The Highland Chieftain

by Amy Jarecki

  Mairi looked to Dunn. “This is the captain’s cabin, is it not?”

  “It is. Kennan has graciously offered it to you for the duration of this voyage.”

  “To me?” asked Mairi.

  He cleared his throat and dipped his chin, giving her a sheepish look that said there was more to the story. “Och…” The big Highlander seemed oddly nervous as he raked his fingers through his hair. “I ken you wanted a wedding at the cathedral with a gathering of the clans.”

  Drawing a hand over her heart, she nodded.

  “And I understand if you do not want to be hasty now.”

  “Now?”

  He grasped her hand and dropped to one knee. Looking up to meet her gaze, the sunlight beaming through the window made his face dreamy. And then his jaw set with the fierce determination she’d come to know. “Kennan, as master of this ship, has agreed to marry us.”

  “Aboard this very brig?”

  “Aye.” Closing his eyes, he kissed her ruby ring and drew her fingers to his cheek. “I want to call you my wife more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. You are the only beam of sunshine in this brash Highlander’s life, and I love you with every fiber of my being. I ken you want an enormous wedding, and I swear to you when we arrive home I will hold the biggest celebration Eilean Donan Castle has ever seen, but I ask you now to be my wife. To make our love holy in the eyes of God and to the crew that mans this vessel.”

  “Oh, Dunn, I want to marry you, too. I do not care if we are on a boat or in a wee chapel in the remotest part of the Highlands, I want to be yours forever.” Her heart overflowed with joy as she laughed. “Even dressed in this dirty kirtle, I would proudly stand beside you and take my vows.”

  “I would marry you wearing nothing but rags. But I ken a lady as fine as my Lady Mairi would not want to face her groom on her wedding day unless she had a gown suitable for the occasion.”

  She knit her brows, a concoction of emotions swarming through her breast. “I would marry you in rags as well,” she whispered. “I do not want to be like my father and place airs afore that which is truly important.”

  Dunn rose to his feet, and a deep chuckle rumbled from his chest as he pulled her into his arms. “With every passing day I love you more. But you’ll not be attending your wedding in rags, lass.” He cupped her face and kissed her.

  “When is this wedding to take place?”

  “This very day.” He opened a cedar chest. “Kennan purchased this gown in Edinburgh for Janet. And I ken she would not think twice afore lending it to you for this special day.”

  Mairi gasped as she ran the blue silk between her fingertips. “’Tis a work of art.” She held up the beading as it flickered in the light. “Such intricate detail.”

  “And the color of sky like your eyes.” Dunn held it up to her shoulders. “The size is perfect.”

  Mairi glanced down with admiration. “’Tis funny. As we were growing up, Janet and I oft pretended we were twins.”

  “Then ’tis settled.” He smiled broader than Mairi had ever seen. “I’ll give you leave to dress. Ah…will you need assistance?”

  “I think I can manage.”

  “Very well. I’ll return in an hour.”

  “Do you think Kennan might have a hairbrush and pins?”

  “Let me ask.”

  After the door shut behind Dunn, Mairi twirled across the floor, caring not about the sway of the ship. For today she would marry the man of her dreams. Her heart swirled and soared with each sweeping spin.

  “Wheeeeeee!”

  * * *

  Dunn paced the deck at the bow of the brig, wiping his palms on his kilt. No matter how much the wind blew, his damned hands refused to stop perspiring. He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. Fie, only two minutes had passed since the last time he’d taken a look.

  Kennan strolled toward him with a flask in hand. “Calm your nerves with a tot of whisky, my friend.”

  “I am not nervous,” Dunn growled, grabbing the flask and sloshing some onto the deck.

  “Could have fooled me.” Kennan sniggered. “Must be the seasickness.”

  After taking a long swig, Dunn wiped his mouth with the back of his hand while a guttural sigh rumbled through his burning throat. “That did the trick. My thanks.”

  Kennan saluted with the flask. “Brought a cask of spirit down from Aberdeen. ’Tis from the Gordon stills.”

