by Tessa Murran
‘Oh, so you have had many women, yet I am to have but one man?’ she said, biting his lip.
He pulled back and gave her a look so fierce it gave her pause. ‘Aye, you will only have me, for if another man were to so much as touch you, I would cut him into little pieces and feed him to the fish.’ He bit her neck. ‘And then I would beat you to within an inch of your life.’
‘Do that, and you will never see me again, Bain,’ she said, digging her nails into his back.
‘I mean it, Morna. I can’t stand the thought of anyone else being with you like this.’
Morna gave him a hard, lingering kiss. ‘Best please me then, Bain, make a good showing of it, else I may stray.’
Will put a hand against the back of her knee and forced her legs wider. ‘A challenge is it? Good, for I always rise to a challenge, every part of me,’ he said as he pinned her down and sank into her.
Morna bit her lip hard to stop from crying out at the tearing pain of Will’s manhood filling her. ‘Oh, oh,’ she gasped.
‘Courage now. It only hurts at first,’ he growled. He watched her face as he pushed further inside her body, and Morna closed her eyes. His head fell against her neck, and she tried to concentrate on the singing outside the tent and the rushing sound of the ocean, as tears filled her eyes.
What a violent thing love was, painful, confusing, this feeling of losing oneself, of being filled, of being dominated. All Morna could do was cling to Will as a flood of emotions took hold. The pain subsided slowly and, as Will’s body surged against hers, tenderness came over her, frightening in its intensity, tearing at her heart. Before she knew it, she was gasping his name, over and over.
‘I love you, Will,’ she whispered as he pressed her down into the fur. ‘I love you,’ as he stiffened and strangled his cry of pleasure against her hair. ‘I love you,’ as he sank into her and she cradled his head and let her fingers slide through his hair.
‘I love you.’ Over and over, she said it, but he did not say it back. Either way, Morna did not care. She had given herself away to a dangerous man she barely knew, in a place that felt like the edge of the world. But she had never felt so alive, or so beautiful, or so proud, and she finally acknowledged that she was in love with Will Bain, completely and forever, and nothing else mattered.
Will rolled off her and pulled her against his chest, and Morna felt the rapid thump of his heart against her cheek. So, she had affected him then, if only with lust. As a quiet tear rolled down her cheek, a fierce possessiveness came over Morna, and she resolved to keep Will forever. He was hers, nothing would ever make her give him up.
They lay there in the darkness for a long time, and Morna’s mind slowly became fogged with sleep, until Will suddenly spoke.
‘I would tell you things, Morna,’ he whispered into the darkness.
‘What things,’
‘That you are as strong as any man and courageous, that you are beautiful and in your eyes, I see such pain that I want to reach into your heart and rip it out. That to lie with you is a wondrous thing that thrills my soul and makes me forget who I am. That to love you is as glorious as it is cruel.’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, snuggling closer and holding him tight, thrilled at his words of love.
‘Glorious, for you have the kind of body which puts steel in a man just to look upon it.’
‘And cruel?’ She smiled up at him, though he could not see it. ‘Was I too rough with you?’
‘No, loving you is cruel because I know this won’t last.’
Morna’s heart thumped in her chest. ‘Why not?’
He sighed. There was an ocean of sadness in it. ‘You do not yet know me, Morna, but, one day, you will come to know me, and then you will be gone.’
‘Don’t talk like that. From now on, there is you and me, and nothing else matters. You can depend on that in this life if nothing else.’ She stroked his hairy chest. ‘This feels nice,’ she said. Her hand stroked and stroked, slowly, delicately, moving lower, making Will catch his breath.
‘Where are you going with that?’ he said, and she could almost feel his smile.
‘Anywhere I want to,’ she replied, grasping his cock with a firm hand as he moaned and brought his mouth in to kiss her.
‘You know, Cranstoun offered me a good price for you today, to put a seal on our agreement,’ he said. ‘It seems he liked the look of you.’
‘And why didn’t you take it?’
