Claimed by a Laird

by Glenn, Laura

  He slid one hand between her silky thighs.

  He just needed to step away from her. The household would be awakening soon to begin the clan’s daily activities. At any moment, Catriona would be walking in to tend to Anna as promised the night before.

  He slipped his fingers into her slick folds and she moaned into his ear. His cock surged as he pulled on her earlobe with his teeth and cupped one of her luscious, full breasts he just had the fortune to glimpse in the light of day. He brushed his thumb across the erect nipple and Anna pulled him closer, grinding her hips against him and rubbing herself back and forth against his hand.

  Her warm juices slickened his fingers. Damn it. She was ready to be taken. And, God, how he needed her. Needed to sink his straining cock into her hot depths and slake his lust for the strange, alluring woman. She had tortured him for half the night as she slid her naked flesh against his body, her erect nipples and softly rounded ass fairly inviting his mouth to taste her again. He’d lain for hours at her side, his rock-hard cock filling almost painfully just inches from her pussy.

  But he’d held strong. He’d never taken an unwilling woman let alone one half out of her mind due to fever and he wasn’t going to start now. Especially not with Annie. Something about her tugged at him, driving a strange need to give her everything into his heart. Despite his dismissal of her having any power over him and this new information about the Campbells, that one thought refused to budge.

  No. The Campbells were somehow involved in her appearance and he should logically be on guard against her. He pulled away at the same moment Anna’s warm, inviting hand pressed his aching cock through his breeches.

  “Galen.”

  His name fell from her lips like a caress and he was instantly lost, his shaft throbbing against her palm. He drew his fingers to her clit, reveling in her sharp intake of breath and the sudden rise in heat emanating from her skin.

  Voices carried into the room from the corridor and quickly faded as they passed by.

  Angry and disturbed by his emotions, but hungry to satisfy the pressing demand of his cock before they were interrupted, Galen rubbed her clit in ever-quickening circles. “We do not have much time, lass.”

  Anna nodded, her head tilting backward and eyes fluttering closed. His fingers worked quickly, rushing waves of molten, vibrating heat to her core. The ache in her legs grew and she grabbed onto his shoulders, shuddering as her entire abdomen contracted in urgency. She resisted the urge to moan, reluctant to draw the attention of anyone outside the room.

  He forced his mouth against hers, thrusting his tongue between her lips. She rocked her hips back and forth in rhythm with his strokes, entwining her tongue with his as the first tremors began deep within her core. Pleasure radiated outward in ever widening and quickening circles until each throb was coming one on top of the other. Her thighs shook as the pressure mounted and exploded, her pussy contracting tightly.

  Her eyes rolled backward and she gasped for air. He abruptly spun her on the bed and pushed her onto her hands and knees. The mattress sank as Galen spread her legs apart and knelt between them.

  Breathless, she closed her eyes as he fumbled with his breeches behind her. Grabbing her hips, he pushed his shaft between her swollen folds and plunged into her.

  A spasm spread through her core as his thick, smooth cock slid deeply into her and pulled out only to be shoved in just as quickly. As his testicles hit her clit over and over, she released a moan. The walls of her pussy pulsated around his shaft, sucking on it and drawing him deeper. Her entire body tensed, held on the precipice for a brief moment, before the fire exploded in her belly. Her vision blurred and she whimpered, holding back the desperate need to cry out.

  Galen growled and pounded into her hard. She leaned on her elbows to steady herself and her aching, distended nipples brushed the bed covers, sending sparks of acute pleasure directly to her clit. Her labia twitched and Galen’s fingers dug into her flesh as he drove into her once more and shuddered, releasing his seed deep inside her.

  For several moments, he held her hips as his labored breathing slowed and normalized. Her core twitched and contracted as he pulled his cock out. As the mattress shifted and the heat from his body left her, she grabbed the covers and pressed them to her chest before facing him.