  “Och, the Gordons distill the best—do not cut corners with the aging.” It was nice to engage in a bit of conversation while he waited…and waited.

  I will wait for her forever.

  Thankfully, forever never arrived. Instead, the door to the officer’s quarters opened. As planned, a sailor offered his elbow to Her Ladyship. A long, slender arm reached out from the doorway. Gooseflesh surged down Dunn’s back as his bride stepped into the sun. God in heaven, she posed a radiant picture. Ethereal beams of light glowed around her, picking up the simmering highlights of her red curls. But Dunn’s heart nearly hammered out of his chest when she looked across the deck and smiled.

  It didn’t matter if she wore a gown of blue with sparkling bobbles. Her genuine smile and the love in her eyes were all the assurance Dunn needed to fill him with everlasting happiness.

  As Mairi started forward, Dunn hastened to her hand and assisted her toward the ship’s bow. “You are nothing short of stunning.”

  A chuckle rolled from her throat. “I say, you are the most ruggedly alluring man in all of Britain.”

  “Not just the Highlands?” He led her to the foredeck, where the nose of the ship parted the seas.

  “Nay, after my recent travels, I’d say I am an expert on the matter, and you are the most handsome man I have ever seen.”

  “And I am glad you are blind, m’lady.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but Kennan stepped forward with a long silk cloth and a razor-sharp dagger. “Are you ready?”

  “We are.” Dunn offered his palm. Kennan took the blade and made a wee cut—one that would heal in a day or two, but deep enough for a line of red blood to seep through. Then he did the same to Her Ladyship.

  “The union of a man and woman at sea is as sacred and holy as matrimony in God’s church. And today your blood will combine. With this silken bond, I will make you one in the eyes of our heavenly Father.” Kennan took their hands and pressed their palms together.

  Dunn squeezed his fingers around Mairi’s palm, so small compared to his. While Kennan wrapped the cloth around their hands, Dunn’s throat thickened. He needed to protect her, to succor her, to love her. He would die for her.

  While they stood facing each other with their hands joined, their blood mingling between them, Dunn gazed upon the only woman he would ever love. Kennan recited from the book of prayers, but the words were lost in the holiness of the moment. Had Dunn searched the world high and low, he would have found no better cathedral. The rush of the water breaking against the ship’s hull, the call of the gulls, the flapping of the sails, and Lady Mairi gazing up at him with the beauty of a goddess made their wedding perfect—a day they would never forget.

  “Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder,” Kennan boomed while the crew applauded.

  Dunn looked away for the first time. “Are we married?”

  “You are,” said the young man while he removed the binding. “Now kiss your bride.”

  Grinning so wide his face stretched, he dipped his chin and sealed their bond with a kiss—the first kiss of a new lifetime.

  “Open a barrel of port wine for all!” shouted the ship’s master.

  Boisterous cheers resounded across the deck.

  Dunn clutched Mairi’s hands over his heart. “Kennan has offered to serve us a meal with the officers in his cabin…which would be your cabin at the moment. Do you mind, mo leannan?”

  “Mind?” Happiness danced in her eyes as she gazed upward. “Mr. Cameron has taken us away from tyranny and has done us the great
honor of presiding over our marriage. The least we can do is celebrate our good fortune with him.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “You are so fine to me, wife.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The festivities lasted until the sun set and the lanterns were lit in the master’s cabin. And when at last the officers headed for their berths and left the couple alone, prickles of anticipation fired across Mairi’s flesh. She stood across the table from Dunn, unable to draw her gaze from her husband’s braw face. He licked his lips, his eyes growing darker by the moment. The day’s beard had come in, making him look a wee bit dangerous, but she liked him that way.

  “I want you, lass.”

  Blessed be the saints, she wanted him, too. So much. Her gaze shot to the small bed. “Will…will we fit?”

  He stroked his fingers down his stubbled jaw. “I could shift the mattress to the floor.”

  She nodded eagerly.

