

  “But ye limp.”

  “Only from lack of use.”

  They walked in silence, and then she asked for a moment of privacy, which he took himself as well. He waited to hear her call out to him in friendly conversation, but she was silent.

  When she was finished, she rejoined him in the space between their private spots.

  “Would ye care to forage?” he asked.

  Her stomach let out a loud grumble, and her cheeks flushed red.

  Roderick chuckled. “Ye must be starved. Ye’ve not eaten since last night.”

  A wide grin curled her lips. “I could definitely eat now, in case my stomach’s reply was not clear enough.”

&nbs
p; They found the remains of a berry bush, which appeared to have been thoroughly picked over by deer and other forest creatures, although she did find three the animals had missed. She offered them to him, and then popped them into her mouth after he declined.

  “I’m sorry there’s not more, lass.”

  She grinned up at him and shook her head. “There’s no need to apologize. I’ll be fine. If ye’ve got more bannock cakes, I’d be happy to survive on those until we reach Sutherland.”

  “Your da will think I’ve starved ye.”

  “Nay, he’ll not. He knows me well, and having been with my mother, he knows the way it goes.” She ran her fingers over the bush, plucking a thin, dried stem and breaking it into a few pieces. “I want to give ye my apology for what happened.”

  Which part? He wanted to laugh, because since she’d come into his life, it had been nothing but one event after another—which he was coming to find quite endearing. “Lass…”

  “Please, allow me to finish. I am used to arguing. To getting my way if I push for it. And if I dinna, then often I go about doing what I want anyway.” A sad smile crossed her face. “’Tis the reason we have come to know each other once more.”

  Roderick didn’t know exactly what to think about what she was saying. This didn’t sound like it was about the almost kiss. Rather about a disagreement.

  “In any case, I shouldna have argued with ye in front of your men about riding the horse on my own. And I’m grateful that ye were patient with me, and that ye didna toss me over your shoulder, or worse, leave me tied to a tree as ye ran off. ’Twas inexcusable for me to have acted in such a way. My father would have had my hide.” She shook her head and plucked another dried stem. “I admit to being a little impulsive sometimes, but lately…I feel a little lost.”

  “Och, lass, I ken the feeling of being lost. ’Tis something I’ve struggled with myself. Ye have to trust in yourself. Become quiet and listen to your heart. Do the things ye love.” He watched her dump the remnants of a torn up twig to the ground. “Know that from me, all is forgiven.” He meant that sincerely, even the piercing of her spear. With a wink, he added, “And your hide will remain intact.”