So he took her hand and fell to one knee, his eyes never leaving hers. “There stands a verra good chance many of us will die soon, and you and I are at the top of that list. I dinnae care. And ‘tis clear I didnae care in any life prior.” Darach took her other hand and squeezed. “You’re worth the risk, Jaqueline. I would rather love you and die then turn from this to save myself.” He searched her eyes and meant every word. “Because there would be nothing left to save.”
“Of me?”
“No, of me.” He frowned. “Are you not following?”
“Barely.” She twisted her lip. “You run a little sappy.”
“Sappy?”
“Overly emotional,” Niall started but stopped short when Nicole elbowed him.
“I know what sappy means.” Darach shrugged and squeezed Jackie’s hands again, making no apologies. “When it comes to you, aye, I’m verra sappy.”
“I can see that.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’m not a moth.”
“Not anymore.”
“There’ll be no marriage in our future,” she confirmed.
“Aye, there will be.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Aye.”
“How’s your knee feel?” Her eyes flickered from the floor to him. “The rushes look thin.”
“My knee is fine,” he said. “I’m a hardened warrior.”
“That’s used to fighting on his knees?”
“Aye.” He shook his head, confused. “Nay.”
She leaned a little closer. “I think all your blood must’ve rushed from your head to your poor knee because you don’t seem to be thinking clearly.”
“I’ve never thought more clearly.”
“Really, Son?” his father murmured, a smile in his voice. “Because you seem to be running a little daft right now.”
He frowned. “I dinnae ken...”
“She said, in the future!” Nicole blurted. “Even I caught that.”
“What does the future have to do with anything,” he started but trailed off as it occurred to him and his eyes shot back to Jackie.
Right now, they were technically in the past not the future.
She would marry him here not there.
A soft smile curled her lips. “A little play on time travel. Get it?”
She joked. The vixen. But he liked it. Hell, he would probably love the devil himself right now.
He narrowed his eyes. Two could play at her game.
“Did you just make a mockery out of my proposal?” He frowned on purpose. “Something so serious?”
It seemed she had no intention of being baited. “I certainly did.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did you propose down here in front of everyone again and again so that I would feel guilted into saying yes?”
“I certainly did.”
Their brows perked at the same time.
“You’re awful,” she murmured.
“As are you,” he murmured.
“I think I might actually love you,” she whispered.
“Old news,” he said. “So you’ll marry me?”
“Yes, but I probably shouldn’t make it this easy.”
“This has been easy?”
Jackie grinned. “Yup.”
“You better run, lass,” he growled into her mind as his heart soared. “Because I mean to do all sorts of things to punish you for putting me through this."
She grinned at his threat. “Did I ever mention I ran track in college?”
“Nay,” he managed to get out before she darted off.
“Oh no, you don’t.” He chased after her. “Come here, my wee bride!”
The crowd parted, laughing as he flew after her.
“You’re not married yet!” Adlin declared and rushed after them with everyone in tow. “Somebody find the holy man!”
Hoots and hollers echoed as everyone cheered but one voice managed to rise above it all.
“Oddest damn proposal ever,” Nicole cried. “Love it!”
Darach didn’t care what happened behind him. Only what happened in front. And that was Jackie. “You’re fast but not that fast.” She didn’t get far before he tossed her over his shoulder and booked it up the stairs. They could marry later. Right now he wanted to celebrate another way entirely.
She laughed. “Your legs are longer than mine.”
He laughed as well, curious. “What made you change your mind, lass?”
They were being pursued, so he raced past his chamber.
“Good advice.”
“From my Ma?”
“Yes,” she said. “She’s pretty amazing.”
“She really is.”
And God, he was going to thank his mother a thousand times over.
“Where are we going, Darach?”
“I have no bloody clue.” He headed up another set of stairs. “The castle is different.”
“And built by the wizards chasing after us.” She kept chuckling. “So good luck going anywhere they can’t find you.”
Though he thought he was running to another set of chambers, he wasn’t. They ended up on a wide wall walk with dozens of burning torches. Stars glittered across the sky.
A dead end.
“Och,” he murmured as he lowered her but kept her close. “We’ve nowhere else to go.”
“Apparently not,” she said softly as her eyes met his. “It seems I’m done running, one way or another.”
“Aye?” He cupped her cheeks. “Because I’ll keep chasing you if that’s what you need.”
They both knew what he was talking about. And it had nothing to do with love or proposals. No, it had everything to do with her not wanting him to die because he loved her. If she needed him to keep pursuing while she kept saying no, he would do it until his last breath.
“No,” she whispered. “It’s time for you to catch me...for us to have this.”
“Found at last!” Adlin said.
Darach grinned at her. “I can toss you over my shoulder and head back down.”
She smiled. “I’m pretty sure no matter where we go, they’ll follow.”
“Is it true then, Jackie?” William said as he and Robert clambered onto the wall walk with her friends and his family. “Are ye marrying him?”
“Darach,” he provided.
“Are ye then, Jackie?” William repeated.
“I am,” she confirmed.
William eyed Darach up and down. “Are ye sure, lass?”