  Once he had the pallet arranged, he stood and faced her. “Are you willing to have me?”

  Realizing she hadn’t uttered a proper response when he’d told her he wanted her, she took in a sharp breath and reached for his hands. “I’ve been anxious for the officers to take their leave. I have eager awaited this moment, trying ever so hard to be patient.”

  “I have as well. And now that it is here, for the first time in my life, I’m not certain how to proceed.”

  Mairi bit her lip, her hand moving to untie her bodice. She stepped forward as the neck fell open. “I believe we take it one lace at a time.”

  He chucked as he moved closer and released his belt buckle. “I like the way you think, m’lady.” He let it drop to the deck. “But my garments are far easier to remove than yours.”

  Giving him a wicked grin, she reached for his tartan, unpinned the big brooch, and drew the wool from his shoulder. “Then I shall be rewarded by gazing upon you whilst you strip me bare.” With a single flick of her wrist, she let the tartan fall. Her breathing became labored as she regarded his powerful body.

  He began to shrug out of his doublet, but she stopped him. “Allow me.”

  He gave a bow. “My lady.”

  Mairi’s desire mounted as she slowly peeled off the doublet, his shirt, and his shoes and rolled down his hose, careful not to aggravate his heel. With not a stitch of clothing, Dunn stood in the middle of the cabin, his shoulders square. Mairi’s gaze meandered down his powerful chest, continued past the rippled muscles of his abdomen, and settled on his engorged erection. Unable to swallow, her tongue slipped over her lip as she stroked him. “You are magnificent.”

  The ship seemed to roll with Dunn’s shudder. “Now you.”

  He took his time unlacing her bodice and stays. Still wearing her petticoat and chemise, he dipped his finger inside her neckline and lightly caressed the tops of her breasts—another shudder accompanied by the rocking of the ship, this time from Mairi.

  With a tug on the bow, her petticoat whooshed to the floor. Then standing but a hand’s breadth away, he slowly gathered her chemise in his fingers, inching it up to her ankles, her knees, her thighs. Mairi gasped when a rush of cool air swirled around her nether parts—though not nearly cool enough to quell the fire swirling within.

  When at last they stood naked together for the first time as man and wife, Dunn held her at arm’s length, his eyes filled with desire, smoldering and fixated only on her. “My God, you embody perfection.”

  With her inhalation, Mairi’s breasts swelled with need. She could restrain herself no longer. “I must feel your skin against me.”

  He pulled her into his embrace and surrounded her with warmth. Sliding his hand up her spine, he cradled her head while his mouth claimed hers, wildly plunging his tongue inside, consuming her with a rush of frantic kisses.

  Mairi’s fingers sank into his powerful backside while her abdomen connected with his manhood. She rubbed her breasts against his chest, needing to be closer yet. He lifted her into his arms and coaxed her legs around him.

  She gasped as her slick core slid over the tip of his erection. His thighs took her weight as he slipped deeper. Holding on for dear life, Mairi’s breathing sped. Together they fused their bodies, completely absorbed in the love pulsing between them as, slowly, she took him into her core.

  Too close to bursting, Dunn moved toward the pallet with Mairi in his arms. Everything about this woman heightened his need. Good God, he might come just by breathing in her scent. He kneeled and gently lowered her onto the soft bed. “I want it to be good for you, lass.”

  She pulled him over her. “Holding you in my embrace fills my soul with happiness.”

  Hovering over her, he started at her lips, then swirled kisses down her neck, along her shoulders. And finally kissed her breasts. Mairi arched up as he took her nipple into his mouth and suckled her. Forcing himself not to come, he continued lower, kissing her belly while his finger found her core and the slick button that would drive her wild. In and out he teased her, watching her buck, her eyes roll back. “Please, Dunn. I need you!”

  Manna from heaven.

  “And you will have me, mo leannan.” His voice came out low, gravelly, and barely recognizable.

