Cameron’s hands fell from her waist, but not before Kirk’s eyes widened in astonishment.
The warriors beside Kirk stared at her near-nakedness. With a lift of her chin, she straightened to her full five-foot-five-inch height and clutched the damp linen tighter. Let them look. She had nothing to hide.
With a flick of Kirk’s left hand, the man to his left sheathed his huge sword then grabbed Cameron with one meaty fist. The voyeur’s flushed face turned deathly pale when the other man rested his sword beneath his chin. She should say something, and fast.
Kirk sheathed his weapon. His glare swept over her, from loose hair to naked toes. “It appears my cousin has found a welcome reception.”
The fear that had first skittered down her spine suddenly morphed into rage. Her spine stiffened, and she lifted her chin as Kirk stood with fists on hips. She had done nothing wrong. Haven refused to stand there and be insulted.
“Are you insinuating I let him touch me?”
“Ye tell me.”
“Of all the jealous, arrogant, filthy minded—”
“Do not cry foul when ye are the one I find with my cousin. Again.” With those words, he slapped the dirk at his side, and stalked away. After releasing their quarry, both guards followed, leaving her alone with Cameron.
“I am sorry if I embarrassed ye, Lady Haven. My cousin has the wrong idea unless—”
“Yes, he does. Stay away from me.”
“I am sorry I touched ye with no warning, but I saw ye fall and—”
“It’s okay. I appreciate your assistance. Too bad Kirk got the wrong idea.” She tiptoed along the grassy bank until she reached the path to camp. Gathering her clothes, she noticed Cameron hadn’t moved. Silence stretched between them.
“Why are you following us?” she asked.
“It is my duty to accompany my cousin to Castle Ruadh. He threw me out in a fit of rage. Typical of the brute, so I took no offense. His order fit the crime.”
Haven turned and headed into the woods at a fast pace. He barreled past and barred her way. Cameron’s knuckles stroked the damp skin above her breasts. She’d been upset with Kirk and his disrespectful words. Now her blood boiled with rage, and she easily redirected her displeasure toward Cameron. Her anger must have shown on her face. He stepped back.
“Stay away from me.”
“Ye do not understand what ye want.”
“I don’t want you following me.”
“Am I not pleasing to look upon?” He straightened to his full height, taller than Kirk. He ran fingers through his golden hair and beamed a smile.
“You’re a good looking guy, but I’m not interested.”
“Kirk’s destiny and the future of our clan demand I follow him. He shall forget my transgressions soon enough. We are family.” He shrugged and his smile widened. “Kirk needs my sword arm to guard the treasure until we reach Castle Ruadh.”
“What happens once we reach the castle?”
His confident attitude faltered. He looked away.
“Okay, then tell me why he flies into a rage whenever the name Mackenzie is spoken.”
“My Lady, ‘tis not my place to tell the tale.”
“Please? I feel at a disadvantage. This Mackenzie tried to kill me.”
He stubbed his toe in the dirt then bent to pick flowers. Haven accepted the small bouquet of chamomile then slipped behind a tree and dressed in haste.
“He believes Marcas Mackenzie killed his betrothed, Cora. Rage and sadness has consumed my cousin since. Bitterness has kept him from his duty to produce an heir. He waits for the day he can slice the Mackenzie’s head from his shoulders.”
Haven shivered at the image. She peeked from behind the tree and found Cameron staring into space. His jaw muscles clenched beneath tanned skin. Haven left him with his thoughts and took advantage of his inattentiveness to hurry toward camp. His words disturbed her, but made sense. Inside Kirk hid a sad man who’d lost the love of his life.
Yet he had killed men to save me.
She came across Gavina distributing fruit, cheese, and day-old bread to the warriors. Kirk? Nowhere in sight.
“Oh, my lady. We should not have left ye.”
“Yes. Cameron surprised me. Bad news travels fast.”
“He had yer nakedness wrapped in his arms. Has the sorceress taken a lover?” Hope amid poison laced Gavina’s words.