  His disheveled hair hung in front of his face as he tucked his still partially erect shaft into his breeches. A strange, cold mask snapped in place over his face and that set her on edge.

  Barely glancing in her direction, he gripped her shoulders and pushed her onto the bed. “You will stay here and rest until I have deemed you fit enough to leave the room.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “What? No, I feel fine.”

  “No, you do not,” he insisted, glaring her into submission. “You are weakened and exhausted. You are not to move from this bed. I will have Catriona bring your meals.”

  Taken aback by the unexplained chill of his expression, Anna momentarily stiffened in fear. Anger rose within her and she opened her mouth to protest.

  He turned and reached the door in two long strides.

  “Sleep,” he ordered as he stepped over the threshold.

  “Galen—” Tears stung her eyes.

  He closed the door behind him.

  What on earth just happened?

  Chapter Nine

  She just might have to kill him.

  Without so much as a single word other than to order her to stay put before kissing the breath right out of her and leaving the room each day, Galen generally ignored her for three days straight. Though she never remembered him coming into the room at night, somehow he was always next to her in bed when she awoke.

  Angry at being ignored and hurt by the cold dismissal he had given her the last time they had sex, Anna decided she would leave the room after lunch on the first day. When she opened the door, however, two very serious-looking young men, acting as a wall between her and freedom, stared back at her. They didn’t understand a lick of English so she pleaded and cajoled in Gaelic as best as she could, but to no avail. The men were like two immovable mountains.

  Though Catriona quickly became a great comfort during those days of isolation and happily helped her practice Gaelic, Anna was left alone with her thoughts whenever Catriona had to tend her other duties. Thoughts of the home she may never see again, thoughts of Ian and Helena, the damnable pendant and Galen whirled around and around in her mind. Her attraction to Galen was nothing short of dangerous, if her behavior and his reaction after she had seduced him was any indication. Besides, what the hell had she been thinking? As a nurse, she should’ve known better than to have sex without a condom in sight. She hated herself for being so weak-willed and she hated him for his sudden coldness.

  Most of all, however, she hated the longing for Galen’s reassuring presence during those long hours alone in his room. She had been doing just fine on her own—she didn’t need anyone. But now she was a quivering, miserable mess, no thanks to Galen.

  After the marriage fiasco with James, she had thrown herself into work and school. She had her own apartment, her own car, and her own schedule, but, most importantly, she took care of herself. Unlike her mother, who was convinced that she needed a man to make her happy, Anna was content with her independence. After graduating, she dated several men, generally keeping them at arm’s distance until she was certain of their trustworthiness. They weren’t always happy about that and some gave up on her rather quickly, but she always tried to keep her head about her, never allowing herself to attach to a guy too fast. She was not always as successful as she would have liked and certainly got her heart bruised from time to time, especially if she let her guard down. But so far she’d been able to avoid the gut-wrenching heartbreak and betrayal she’d suffered at the hands of James.

  Much to her relief, on the fourth morning of her stay in Galen’s chamber, he finally agreed she was well enough to leave the room in order to join everyone for the midday meal. At the beginnin
g of her isolation, she was frustrated that he would leave the room before she had a chance to take him to task for acting like such an asshole. But today he seemed different. More open and somehow gentler. And, damn him, now she even agreed that she had needed several days of rest to fully recover.

  As Catriona assisted her in pulling on the strange, medieval clothing, Anna bit her lower lip, mulling over a rather appealing idea. She could finally, after all this time, leave all the pain and hurt of her past behind her. James wasn’t out there waiting to show up and ruin her life. Her mother’s ghost wasn’t haunting the family pub in Fannich or the roads of the rural Midwest where Anna had grown up. The hospital, as much as she loved her work, wasn’t there to suck every moment of her life away from her. And, perhaps most importantly, there was no apartment to which she would go home alone every night. As hard as life was bound to be in the thirteenth century, it was a fresh start and it was a new adventure.