  Dunn’s breath stopped as she reached down and grasped him, guiding him to her entrance. While he slipped inside, he forced himself to clench his muscles to keep from exploding, but Mairi grabbed his buttocks and forced him deeper—forced him into ecstasy. Gripping the linens, he made ready for the charge. If Mairi dictated a ferocious tempo, he was not one to deny her demands. He let loose and thrust again and again and again.

  “Faster!” she cried, her fingers digging in, showing him what she wanted.

  Dunn gritted his teeth and sped the pace, his mind ravenous with passion. Higher and higher he soared until his vision blurred with the violence of his release. While he pulsed, Mairi arched up and shattered, calling his name, thrashing her head from side to side while her inner walls squeezed him.

  Catching his breath, he dipped his chin and kissed her with the languid swirls of a satiated man. “You have charmed me body and soul, m’lady.”

  She chuckled wantonly. “You are mine for all of eternity.”

  “I am.” He smoothed back her mane of wild hair and kissed her bonny ear. “You are so fine to me, Mairi.”

  “As you are to me, my love.” She scrubbed her fingernails over the stubble along his jaw. “And I cannot wait to make love to you again.”

  “…and again,” he teased.

  She swirled her hips. “And again.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  It took a fortnight to sail up the western coast of Britain—a fortnight of wedded bliss. Dunn and Mairi rarely left the cabin, spending most of the cruise on the wee pallet in each other’s arms. Before the ship continued to the Isle of Skye, she dropped anchor in Loch Alsh at the confluence with Loch Duich. In close proximity to the very promontory where sat the bonniest castle in all Scotland, Eilean Donan.

  How easily Mairi made the castle her home. All the servants welcomed her with knowing smiles, relieved not to carry on with the charade of her identity. As soon as she was settled, she and Dunn set to planning the gathering for after the harvest when the clan’s crofters would be free to attend.

  After organizing every last detail from the decorations to the food to the musicians, and after writing and sending out countless invitations, Mairi stood while Lilas finished pinning the ostrich feather atop an elaborate coiffure—one fancy enough to make the ladies at court envious. Though Mairi missed Aela, Lilas was a close second for the role of lady’s maid.

  “You are the bonniest woman in all the Highlands, m’lady.”

  Mairi chuckled. “Have you met them all?”

  Poor Lilas looked baffled. “Beg your pardon?”

  “Thank you for the compliment.” She patted the maid’s hand. “You have worked miracles with my hair. ’Tis lovely.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  Dunn popped his head in from th
e adjoining door. “My word, must you grow more ravishing every time I see you?”

  Standing, Mairi gestured toward the maid. “Blame Lilas. She has turned my hair into a work of art.”

  The lass blushed clear up to her linen coif.

  “You are truly talented.” Dunn gave Lilas a wee bow before returning his attention to his wife. “Are you nearly ready, my love? The guests are sure to start arriving soon.”

  Mairi patted her hair and looked in the mirror one last time before picking up her fan. “I cannot believe this day has come at long last.”

  Lilas glanced between them. “Is there anything else I can do for you, m’lady?”

  “No, thank you.” Mairi waved toward the door. “Go on and enjoy your supper.”

  Dunn took her hands and regarded her from head to toe. “You really do look stunning.”

  “As do you. I will never grow tired of seeing you in full Highland dress. You do have quite masculine knees.”

  He laughed and wrapped her in his arms. “So now ’tis my knees that turn your head.”

  “Aye, and several other things which are covered up at the moment.” She scraped her teeth across her bottom lip as his look grew dangerously rapturous. “I thought you said the guests would be here anon.”

  “I did.”

  “And you’ve taken care of the seating arrangements?”

  “Aye, the Camerons and the Grants will be at opposite ends of the hall.”

  “Good.” Mairi shook her head. “I cannot believe those two clans continue to feud. I love them both, and Janet Cameron is my best friend.”

  “And Robert Grant is mine—though Kennan did us a great service to which I will always be beholden.”

  “Indeed.” Mairi took his hand while a bit of untimely melancholy made her throat thicken. She must ask once more. “Still nothing from Cromartie?”