“Definitely,” she said.
“Och, ‘tis fine that,” Robert exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. “I approve.”
“Ye would,” William muttered.
“As should ye,” Robert declared, shoulders back and voice firm. “Darach is a fine and noble Scotsman.”
William eyed Robert. “Ye would stand up for him then?”
“I would,” Robert said. “He has been kind to me. More than that, he cares for and would protect Jackie with his life. There is nothing more honorable.”
“Aye,” William agreed, still contemplating Robert before his eyes turned to Darach. “So ye’ve grown a pair of ballocks and will treat her as ye should?”
Darach would make no mistakes with the lad this time. He withdrew his sword, knelt on one knee, held out his blade on two spread palms and lowered his head. “Upon my sword, I swear that I will always protect Jackie, body, and soul.”
He didn’t have to look up to know William was contemplating this carefully. “’Twas not the best display ye showed in the great hall,” he said. “Ye seemed a wee bit...overeager.”
“He has you pegged,” Jackie said into his mind with a chuckle.
“Love can make men do foolish things.” His eyes met William’s. “But I can assure ye, great love is always worth it. And a lass like Jackie, more worth it than any.”
“Ye mean that?”
“Never more so.”
Their eyes held for a long moment and he wondered why he knelt before this lad. Why it felt so important. No matter, anyone who stood up for a
lass’s honor so well would always be worth kneeling before and respecting.
“Then ye have my blessing,” William finally said as he backed away.
“As have ye mine,” Robert said.
“Then a hug please,” Jackie said as she crouched.
Robert grinned and flew into her arms. She squeezed him tight and murmured something in his ear before he darted off.
“I wouldn’t mind one from you too, William,” she said.
“Och, nay.” William bowed. “Many thanks but ‘twould be unseemly, m’Lady.”
“Jackie.”
“Nay.” His eyes went from Darach to Jackie. “Ye are a lady and should be addressed as such.”
“That’s very sweet of you to say.” She nodded and stood. “Thank you, William.”
“All right then,” Adlin said as a man with brown robes joined him. “Might we have a wedding then?”
Darach’s eyes met Jackie’s. “Might we?”
Their eyes held as she whispered, “Yes.”
So as the torches dimmed and stars brightened, a scrap of MacLomain tartan was wrapped around their wrists. Though they were the last couple to come together of his generation, they were the first to marry. And while they likely had little time to enjoy it, nothing had ever felt more right when at last the vows were said, and he kissed her.
Nothing else mattered as he wrapped his arms around Jackie. Not their other lives. Not even the ring that still didn’t glow.
Just them and this moment in time.
He heard the congratulations and felt the slaps on the back, but nothing really got through as their eyes stayed with one another’s.
“I want to...” she murmured into his mind, leaving the statement without end.
But he knew.
“Aye, lass,” he replied before he swept her into his arms and they left it all behind. There was no memory of bringing her back to his chamber, only of the way she looked standing in front of him. Pale blond hair flowing down her back. Skin glowing. Big brown eyes eager.
His wife.
Everything he had ever wanted.
He took his time undressing her, cherishing every inch of flesh as though it was the first time he saw it. Its smooth, satiny texture. The way goosebumps rose in the wake of his touch. They didn’t bother with the bed but fell to the fur in front of the fire.
“Jaqueline,” he whispered as he pressed her hands to the floor and sunk into her welcoming heat. They groaned as she wrapped her legs around him and took him deeper. Then they slid and writhed against each other as they struggled to get closer...merge.
“Darach,” she whispered as they rolled until she was on top and ground against him. There was no more beautiful sight than her hands pressing against his chest as her head fell back, her eyes closed and she swayed over him.
Though tempted to grab her waist and take control, he wanted her to have this. How they felt together. When she rolled her hips and slithered her body against his, any momentary willpower snapped in half.
He grabbed her arse and thrust hard.
Then it became a mad wash of near violent sex.
Like they did with words, they challenged with their bodies. Thrusting. Shifting. Taking. Giving. He had no clue where she began, and he ended as they went far beyond sex and lovemaking to something different.
Closer.
More explosive.
Sweat-slicked, energized, he rolled his hips and kept thrusting. By the time he found his way to release and had her arms pinned over her head, a roar was on his lips and a scream on hers. The sex was so bloody good. The second it ended he wanted it again.
They must have dozed off because the next thing he knew daylight flooded the chamber and she was tucked by his side, sound asleep. Darach flicked his wrist, and the blanket on the bed was wrapped around her. Pulling her tighter against him, he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair and closed his eyes.
“We must leave soon, Son,” his father said into his mind. “Trouble comes, and it cannae come here.”
Darach pressed his nose into her soft hair and tried to ignore his father, tried to ignore that though he might finally have his lass where he wanted her, she wasn’t truly there at all. She might be his wife now, but there was still someone out there that wanted her just as much...or something. Something so dark and evil that he knew his father was right. They shouldn’t be here anymore.
He was about to respond when he felt some sort of shift. Fear. Sadness. His magic responded to something, but he couldn’t quite figure out what.
Soon enough, he understood.
