Promise of a Highlander

by Baker, Katy

  Chapter 17

  Lia stared out of the window. The bailey was busy with preparations for the morning and a palpable tension filled the air, like charged particles before a thunderstorm. The warriors spoke with bravado about how tomorrow they would defeat the raiders and end the threat to the clan but Lia heard the brittleness beneath their words. Everyone was nervous.

  She lifted her gaze to look beyond the castle walls and towards the unseen river. Somewhere out there, beyond the range of her eyesight, lay her river defenses. It was simple engineering really but if it worked it might mean the difference between winning and losing. If it worked.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. It will work, she told herself. Please God, let it work. She could not bear the thought of losing these people who had become her friends. Of losing Ross.

  She'd not spoken to him since his return. Where was he? In the Great Hall? The laird's solar? His own rooms? She had to see him. She walked to the door, yanked it open, and gave a little gasp of shock when she found the man in question standing on the other side, hand raised to knock.

  For a second they stood staring at each other in surprise.

  "Lia," Ross said gruffly. "I...I...wanted to...er..." His voice was husky and the way his eyes roved over her made heat creep across her skin.

  "I was just coming to find you."

  "Ye were?"

  "I...yes...um..." Damn, why did he have to look at her like that? It made all the thoughts go right out of her head. She stepped back and pulled the door wide. "Won't you come in?"

  Ross hesitated and glanced back into the corridor, obviously wondering if it would be appropriate to be seen entering her room. Lia didn't care one whit about what was appropriate. She raised an eyebrow, waiting.

  Ross cleared his throat, stepped over the threshold and Lia shut the door behind him.

  "I wanted to thank ye, lass,” Ross said. “For all that ye’ve done for the clan. My mother hasnae stopped singing yer praises since I returned. Even Otto managed a few words of approval."

  "He did? Wow. I'm honoured." She cocked her head as she looked up at him. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and his auburn hair hung onto his shoulders in messy tangles. She knew that the weight of responsibility must sit heavy on him. He'd taken his place as his father's heir in order to save his clan. It was something she knew he'd never wanted.

  "How are Archer's people settling in? Any fisticuffs yet?"

  He snorted. "No doubt, although they're wise enough to make sure I dinna find out about it." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Lord, but this leadership business isnae all it’s cracked up to be." His amber eyes found hers, his expression a little desperate. "Did I do the right thing, Lia? By bringing them here?"

  She laid a hand on his arm. "Of course you did. And you were the only man who could have brought Archer into the fold. Without you the MacAuley forces would be half those of the raiders. Thanks to you we have even numbers."

  He laid his hand over hers. His skin felt warm and rough. "It was ye, lass. Ye that gave me the strength I needed. Without ye...well, I am nay sure I could have done this." He blew out a breath and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, lass. Sorry I ever got ye into this. Because of me ye are trapped in a battle ye shouldnae have been dragged into."

  "I'm not sorry," Lia replied, curling her fingers tightly around his. "I'm not sorry for any of it." She was surprised to discover it was true. Why would she wish to change any of the events that led to her meeting the man standing in front of her? "If you hadn't 'dragged me into this' I would never have gotten to know you. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat."

  Ross was looking at her in that way again, that way that made her heart pound in her chest. He reached out, cupped her face with one hand and brushed his thumb across her cheek. "As would I. I dinna begrudge a moment of it. But I made ye a promise, and I intend to keep it. I have left instructions." His expression turned fierce. "If I dinna return from the battle—" He held up his hand to forestall Lia's sudden protestation. "If I dinna return from the battle ye will be smuggled out of the castle by sea and taken north. From there plans will be made to find Irene MacAskill and send ye home."

  Lia wanted to argue, to protest that she would not leave him, that of course he would return from the battle, but as she looked into his eyes she realized that's not what he needed from her. He needed to know that she would be safe, no matter what happened.

  Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

  Ross nodded tightly as though a weight had been lifted from him. "Good. That's what I came to tell ye." He hesitated. The candlelight played across his features and made his eyes glow like copper coins. Then he shook himself. "I should go."

  He made to walk off but Lia caught his wrist. "Stay."

  He glanced down at her hand around his wrist and then up at her. His voice was a husky rasp.

  "It wouldnae be appropriate—"

  "Damn what's appropriate!" Lia cried, suddenly on the verge of tears. "Tomorrow might...you might not..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

  Ross grabbed her, pulled her into a tight embrace. His strong arms circled around her back, pressing her tightly against him.

  "Hush," he said softly into her hair. "Didnae I say I would always come back to ye?"

  She pushed back slightly so she could look up at him. "You don't know that."

  "I do," he said fiercely. His eyes blazed and for a moment she saw the raw power that he usually kept hidden. "I dinna care what it takes. I will come back to ye."

  He stared down at her and Lia couldn't look away. His smell, his feel, his presence surrounded her like a heavy blanket, wrapping her warmly. Holy shit, how had this happened? How had she fallen so hard and so deeply for this man?

  A low hiss escaped Ross's lips. Then he bent his head and kissed her.

  It was a wild, fierce kiss, full of longing and desperation. Full of fear that this might be the only night they had. Lia wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back, their lips meeting in a surge of need that made Lia's body burn with desire.