‘No gold in the world would entice me to give this up.’
Morna tightened her grip.
‘Careful now,’ said Will.
‘This is my revenge. It hurt Will, and you didn’t tell me it would hurt to lie with a man.’
‘Only the first time, and it got better, didn’t it? You need instruction is all, and that was your first lesson.’
Will rolled her onto her belly and climbed over her. Morna felt his cock nestle between the cleft of her buttocks and gasped. He raised her arms over her head.
‘Ow,’ she said.
‘What is wrong?’
A bruise, on my arm, where that witch twisted it.’
‘It did not trouble you before,’ he said, bringing his cheek to hers.
‘I had my mind on other things. Oh, Will, you must think me the worst fool fighting with Edana.
‘No I quite enjoyed two women fighting over me,’ he laughed into her hair. ‘It stirred my blood and put steel in my cock.’
‘That is a disgusting thing to say.’
‘You like it when I am disgusting, and I thought my steely cock was welcome,’ he said, tickling her and biting her earlobe.
‘Stop it.’
‘You don’t want me to.’
‘Oh, you are insufferable, and I do want you to stop, and I don’t want you to…’ Her words were cut off by his mouth on the back of her neck, biting and kissing. He spread her legs wide and brought his hand around between the furs and her belly, and then downwards.
‘Now Morna, you must lie still and endure your second lesson, and do exactly as I say,’ he laughed.
This time it was all ease and pleasure and her grasping on to him and calling his name and arching her back as their bodies met. Will was tireless, with his gentle fingers, and made love to her slowly and surprisingly tenderly, when the first time had been so urgent and forceful. Morna was soon lost to his touch as she slid against his fingers, and he filled her again and again, holding her down with his weight until she was a slave to her pleasure. She cried out and buried her face in the fur to stifle the sound.
***
Morna woke to a soft dawn filtering through the fabric of the tent with a smug smile on her face, feeling such love for the world and everything in it. She felt tender between her legs and the thought of where Will had been and what he had done brought a fresh rush of lust. She giggled and bit her lip and squeezed her legs together. This lying together, she liked it. What other secrets of the bedchamber was she to learn? The anticipation was too much. She gazed down at her sleeping husband and lover, should she wake him with kisses all over his hard body? Could she be that bold?
Morna pulled back the blanket and smiled at the sight of Will’s nakedness. When her lips met his chest, the gold hair tickled her lips, and he smelled of leather and the ocean and sweat and lust. He wriggled a little at her touch but did not wake.
Morna moved her hand lower.
Oh, but he looked so gentle in sleep, all the ferocity and fire gone from his face, leaving it simply beautiful. It was then that a cold finger of dread reached out and poked her in the heart.
This was too good to last.
She had never been this happy in all her life, this feeling was so precious that it would break her to lose it.
A less than discreet coughing outside the tent heralded the arrival of Waldrick. ‘Laird. I must speak with you at once,’ he hissed. ‘Laird, make haste.’
Morna shook Will awake.
‘Laird, make haste,’ hissed Waldrick, louder
this time.
Will rolled his eyes and eased himself away from Morna’s body with a quiet curse and a kiss on her mouth. He opened the tent flap and regarded his man balefully.
‘Will, the Cranstouns, they have gone, all of them,’ said Waldrick. ‘Away at first light, they must have been, no sign of their ship where it was anchored the other side of the headland.’
‘Our ship?’
‘Still at anchor in the bay thankfully. Our men are vigilant.’
Will turned to Morna. ‘We may have a battle on our hands getting home. Best brace yourself for some rough sailing,’ he said grimly and, just like that, reality came crashing back into Morna’s world.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Will’s birlinn flew over the waves at the mouth of the bay, the stiff dawn breeze straining the sails to breaking point. He moved rapidly around the vessel shouting at his men who were all gathering arms and making ready for a fight. Morna tottered after him, clinging on where she could, as the ship surged wildly, along with her heart.
‘Will, if you fear an ambush, why are we sailing right into it?’
