Taming the Wild Highlander

by Terry Spear

  Edana noticed James had entered the great hall. Arms folded across his chest, he scowled at Keary—probably furious that Keary had arrived before them, pretending to be allies of the MacNeills when he'd tried to have James's youngest brother murdered.

  "I didna know what some of my men were up to. I had let those men go because they were stealing from me. Mayhap they decided to take revenge and pin your murder on me," Keary said.

  From the hard expressions on the men's faces, Edana didn't think anyone believed him. What would they have gained from the murder? A price on their heads.

  "We will take our leave. And you have my promise to remain your ally," Keary said, looking highly annoyed, then he quickly left the keep with his men.

  When they were outside, Angus wrapped his arm around Edana's shoulders and introduced her to his brother, James.

  James's wife joined them, carrying a wee bairn in her arms. He was red-skinned and sleeping, puckering his mouth as if he was suckling on his mother's breast. He was adorable with brown hair as dark as James's.

  Angus stared at the infant and Edana smiled. "You must be Lady Eilis." She thought how different the lady looked from her, red gold silky tresses, sea green eyes—when Edana had pretended to be her at Lockton Castle with her dark red hair and blue eyes. "What a lovely bairn."

  "He is our first bairn," Eilis said proudly. "And you must be the sweet lass who bewitched Angus. No small feat that."

  Edana smiled at Eilis and the baby. "Your son is beautiful. And Angus? Aye, as much as he made me see he was the only one for me." Angus and Edana's gazes met and she believed he was hopeful she would give him a son also. He offered her a small smile. She felt her cheeks heat.

  James escorted his wife to the head table as a nursemaid took the bairn from Eilis.

  The Chattan guard, Seumas, hurried to approach Tibold, spoke briefly, and Tibold smiled broadly. "Seems because of Keary's mishandling of his clan on a fool's errand—namely, pursuing my daughter when she was already wed to a clan chief's brother and possibly causing a war between both my clan and the MacNeills' with his, one of Keary's other brothers has taken over the clan with their people's blessing. One of his men rode all the way here to warn him of the news and my man overheard him."

  "There goes the alliance between the Laird of Lockton and us," Angus said, sounding disappointed.

  "Mayhap we can still encourage an alliance with the new laird," James said.

  "And if you see Keary in these parts again?" Angus asked.

  James snorted. "I would take him prisoner as I once did. Only this time, he would stay in our dungeon as he incarcerated you and our cousin in his."

  As they took their places at the high table, James sat next to his wife on one side, Tibold on the other. Edana was seated next to her father, while Angus sat to her left. Edana heard James say to her father, "All turned out well."

  "Aye. I canna express enough how grateful I am to you for sending your brother to find Edana. I couldna be more pleased with the way things worked out." Tibold smiled at Edana.

  "Sounds like you both planned this," she said, raising her brows.

  An older woman strode across the hall to join them at the table and everyone in the room rose to their feet. She was all smiles, her eyes and hair as dark a brown as Angus's, only light strands of gray intertwined with the brown in braids down her front. Edna thought a strong resemblance existed between the two. His mother? She recalled the story Angus had told her about his father and how he'd had numerous liaisons with women when he was married to his mother.

  She was so pretty and cheerful, Edana couldn't imagine her husband being so cruel.

  Angus hurried to introduce his mother to Tibold and Edana. "Lady Akira, Tibold, chief of the Clan Chattan, and his daughter, Edana, my wife. James said you were tired. I didna think you would join us."

  "I learned too late you had returned with a wife. Eilis's baby kept me up half the night. You know how it can be when a grandmomma wants to tend to her first grandbaby? How could I no' come and greet your new lovely wife?" She gave Edana a warm embrace as if she was her mother. "I seem to be missing out on too many of my sons' weddings, but I am much pleased Angus was lucky enough to find you." She turned her attention to Tibold. "I dinna believe I have ever had the pleasure."