  Her thoughts evaporated. Her worries burned away. None of it mattered in this moment. Only he mattered.

  His hands swept down her back, his fingers caressing her in a way that sent tingles of electricity racing along her nerves. A hot ache lit deep inside her and began to spread like a slowly burning ember.

  Ross growled, a deep, almost animal sound in the back of his throat. Then he bent, lifted her as easily as if she were a doll, and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down on her back and followed her down, his weight pressing her into the soft covers as his lips found her neck, her ears, her chest.

  Lia began plucking at the knot that held his plaid closed over his shoulder. It came free and she yanked it away. Ross ducked his head to allow her to tug off his linen shirt and this followed the plaid onto the floor. The flickering light from the candles made ridges and valleys of his muscled body, crossed here and there by the faint white tracery of scars.

  Lia drank it all in, reaching out with one hand to trace her fingers lightly across the contours of his chest. Ross's eyes slid closed, his breathing becoming heavy. Then he caught her hand, flipped her onto her back and with deft fingers untied the laces on her dress. Lia kicked herself out of it and Ross flung it away.

  He traced a finger slowly down her side and back up again, the lightest of touches, but it was enough to send goose bumps riding up her skin and pluck a soft sigh from her lips.

  "Ye are beautiful," he murmured. "So beautiful."

  He bent his head to kiss her again, even as he cupped one breast, his thumb playing across the nipple until it hardened under his touch. Lia gasped, arching her back as he explored lower, his hand slipping between her legs and sending gasping shudders through her body.

  Ross knew what he was doing. His lips caressed her mouth, her lips, her shoulders and neck whilst his fingers explored further down, finding all the right places to touch in order to make he
r body come alive.

  And it did. She reacted to his touch in a way she'd never experienced, her senses blown wide open, her nerves tingling with sensations she'd never knew existed.

  Lia ran her hands down his back, resting her palms for a second on his tight buttocks before tracing a finger around his hips and then to where his manhood bulged between his legs, attesting to his desire for her.

  It was Ross's turn to gasp. "Keep touching me like that," he growled. "And I willnae be able to stop myself from taking ye right now."

  "You think I want you to stop?" Lia murmured. "God, Ross, I want you so bad it hurts."

  Desire flared in his eyes, so hot it scalded Lia to the bone. The ache inside her became unbearable. She needed him to quench it.

  Ross hissed softly then nudged her knees apart, positioning himself above her. His eyes bored into hers, holding her gaze as he stared down at her, his chest heaving with passion.

  "Lord help me, Lia. What have ye done to me? I can barely think for wanting ye."

  Without taking his eyes off her, he dropped his hips, settled his weight atop her. Lia felt the tip of his manhood touch the sweet spot between her legs and she moaned softly. This was torture.

  Hands braced to either side of her face, Ross thrust his hips and slid inside her with one deep thrust, driving himself up to the hilt. Lia cried out, arching her back beneath him.

  Ross began to move, gently at first, but with increasing passion, and Lia found herself moving in time with him, grinding her hips against his, holding tight to the muscles of his back as they bunched and released above her.

  She'd never felt anything like this. Lia was no virgin but never in her life had she experienced this feeling of utter completeness, of two people becoming totally and utterly one. Ross's body spoke to hers, his movements waking parts of her that had never been awakened, sending sensations cascading through her body like tiny lightning strikes.

  Lia felt gasps and moans being ripped from her throat but she was barely aware of anything beyond what Ross was doing to her body. She didn't want this to stop. She never wanted it to end. She wanted this moment to last forever, for Ross to make love to her for eternity. But her body had other ideas. The ache began to spread, morphing into a conflagration that sizzled along her nerves.

  Ross thrust into her harder and harder and Lia was dimly aware of the bed smacking into the wall and of Ross growling with each thrust. Her thoughts started to disintegrate. She began to come apart, her essence swallowed by this man and what he was doing to her.

  "Ross!" she gasped. "Oh my God, Ross!"

  Then it hit. An explosion went off inside her and she cried out loud, her body writhing as ecstasy obliterated her. Ross gave a great grunting gasp and thrust deeply, holding himself inside her as he too reached his climax.

  Lia lost all sense of time. When the ecstasy finally began to ebb and she opened her eyes she found Ross gazing down at her, his eyes dark. He bent his head and kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose.

  "I love ye," he breathed. "I love ye so much."

  She cupped his face in her hands. They trembled a little. "And I you." Sudden emotion made her voice wobble. "Oh God, Ross. What are we going to do?"

  He rolled onto his back and then pulled her tight against him, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "We dinna think about tomorrow. We're here now and there are many hours yet before dawn."

  She nodded, clinging to him. She just couldn't get close enough. Even though their bodies were touching, it still wasn't enough. It would never be enough. How could she bear to be parted from him tomorrow?

  Ross put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. He studied her face, a faint smile curling his lips.

  "What are you thinking?" she asked.

  "I was thinking of how strange a thing fate is. Of how, if somebody had told me a year ago, that I would be here now, in Dun Ringill, with a woman from another time—a woman I love—by my side, I would have thought they had lost their senses. But here we are."