  Anna had taken those long days alone to quiz Catriona about everything from what a typical day was like, to how people brushed their teeth, much to the young woman’s confusion. After a couple of days, Anna decided she was up to the task of roughing it in the thirteenth century. Hell, she had already mastered her initial disgust over chamber pots, and figured out how to clean her teeth so they wouldn’t fall out in a few years. Why couldn’t she make a successful life here? Of course, she had no idea what that life might look like or how she would go about supporting herself, but she could cross that bridge when she came to it.

  She smiled at Catriona and their eyes met while her new friend threw a long, brown leather belt around Anna’s waist. Too bad Galen didn’t have a mirror—she’d love to witness her transformation into a Medieval woman. The soft, off-white, linen garment Catriona had called a leine, peaked out from beneath the hem of the fern-green overdress that tied at her shoulders and served as the sleeves of her outfit.

  “There. I do believe the laird will be pleased.” Catriona stepped back from Anna and gave her a good once-over before nodding in satisfaction.

  “That I am,” Galen’s voice drawled from behind them.

  Both women turned to find Galen’s massive form leaned casually against the doorjamb, taking up most of the opening.

  Catriona stooped into an awkward curtsey, but Anna wasn’t sure he even noticed since he seemed determined to stare the soul right out of her. She tore her eyes from his, her cheeks heating. How long had he been standing there silently watching them?

  “Leave us, Catriona,” he ordered as he stepped fully into the room.

  Catriona nodded. She threw Anna a knowing grin and skirted past Galen out of the room.

  Anna’s stomach tightened as he stopped a foot in front of her and his eyes lazily traveled up and down her form. Her abdomen tingled and her nipples hardened as his stare passed over them. It seemed like it had been an eternity since he last regarded her with such obvious lust. She drank it in as though she’d been traversing the desert without water for days.

  “Yes, I am pleased,” he whispered, his eyes settling on her mouth.

  She gulped, but then chided herself as she mutely cursed him. Damn him. Why did he command so much power over her? And why the hell did her body so eagerly respond?

  Without dropping his stare, he reached for the long, plaid cloth Catriona had left on the bed and wrapped it around Anna’s shoulders. “Do not attempt to overdo it today,” he murmured. “Should you feel tired, you will come up here to rest. If I think for even a moment you are exhausting yourself, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you up here myself. Is that understood?”

  “I’m not a child.” She pushed his hands away so she could adjust the shawl without his distracting touch. “And I am a nurse, for crying out loud. I think I know when I’m ill or not.”

  His gray eyes narrowed as he grabbed her, crushing her to his chest.

  “I am laird here, not you,” he calmly replied as she tilted her head back all the way to meet his stare head-on. “You will obey me and you will accommodate me. It will not be the other way around. You would do best to remember that.”

  Just as she was about to protest his disgusting, high-handed remark, he smothered her lips with a demanding power no doubt meant to ensure her compliance. Warm waves of desire filled her belly and, before she could think better of it, she opened her mouth for him. His tongue slipped in, tasting and teasing. Her knees trembled as she weakly clung to him.

  Galen withdrew and slowly traced her bottom lip with his tongue before releasing her. “Come, it is time to eat.”

  Anna reached for the carved wooden bed post to steady herself, no longer able to recall why she had become angry with him in the first place.

  Damn him.

  He turned away with an air of smug satisfaction and strode into the corridor. She huffed in irritation and followed him, stopping beside him as they reached the top of the stairs.

  Galen grabbed her chin and forced her gaze to his once again. “I will only deny myself until tonight.”

  His promise fell across her cheek in a sensual caress.

  She blinked several times to rid her mind of the visions of what he might do to her. The last thing she needed was to throw caution to the wind and drag him back to the bedroom from which she had only just escaped. She had to take control of this situation and make him understand her tenuous position. This relationship—or whatever it was—with Galen was moving too fast. The last time she allowed her lusts to rule her, she got her heart broken.