‘If my suspicions are right then Cranstoun never meant to honour anything he agreed to at this parley and, ambush or no, he must be dealt with.’
‘And what did he agree to?’
‘I did not tell you, aye, for we were too busy getting to know each other, were we not?’ He smiled into Morna’s eyes. Her gaze was softer after what they had shared last night. He must protect her at all costs. ‘We agreed that we must unite, Morna, to face the English or Robert the Bruce, else our land and our lives are likely forfeit. This war has dragged on to the point of exhaustion. Soon one side must gain the upper hand. Whoever wins, once the dust settles, they will turn their eyes to these Isles and seek retribution. We must come together to protect what we have and to increase our bargaining power in any negotiation. If we stand together, we survive. If we do not, then the full force of English or Scottish justice will pick us off, one by one.’
‘And Wymon had no intention of keeping his word.’
‘His word means nothing, and it never has. I was a fool to believe that this time it would be different. I fear I may have tipped him over the edge into treachery by proclaiming my new allies as the Buchanans. A misstep on my part, for which I hope we do not pay too dearly.’
Morna frowned and so he took her by the shoulders.
‘I fear he brought more ships or had them follow him here, out of sight. When we come out of this bay, somewhere on our journey home, they will attack us, I am sure of it.’
‘Then why sail out of the bay?’
‘We cannot stay on Barra forever and have the Cranstouns come back and ambush us. It is a defenceless place, and we will be trapped like rats in a barrel. Better we make a run for home and take our chances, try and out-manoeuvre him on open water. ’
‘But the other clans at the gathering and Eadan? Would they not aid you?’
‘My allies respect strength, not cowardice. They will not intervene in a dispute between the Cranstouns and us. Instead, they will leave us to fight it out and follow the victor. So there will be an attack Morna, and it will be bloody.’
As the ship heaved over a big swell and out into open water, Will desperately scoured the horizon for signs of a ship, but there were none. Perhaps he was wrong and his fear unfounded. Yet every instinct he had was telling him they were headed into danger.
Just as Barra island grew small on the horizon, a shout went up. ‘Sails, to the west and gaining.’
Will squinted and made out three of them, but it was hard to tell how many precisely on a high swell and against a sky turned pewter with gathering clouds. He watched in horrified fascination as they drew closer and closer.
‘Get the ship around that point up ahead,’ shouted Will, ‘and sail close to the rocks.’
‘To what end Will, we are at full sail, it is making no difference? They are gaining on us,’ shouted Waldrick, his face full of tension. ‘We must heave to.’
‘No, full sail.’
‘If we go at it on full sail we may be blown onto the rocks.’
‘And if they follow us, so could they, so just do it…now,’ he bellowed. He turned to Morna white-faced at his side. ‘If we make it around the headland you must go below and stay there. This could get nasty.’
‘No, I can fight. I want to stay with you.’
‘I cannot get us out of this if I am worrying about you. I must put all my efforts into keeping us all alive, so you will follow orders and go below when I tell you. No arguments.’
‘Will, please,’ she said as the wind gusted and pushed the ship over at an extreme angle and sent her flying backwards. Will caught her just in time and dragged her to the mast where it was most stable. ‘You have to hold on tight and keep your head down and Morna…’
‘What?’ she shouted as the crashing of waves against rock grew louder.
Will turned back and kissed her hard. ‘I love you,’ he said and turned and ran to the front of the ship as it veered sideways in the swell, straight towards the jagged, fringing reef tumbling out at the foot of the cliffs above them.
Like a cork in a stream, they were at the mercy of the water and the wind. It would take the luck of the Devil to get past the rocks unscathed, but then the Devil had always been on his side more than God. He glanced back. Cranstoun’s ships were gaining, three of them, no more, now clearly visible and dangerously close.
The sails swelled, and the ship heaved over, it’s mast almost touching the dark loom of the rocks as water sprayed upwards in white foam where the waves hit with massive force. Soon that would be her hull and the ship would be doomed.
