Her fingertips absently stroked the filthy dress over her womb, as if the caress could somehow make everything better.
No matter how she rolled the thoughts through her head, they never polished to a positive outcome. Yet still, she could not give up. She needed to fight, no longer for herself, but for her unborn child. For Colin’s child.
A quiet grating sounded within the lock of the door.
She released the bedpost and glanced at the narrow window. The sun rose high, brilliant with the glow of early afternoon.
Had they come to take her so early?
The door swung open and one of Lindsay’s mercenaries stepped through, his movements confident, full of purpose. If she could evade him, perhaps she could run for safety. Energy raced through her veins, pounding, jolting, inciting.
Brianna turned from the man in an attempt to climb across the wide mattress. Her toe caught the edge of the bed and she pitched forward.
Strong arms locked around her torso, trapping her, pulling her back against a solid body.
Horror jolted through her, raw and ugly. Had her uncle sent his men here for entertainment before she was to be tried for her father’s death?
“No.” She writhed with futile effort and choked back a cry. “I’m with child. Please.”
Firm hands caught her shoulders and spun her around to a face with eyes as green as sunlit grass.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Colin’s handsome face broke through the dizzying whirl of Brianna’s chaos. The weight of his hands pressed into her shoulders.
He was no random guard seeking to harm her. In the confines of her small prison, he was her beautiful promise of hope.
He was alive.
She would be saved.
He pulled off the helm he wore and let it roll to the floor. His trembling fingers reached for her face and trailed over her brow, her cheeks, her nose, her lips, and, finally, trapped her jaw in his large hand.
“Brianna.” His voice was hoarse. “My Brianna.” The sinewy lines of muscle showed against his clamped jaw. His gaze lowered to her abdomen. “Are ye—” His eyes widened and shot back to her face. “Ye’re hurt.”
She didn’t have to look to know he referred to the blood staining her dress. Marie’s blood.
“Marie. She’s—” The words could not leave Brianna’s lips. The horror of the memory was too great, the guilt too heavy. Marie had died for her.
Colin’s face hardened. “There’s no time to talk about this now.”
He pulled a bag from behind him. She had not seen him bring it in and realized he must have dropped it when he caught her.
“Quickly, put these on.” He drew out a set of men’s pants and padded armor.
She rolled the dress off her body and punched her feet through the legs of the trews, all the while acutely aware of the way his gaze trailed over her body, like a starving man eyeing a meal.
His stare lingered over her flat stomach, and his expression softened.
The shirt slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the ground. She focused on its retrieval rather than watch him watching her. She was not yet ready to see his face, to understand how he felt about the child. Not until he knew about Edzell.
“You do not know everything.” She quickly pulled the shirt on and followed it with the stiff padded vest. Her nostrils flared at the odor of stale sweat, and the skin of her neck chafed against the stiff, scratchy fabric.
Before she could wrench the vest down, Colin’s gentle hands tugged it into place.
“What do ye mean I dinna know everything?” he asked from behind her.
“My uncle plans to attack Edzell tonight.”
The upper portion of her vest went taut over her shoulders and jiggled slightly as Colin secured the final tie. “I already knew that.”
She spun around and found herself standing breast to chest with him, the thick stinking padding of her armor touching the thick stinking padding of his armor. “You knew?”
He smoothed her hair behind her ear. “I knew.”
Her breath caught beneath the rush of her pulse. “You’ll lose Edzell.”
“I dinna love Edzell.” He stared down at her with a tenderness she couldn’t allow herself to believe.
“What do you mean?”
He grasped her upper arms, his hold firm, possessive. “I fight for what I love.” He searched her eyes. “I fight for ye, wife.”
The brush of his freshly shaven chin teased her jaw. Before she could react, his mouth closed over her lips in a kiss that burned with the memory of what they once had. The passion. The companionship. The comfort.
“I love ye, Brianna MacKinnon.”
His fingers threaded through hers, and together they cradled her stomach. “And I love ye, wee MacKinnon.” A warm smile touched his lips. “I love both of ye.”
Brianna closed her eyes and basked in the moment. She was loved, her child was loved, and they were both safe with Colin.
The affectionate reprieve was short-lived. Edzell’s people were not safe. Colin had come to her aid, and now Edzell was vulnerable. Its people would be at the mercy of her uncle.
“What about the servants? My uncle will see them killed.”
His eyes stayed trained on her stomach. “I came alone so Jonathan and the other men could see them to safety.” He winked. “And move all yer books.”
Brianna felt the smile return to her face. Not only did her husband love her, he understood her better than even she realized.
The cacophony of rallying soldiers clattered outside the window, and Colin’s arms tensed around her. “We’ve lingered too long. Put on the helm and let us leave this foul place.”
The metal headpiece was heavy on her head and dug into her brow. Uncomfortable though it was, it would shield her hair from view and block her face.
“Remember, ye’re one of them.” Colin secured his own helm beneath his chin. “Dinna flinch, dinna look suspicious, just walk with purpose.” He winked down at her. “I’ll no let anything happen to ye.”