Haven’s stomach clenched. She knew how the woman’s mind worked. Being thought a witch was less of a bother than having Gavina think she and Cameron were lovers. If Haven and Cameron were together, Kirk would be free for the taking.
“I slipped and fell. I wasn’t naked, so don’t go spreading rumors. Cameron helped me to my feet. Nothing happened. I don’t know where he came from and I certainly don’t know why Kirk took offense.”
“Cameron Robeson worships ye, my lady. Kirkwall cannot,” she whispered.
“Why not?” The words spit out before she thought better of it. Gavina evaded her gaze, so Haven grabbed her arm and shook the woman before she could slink away. “Tell me where you come up with these lies. Cameron surprised me, is all.”
“The surprise being that ye did not scream.” Gavina shook free and turned away, not waiting for her reply.
Why didn’t I scream?
Gavina’s words were all lies. With one long groan of frustration, she spun away from the direction Gavina headed.
Smack.
Her face struck a muscular chest. The delicious scent of spice and leather tickled her aching nose. She fought the urge to sneeze.
“Gavina’s point is just. When I get ye alone, you shall scream.” The seductive whisper was familiar. Haven bent back her head in order to face Kirk, the man who turned her insides to mush.
Devil’s own luck. I’m going to miss him.
Perspiration trickled down Kirk’s neck. The sun glinted off his forehead. His jagged scar appeared to throb when he clenched and loosened his jaw muscles, but was fading. Did it still cause him pain? Haven raised one hand and stroked his cheek, but he pushed her away. He kept going hot and cold. Her head spun when she realized the truth. She wanted Kirk to make her scream.
* * * * *
“I regret having frightened the wench, but I hunted near the river and never saw her until I was upon her. When I made her aware of my presence, she slipped and fell.” Cameron stood at attention.
Kirk glared and his fists trembled.
True, Haven does have a problem staying on her feet.
“So ye picked her up and hugged her to yer chest.”
“She fell. Hard. Aye, I picked her up. She claimed to be fine. I had set her down when ye appeared.”
“Ye and Lady Haven have no regard for one another?”
“I will not lie, dear cousin.” Cameron strolled to Kirk’s mount’s rump and patted the animal.
“I worship the ground her dainty feet tread upon. I shall do anything to make her mine.”
Kirk sputtered at his words and the lust that blazed in Cameron’s eyes. Kirk had ordered Cameron to answer for his actions. Again. First, he had disobeyed an order. Now, he professed his feelings for Haven.
How could I have been so blind?
Kirk could not compete with his cousin’s perfect face and golden hair. His kinsman aroused many a lass because no scars marred Cameron’s profile. Had Kirk not witnessed the adoration Haven bestowed on his cousin when he and his warriors had stepped from the forest? Was it only gratitude?
“God’s teeth! We found ye entwined in each other’s arms.”
“The sight of Lady Haven in God’s glory will not stay me from my course.”
“So, ye did indeed see her unclothed?”
“We have no secrets, do we, Cousin? Ye must admit the lovely mark high on her left hip is most appealing. Let us not pit ourselves against one another with claws drawn.”
Kirk caught the reference to Lady Haven’s mark of the cat. A tattoo, she had called it.
“Perhaps we can come
to an arrangement. Soon ye shall be with yer betrothed.”
“And?”
“Bequeath Lady Haven into my care. I shall promise to continue handling her for ye and in the most congenial way.”
Cameron practically admitted he and Haven had been intimate. Now he asked to take responsibility for her. Lady Fia was Kirk’s unwanted destiny. At that precise moment, Kirk realized that Lady Haven had captured his heart.
Irretrievably.
His cousin’s words and sly smile suddenly unleashed a rage that boiled in Kirk’s veins, blinding him to reason. His hands circled his cousin’s throat, and Cameron’s body tensed.
“Am I mistaken? Do ye want the lady as well?” Cameron gasped. “If so, please mark my words for they are for yer own good.”
Kirk loosened his grip. Cameron coughed. “I believe I am finished listening to yer words of wisdom, dear cousin.”
“I merely wish to point out that she would not care to be yer mistress.” Cameron clawed when Kirk’s fists tightened about his throat. “Ye know I speak God’s truth.”