  Edana's da looked positively dumbstruck. She poked her finger into his side to get him to respond and he quickly said, "The pleasure is all mine, my lady." He bowed over her hand and to Edana's shock, kissed it!

  "This is my cousin, Fia," Lady Eilis said, as the dark-haired and dark-eyed woman hurried to join them. She looked about Eilis's age, but other than that, barely showed any family resemblance, except for their smiles.

  But Fia considered each of Edana's brothers and smiled even more broadly.

  "How long will you be here?" Lady Akira asked Tibold as seats were shuffled and she was seated between James and Tibold.

  "My sons have a mission to see their cousin McEwan."

  "I thought you wanted me to stay with you longer," Drummond said, sitting farther down the table and sounding a little panicked.

  "If you can fight Keary's men, you are no longer too ill to journey with us," Gildas said, his smile smug.

  Edana thought with her older brother making such a statement, her da would agree and force Drummond to accompany the rest of her brothers to travel to see McEwan.

  Lady Akira frowned. "If your son has been recently ill, he may stay here with us until you wish to return to Rondover Castle," she said to Tibold.

  Egan and Gildas groaned. Kayne said, "I knew Drummond would worm his way out of it."

  Edana watched her father speaking with Lady Akira. She was so animated and the way his blue eyes never strayed from her, a small smile curving his lips, he seemed to enjoy soaking up her attention.

  Fia slipped onto the bench next to Drummond. "So you are staying here longer, aye? How did you come to be ill?"

  "A stay in a cold, drafty dungeon after he kissed a chief's mistress," Kayne said, sounding disgruntled and not about to let Drummond say anything differently. "Which, I might add, got us all into the same predicament."

  Edana thought Fia might be taken aback by the revelation, but instead she leaned toward Drummond, her brown eyes wide, and said, "Truly?"

  Kayne laughed and shook his head. "He can fall into the swine's slop and still come out smelling sweet where the lasses are concerned."

  Her brothers all laughed.

  Angus took Edana's hand in his and kissed it. "You appear to be deep in thought. What are you thinking?"

  She snuggled closer to him and again looked in her father's direction. "That I have found my true love, but I do believe I may have found a solution to my da's needing a woman's comfort."

  Angus looked at Tibold and his mother. She was more vivacious than he'd seen her in a long time, and Tibold actually looked to be enjoying her company. "I think mayhap you have something there, Edana. We might even be able to persuade my mother to travel with us to visit Rondover Castle later."

  Edana smiled. "Aye. I didna know you were a matchmaker at heart."

  He chuckled. "If it meant our parents' happiness, aye."

  Then Edana frowned. "Could be a problem if the scullery maid, Zeneva, attempts to cause trouble between them if anything should come of our parents' relationship."

  "Your father said he would no longer see the maid."

  "Aye, but that doesna mean the woman might not seek revenge if my da shows interest in your mother. Because of your mother's bad experiences with your father, mayhap she would think mine is the same way."

  Edana's brother, Halwn, said to Niall, "Now that we are all family, of sorts, would you want to come along with us?"

  "Because your cousin McEwan needs a man to marry his ward?" Niall asked.

  Kayne shook his head. "Who told him the truth of the matter?"

  Everyone laughed.

  Angus realized then that not only had he married into Edana's family, but that h
er family was happy to become part of his as well. He had never foreseen his mother might be interested in Tibold, nor that the chief might be intrigued with his mother. If the man could give his mother the kind of love she deserved, Angus would do everything in his power to help their relationship along.

  "Now you seem to be deep in thought, Husband," Edana said, slipping her hand into his lap, squeezing his thigh.

  He considered her smiling face. "I should have spoken to you all those years ago. I should have kissed you."

  "But what if I had run away?"

  "I would have chased after you and never given up."

  She grinned. "What if I had chased you?"

  "I would have made myself an easy catch."

  She laughed. "Can I ask you something?" she said, leaning close to him.