Hopeless desperation melted from her shoulders, warmed beneath the aura of confidence and power her husband exuded. Nothing could hurt her when they were together. Nothing could go wrong. All would be well with her husband who possessed no fear.
• • •
Colin had never been so damn scared in his life. Lindsay’s guards were everywhere, and until he’d led Brianna out of the manor, she and their unborn child were not safe.
His heart swelled. Their unborn child.
He steeled himself against the emotion. There would be time to muse later, when they were free from the threat of danger.
Soldiers moved through the halls in staggered waves, their voices loud with excitement for the impending battle. The uneven pounding of footsteps and slamming of distant doors echoed around them.
Colin had never been so grateful for his ability to pick a lock. Stealing the key to Brianna’s room would have been impossible. Almost as impossible as finding old soldier’s clothing large enough for him and small enough for her.
Brianna strode ahead of Colin, against the stream of guards. Her shoulders squared and her head hung low in a way that shadowed her face beneath the helm, the way he’d seen so many young soldiers march prior to their first battle.
She had been brave thus far, yet every casual glance in her direction, every shoulder that bumped hers, sent a fresh jolt of caution raking his nerves.
If they were discovered, she would be attacked first, and he did not know if he could move quickly enough to save her. His gaze skimmed the sea of dirt-streaked, mismatched soldier’s clothing. Even he could not fight an army on his own.
The realization of vulnerability sat in his gut like a rock and burned the back of his throat. He hated the lack of control, the uncertainty. His wife and child were surrounded by danger, and there was nothing more he could do.
“Where are you going?” a man’s voice boomed in front of Brianna.
Colin’s han
d tightened beside the hilt of the plain soldier’s sword he wore at his side. He wanted to grasp the cool metal, to feel its comfort caress his palm. But such an act would draw unwanted attention they could not afford.
The man grasped Brianna by the shoulders, and every muscle in Colin’s body burned with tension. He would rip the man’s head off with bare hands at the slightest show of a threat.
But the man turned Brianna around, so she faced Colin. Her gaze was lowered, but her chest rose and fell with quickened breath.
“That way, boy,” the man growled. “Pay more attention or you’ll find yourself with a sword in your gullet.” He nudged her forward with a solid push and stormed off down the hall, cursing his irritation of inexperienced men.
Brianna moved forward with the surge of guards and kept her eyes downcast.
Colin turned on his heel and followed close enough to protect her. The river of men swept down the hall before being spit out a door, into the brilliant glow of the sun.
Holes showed beneath the mismatched cobblestone in the courtyard, and a large crack ran through the whitewashed wall of a nearby stable. Lindsay had poured his gold into an army while his home sagged into neglect.
And a pathetic army it was. For those who wore padded armor, the vests were similar to the cheap, stained garments Colin and Brianna wore. There were even fewer helms. As evidenced by the courtyard full of men, Lindsay had created an army of numbers, not an army of skill or pride.
Brianna followed the men in a pace that did not falter, even as she broke away and shifted toward the side of the large manor walls, where the sun did not touch. She walked as if she knew where she was going, as if she belonged where she was going.
The gravel crunched loudly beneath Colin’s feet, and the helm obscured his vision too damn much. But he could wait no longer.
Now.
With the same air of purpose Brianna had displayed, he followed the direct path she had taken and found her waiting in the embrace of the shadows. She looked small inside the weighty guard’s clothing. Fragile, despite the fierce glint in her eye.
He was not the only one who had lost weight in the past few days.
His chest grew tight. No, not his chest. His heart. She pulled at his heart and made his body cry out for her. He would rather the pains she suffered be his own.
With a strength that contradicted her appearance, she turned from him and darted toward the forest behind the manor. This time Colin did not follow. This time he would wait to ensure she made it to safety.
Chapter Forty-Eight
An errant squirrel darted across Colin’s path and scampered beneath a nearby bush. He glanced over his shoulder to the trees behind him. No guards crept through the crowded brush toward him and Brianna, no thundering of hooves or baying of dogs met his ears. The sun danced through the leaves overhead and flickered around them, like shards of light through an unseen crystal.
An hour of fast-paced walking stood between them and the manor.
The tightness in his back eased. They had been running for too long.
Brianna’s scent pulled at him, delicate, light, still evident even against the stink of her borrowed armor. He sucked in a slow, deep breath through his nostrils and savored the rush of memories that had been too painful to recall before this moment. Before he had her safe. Alone.
It had been over a week since he’d sampled the lush sweetness of her lips.
Brianna trudged through the forest ahead of him, the masculine trews hanging from her waist and hinting at the roundness of her bottom beneath. Her glossy brown hair draped down her back, past her narrow waist, like a sable cape.
She was his wife, the mother of his child.
And never was there a woman more beautiful. Never was there a moment he longed to hold her more than he did now.
He caught her hand mid-swing.
Just one look.
She stopped, and her warm gaze rose to meet his.
Her face was flushed beneath fair skin, her lips pink.