“Let him go!” Haven stood with hands on hips and her wild mane flying behind her in the breeze. An easterly wind grew in intensity, filled with the tang of the nearby sea. Gray clouds gathered, sending the forest into early shadows. The wind’s chill, and her irate command, ran like ice down his back.
He thrust Cameron back several feet. Haven’s eyes widened with concern as his cousin crumpled to the ground. Did she fear he might harm her lover? Kirk stared at her pretty face and perfect skin, gone white. When her nostrils flared, he prayed his face did not betray the emotional bond within his heart.
Her face did not hide her angst as she knelt close to his cousin and urged him to take several breaths in a loving voice.
Would that she might speak to me, thus.
She brushed away dirt and twigs from Cameron’s face and clothing. His hair stuck out in disarray. His tawny skin had paled.
“Now he is not quite so pretty,” Kirk said. He bent to haul his barely conscious cousin to his feet, but Haven pushed him away.
“I said leave him alone.”
She wrapped one soft arm around Cameron’s shoulders while her other hand slid down into the pocket of her dress. When she withdrew her tiny dagger, Kirk laughed.
“Put yer weapon away and get back to yer wee beastie, wench. My cousin and I had a family argument. We have no need of yer tart tongue or feminine attention.” He bent over and retrieved his sword. As he held the weapon in his right hand, pointed at his cousin’s heaving chest, Kirk wiped perspiration from his face. He had listened intently to Haven’s tirade. The dangerous glint in her eye, while she protected Cameron, felt like a kick to his gut.
“No. Don’t. He’s done nothing to deserve this. You can’t kill him just because he might have seen me nude.”
“Are ye saying ‘tis all a misunderstanding?”
“I would not do her any harm,” Cameron sputtered. He rose to a sitting position then breathed in gulps of air. “I admit I want her. Why is it ye cannot?”
CHAPTER 18
Kirk froze at Cameron’s statement, knowing Haven would expect an answer. She had swung all her attention from Cameron to him, yet he had no idea how to answer his cousin’s question. To ignore the betrothal agreement, to claim Lady Haven, meant years of continued fighting. Cameron knew this, so why did he goad him?
“I cannot make any claim, as ye well know, cousin.” He turned to leave him in Haven’s care when her voice floated over the breeze.
“Why not?” Haven asked.
“We will talk of this later.” His stomach clenched, twisting as tight as the hand on his sword hilt. “As for ye, dear cousin, if ye wish to follow then make yerself useful. Guard the treasure wagons. Let nothing be taken, this time.”
“Last time was a fluke. We were overrun and—”
“No excuses. If Balfour is with ye, tell him I want the two of ye out of my sight or I shall banish ye both,” Kirk said.
Cameron answered with a sharp laugh. “Ye would not dare.”
“Do not tempt me.”
Haven murmured words of comfort and helped Cameron to his feet. Kirk shook his head as he turned away. Why did he feel the sudden need to sit her down and explain peace treaties, arranged betrothals, and loveless marriages?
The group resumed their trek and the road soon filled with peasants, wagons, and shepherds and their flocks. Hours later, Haven tugged on his right arm. The moment her silken fingertips lightly gripped him around his wrist, Kirk’s spine straightened and his knees squeezed together. When the beast beneath him skittered sideways, he loosened his hold and turned to face the most beautiful woman he had ever known.
The woman of my visions, the half to my whole.
“You were kind to Cameron,” she whispered. “He told me you had the perfect right to hit him.”
“I strangled him, lass. I would never strike him.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. He also said you would never banish him and Balfour.”
“Do not be so sure.” Kirk swept his eyes forward. The castle still lay far ahead, yet each step closer tore at his heart. Kirk’s throat ached with the shame of deceit. He ought to tell her.
“I don’t understand the anger between you two, but thank you for letting him stay.”
Her pony drew closer, now that his mount had calmed. She swept her sweet fingers up his forearm. Sensations flooded his tortured body. Yet, her touch filled him with another emotion; utter hopelessness.