  “Galen, I—”

  He gently squeezed her jaw as if her doubts about their physical relationship were written all over her face. “You are healed enough. I am through waiting.”

  He dropped his hand and she readied for the argument she was about to start. No man would treat her as though she were a mere possession he could do with as he wished.

  A strange smell, not unlike one might expect on a farm, wafted up the stairs and diverted her attention.

  “Lass, are you ill again?” his voice cut through her sudden mental fog.

  She shook her head, afraid he was about to force her into his chamber again.

  He nodded, much to her relief, and turned away from her to descend the staircase. She held her breath and followed.

  Her brow lifted in astonishment as she turned her attention from Galen to the great hall spread out before her. Dogs she swore had to be part wolf raced back and forth across the length of the room, weaving between the tables as they chased one another. Men joked and playfully shoved one another as their beverages sloshed out of their clay drinking vessels. Enough straw to see a herd of cattle through winter was strewn about the floor and she half expected chickens to poke their heads from beneath the tables, clucking and pecking at the men’s feet.

  The hall fell into a curious silence as Anna descended the stairs behind Galen. Her vision blurred slightly, casting the scene before her into a dream-like quality. Was this all for real? She sucked in a deep, calming breath.

  A small yelp escaped her lips as one foot slipped underneath her, sending her spiraling backward. Galen whipped around and grasped her waist just before her tailbone smashed the stone steps.

  “Did you become dizzy, lass?” he whispered, his brow laced with concern as he pressed her into his warm body.

  She shook her head, her breath shallowly filling her lungs. His chiseled chest beneath her fingertips fairly beckoned exploration and it took all her concentration to will them to be still.

  “Shall I escort you back up stairs?”

  She swallowed hard and forced a breathy “no” from her lips. The images triggered by his words did little to help her regain her wits, especially after he had just told her what he planned to do with her later tonight. Her vision softened and the noises of the great hall faded. Bare legs entangled. The hard weightiness of his body pressing her into the mattress. Running her tongue along his jaw to his ear as his roughened hand slipped between her thighs to her clit.

  “I wil
l not have you dying on me, woman,” he growled into her ear. “If you are not able to be up without becoming dizzy, I will demand you go straight back to bed.”

  Galen’s dramatic declaration broke the spell. She’d had her fill of his high-handed behavior. Her sigh was loud enough for the men—waiting none-too-patiently to eat at the tables in the middle of the hall—to hear. “For the love of God, Galen, stop fussing over me like a mother hen!”

  That certainly got his attention. His scowl was as fierce as the river’s current that had threatened to drown her just a few days prior. He turned it on his men when snickers arose from the tables. The hall fell into a deathly silence.

  Not wanting him to turn the scowl back to her, Anna rushed to placate him. She caressed his upper arm and lowered her voice. “What I meant to say is I feel fine. I just slipped, that’s all. Please don’t make me go back up there. It nearly drove me crazy being cooped up all day with nothing to do.”

  The black look eased from his face. He snatched her hand again and led her toward the empty seats near the head of one of the tables. Distracted by Galen’s changing moods and his quick pace, her feet shifted underneath her again. She gasped and grabbed his arm, dangling from him like a rag doll.

  Her sudden weight did not seem to faze him in the slightest. He simply stared down at her questioningly.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, blood rushing to her face as chuckles arose from the throng of men. “The straw is slippery.”

  “It is not straw,” Galen corrected. “They are rushes.”

  “Whatever.” She lifted her right foot to examine the bottom of her primitive leather shoe for an alternative explanation for her sudden clumsiness. “Don’t you have any rugs?”

  “Rugs are expensive, lass,” he replied as though talking to a child. “And I will not be spending precious coin on them.”

  Anna rolled her eyes and questioned what it was that attracted her to him. The man certainly tried her patience. “I’m not asking you to buy anything, Galen.”