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‘This is dangerous. You know that, Lundie,’ he said quietly so only the other man could hear. ‘Pricking at the man is one thing. Attacking his main village, at his keep, borders on madness.’
‘’Tis the order,’ Lundie replied, with another shrug of his shoulders. ‘Dinna worry. The pay will match the danger, Iain,’ Lundie reassured him, believing that greed and gold drove him as it did the others.
‘Well, then,’ Niall said, nodding. Let Lundie think it was about the money then. On the morrow, Niall would be on his guard.
* * *
So, after sitting in the caves, dry at least, for a day they’d not planned on, they made their way down from the mountains and to the village. Niall made his way into the village, riding past the gateway of the keep without staring at the tall, stone walls around a taller stone keep. He dismounted, leaving his horse tied nearby, and went to the baker. After buying one of the man’s last remaining loaves, he eased his way along the paths, observing the villagers who lived and worked here.
It did not take long to notice her.
A young woman, tall and lithe, walked past him and was trailed by a young man who he took little notice of. But, it took only one glance to assess this situation. The young man, awkward and lanky, wanted the woman. The woman who barely gave him a moment’s attention. Until she stopped and turned, giving Niall his first good look at her.
Good God, she was a beauty!
She wore a plain gown, but that was the only unremarkable feature of hers. Green eyes the shade of the summer forest. A gently sloping nose that led his gaze down to the most perfect mouth and lips he’d ever seen on a woman. She said something to the man and he imagined how her lips would taste and feel against his own. How her voice would sound as she whispered his name....
Niall shook his head, trying to understand the strange wanting that this woman caused. Tossing the last bit of bread in his mouth, he chewed it slowly while sorting out the cause of his reaction to her. He was not an untrained, inexperienced lad with no history of involvement with willing women. Before, before he became Iain Dubh, he had had his share of lovers and even since becoming this rogue, women had sought him out for bed play.
Nay, inexperience did not explain it. So, he stepped into the shadows of the path where he would not be seen and watched the exchange between the two.
Even without being able to hear their words, he could decipher what was happening. The man was trying to convince the woman to accept his offer. He shuffled from side to side, unable to meet the beauty’s gaze for more than a moment or two. Truly, Niall doubted he could have for much longer than that.
Then, the woman took the man’s hand and was clearly attempting to be kind about her obvious refusal. Was the man making an offer of marriage? He was bolder than Niall thought him to be if that was happening,
‘Dougal!’ the beauty said louder now. Ah, the hapless lad was called Dougal. ‘I have been as clear as I can about a match between us. I pray you to leave the matter now.’
Dougal, the hapless lad, opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to say something. The lad’s rebuttal to the lass’s refusal, Niall suspected. But the determined young woman—was she an Isabel or a Margaret?—did not give him the opportunity. She released his hand and stepped back, a clear message to one who had eyes to see it.
Niall let out a sigh and retrieved the apple he’d been carrying in his sack. Biting into it, he continued to watch this unexpected bit of entertainment to ease the waiting.
Bloody hell! He needed to get into position and realised the lass, and lad, would be in the middle of the coming disturbance. Glancing around, he wondered how to steer her away from it. Niall saw that his presence had not been noticed. Mayhap if they saw him, they would leave this area and go in some other direction?
He’d seen many other men and women in the months with this gang and had never thought of warning one of them, so why now? Why her? For it was the lass for whom he was concerned.
Without truly thinking on it more than that, he stepped out of the shadows, making enough noise to ensure she would hear him. And she did, stepping back even further now from young Dougal. She raised her eyes to his and Niall lost his breath with wanting and need for this perfect stranger.
Sucking in a breath, he nodded at her but remained where he stood. He wanted her to move down this pathway and away from the village well on his right. Tugging the reins of his horse, he slowly walked in front of her and she turned back to her companion and in the direction he wished her to go. After only a moment’s contemplation of her choices, the beauty faced him once more, staring at his face as though deciding if they had a past introduction.
He would have remembered meeting this one but could not. He’d never travelled to the lands of the Mackintosh and Cameron clans before this. If he’d seen her at court, his appearance would have been very different than it was now with dirt and grime covering most of his face and features and the worn and torn clothing of a band of men living on the road.
This close, he could see that her eyes were even more spectacular than at a distance, glimmering in this sun’s light as though touched by fae magic. Her gaze narrowed and he felt the heat of arousal race through him. Wiping the back of his hand across his now sweaty forehead, Niall struggled with his control.
‘Good day, sir,’ she said quietly, still searching his face. ‘Do you have need of something?’
