Highland Heart

by Ruth Ryan Langan

A few minutes later Ian MacPherson strode through the door. On his

  face was a worried frown.

  "I have searched everywhere for Lindsey," he said. '. "I found her

  horse, which I returned to the stables. But there is no trace of the

  lady."

  "She is safe," the queen said.

  "She returned a short while ago in the company of Jamie MacDonald."

  "Praise heaven." Ian made a great show of relief.

  "I have been searching for her ever since I found her mount."

  Without a word Jamie turned away, his jaw clenched.

  Jamie paced the floor of his chambers, unable to shake the anger that

  simmered inside him. On a sideboard, his half-filled tankard glinted

  in the light of the candle's glow.

  It was not ale he needed. There was not enough ale in all of Scotland

  to drown his fury.

  In the next room he could hear Lindsey, talking and laughing quietly

  with Sabina, who was helping her with her bath.

  His hands clenched and unclenched. What was he to do with Lindsey? If

  he could, he would lock her here in her chambers and keep her safe.

  But that was impossible. She was a woman with a mind of her own. It

  seemed that all he could do was stand idly by while she leaped from one

  dangerous adventure to the next.

  Did she not know that she was tearing him apart?

  He heard Sabina's high-pitched, childish voice.

  "Oh, my lady. That is the loveliest gown of all. You look so

  beautiful;" "Thank you, Sabina. And thank you for all your aid. Now

  you must go and assist the queen, or she will have your head."

  The girl giggled.

  "Aye, my lady."

  Jamie heard the door close, then heard the sound of Lindsey humming as

  she moved around her room.

  Humming. His fury grew. She was humming a tune while he was still

  reeling from the assault on his nerves.

  The door of her sleeping chamber opened and Lindsey stepped into the

  room.

  She was wearing a gown of gold that would put the sun to shame. Shot

  with silver and gold threads, it shimmered and glowed in the light of

  the candles. Her hair had been pulled off her face with golden

  combs.

  She was so beautiful she took his breath away.

  She seemed surprised to find him there. For a moment her eyes

  widened.

  Then she gave him a sweet smile. She had already forgiven him for his

  earlier display of temper.

  "I never properly thanked you for what you did, my lord. I am most

  grateful that you rescued me from the forest."

  He said nothing. But, she noted, the frown was back on his face. And

  a little muscle was working in the side of his jaw.

  "I am sorry to have caused so much trouble."

  "Aye. Trouble. You have been nothing but trouble since the day I met

  you."

  She was stung by his harsh words. She should have known he was nothing

  more than a disagreeable tyrant.

  "Then you will forgive me, my lord, if I do not tarry, since I am

  obviously unwelcome company."

  As she turned away his hand snaked out, clamping her wrist in a painful

  grasp. She could feel the carefully coiled tension vibrating through

  him.

  Her eyes grew as dark and stormy as his.

  "You will let me go at once."

  "Nay, my lady. Not until I have had my say."

  She lifted her chin with an air of defiance. All the curses her

  brothers had taught her through the years leaped to her mind.

  "I am not interested in your words, you son of a viper. May you rot"

  "You will listen." His hand closed over her shoulder, forcing her to

  stand still. He bit off each word with a fury that had him

  trembling.

  "You will ride only when I am with you."

  "How dare" -He drew her closer, until she could feel the sting of his

  hot breath against her temple.

  "You will go nowhere with Ian MacPherson."

  "I will go wherever I" -- "Damn you." He kissed her. A hard,

  punishing kiss that cut off her words and left her breathless.

  Against her lips he rasped, "You are driving me mad, Lindsey. You are

  the most infuriating, impossible female I have ever encountered."

  "Well, if this is how you intend to treat me..."

  He kissed her again and felt all his tightly held control begin to

  slip. What had begun as a desperate move to silence her quickly became

  a passion that, once unleashed, whirled out of control.

  He crushed her to him and devoured her with kisses that left her no

  chance to protest, no chance to even think. There was no gentleness in

  him now. Only fire and rage and hard, driving need. The hands that

  pressed against her might have bruised her tender flesh. He was beyond

  knowing. He knew only that he was caught up in something so powerful,

  so compelling, he had not the strength to fight it.

  Lindsey was overwhelmed by the passionate rage in him. It matched her

  own troubling feelings. But as the kiss deepened she sensed the subtle

  change in him. Though the hands that held her were still firm, they

  were no longer rough. And though his kisses devoured her, they were no

  longer punishing. His lips were warm and firm and demanding

  "What am I to do with you?" His whisper had the sound of quiet

  desperation.

  "I cannot sleep, knowing you are but a few steps away. I am tormented

  by thoughts of storming your room and making you mine. I can bear this

  tension no longer." For the first time, she was at a loss for words.

  She went very still as his meaning began to penetrate the confusion

  that clouded her mind.

  She lifted her lips and felt a wild surge of power when he kissed her

  with a hunger that left her trembling.

  "You are not angry with me?"

  "Angry, my lady?" His lips roamed her face, touching lightly across

  her lids, her brow, her temple.

  "I am beyond anger. I am being devoured " by worry, and jealousy, and

  fear for your safety. "

  She heard but one word.