“We’re leaving now, back to our own era,” Grant said into his mind, just as upset. Yet it seemed his father knew exactly what had happened. “Eoghan couldnae find us, so he’s bringing us to him. Hamilton Castle is under attack.”
Chapter Sixteen
“LASS, WAKE UP. WE MUST go.” Jackie’s eyes shot open at the urgency in Darach’s voice. With a flick of his wrist, both of them were dressed.
“What’s going on?” She had never seen him so upset as he strapped on his weapons. “Talk to me, Darach.”
“My castle’s under attack,” he growled. “My people.”
“Oh, my God,” she exclaimed. Any sleepiness she felt vanished.
“’Tis bad. Da and Adlin are moving us fast.” He yanked her against him as magic swirled out of nowhere. Darach pressed her cheek against his chest and spoke within the mind as everything vanished and that familiar suctioning sensation began. “Be prepared for anything. I dinnae know exactly where we’ll end up. It could be in my castle or in the thick of battle.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay,” she said. “Just focus on your people, all right?”
“I am.” He kissed the top of her head. “You are my people too.”
Colors whipped and blended around them before the pressure and suction vanished, and screams rent the air. They were in the courtyard of Hamilton Castle, and it was insane. Loud. Chaotic. And even though the gates were closed, it was clear the battle wasn’t going well. Enemy warriors had somehow cleared both portcullises, and some were making it over the battlements. Darach shoved her behind his back and whipped a dagger at one who had just made it into the courtyard.
“Protect Jackie and the wee King,” Grant roared at Darach. “Get them into the castle.”
“Aye.” Darach nodded as he pressed a dagger into her hand, scooped up Robert, withdrew his sword and told her to stay close. Complete chaos reigned around them as more of the enemy made it into the courtyard, and the demi-god’s shadow fluctuated on the horizon. The spirits of the Genii Cucullati screamed like banshees as they swooped and attacked.
As far as she could tell, her friends and all of Darach’s cousins were here. Rònan, Erin, and Torra had just shifted into dragons and launched into the air. Heidrek followed Grant up to the tallest battement while Niall and Nicole helped protect her and Robert as they rushed toward the castle.
Yet too many were infiltrating. They were in serious trouble. Darach was trying to fight off warriors with Robert still in his arms. But their numbers were overwhelming.
“Put him down, Darach,” she said, her voice far calmer than she felt. “I’ll get him into the castle.”
He sliced a man’s throat. “Nay!”
More and more rushed him. While plenty of Hamilton warriors surrounded them and Niall and Nicole fought valiantly, it wasn’t enough.
Jackie focused on remaining calm. In fact, she did as Darach had taught her and paid close attention to her surroundings. What building was closest if they couldn’t make it to the castle. How many enemy warriors were between here and there.
Clearly sensing their position was too precarious, Darach shook his head and set Robert down. Though there was no time for their eyes to connect, she felt his faith in her. “Go, lass. Get him to safety. Through the armory behind us, you’ll find a hidden door on the side of the castle. ‘Twill look like a statue. Hurry!”
Though tempted to tell
him to be careful, she didn’t dare. She did not want to jinx things and lose him any sooner than necessary. So she said, “Fight well. I’ll see you soon.”
“Aye, love,” he murmured, already in the thick of it as he crossed blades with several warriors.
Time to get out of here.
Robert shook his head when she tried to pick him up. “Nay, lass. I’ve two feet. We can travel faster if I run.”
With no time to argue, she took his hand, and they raced for the armory with William and Nicole right behind them. They had no sooner entered when an enemy warrior appeared in the next room. Still remarkably calm, everything seemed to slow down. Jackie didn’t think but loosened her wrist, aimed her dagger and whipped it hard. It caught the guy in the neck, and he fell to his knees.
But not before he whipped a dagger back.
It was definitely a reflex because his eyes were already bleary. Still, the dagger would have caught William dead on if Robert didn’t shove him out of the way.
“Oh no!” Jackie cried when the dagger hit Robert’s shoulder instead. Stunned, the boy stared at the blade before he passed out. She caught him before he fell.
“Lair, I need your help,” she whispered into Darach’s sister’s mind, praying that she could hear her. That’s all she dared say as they rushed out the backside of the armory and went left. There was no way to know who was listening, and she didn’t want to give away their position.
Luckily, nobody pursued, and their route was well covered by trees. Cries of pain rent the air as they ran alongside the castle. Soon enough, she found a statue of a woman built into the stonework.
“Wow,” Nicole whispered. “She looks just like you.”
She did. How strange. But there was no time to worry about that because she needed to figure out how to get inside. It appeared impregnable.
“Look,” Nicole mouthed and pointed. “She even has your birthmark.”
Jackie peered closer. It definitely looked like her birthmark except it was slightly raised. Interesting. Drawn, she touched it...and it slid open. "Oh, wow," she whispered as they entered and it shut behind them.
There was just enough light to see up a long, spiral staircase as they climbed and climbed. When they reached the top, they entered a huge chamber tastefully done in shades of deep blue and burnt orange.
The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 103