Did she have to phrase her words so? His randy bits took a different meaning from them than the simple courteous one she meant. The sound of her voice, soft but with deep tones tracing through it, was as sensual as he’d thought it would be. Before he could reply, hapless Dougal walked to her side, and even took a step closer, positioning himself as her protector. The poor lad would never stand against what was coming.
‘Good day to ye both,’ he said, making his accent rougher to blend with the more common one of the gang. ‘Nay, just travellin’ on and stopped for a drink from the well there.’ Niall nodded at the stone structure—a common reason and place for visitors to stop.
‘The dipper sits in a bucket at its side,’ the beauty replied. Hapless Dougal glared and crossed his arms over his meagre chest, mayhap able to read more in Niall’s gaze at the young woman than she did.
Niall pulled his horse along, blocking the rest of the path, and feinted towards the well. The sound of stirring trouble began echoing into the clearing. The other two glanced to the source of the sounds and the woman took a step towards it. Without thinking, Niall grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring her gasp, and pushed her in the other path.
‘Go. Now. Away from here,’ he whispered fiercely so that only she could hear his words.
She stumbled back a few steps and into hapless Dougal, who caught her. Niall could waste no more time here without exposing himself to the outlaws, so he did not spare another glance at her. Instead, he mounted and rode off towards the growing disturbance, knowing he must play his part.
The lass would have to see to herself, no matter how much his randy bits wanted him to do otherwise. That he had to force himself not to look back at her told Niall that she was more dangerous to him than any other challenge he’d encountered thus far. And these last months had presented him with many more than he’d ever thought to face.
The spreading chaos and noise drew his full attention now and he could give little more thought to the enticing, green-eyed temptress.
Chapter Three (#ulink_c2db7748-956b-5609-9d81-b24b03d208fd)
At first, the stranger distracted her.
Fia was accustomed to meeting strangers in her duties to Lady Arabella, for many people came from all over Scotland and the world to visit the powerful chief of the Chattan Confederation. But this man was not of the same quality of those who called on Brodie Mackintosh. Oh, he met with villagers and farmers, but not those who had every appearance of living on the other side of the law.
This man stood as tall and was as muscular as Brodie himself. And though his garments were as soiled as he was, there was something about him that belied his condition. His blue eyes gleamed against his dark hair and the dirt that covered the masculine angles of his face. How long he’d remained in the shadows, listening to her conversation with Dougal over his proposal of marriage, she knew not.
And his strange words ordering her away. As though she would obey a stranger in her own village without reason.
But none of that mattered when she heard the screams split the air. Glancing around, she realised that the gates of the keep would be closed by now for the night. With the setting sun, the village was isolated and unguarded, more so than the keep for its lack of warriors and weapons. And the sounds coming from the western edge of the village forced her to act.
‘Dougal! You must run to the keep. Get help!’ she said, as she turned once more to the growing disturbance. ‘Now, Dougal!’
Fia did not wait for an answer. She ran down the path, past the well and through the rush of villagers escaping from whatever was happening. Reaching the split in the paths—one led to the fields, the other to other crofts and the mill—she watched in horror as the mayhem spread. Wagons were overturned. Fights broke out between some of the villagers and the men who seemed the cause of it all. When two galloped by her towards their cronies, Fia lost her breath.
In a moment, she was thrown back in her mind to the attack on the camp those years ago. Only ten years of age, she had been caught in the open as Caelan’s men rode in, trampling anyone in their path. Glancing around this open area, with those two knocking down anyone they could and yelling all sorts of crude words and threats, Fia was that ten-year-old lass once more. The sights and sounds blended together in her thoughts, memories now feeling real and twisted with the events of the moment.
Until a child screamed out in fear.
Those years ago, it had been the lady Arabella who’d saved her, pulling Fia from the path of the attackers and pushing her to safety. Fia knew she must act or the child would be injured or worse by these uncaring fiends. Ducking low and running across the clearing, she sought the child and saw her crying in the midst of confusion. They were burning something and acrid clouds of smoke began to spread through the closely built cottages on the lane.
‘Come, Meggy!’ she called out to the girl as she ran to her side. Grabbing the lass’s hand, she tugged her away from the fighting and into the woods around the crofts. ‘Where is your mam?’ she asked. All the girl could do was cry, so Fia hugged her for a moment and then placed her in a thick copse to hide her from sight. ‘I will find her and bring her to you. Do not leave here until I return!’
Pulling branches around the girl, Fia ran back to find Meggy’s mother. How they’d gotten separated, Fia could not imagine until she stumbled right over Anice where she lay unmoving in the path. Crouching down, she touched the woman’s face and whispered her name. Anice stirred but did not wake. Thank the Almighty, she was alive! Rolling her on to her back, Fia checked quickly for injuries before trying to drag the woman into the trees. She’d barely gotten a good hold on her when two riders began circling them.