She cannot be part of my life.
Once they entered the confines of the castle, he would no longer be a simple man who governed his clan during years of famine and war. He had asked his people for family heirlooms, cherished ornaments, and hard-earned coins. The items they sacrificed lay in the wagons. The goods would buy him a wife, and their union would settle peace between two warring clans.
Honey and wildflowers teased his nose. Shutting his eyes, Kirk breathed in Haven’s fragrance.
“I punished a man who dishonored ye. If he be not truly at fault, I am man enough to admit my mistake.”
“Yes, you’re definitely man enough,” she said. He watched her turn away, but not before blessing him with a small smile. She kneed her pony then trotted ahead.
“Wait. Is anything wrong?” Kirk asked when he caught up to her and her pony. She stared straight ahead before she slid him a quick glance and shook her head. She seemed pleased he had spared Cameron’s life, but his cousin’s words ate away at him each time the image arose of the two of them entwined, beside the river. She should belong to an unencumbered warrior, not a man burdened, as he was burdened.
Kirk stroked his scarred cheek, and cursed the man who had given it to him; The Mackenzie. Why would a woman as perfect as Lady Haven want him instead of Cameron? He ought to release her before they went too far. He would not disrespect her on the eve of his marriage to another. Staying away should be easier, now that her attention was on Cameron. When the trek neared its end, everyone would achieve what they desired.
Except me.
The trip began with little to recommend it except for the knowledge that his betrothal and subsequent marriage would bring peace. He never anticipated how life would change the moment a black-haired lass materialized within a magical mist.
* * * * *
After several minutes of silence, Haven wondered why she spent time with Kirk. She had watched his face for either amusement or horror when she comforted his injured cousin, but his gaze locked on the horizon and his mouth seemed clamped shut.
He’d lashed out at his own flesh and blood after he’d assumed they’d been intimate. How could she forgive him for believing an obvious lie? Didn’t he know how she felt about him?
She muttered several words she remembered Iona saying, right before Haven found herself back in time. “When you find the man of your dreams, grab him and hold on tight.”
“Say again, lass?” Kirk asked.
“Poetry. I was recit
ing a poem,” she lied. “My boyfriend, Cal, enjoyed poetry and I fell madly in love with the man. He stole my heart and my virginity. We parted when I found out he had a wife and son.”
A growl from the man beside her made her pony skitter sideways.
“If this man lived in our clan, he would have been whipped, beheaded, or hung. What kind of place is yer homeland that allows a man to treat ye with disrespect?”
“I live in a city filled with thousands of people, yet I was too embarrassed to tell anyone.”
“Haven, he took yer innocence. He stole a gift ye cannot replace. How can ye defend him?”
The shame his words rekindled threatened to fill her dusty eyes with tears. She’d been Cal’s mistress and never knew it.
With her throat too constricted to answer, Haven kicked her pony, turned, and retreated to the quiet comfort of the wagons at the back of the procession. She dismounted and tied her animal to the side of one of the heavily laden treasure wagons. Reid sat alone, driving one of the carts, and she wanted to talk to him.
“How is your arm?”
“Much better, my lady.” He scooted over and she climbed up beside him.
“You never told me how you injured your arm.”
“An arrow impaled me the day The Mackenzie attacked.”
Blindsided by his calm tone amid chilling words, she caught her breath. Such deadly circumstances helped prove she’d ended up in the past.
“How did ye come to be lost?” Reid asked.
“A lightning bolt is the last thing I remember, and a pocket full of herbs and potions.”
“Were ye caught in a storm?”
“Yes, though I’m convinced something evil had a hand in it.” She waited for his reaction. Young Reid’s brow furrowed as if deep in thought. Then, he glanced around before responding.
“Please,” he whispered, “tell me exactly what happened. Be not afraid to speak the truth. My mother dabbles in potions, powders, and spells. She sees future events long before they come to pass and I will miss her words of wisdom when she dies.”
“Is she sick?”
“Nay, but her death was foretold to her, so she’s been gathering herbs and powerful stones in order to pass the information to someone worthy.”
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