Just one touch.
He brushed the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, down her jaw to the delicate line of her throat. She tilted her head back and her lashes fluttered closed.
Her lips were mere inches from his.
Just one kiss.
His heart slammed in his chest. His breath came fast.
He grasped the back of her neck and threaded his fingers through her silky hair. If he was going to allow himself only one kiss, he would relish it.
He let the heat of her mouth tease him, the tempting whisper of her breath mingle with his. Their chins brushed, and he heard the shuddering intake of her gasp.
Her mouth was supple, parted. Ready. He groaned and took what she offered. His mouth crushed against hers and found her lips soft, like the sun-warmed petals of a rose.
Colin’s pulse staggered with an erratic rhythm.
He pulled her lower lip into his mouth and ran his tongue against it. A low, hungry moan purred from her throat.
His hardened cock raged with desire too long denied, and he no longer had control of his actions. He caught her against him and plunged his tongue deep into her tantalizing mouth. Her fingers slid under his padded vest, scalding him with the gentle scrape of her nails. Their breath came hard and fast as clothing was torn away with mindless need. The air of the shaded forest bathed their naked flesh.
Together they fell to the earth’s soft embrace, hands gripping, caressing. Mouths tasting, coaxing.
Her slender thighs parted beneath his insistent pressure, and her hips rolled in graceful arches toward him, the movements sensual and rhythmic.
He planted his hands against the moist ground on either side of her and plunged into the warmth of her body. Her tight welcome damn near unmanned him.
Her soft cries, the whimpering of his name, all of it faded into the open forest around them. His fingers clasped against hers, their eyes locked, and the pace of their love pitched to a starved frenzy.
Brianna wrapped her legs around Colin’s narrow hips and clutched him to her.
This was real.
Delicious tension built up where he joined with her.
His teeth tugged lightly at her earlobe, and his breath tickled the delicate skin of her neck. “Come for me, wife.”
He swelled inside her, and she knew he was near his own release. His hand moved between them and applied a light pressure to her sensitive bud. That was all she needed. A wave of euphoria caught her in its decadent, pulsing grasp, and she flexed upward to capture its intoxicating force.
Colin’s rhythm increased, pulling in shorter, quicker thrusts. His body arched into her, filling her completely. He buried his face against her neck and gave a hoarse cry as his body went taut with his own release. His lips dotted a trail of kisses along her neck, his breath so heavy in her ear, it rivaled the deafening thud of her own heart.
He leaned up on his elbow and stared down at her. His eyes were a brilliant, sparkling shade of green that put the surrounding fauna to shame. “Ye look so beautiful when ye do that.”
Heat spread up her chest and over her cheeks. “When I do what?”
He leaned forward and nipped her lower lip. “When ye come.” His mouth brushed over hers. “I love to watch ye.”
She tilted her face to kiss him full on the lips when he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. His gaze locked with hers, so she could see nothing but him.
“I love ye, Brianna.”
She slid her hands over his smooth jaw and held him captive between her palms. “And I love you, Colin.”
He grinned down at her, and that dimple she adored winked at her.
Would their child have that same dimple? His auburn hair? His beautiful green eyes?
“Ye’re smiling,” he said.
Her smile widened. “So are you.”
“Ye make me happy.”
The simple statement said so much. Her parents had never known happiness such as what she and Colin shared. Th
ere had been no tender moments. There had been no love.
Her marriage had never been like her parents’, and it never would.
Colin pulled out of her with a low groan and sat upright, unabashedly nude. He scanned the surrounding area with a sharp glance. “We need to hurry, lass.” His lips lifted in a show of sheepish guilt. “I had only meant to kiss ye.”
A hard thought tumbled through the world of their intimacy and shattered her languid state. Where were they going if not to Edzell? Where could they go?
“We need to hurry where?” she asked.
Colin glanced once more behind him before tugging the shirt over his head. “To find Jonathan.”
• • •
A mile and a half later, the shrill bark of a crow pierced the air, the signal Colin sought. He cupped his hands in a tunnel around his mouth and mimicked the call.
Jonathan emerged from behind a nearby tree, and his dark eyes swung to Brianna. “My lady.” Even his excited grin did not mask his exhaustion. “I’m relieved to see you safe.”
She stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Jonathan.”
He looked up with a reverence that would have left Colin uncomfortable had he not understood the depth of the man’s loyalty.
“Thank you for leading our people to safety,” Brianna said. “Were it not for your brave efforts, many would have paid with their lives.”
Jonathan nodded once and stepped back, away from her touch.
Good lad.
“Everyone has been removed from the castle, then?” Colin asked.
“Aye, they’ve all been relocated to the woods and are slowly making their way to Monsieur de Caritat’s rented home, as you directed.”
“Alec?”
Jonathan pursed his lips and shook his head.
The delicate thread of hope he’d placed on Alec’s shoulders snapped. He would be too late.
Colin looked up as a bird soared overhead. “Then Lindsay can have the castle.”
“What?” Brianna exclaimed. “Why?”
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