‘What have we here?’ one called out, coming so close that his horse nudged her back. Nearly losing her balance, Fia adjusted her hold on Anice and tried to move her.
‘Here now, lass,’ taunted the other, a man with a rat-like face. He pushed his horse against her until she lost her grip on Anice. She stood then, brushing her loosened hair from her face. She took a quick look towards the keep before facing them.
‘Oh, they won’t be here for some time, ye ken?’ the first one said as he swung his leg over the back of his mount and dropped down next to her. Now, standing on the ground, she realised he was a huge man. Fia could not prevent the shudder that made her stumble then. ‘We made sure of that.’
Dougal? Had they caught Dougal on his way to the keep? Was he...? She backed away, slowly, step by step until she could go no further. Ratface was now behind her, trapping her between them. Fia tried not to panic but the terrifying lust in their gazes told her she would not escape.
‘Ah, now, Anndra, ye hiv scared the lass,’ Ratface said.
Aye, they had. Fia stood still, hoping not to cause them to take hold of her. If they did, her strength would do nothing against theirs.
The big man took another step closer and she could not breathe. He blocked her view of everything but his huge chest and meaty hands. Even though the noises around them grew, these two did not go back to their thievery and destruction. Nay, their gazes grew more intense and she feared now for her virtue and her life. When this Anndra nodded over her head at Ratface, she knew her time was at hand.
The large, strong hands grasping her shoulders now with a steel hold that hurt stopped her from getting away. She struggled against him, but it did no good. When she opened her mouth to scream, Ratface shoved a putrid scrap of cloth in her mouth and pulled her against him.
‘Come now, lass. We just need a wee bit of time to show ye how a real man pleasures a woman. Ye will no’ be sorry for it,’ he whispered against her ear, sliding his tongue down her neck and biting her shoulder. Her cry muffled by the cloth seemed to excite them more.
‘A real man now, Micheil?’ Anndra laughed and sliced the laces of her gown with one motion. As he reached for the edge of her shift, she began to fight them in earnest. Twisting and pulling against their grasp, Fia tried to escape. The rag in her mouth made it hard to breathe and impossible to cry out. ‘I will show her a real man and ye can watch and learn.’
The cloth of her shift was no match for his strength and she felt the cool air on her skin as he tore it open down to her waist. She pushed away from him, but that only forced her against the other man. The big one smiled, staring at her naked breasts as they grew taut, and he reached out to touch her. Fia held her breath, offering up a prayer for help. The sound of a sword being drawn behind them gave them pause.
‘Why, thank ye, gentlemen,’ someone called out from behind the huge man. ‘Ye found her.’
Micheil cursed in her ear, a foul string of words she did not truly understand. Anndra turned, but kept her between them.
‘Found who?’ he called out.
‘That lass ye hiv between ye there.’
Anndra shifted again and Fia took advantage of him not holding her to drop to her knees and scrabble away. She did not get far before Anndra grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to her feet. It took a moment of absolute silence before she realised that the men gaped at her now. As she tried to clutch the rent edges of her clothing, she finally saw the third man.
The stranger. He was one of them. Had he been searching for her during the chaos? Confused and in pain, Fia struggled to free herself. The tall man walked closer, sword drawn, and she could not tell if he was friend or foe. He had warned her away, given her a chance to flee ahead of the danger, even if she had not heeded his words. Before any more could be said, a loud and shrill whistle pierced the air and the three all canted their heads at it.
‘Weel, then,’ the stranger said. ‘’Tis time to move on.’
‘’Twill take only a minute or two,’ Anndra said, pulling her closer.
‘She is mine,’ Micheil said, tugging her to himself.
Fia managed to pull the gag from her mouth in the struggle and fought in earnest against them. Using a trick she’d learned from the boys in the village, she knocked her head back into Micheil’s face, aiming for his rat-like, narrow nose. His howl of pain was satisfying, for a moment, until Anndra turned to grab her.
‘Nay,’ the stranger said, walking closer and holding his sword up. ‘Lundie said I get my pick this time. And I picked her.’
Now he reached out and took her arm, pulling her away from the others. From their expressions, it would not be that simple. The stranger stared at her even while he spoke to the men.
‘Lundie? Did ye no’ give me my choice?’
‘Aye.’ A man she’d not seen before walked his horse forward from the shadows. ‘If ye want to waste it on a piece of tail, fine though she may be, go on wi’ ye then.’
Lundie looked at the other men and nodded, ordering them away. When they’d taken off running, he looked at the stranger and then tilted his head in her direction.
‘Ye ken the problems it’ll cause, dinna ye?’ Then, this Lundie let his gaze move over her from her feet to her head, pausing at her belly and her breasts. She tugged the edges of torn cloth closer to cover her flesh. ‘’Twould be easier if ye just took her now and were done wi’ her.’