  "You are jealous? Of--Ian MacPherson?"

  He responded with a low, guttural sound before returning for another

  taste of her lips.

  "I am consumed with fears for your safety, and you care only if I am

  jealous."

  "You are. I can hear it in your voice." She gave a de lighted laugh

  and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  He was surprised at how quickly his anger returned.

  "You mock me."

  "Nay, my lord." She drew closer, loving the way his eyes darkened as

  he studied her.

  "It is just that I thought..." She ran a tongue over her lips and

  tried again.

  "Earlier this day, I suspected that you despised me for carelessly

  getting lost in the forest. I realized that I caused you untold worry,

  but..."

  "It would seem," he said, pressing his lips over hers, "that this is

  the only way to make you understand any thing."

  The kiss was long, and slow, and unhurried. And as the passion built,

  their kisses became more desperate, until their breathing was shallow

  and ragged. His hands gripped her shoulders, his thumbs making lazy

  cir
cles on the bare flesh of her upper arms.

  "Stay with me, Lindsey."

  She heard his words as if from a great distance and struggled with a

  new kind of terror. She pushed against him, but she was no match for

  his strength.

  "I must go. They await me below stairs."

  He brought his lips to her throat, where his nibbling kisses left her

  weak with needs. Needs that pulsed and throbbed until she was forced

  to cling weakly to him.

  "Nay. Stay here with me."

  His meaning was very plain. She struggled to clear her mind. She

  wanted what he wanted. The need for him had grown with every kiss.

  But the thought of what he was asking terrified her. They were not

  betrothed. He had not spoken for her.

  "I cannot."

  He brought his lips to her shoulder and thrilled to the way she

  trembled in his arms as he ran kisses across her sensitive skin.

  "And I cannot bear another moment without you, Lindsey. I love you.

  God help me, I tried to deny it, but I can no longer deny what my heart

  tells me. I love you. "

  Love. It was the only thing he could have said that left her

  defenseless. With a little gasp she stared at him, then lifted her

  hand to his cheek in a gesture so tender, he felt his heart stop.

  "You truly love me?"

  "Aye."

  She touched a finger to his lips.

  "And I love you, Jamie MacDonald."

  For a long moment, Jamie could not speak. But in his eyes was a look

  so filled with love and longing, there was no denying his feelings.

  "Then you will stay with me?"

  Lindsey could not speak over the lump in her throat. With tears

  glittering like diamonds in her eyes, she nodded.

  Without a word he lifted her in his arms and carried her to his

  sleeping chamber.

  Chapter Twenty

  A single candle flickered on the bedside table. The only other light

  came from the fire that blazed on the hearth.

  Through the open balcony window came the fragrance of spring flowers

  carded on the evening breeze.

  It was quiet. The only sound in the room was that of strained and

  shallow breathing.

  Jamie studied the woman in his arms. She shimmered in a golden halo of

  light.

  Though he was half mad with desire, he knew that he must go slowly. He

  would bank his needs and take the time to allay all her fears.

  "How long I have waited to love you." With a kind of reverence he

  removed the combs from her hair and watched as it drifted like a silken

  veil around her face and shoulders. She heard his quiet moan as he

  drew her close. With a sigh he plunged his hands into her hair and

  drew her head back until he was staring deeply into her eyes. He

  nibbled the corner of her mouth with great tenderness until he felt her

  respond, hoping it put her at ease.

  "Soft, my lady. You are so soft, so small and delicate."

  "And you are so strong, it frightens me."

  "You need never be afraid of me, Lindsey.

  I know I displayed a wicked temper. But it was the passion driving

  me. I would never hurt you. " I would kill for you, he thought. I

  would die for you. But I would never hurt you.

  Lindsey smiled, and he saw the way her lips trembled.

  "I know, Jamie.

  I know I am safe with you. But I am-afraid, all the same. "

  "As am I," he whispered.

  "You?" She smiled.

  "You tease me."

  "Nay, my lady. You terrify me."

  With a rush of feeling she wrapped her arms around his waist and

  brought her lips to his throat.

  Her touch brought a flare of desire that nearly drove him mad. He

  dragged her against him and covered her mouth with his. Though he

  longed to take her, he cautioned him self to hold back.

  With great tenderness he kissed her lips, her ear, her throat. When he

  brought his mouth to the sensitive flesh of her throat, she gave a

  little moan and arched her neck, giving him easier access. He ran

  open-mouthed kisses along the column of her throat, then brought his

  lips lower, until he encountered the ruffled neckline of her gown.

  He needed to rid himself of the barriers between them. Lingering over

  her lips, his fingers found the fasteners of her gown. With a rustle

  of satin it drifted to the floor. He ran wet kisses across her

  shoulder, causing her to tremble and clutch blindly at his waist. As

  he drew her close he untied the ribbons that held her chemise. It

  drifted like a flower petal to the floor, where it joined the rest of

  her clothes.

  "God in heaven, Lindsey, how lovely you are."

  His hands moved over her;, touching, exploring, seducing.