  Intrigued, he said, "Aye, lass, anything."

  "You said you wanted to show me other ways of being intimate. How many ways are there?"

  He smiled down at her. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

  Her bright, happy expression told him how much his words meant to her. His bonny lass, who had only sunny smiles for her family, now had them for him, just as he'd wished he'd had from her so long ago.

  He leaned over and kissed her upturned mouth. "There are as many ways as we can come up with to make love, my wife. Anything you wish to try, I am game."

  She seemed to ponder that a bit, then whispered to him, "Una said one of the maids tied her man up."

  Angus laughed out loud. He couldn't help it. He'd never considered such a thing, but his bonny wife had?

  Several stopped eating and talking to look their way as he'd had his outburst. Edana's face flushed beautifully.

  Angus grinned and spoke for her hearing only. "Aye, if 'tis your desire. But I believe in reciprocating."

  She thought about that, then nodded. "Aye, I agree."

  The festivities would not end soon enough before he could escort Edana to his bedchamber to see what else she had in mind. He thought he was the one who would have to come up with all the new ways of making love. "What other methods did you hear of?"

  She only grinned. "I will tell you later—in the privacy of our bedchamber, since everyone is watching us because you laughed so loud."

  "I couldna help it. I wasna expecting you to say what you did." He took her hand and kissed it, then rested it back on his thigh.

  James, Gunnolf, and Niall saluted him with their tankards of ale in a silent message of—well done.

  Angus saluted them back, wishing he could make some excuse to slip off with Edana to his chamber without anyone being the wiser.

  "Do you know where we can get some rope?" she asked.

  He laughed again. His bonny lass was truly a treasure. "We will use something softer so that our wrists willna be roughened up."

  "Oh, aye," she said so seriously, he couldn't believe how much she was thinking about binding him to the bed.

  Already his staff was hard as steel. "More ale," he called to a servant, wanting to cool his heated blood.

  "I dinna know how to tie a tight knot. Can you show me?"

  He wasn't sure he wanted her to tie him so well he couldn't free himself. "Aye."

  "And should I tie your ankles also?" She didn't speak quietly to him this time and her father looked in her direction.

  Smiling, Angus whispered to her, "Whatever you would like to do, but we should discuss this above stairs."

  Then he hoped his sweet wife would not share such a thing with Una who very well might share with some other maid, and then everyone in the castle would know that his wife bound him to their bed to have her way with him.

  "You are blushing, Angus. What are you thinking of?" she asked, in a teasing tone.

  Just how much he loved his wee wild Highland wife!

  Chapter 23

  The idea of engaging in bondage with his sweet wife intrigued Angus. Though no matter what, he didn't want anyone to learn of it! He could just imagine what his brothers, cousin, and Gunnolf would say if ever any of them heard about it.

  When James called for dancing and there was so much activity as servants took the trenchers of leftover food away and everyone else helped move the trestle tables aside to clear the great hall, Edana whispered to Angus, "Let us go now, before anyone notices we are slipping away."

  He was certain someone would spot them leaving the great hall. Many, in fact, as everyone in his clan was interested in the lass he'd married, and her own people—her brothers and da—had been curious as to how well she would be received by his clansmen and how he and the lass got along.

  As soon as the hall was cleared and the musicians started to play, he and Edana would surely be missed.

  Her hand in his, he hurried her out of the great hall. He expected someone to say something, but then he assumed the talk would begin in earnest after he and Edana were out of earshot and everyone realized they were gone for the eve.

  "I dinna know if I will do any of it right," Edana said, all of a sudden sounding a little shy as he moved her up the stairs.

  "I dinna think there is any right or wrong way. Just as long as we both find enjoyment in the deed. This is all new to me, lass." He wanted in the worst way to reassure her that whatever they did, they would take pleasure in the act and in each other.

  She smiled brightly at him and quickened her pace.

  He adored her.

