The Highlander's Bride

by Donna Fletcher

  Cullen woke with the break of dawn, that first light easing away the darkness and promising a new day, a new start. And it was certainly that, for he woke with Sara’s head rested on his shoulder, her arm snug around his waist and her ankle crossing his.

  It took him a moment to remember how he had come to be beside her, and he was glad that they had remained together throughout the night. Their bodies were warm from the shared heat, and his sleep undisturbed by nightmares.

  He felt good, as if he’d slept soundly for the first time since Alaina’s passing. He felt strangely renewed and comfortable. So much so that he just wished to remain as he was, relishing the peaceful moment.

  A groan and the beginning of a stretch interrupted his brief peace, and he smiled when Sara suddenly realized where she was, her body springing taut like a bow.

  She lifted her head to stare at him, startled out of sleepiness.

  “Good morning,” he said, hoping to ease her concern.

  His innocent ploy didn’t work; she popped up but remained sitting beside him, looking bewildered.

  “You were having nightmares, and I attempted to comfort you.” He shrugged. “I fell asleep alongside you in the process.”

  She appeared speechless, which he found hard to believe. The woman was never at a loss for words, and he could only assume that sleep still partially claimed her.

  She reminded him of a cornered animal frozen in fear. He reached out, laying his hand on hers. “You settled peacefully in my arms and I settled peacefully into slumber.”

  Her face turned soft then, her eyes gentle, and her whole body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Thank you,” she said, to his surprise.

  He thought she might rant at him and tell him to keep to himself, that she didn’t need his concern, his comforting. He had never expected a thank-you.

  “I remember now you asking me if I wished to talk about my disturbing dreams.”

  “I did, and the offer still holds.”

  “I appreciate it,” she said with a tentative smile. “Perhaps some other time.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “That you’re not,” she said with a grin. “You are a good-looking man.”

  “And you are a beautiful woman.”

  Suddenly, once again, she appeared a cornered animal. “I am not.”

  He playfully squeezed her hand. “Do you call me a liar?”

  His teasing accusation startled her silent, and as he took in her eyes, wide in disbelief, and her rigid posture, he realized that it was likely she had never been told she was beautiful. He felt a twinge of sorrow for her and for all those who had failed to see the beauty in her.

  Still holding his hand, she finally found her voice. “You can’t mean it?”

  “I simply speak the truth. You are a beautiful woman.”

  “Have you rubbed the sleep from your eyes?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Whether in the dawn of first light or the gray of dusk, your beauty remains the same.”

  “That is so very lovely.”

  “Finally,” he grinned shaking their locked hands, “you accept my sincere compliment.”

  A tinge of pink painted her cheeks, and the idea that he could make her blush delighted him and widened his already foolish grin.

  She gave a quick nod and turned her head for a moment, he assumed to hide her cheeks’ staining a deeper pink. The blushing response reminded him that she was a woman in all ways possible. She merely masked her various aspects as a safeguard, and probably more so for no doubt having been hurt more than once.

  “I was thinking,” he said. “We struck a bargain and I gave my word, and I believe it also prudent that we consummate our vows so that your freedom is guaranteed.”

  Sara eased her hand out of his. “I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.”

  “I gave you my word.” He heard and felt his irritation. Why would she argue with him? It was for the best and she knew that, which was why she had made it part of the bargain. Why, suddenly, didn’t it matter anymore?

  “I release you from that part of the bargain.”

  “A bargain is a bargain,” he found himself arguing.

  “My bargain, my decision,” she said, and scrambled to her feet.

  He followed by jumping to his feet and grabbing hold of her arm. “Our bargain, our decision.”

  With a huffed laugh and a shake of her head, she said, “Spit it out, Scotsman, what you’re really saying is you want to have sex with me.”

  Damned if she wasn’t right, but then what had she expected when they flirted with challenging each other to surrender? How could she not have expected sparks to fly and some to ignite? Especially since, for his own part, he had been so long without a woman, just as she had never been with a man. It had always been a situation bent on an explosive ending.

  He yanked her up against him. “And you want to have sex with me,” he declared.

  Chapter 15

  Sara almost exploded, but instead tempered her anger when she begrudgingly admitted to herself that he spoke the truth. She had forced the issue of him bedding her as a practical one. They had then taken on a challenge of their own, both of them wanting to take charge of the situation until finally it became obvious that by sealing their vows it would settle all issues, the most important one being that it would protect her. Her father would not be able to annul her marriage and force another husband on her.

  What she hadn’t counted on was that the more she learned about Cullen, the more she liked him and wished she could have found a man like him to wed permanently.

  “No answer?” he asked, his lips brushing dangerously close to hers.

  “I’m thinking.”

  He laughed, caught her around the waist, swung her around, then planted her on the ground as he put a forceful kiss on her lips.

  She grabbed hold of his broad shoulders, her fingers grasping solid muscle while her body drifted against his, with help from his guiding hands.

  She didn’t struggle; she didn’t want to. She liked the taste of him, the feel of him against her, the way his heat melted over her and tingled her flesh to life, and the way his tongue danced with hers.