  "Here we are," she agreed. She leaned close and kissed him.

  Ross was right. Morning was still hours away and if she had nothing else, she had this night with him. She intended to make the most of it.

  ROSS RAISED HIS HAND. At his signal the column of warriors behind him came to a halt, making no sound. They'd even wrapped cloth around their weapons to ensure they didn’t give away their position to the enemy. He signalled for them to wait whilst he and Finlay crept forward to where the river bent around to the south.

  It was still dark, although the sky to the east was beginning to lighten with streaks of red like running blood. To Ross's mind, that was not a good omen. Dun Ringill was out of sight around the bend in the river and it was cold enough to make his breath plume in front of him.

  He waited as Finlay picked his way down the river bank and crouched low, his tracker's eyes searching for signs only he knew to look for. He nodded, satisfied.

  "Nothing. Let's go."

  He waved at the column to proceed and they set off again at a march, Ross striding at the head of the column, his uncle by his side. Behind them Dun Ringill's defenders marched in grim silence. Ross risked a glance across the river and saw Archer and his people keeping up with them on the far bank. They too, moved in total silence, their forms little more than flitting shadows in the pre-dawn gloom.

  They approached the river defences and a shrill bird call rang out. Finlay froze, indicating for the others to do the same. Lifting his hands to his mouth he whistled in imitation of the bird call and two of his trackers stood up from the undergrowth.

  Finlay and Ross approached them. "What news, Ralph?" Finlay asked. "Any word from the relay stations?"

  Finlay had hidden a network of his trackers along the river bank, men who knew how to travel swiftly and secretly, to bring them news as the fleet approached.

  Ralph nodded. "Exactly as expected. They're several miles downriver. They're coming quicker now the villages have been emptied and there is no plunder to be had."

  Ross smiled grimly. "Well at least we've managed to irritate the bastards."

  He called over his captains and quickly issued orders for the men to form ranks along the river bank, hidden behind the screen of trees. On the other side he knew Archer would be doing the same. Finlay and his archers made up the first rank whilst the others waited behind. There was no talking, no bravado, no ribald jokes as the men took up their positions. Instead they moved in silence, each knowing what was at stake today.

  Ross crouched next to his uncle behind a screen of bushes. He peered through a gap in its branches to the river beyond.

  The tide was high and the stakes that Lia and her team had driven into the riverbed were not visible above the water. They had been careful to clean up carefully after themselves so no evidence of their work remained and to anyone who didn't know better this part of the river would look like any other, with nothing to indicate the danger that lay just below the surface.

  The sky gradually lightened until the sun lifted its head above the horizon, sending out bars of light that made the water sparkle. A bead of sweat formed on Ross's brow, despite the coolness of the morning. His fingers gripped the hilt of his sword so tight his hand ached. The only thought that brought him any comfort was that at least Lia was safe in Dun Ringill. No matter what happened today, she would be protected.

  Taking comfort in that thought, Ross stared upriver and waited.

  LIA REALIZED HER FOOT was tapping on the floor and forced herself to stop. She'd already bitten down her nails and now she held her hands in her lap as she waited for her maid to finish fussing around the room. She kept glancing at the window although she could see nothing but darkness beyond. Where was he? Were they in position yet? Had it all started?

  The maid finished building the fire and then turned to Lia. "I'll brush yer hair now, my lady."

  "No!" Lia snapped. Then, forcing her words to calmness, she added, "That is...I...um
..." She cast around for something to say that would get rid of the woman without arousing suspicion. "I...er...I think I would like a bath. Could you have some water brought up from the kitchens?"

  The maid gave a curtsey. "Of course, my lady, I'll see to it right away."

  As the girl left the room Lia winced at the thought of the poor woman hauling hot water all the way up here for no reason but there was nothing she could do about that. After the woman had left, she counted to a hundred and then crept to the door. Gently pulling it open, she stuck her head out and looked up and down the corridor. There was nobody in sight. Good.

  She stepped out, pulled the door behind her and hurried down the corridor, turning left, away from the Great Hall and the kitchens and all the places where she might bump into somebody. At the end of the corridor she hurried down a set of little-used servant stairs and then out of a door, across a small courtyard used to grow herbs and to a tiny postern gate set into the outer wall. It was thick with cobwebs, showing how rarely it was used.

  Crouching in the shadows at the base of the wall, Lia felt around for the pack she'd hidden there yesterday afternoon and pulled out her leggings, tunic and stout boots.

  Having a quick look around to check nobody was watching, she quickly changed, stuffing the dress into the pack and stowing it away again. She strapped a dagger she'd managed to beg from the blacksmith around her waist and then set her hand to the handle of the postern gate. She was just about to yank it open when a voice spoke out of the shadows behind her.

  "I wouldnae do that if I were ye."

  Lia spun around with a yelp. Maggie was standing behind her, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in something between annoyance and amusement.

  "I'd ask what ye are doing out here," she said. "Except that it's pretty damned obvious ye are going after Ross."

  Lia glanced around. There was nobody else in sight. "What are you doing here, Maggie? I thought you'd gone with Archer."