  When they reached his chamber, he quickly pulled her inside, barred the door, and lit candles. She looked around at his chamber—the big bed cloaked in brown curtains, a couple of spare plaids hanging off hooks, a table, two chairs, rushes on the floor, and one Turkish rug hanging against a wall that he had brought back from the Crusades.

  Digging around in the bottom of his wooden chest where he had stuffed a very worn tunic, he finally found it and used his dirk to shred it into strips of cloth. She watched, her blue eyes sparkling with intrigue, her tongue licking her lips—in anticipation? Or nervousness? He couldn't tell.

  "Here, lass," he said and showed Edana the way to tie a knot. Or at least one she could easily untie or he could, when they were done. He didn't want her to have to cut him loose should anything go awry!

  When he showed her how she could yank on one tail and that would undo the knot, she looked up at him with wide eyes. "But you can get free."

  He laughed. "Aye, lass. But I promise I willna try while you do whatever you wish to do with me."

  Then he unfastened his belt and set his sword and sgian dubh aside. She undid her brooch and placed it on his table, laying her brat on top of a chair.

  "Do you want me on the bed?" he asked.

  "Aye, where else would I want you?"

  He smiled and shrugged. "The chair, mayhap."

  She looked at the chair. "I dinna think that would work."

  "If you sat on my lap."

  She glanced back at the chair and frowned. "Aye, mayhap." Then she smiled. "Another time."

  He couldn't wait. The anticipation of what she intended to do to him near killed him. "Do you want me naked?" He thought she would, but he wanted her to feel as though she was making all the decisions.

  "Aye." She pulled her léine off and set it on top of her brat.

  He quickly divested himself of his clothes and stretched out on the mattress, his staff already hard as his sword, his body desiring her something fierce. She was in no hurry, the wicked lass.

  When she began to look around the chamber, still wearing her chemise, he asked, "What are you searching for?"

  "Something soft."

  Not him. He was hard and getting harder.

  "Are you no' going to disrobe as well, lass?"

  She sighed. "Mayhap later."

  He groaned. "I love to see you naked."

  "Later," she said, very much in charge and he loved it. She unbraided her hair and shook out the wavy strands so that they fell softly over her shoulders. Then she took one of the strips of linen and looped it around his hands and tied a kn
ot that he couldn't slip out of.

  "You knew how to tie knots already!"

  She smiled. "Aye. I thought mayhap you would show me a different kind that I didna know."

  He laughed, but then sobered. "But what if you canna untie it when the time comes?"

  "I will call for your brother or cousin to help you out."

  He felt his face heat with mortification. She gave him the most wicked smile, right before she kissed his mouth, her hair tickling his shoulders.

  Then she lifted her chemise so that she could straddle his legs and to his surprise, she draped the linen over his fully aroused cock, hiding it from their view. But as she leaned forward, he felt her soft belly rubbing against it. He had to admit just how intriguing she felt.

  She licked his abdomen all the way up to his right nipple, and with a wee nibble, touched her teeth to him. Then she slid her tongue over his aroused nipple. His bound hands were already caressing her head as he moaned in ecstasy.

  Her body was soft, smelling of sweet woman, her tongue wet, and her breath warm. He'd never considered having a woman in his bed, and now he would never see his bed again without thinking of Edana in it on top of him or underneath him, buried in the furs.

  As she moved to kiss his other nipple, she slipped her hands under her chemise and touched the top of his staff. With a jolt, he bucked. Unable to see what she planned to do to him was his undoing.

  He gritted his teeth as she swept her fingers over the top, and then down, and finally taking hold and tightening like he'd shown her. Then she pumped him, making him want to come in the worst way—but inside of her.

  He groaned and moved his hips, his eyes closed as the sensation built of need and want and a craving he had to have satisfied. Before he could help himself—he told himself it wasn't his fault that he liked to be in charge—he grasped her arm and pulled her forward just enough that when he moved again, he could align himself with her sweet heavenly body and bury himself in her. At least he hoped.