The stranger walked up to her, lifting her chin even as she trembled. For some reason, she suspected any dirty fighting moves would be familiar to him. He’d wanted her away before and mayhap he would allow it now?
‘Oh, I will take her,’ he whispered just before his mouth touched her and told her the answer without words.
Fia was not prepared for the onslaught of sensations caused by this man’s kiss. Oh, it was nothing like any kiss she’d received before. Those had been innocent. Those had been hesitant. This, this was searing and possessive. It was not long before she realised he had no plans to let her go.
He slid his hand into her hair, tangling his fingers in it and holding her mouth to his. Pressing with his tongue, he sought an opening and soon found it when she tried to speak. For a moment, just the slightest bit of time passing, she forgot her situation. She forgot herself and could only feel the growing heat pulsing through her.
For a moment. Then everything crashed down on her as she remembered. So, she bit him. He yelled but he pulled himself away as she’d wanted him to do.
‘Damn ye!’ he said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
‘A problem, I tell ye,’ Lundie called out. Another whistle made them both look towards the keep. ‘Take her or leave her, but do it now. We ride!’ Lundie turned his horse and rode off.
‘I pray you, please let me go,’ she said, trying to step away from him. ‘My friend needs help there.’ She nodded to where Anice yet lay unconscious.
Without waiting for his reply, she slowly backed away and moved towards Anice. The sounds of the fighting were less but now the clamour rose in the direction of the keep. Warriors were coming.
‘Go. Now. Away from here,’ she said, knowing those words had been his own to her. She ran towards Anice only to be caught by the large man called Anndra who’d returned unnoticed. He wrapped his beefy arm around her waist and spun her to face the other man.
‘If ye keep losing her, I think I wi’ keep her for meself.’
Any thought that she would be released fled as the stranger strode across the clearing. His gaze was hard now with no sign of the desire that she’d seen there before. And no sign of relenting and letting her go.
‘This is the way ye do it,’ Anndra said quietly behind her.
Before she could turn around, her head exploded in pain and the whole village around her went black.
* * *
Niall cursed under his breath as the lass crumpled under the blow. Anndra held on to her and smiled grimly at him. Niall ran to his horse and mounted, riding to the two and reaching down to grab her and pull her over his legs.
As another whistle sounded, he understood there was little time left to do anything but get away. Taking her or leaving her was no longer a choice he could make, so he turned his horse and rode off to the west. He, Anndra and Lundie followed one path that would lead them across a stream, destroying their scent and their trail.
He tried to ignore the woman in his lap. Niall had to hold her in place there so she would not slip off. Riding with her dead weight was difficult but had to be done. From the feel of her body, she was alive though not awake. His true trouble would begin when she woke.
Lundie had said this would cause problems? Oh, aye, it already had and would continue to do so until he found a way to get rid of her. One woman in a gang of men was not a good thing. A glance at Anndra and he knew claim of her being his prize would only last so long and then go out of control.
They crossed the fields quickly, followed the stream away from Glenlui and into the deep thickness of the forest, always heading north and west. Their travel slowed with the full dark after the sun set, but Lundie picked his way along the rough path in the light of the rising moon. The lass had not stirred at all as they crossed the miles leading away from her village. When Lundie called a halt, Niall slowed at his side.
‘Ye shoulda left her behind,’ he said, spitting into the dirt. His words were low enough that Anndra could not hear.
‘Anndra had other plans for her,’ he admitted part of the truth.
‘There is a soft spot in ye that will be yer death, Iain.’
Niall could not disagree about either of Lundie’s suppositions. But, for so long, he’d been someone other than himself and, for the first time in that long time, his action to protect her felt like the man he used to be. A nobleman. Yet, Lundie was correct—acting like the nobleman he’d been raised to be would get him killed on this mission.
He watched as Lundie climbed down and tied his horse near a grassy patch off the path. Lundie ordered Anndra to the stream for water and then he walked to Niall’s horse and reached up to take her. She did not react at all as he handed her down and then tied his own horse to graze. Niall pulled a rolled blanket from under his saddle and opened it on a dry area of ground. Lundie laid the woman on it and then lit a torch so they could see to setting up their meagre camp.
Her hair had come free from her braid and lay around her like a crown, gold strands in the brown reflecting the torch’s light. Niall fought the urge to sift through its silkiness with his fingers and concentrated on his true task—check the back of her head where Anndra clubbed her. His hand came away with fresh blood.
Lundie walked to him and handed him the flask in his other hand. Niall took a deep swallow and passed it back. He waited on the man’s words.
‘A fortnight.’
‘A fortnight?’ he asked.