From nowhere, the wind dropped slightly, the sails sucking back and flapping softly, slowing them enough to glide onwards, within a few feet of the rocks. They cleared them and sped onwards, leaving behind what would have been a watery grave. Will looked sternwards as the wind lifted again.
The sails of Cranstoun’s lead ship strained taut as it rounded the point and there was a crunching sound as its hull scraped against the reef, leaving it pinned, as wave after wave buffeted the stricken vessel.
A cheer went up from the men. One enemy down, but there were still two more to go as the other Cranstoun ships managed to manoeuvre around the doomed ship and were now coming up on the north side of his own ship, to cut him off.
‘Will, look!’ shouted Waldrick.
Will turned to the bow and caught his breath. Up ahead, rolling in fast, was a dense fog bank, grey and suffocating, and the kind of sight to strike fear into the heart of any sailor. Now it could be their salvation.
‘Steer for it. I think we can reach it,’ he shouted.
Will held his breath. He hated to run from a fight, but survival was the goal now, especially with Morna on board. He could worry about his wounded pride later.
He glanced over at her, and those brown eyes were fixed on him.
‘If we reach that fog first, we can hide in it,’ he said, giving her a reassuring smile and she nodded in return before turning terrified eyes back at the Cranstoun ships, now level with them but further out to sea.
***
The fog was cold and clammy as it enveloped them, but it was some kind of safety. After a while, the frantic activity of the men lowering the sails calmed, and the ship meandered slowly and quietly over the water. This sea fret may be made of mist and damp, but it felt like a protective blanket and, as it melted over the ship, it got darker and quieter. Morna could barely see her hand in front of her face.
Will had hissed for them all to be quiet, so she stood with the others, silent, ears straining for any sound of Cranstoun’s ships, nerves to breaking point. All she could hear was the sound of waves crashing against the hull, her own rapid breathing and the thud of her heart against her ribs.
She squeezed Will’s hand where it clutched hers, and he pulled her closer and took her in his arms.
‘I am sorry our night ended with this
dangerous dawn, my love,’ he whispered. ‘This will soon be over, and we will get clear of them. It has been long enough, we are scattered, and they cannot find us in this. We may yet survive the day.’ Morna leant her head against his chest, staring out at the impenetrable, ghostly grey.
She narrowed her eyes as it swirled and shifted. The soft gloom seemed to deepen for a moment, and there was a second where her mind struggled to make sense of what her eyes were seeing - a black shape, huge, looming, racing towards them.
‘Will,’ she hissed, but it was too late. The side of the other ship crashed into theirs, there came a horrible scrape of wood on wood, rigging snapping and cracking and raining down and suddenly, they were under attack.
Dark figures rushed out of the fog and onto the deck. Will pushed Morna behind the water barrel. ‘Stay down,’ he shouted desperately and then rushed into the fray, sword drawn.
She couldn’t stay down and do nothing. Men were shouting and cursing and screaming. One Cranstoun staggered at her, out of the fog, sword raised, only to fall into twitching death throes at her feet. Morna reached out a shaking hand and grabbed his sword from his dead hand, sticky with blood, and scrabbled backwards again to safety.
Two men crashed into the side of the barrel and fell to the floor in a mortal struggle, right in front of her. One was Waldrick. The Cranstoun man raised his knife to strike him down, and Morna took her sword and drove it into his side, as hard as she could. She felt every inch of the skin and muscle and bone as the sword sliced inwards, like a lightning bolt of revulsion running up her arm. She drew out the sword and blood gushed, all over Waldrick, some hitting her face. Morna gagged and coughed as Waldrick’s eyes met hers but, in an instant, he was off again into the fog.
Her hand hit something behind her. A bow and quiver of arrows. She was good with a bow, and an arrow could kill a man from a distance, she would not have to feel it. She had to keep Will safe instead of cowering like a dog.
Amid the shouts and groans and violence, Morna pushed herself to her feet and pulled an arrow taut in the bow. She took a few steps forward.
