His tongue parted her lips, and he slipped inside her mouth, his tongue finding hers. Her mind demanded resistance, but her body wouldna listen. She surrendered, yielding to his strength, his taste and scent overwhelming her senses. Kai always smelled like smoke and exotic spices, for he bathed more than any man she knew.
The underside of his hands were rough and calloused, and she liked the way his palms felt against her cheeks. The kiss deepened, and she gasped in shock at what joined tongues could do together, what they did to her insides, especially the sensitive spot between her legs—where every sort of sensation blazed to life and made the rest of her body tingle with raw need.
“Miran,” he whispered against her lips, moaning, holding on to her, burying his fingers in her hair.
“Aye?” she said breathlessly.
“There’s so much more I wish to experience with you.”
But when his fingertips slipped down to her breast, her protective instincts kicked in and she pulled away. “Contrachd ort!” She cursed him. “A kiss is one thing, touching me there…another.”
He seemed confused for a moment, still shaken and silenced by their shared desire. But then thunder filled his face. His eyes glittered with ire. “What did you want me to do, Miran?”
She hugged herself protectively and couldna tear her gaze away from him. In the dim light from the stars and moon and lantern, he looked as wild as any predator, his powerful frame, hawk-like features, and intimidating strength all converging on her at once. “Temperance,” it came out sounding weak, more like a question than a demand.
“If you haven’t noticed, woman, I have shown nothing but self-restraint all these years I’ve known you.”
“I dinna invite ye to touch my breasts, or even to kiss me, Captain.”
“Nay?” He stepped forward. “Did I force myself on you? Or did you invite me in, Miran, your mesmerizing eyes and delectable mouth as demanding as my own? One word from you would have stopped me.”
She dinna want him to stop! She’d die for more, much more.
“What choice did I have?” she asked.
He laughed mirthlessly, or mercilessly. “There’s always a choice, woman. Always.”
“I doona like ye, Captain Kai. I never have trusted ye.”
“I’ve spent years around you, watched you blossom into the woman you are. You do not get to toy with me, Miran, to tempt me with your wit and beauty, to offer me morsels of your passion, then cut me off like a starving dog. I am not an animal, but a man, as savage and brutal as any Highlander, but also open to feeling, to wanting you, to protecting you at any cost. To…” He stopped, his jaws clenched.
“To what?” she demanded.
“I’ve spoken my piece.”
She closed her eyes. “Do ye know how many men look at me the way ye do?”
He growled. “Many.”
“And yet, not one has touched me. Only ye.”
“You are Laird Jamie’s beloved cousin. Laird Alex’s, too. The consequences of risking such action far outweigh the need to feel you.”
Her eyes snapped open. “What did ye say?”
“Why make me repeat it?”
“Kai,” her tone softened. “I doona believe ye meant to insult, but ye did.”
“How?”
She rolled her eyes. “By telling me I’m not worth touching!”
He scratched his head, rolling it over in his barbaric mind, she was sure. He’d stumbled on his words. Though his Gaelic was flawless, even better than some native Highlanders, she knew he must get the words confused whenever emotions got in the way. She could see it more clearly now than ever before. But would he admit it, understand it?
“Tell me what I said.”
“Ye told me the need to touch me isna worth the risk of whatever consequences would follow.”
His eyes widened. “Then I apologize for misspeaking. But if you will allow me to correct myself…”
She nodded, approving of his desire to do just that.
“Good.” He pulled her into his arms, locking her against his body, his mouth bold and intrusive, his lips hot with need. “Open up to me, sweet Miran. Let me show you how fearless I am. For I do not fear anything but your denial of what exists between us.”
Her body trembled as her hands locked behind his neck, pulling him in, giving him permission to hold and kiss her again, to caress her wherever he wished to. But before he kissed her, he lifted her up and carried her to the nearest tree, propping her against it, then leaning into her, capturing her between the bulk of his body and the tree trunk.
She had no choice but to gaze up at him, to blink through the dark shadows and really see him for the first time—to look him in the eyes and recognize him for the man he was now, not where he came from or what god he worshipped.
“Miran?”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. Kiss him. The wanton lass inside her begged her to take the initiative, to taste him freely, to hold him, to want him without guilt.
Their lips met again, fierce and hungry, no obstacles in the way this time—her mind and heart were in unison, if only temporarily. She would take comfort where she could get it this night. For she faced many days and nights in the future where she would undoubtedly be alone.
And when his hand slipped underneath her cloak, and her breast filled his hand as he kissed her harder and deeper, she dinna curse him, she only sighed, hoping he would alleviate the heavy pain in her other breast.
She quickly struggled with the notion of where to touch him. What would be acceptable, where would be too brazen? She dinna care. Her hands slipped up his chest, slow and appreciative of every hard inch of male flesh he possessed, sculpted muscle forged at a high cost through exhaustive training and sweat and blood.
He broke the maddening kiss then, pulling his head back and staring down at her, a satisfied look upon his face. “Now tell me what punishment will follow.”