  With an unexpected boldness Lindsey reached for the buttons of his

  shirt. As it slipped from his shoulders she brought her lips to his

  hair-roughened chest and gloried in the freedom to touch him as he was

  touching her. But her courage failed her when she fumbled with the

  waistband of his breeches. Her fingers were stiff and awkward, and he

  was forced to help her, until, at last, his clothes joined hers on the

  floor at their feet.

  "I want you, Lindsey. How I want you." He spoke the words into her

  mouth as he covered her lips in a possessive kiss.

  She lost herself in him, drinking in all the dark, mysterious tastes

  that were his alone. The scent of pine forest clung to his hair. On

  his breath was a hint of ale. She felt drunk with the heady taste of

  him, tl/e musky male scent of him. Her man. For all time, he would

  own her heart.

  As he took the kiss deeper she felt her knees weaken. Scooping her up,

  he carried her to his bed and lay her among the linens, then lay beside

  her and drew her into the circle of his arms.

  His kisses were by turn harsh, then gentle, as he cautioned himself

  that this, her first time, must be savored slowly.

  Leaning up on one elbow he studied her as she lay beside him. Her

  hair, glinting red and gold in the firelight, was a splash of color

  against the white linens. It spilled across one breast, then fanned

  out around her like a silken veil.

  He caught the strands, lifting them away from her neck. He stared,

  fascinated, as they sifted through his fingers. With a fingertip he

  traced her collarbone, the slope of her shoulders, the curve of her

  breast.

  He lowered himself until his lips could follow the trail his fingers

  blazed and he felt her tremble as his lips closed around her nipple.

  With his tongue he teased it until he heard her little moan of

  pleasure.

  His lips covered hers in a kiss so demanding, she prayed it would never

  stop. When at last his lips left hers to explore her body, she felt

  bereft. She had a need to take and give until she was both filled and

  drained. Never before had she wanted to open herself to someone.

  But this man, his touch.

  his kiss, had taken her higher than she had dreamed possible.

  His kisses seared a fiery trail across her tiny waist to the smooth,

  flat skin of her stomach. He chuckled as she flinched, then ran his
/>
  hands across the softly rounded flare of her hips. His touch was so

  gentle, so easy, Lindsey lay seeped in pleasure, drifting on a cloud of

  contentment. But when his touch suddenly moved to her inner thigh, she

  started to protest. Her words were swallowed when his mouth covered

  hers in a savage kiss. And as his touch became more intimate, his

  mouth sought her breast and his lips closed around her hardened nipple.

  All she could do was absorb pleasure after pleasure as his lips and

  his fingertips continued driving her untiI her body was alive with

  feeling.

  She was no longer shy or afraid. Her head was thrown back, her body

  arched for him. As he hesitated above her she clutched at him, drawing

  him to her.

  "Love me, Jamie. Please love me now."

  Jamie was determined to be gentle. But as he entered her, he forgot

  everything except his need for this woman. He was kissing her lips,

  her cheek, her hair. And as he began to move, she moved with him,

  matching his incredible strength.

  Her lips were avid, and hungry, as they found his. He murmured

  incoherent words of love against her mouth. He pledged his life, his

  heart, his soul, and knew that it was not enough. He needed her with a

  desperation that bordered on madness.

  The taste of her, the scent of her, enveloped him, filling his mind,

  his senses. He heard the cry that broke from her lips as she shuddered

  and reached the final crest of intense pleasure. Her name was torn

  from his lips as he followed her high among the stars. Together they

  hovered a moment, before exploding into a million tiny pieces. Then

  slowly, slowly, they drifted back to earth.

  :g :,g

  Jamie rolled to his side and drew Lindsey into the circle of his

  embrace. With great tenderness he touched his lips to the sheen that

  covered her forehead.

  He felt the little tremors that rocked her and lifted her face for his

  inspection.

  "Tears, my lady?" His tone roughened.

  "I have hurt you."

  "Nay." She touched a finger to his lips to silence his fears.

  "I am just so filled with wonder at what we experienced. I never

  dreamed..." She swallowed.

  "It was beautiful

  "As are you." He pressed his lips to her temple.

  They lay in silence a moment, feeling their heartbeats slowly return to

  normal.

  Idly she traced the scars that crisscrossed his chest and shoulders.

  "You have been wounded so many times."

  He lay very still, loving the feel of her fingertips on his flesh.

  "They have all healed."

  "But you are scarred. I wish" -her voice lowered "--I could erase all

  your scars."

  "You already have," he said softly. It was the truth, he realized.

  With her he was renewed, refreshed. With her love he had been

  reborn.

  "This was not supposed to happen," Lindsey murmured against his

  throat.

  "What was not supposed to happen?"

  He lay very still, loving the tiny thread of contentment that curled

  along his spine. She fitted so perfectly into his arms. And into his

  life. She was the missing piece to this puzzle. With her, he was

  whole, complete.

  "Being loved by you." Lifting herself on her elbow, she traced the

  outline of his lips with her finger and gave a laugh when he bit it.

  "And why is that?"

  She traced his nose, his cheek, his shaggy eyebrow, while he lay

  steeped in pleasure. Hers was the gentlest touch he had ever known.

  While she leaned over him her hair swirled forward, tickling his chest.