  When he finished, he rested his forehead to hers. “We have a bargain, you and I, one that will benefit both of us in more ways than one.”

  He was right, and she could either be a foolish female who denied the obvious and have him chase after her, which of course they had no time for, or she could be practical and enjoy what time she could with him.

  “Agreed,” she said before she changed her mind.

  “Three days, if there are no delays,” he said. “Three days for us simply to enjoy each other, sealing the deal and allowing both of us to have what we want, me my son and you your freedom.”

  “Three days,” she repeated. Three days to live her life and gather memories before she would once again be on her own.

  They were on the road in a couple of hours when the path turned dense with overgrown foliage and they had to dismount and guide their horses, hoping it cleared not too far ahead.

  “You handle a horse with experience,” Cullen said as they maneuvered their way around the dense foliage.

  Sara held tight to the reins, guiding her mare slowly and carefully, the animal trusting and obeying her every directive. “My father thought me foolish for wanting to ride as well as a man.”

  “Is that what you told him?”

  “You seem as surprised as he did. What good does a horse do me if I can’t handle it on my own? My father insisted I would need no such skills.” She laughed. “I guess he was wrong.”

  “Did your father always let you have your way?”

  “My way?” she asked curiously. “Why is it that I must forever seek permission from my father or a husband? Why can’t I make my own choices? I’m not an idiot like some men, and yet the fools are still free to make their choices.”

  “Alaina felt the same,” he said.


  “And what of you?” she asked as he followed in her footsteps, the terrain more even where she stepped.

  “Surprisingly, I found myself discussing things with her, both of us working together to find solutions to our problems, neither fighting to be right, just fighting to be together.”

  “You respected her,” Sara said, and he agreed with a nod. “You both were lucky to have found each other.”

  “Or unlucky?” he said sadly.

  “Do you think Alaina would have traded her life for the brief time she spent with you?”

  “Never!”

  “You didn’t even hesitate in answering. You knew her well, and I suspect that you wouldn’t ever trade having known her for your suffering in prison.”

  “Never!”

  “I envy the love you had for each other. It is so very priceless.”

  “That it is, and I will never know it again,” he said regrettably.

  “That’s selfish,” she snapped.

  Cullen looked affronted. “How dare—”

  “You do an injustice to Alaina’s memory,” she barked. “She loved unselfishly, not caring for the consequences, simply loving with all her heart, and she taught you the same. How dare you not strive to keep what she taught you alive and pass it on so others may share in its beauty.”

  Cullen stopped. “You know not what you say.”

  Sara halted her horse and her steps. “You are right, I don’t, but I would love to know.” She turned and walked on, her horse following without hesitation.

  They stopped when the sun was high in the sky to water their horses at a cool stream and fuel their own bodies with cheese and bread and quench their thirst with the tasty wine purchased at market.

  They sat on a blanket Sara spread out near to the stream, the food separating them, the overhead sun toasting them nicely. It seemed as if spring had suddenly sprung.

  “Will you miss Scotland?” Sara asked, receiving a startled look from Cullen, as if he’d just realized he would be leaving his homeland. “You did say you would be going to America. I just wondered how you felt about leaving.”

  It didn’t take him long to dismiss any concerns. “I have more unhappy memories here than I do good, and my first thought is for my son’s safety. If I remained in Scotland, I would always worry that the Earl of Balford would discover Alexander’s identity and kill him. In America, we can build anew, and with my inheritance, I can give my son a good life.”

  “You sacrifice for your son. You are a good father.”

  He pointed at her with a hunk of dark bread. “You would do the same.”

  “Sacrifice for my child?” she asked, and nodded. “Of course, without hesitation. I would protect my child with my life.”

  “You took your life in your hands to protect Alexander.”

  “I suppose, though the soldiers saw me as no threat—the idiots. I was simply a woman stuck there by a family who didn’t want her. What threat could I be to them?”

  Cullen laughed. “If only they knew.”

  “One felt my wrath when he attempted to corner me and have some fun.”

  Cullen bolted upright from his lounging position on the blanket. “A soldier attacked you? Did you report him to the Abbess?”

  “She would have blamed me for initiating it since she knew I searched for a husband.” She shook her head. “No, it was much better that I handled it myself, and quite easily at that.”

  “Dare I ask what you did?”

  “Showed him the error of his ways with the strategic placement of a dagger to his loins.”

  Cullen shook his head with a laugh. “Embarrassment probably kept him silent.”

  “He never said a word and never dared look my way again, nor did the other soldiers, which worked to my advantage when I abducted your son.”

  “How did you get your hands on him?”

  She had relived that night many times in her thoughts and dreams, the outcome not always the same, and she was grateful they were merely dreams.

  “I pestered the sisters so much about seeing the babe that they reported me to the Abbess. She then informed me that the babe was ill and wasn’t expected to last long, though I had learned otherwise. I went into action, made the necessary arrangements with a local couple who were desperate for money and promised them even more if they made certain the babe reached the destination safe and sound.”