God help her, she’d be the only one receiving any kind of punishment! He deserved special privileges for being able to kiss like that—to muddle her mind, to leave her breathless and not remembering her own name. “Ye are arrogant!”
“And you are a temptress. Mine now.”
His words shook her to the core. “I belong to no one.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “But you do. Give yourself some time to grow accustomed to the idea.”
Huffing out a frustrated breath, she gave him a solid shove. “Ye are soft-skulled to think one kiss gives ye any right to claim me as yer own.”
His body rumbled with laughter, and it made her angry.
“Ye think I am jesting?”
“I think I have deprived you of air by kissing you too much all at once.”
She balled her hands at her sides, the burning desire she felt for him only moments ago forgotten and replaced with righteous indignation. “I wish to return to the farm.”
He stepped aside and motioned for her to walk ahead of him. “I will not stop you, Lady Miran. Twould be best anyway, for first light is but a short time away. I would not want to offend our hosts by having them think we were rutting like beasts in their fields.”
“Ye are the only beast here.” She stomped away, walking with renewed purpose down the footpath, cursing Kai under her breath the whole way.
Chapter Nine
Kai did not say a word as Miran marched into the cottage and shut the door without looking over her shoulder at him. A smile he’d suppressed all the way back to the farm spread across his face. Whether she admitted it or not, Miran belonged to him now. Although he would have wished it to happen at a different time, when she was happy, not missing her parents. But he could not regret it completely, for now he knew what passion she had kept hidden from him. Feelings for him alone. She would not be able to withhold herself from him anymore.
A couple of hours later, seated inside the cottage with everyone, including Colin and three additional soldiers that would accompany Kai to the Kinnear farm, Mary serv
ed them a hearty meal with eggs, bread, cheese, and ale.
Much to Kai’s disappointment, Miran pecked at her food, refusing to look at him. He would never let her forget how right they were for each other, how she’d stolen his heart with her kisses and left him wanting more. Hell, he’d beg for more if he could.
“Did ye sleep well, lass?” Mary asked, sitting beside her.
“Aye,” Miran lied, offering a forced smile. “But I did wake up in the middle of the night.”
“Tis always hard to be away from home, aye?” Mary asked. “Especially the first night.”
“I am accustomed to travel.”
“Well, not in the middle of a cold winter, I am sure. Though ye’re laird is smart for choosing such a time, for there are few travelers this time of year.”
“And fewer outlaws,” her husband offered between bites of bread.
“Sutherlands doona care,” Colin said. “If they catch wind of us recruiting soldiers for Laird Jamie, expect the earl to send someone to interfere, or at least give the appearance of doing such.”
“But shouldna there be peace between Jamie and the earl, considering the laird married his only daughter,” Silas said.
“One would hope,” Kai said. “There is peace between our families, though unofficially.”
His soldiers muttered their dislike for the Sutherlands.
“I have never known a Sutherland ye can trust,” Silas added. “They would no hesitate to stab ye in the back if it would benefit their clan.”
The men laughed.
“It is not my intention to stir up trouble between our clans,” Kai assured them. “Only to expand my laird’s army. And…” He gazed at Miran. “And to insure we can staff Lady Helen’s household.”
Miran had no choice but to enter the conversation. “I am grateful for ye letting yer daughter join us, Silas and Mary.”
“The lass is verra capable and trustworthy,” her father said. “And we know ye will keep her safe. I ask that once ye have completed yer rounds, then come back for her, for we wish to spend some time with her and see her and Craig wed.”
Miran cast Kai a questioning look.
“A perfectly reasonable request,” Kai said. “We wish your family nothing but happiness. I hope Master Kinnear will be as agreeable as you, Silas.”
After the meal was over, Miran followed Kai outside.
“Good morn,” he said to her.
“And what is so good about it, Captain?”
Her exaggerated displeasure made him chuckle. “Were you not a willing participant last night?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Ye are a scoundrel, a wastrel.”
Kai puffed his chest out. “Titles I am proud to own.”
“I dinna come out here to engage in meaningless conversation with ye, Kai. I wish to return to camp.”
“When?”
“Now, if ye please.”
None of the warmth and emotion he had seen in her eyes last night remained. This was the cool and detached version of Miran he wished would go away and never return. “But ye were expected to spend another night here, at least the day.”
“I will make it up to Mary. But for now, tis better for me to go back to camp. Doona make me beg or explain why.”
She was beautiful when her anger was aroused—as terrifying as any warrior. Perhaps she needed time to come to accept their future. Maybe her maids would provide some comfort, for it was not every day a woman surrendered her heart to a man she had sworn to hate forever.
“Very well, Miran. I will send you back with an escort. Do not make me regret it.”
“Ye have my word, Captain.”
He wanted to believe her, had no reason not to. But deep inside something gnawed at his gut—doubt, worry? He could hardly demand she stay at a near stranger’s farm while he went about clan business.
“Go and say your goodbyes to Mary and her children.”
An hour later, Kai watched her ride away with Bodmond, one of his younger guards.
“There is something between ye.” Silas unexpectedly joined him outside.
Kai looked at the man and raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
The man chuckled. “I have been married twenty years and have six bairns. Such experience gives a man the skill to see these things.”
“Then I will not deny it.”
“She is a beautiful woman.”
“Proud to a fault,” Kai said.
“She is a noble, ye should expect it.”
“I expect nothing.”
“Then ye are selling yerself short, for if what I hear about ye is true, ye should expect no less from the woman ye choose.”
Damn Colin for telling tales about his past. But he could not blame the young soldier, for serving under a former prince from a foreign land added intrigue to the story. And just as when Kai was a boy, attention and praise was what every lad wanted.
“You know who I am?” Kai asked.
“Aye, a Highlander.”
The answer pleased Kai. “There is more.”
“Aye. But nothing my wee cousin told me, if that’s what ye think. Yer story reached our ears long before Colin received the honor of serving Laird Jamie.”
Kai crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall of the stable. “The heathen soldier?”
“Aye—some call ye that—a black-eyed devil who sacrifices children to his god. Others are sensible, understand what Alexander MacKay did when he brought ye to Scotia. A man can either accept his fate and master his future or lay down and die.”
The farmer’s wisdom astounded Kai. “You are not a mere farmer.”
The man grinned. “Nay. Long ago I was a blood-thirsty warrior, hungry for English blood.”
“Did you get what you wanted?”
“Aye. Though I never talk about it. There’s nothing to be proud of when ye take a man’s life, English or no’. What I have now is worth more than a thousand English trophies.”
Kai nodded his approval. “Twould be easier to kill a thousand English than tame that woman’s heart.”
Silas slapped his back affectionately. “The best way to win the heart of a Highland lass is to let her come to ye.”
Advice Kai would not soon forget. Perhaps he had been too demanding with Miran. Maybe he was trying too hard to grasp onto something because of everything he had lost. But he had gained so much, too. Except for love—he had long-denied himself that one thing.
“Colin and yer other lads are ready to go,” Silas said.
Kai gripped the man’s forearm, still surprised by his perception. “Thank you for your hospitality and honesty. Laird Jamie will hear about it, I assure you.”
Chapter Ten
Exhausted and in need of privacy, Miran thanked Bodmond for seeing her safely back to camp and went to her tent. Happy to find it empty, she sought her bed and stretched out, Kai very much on her mind. Though she tried to fall asleep, her imagination got the best of her, and she tossed and turned, remembering every detail of their kisses.
“Ye are like the hardest of riddles, Captain Kai—a blight on my mind and heart,” she said aloud, sitting up.
“Where in the Almighty’s name have ye been?”
At the sound of Cadha’s shrill voice, she looked to the opening of the tent. The question surprised her, for a maid should not make demands of her mistress. But Miran had excused Cadha’s unorthodox behavior before, though she dinna like the scowl on her face.
“The captain gave me little choice but to spend the night at Colin’s cousin’s farm.”
The maid stalked into the tent, more like an offended mother than a servant. “Ye couldna have found a way to inform me? Better yet, to demand I go?”
Miran pressed her lips together, praying for patience. She dinna have to answer to anyone about where’d she been. As always, she had the good sense to look after herself. “Captain Kai dinna give me a chance to refuse.”
“Then I will speak with him directly, mistress.”
When Cadha dinna move, Miran stood. Under normal circumstances, the woman would have been immediately dismissed. But Helen had assigned her to Miran, hoping to provide her with companionship and obviously to protect her.
“I gave ye an order, Cadha.” She walked to within a foot of the taller and heavier woman. Their gazes locked, and Miran detected a hint of defiance in her eyes. Maybe even reproach.
“I will tend to yer bath shortly, milady.”
“Ye will do it now.”
Just then, two of the maids stuck their heads inside the tent. “Milady, ye are back,” one said.
“Get out,” Miran commanded.
They both disappeared immediately. “Do ye see?” Miran said to Cadha. “That is the way a maid should respond to her mistress. Not take a combative stance as ye have.”
Cadha’s face reddened. “I am no’ a young lass. And though ye are set above me in rank, Lady Helen dinna choose me because I would shrink away from my duties if ye yelled at me. Ye are known to give in to fits of bad temperament if ye doona get yer way.”
Fury was boiling inside Miran as she stood, taking in everything Cadha said. How dare she speak to her so disrespectfully. “Ye will leave this tent and this camp immediately.”
Cadha cursed, and much to Miran’s shock, slapped her cheek.
The sting stunned her momentarily as she cupped her face and then stared at the maid with all the hatred she felt. “How dare ye!” She edged closer to Cadha, ready to—
The maid produced a switch from somewhere in her cloak. “Ye are a spoiled, lass. Willful and ungrateful. Someone must teach ye a lesson, and if yer own family willna, I will save yer young soul and do it myself!” She whipped Miran’s left arm, forcing her back several feet.
She brought the switch down over and over again, and all Miran could do was protect her face.
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