  “How did you know the person you sent my son to would take him in?”

  “She’s a good woman, and I knew she wouldn’t refuse my request. I set up a plan so that I would be chosen to see to the babe’s burial arrangements—” Her raised hand prevented his query. “I said as much in order to protect the babe from harm. It helped that only two sisters were permitted to tend Alaina and your son, and I found them crying often enough to know that they weren’t happy with the situation.”

  “So not all the nuns were involved in the deceit?”

  “Oh my, no. The Abbess couldn’t risk that many tongues keeping the secret.”

  “Who was to kill my son?” he asked with a harsh anger.

  “One of the two who tended him, though I could tell neither wanted the chore, and besides, one of the guards had to confirm the babe’s death.”

  “How did you get a live babe past the guards?” he asked incredulously.

  “That part presented a serious problem, for I feared what the guards would do to make certain the babe was dead.” She grinned and puffed her chest in pride. “Alexander was so very patient with me while I used crushed red berries to mark his skin to make it appear that he had the pox.”

  “How did you keep him silent and still?”

  Sara laughed. “That was easy. I screamed and waved his little red-pocked arm outside his blanket. ‘He’s dead, he’s dead,’ I kept screaming, while holding him tight to me and waving his little arm at the guard who stumbled backward.” Sara laughed some more. “It was hilarious. Alexander even wore a smile, though no one saw his cute face. The guard ordered me to be rid of him—bury him quick is what he told me. Even the sisters who had tended him kept their distance, worried for their own health.”

  “And you simply walked off with my son?”

  “Past the lot of the terrified idiots,” she boasted, “and had Alexander whisked away to safety in no time, and made certain that no one would dare dig up his grave until you came along.”

  “Why didn’t the Abbess tell me of this, to prevent me from unearthing a contagious grave?” Cullen asked.

  “She didn’t know. The one guard insisted that we tell no one for fear of being left behind, quarantined and secluded at the abbey, and the sisters agreed readily enough. They feared the same treatment.”

  “So you all agreed to a lie?”

  “It worked to my advantage.”

  He shook his head and smiled. “You went to great lengths and took a dangerous chance to save my son. I truly appreciate it.”

  Sara shrugged, grateful for his appreciation but uncomfortable with it. “Your son deserved to live. I simply did what was necessary.”

  He stared at her a moment before saying, “You seem to always do what is necessary, and it’s not always simple.”

  “Necessary decisions are simple, it’s the action that is difficult,” she argued. “But then I believe you have learned that lesson yourself.” She stood, stretching her arms up and out. “We should be going.”

  Cullen stood more slowly and eased his solid arms into a stretch. “We should find a cottage to shelter us tonight.”

  Sara protected her eyes from the bright sun with her hand. “There’s no threat of rain. Bedding beneath the stars should be no problem.”

  “If you want to be bedded beneath the stars, that’s fine with me. I just thought you might want more of a secluded spot.”

  Her head whipped around and her eyes turned wide.

  “We might as well—”

  Sara yanked the blanket off the ground. “Don’t dare say be done with it.” She shook the blanket
in his face, bits of dirt and grass flying out from it. “Why not just stretch me out here, hike my skirts and have at it?”

  “Is that how you want it?” he asked, his brows arching.

  Sara groaned angrily, threw her hands up, discarding the blanket, and mumbled as she stomped off to pace a few feet away.

  Cullen approached cautiously. She could tell since his steps were hesitant and measured, as if he feared being caught in a snare.

  He whipped his hands up in surrender when she turned a hard glare on him.

  “I give up. Whatever I did, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

  Sara smirked. “If you don’t know what you did, how can you be sorry?”

  “Simple,” he explained. “I never meant to offend you from the start, so since it wasn’t intentional, I’m safe apologizing.”

  Her hands smacked her hips. “You think so?”

  “I’m not safe?” he asked with uncertainty, and took a step closer.

  She threw back her shoulders, her breasts stretching tight against her blouse. “You should know.”

  He nodded slowly and eased closer, reaching out to take her hand. “You’re right. Explain and I’ll fix it.”

  His fingers locked with hers while his thumb stroked her palm, and magically she felt her body ease and her temper abate.

  “You want me to fix it, don’t you, Sara?”

  He kissed her lips gently before she could respond.

  “And I want to fix it. I want it to be right for you.”

  He eased their locked hands behind her back and drew her in against him, all the while kissing her tenderly, until suddenly the kisses turned hungry.

  He fed off her like a starving man, not only tasting her lips, but nibbling along her neck, around her ears, and returning to feed once again at her mouth. She found her appetite just as ravenous as his and enjoyed every morsel he had to offer her.

  His free hand cupped her backside and pushed her hard against him, their bodies eager. Her hands raked through his long hair, digging into his scalp, drawing their mouths closer, to feed like frenzied lovers.

  One of the horses snorted loudly, snapping the both of them apart. Cullen’s hand went to the dirk sheathed at his waist as he quickly scanned the area. Sara did the same, until they both returned to where they started, staring at each other.