by Jo Barrett
“When my hands are free, Macconach, I will cut off your manroot and feed it to the dogs!”
“And if it weren’t fer the need ta keep ye in one piece, I’d cut out yer tongue, woman! Now, drink!”
Deidra spit the vile potion he’d poured into her mouth back in his face. She’d been right, and knew it for what it was as she sensed a blurring of her vision.
He lifted his hand to slap her, and she braced for the blow, but it was the least she deserved. Adam was dead because of her. He’d been nothing but a friend to her and her family, and yet he was not a part of her world.
No, he couldn’t be dead. She would know, in her heart, if it were true, would she not? Because she loved Adam. She’d known it was inevitable. He’d been a part of her life, her heart, for so very long.
She clamped her lids closed at the thought of never seeing his devilish grin or taunting wink again. His wit, his charm—his kisses, all gone.
The blow came and she never uttered a sound.
****
Adam hid his horse in the woods nearby, then stole up to the inn, using the night shadows for cover. He looked in the stable and saw what had been bothering him. The innkeeper had said there was no one at the inn when they’d asked about travelers, that all his rooms were empty. Only Colin and his small group had been there and gone. But the horses in the stable, the sort no innkeeper would own, told a different story. War horses were an expensive commodity.
Adam couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been, but then his and Erin’s only thoughts at the time were to find Colin and Tuck. There was no reason not to believe the innkeeper.
His gaze lifted to the main building. He had to get inside undetected. He had to know who the innkeeper was hiding—either voluntarily or against his will. Either way, the old man would sound the alarm.
Examining the structure, he decided his best option was to start at the top. Guards would be watching the road and the yard before the inn, not the roofline.
He grinned, thinking back on one particular girlfriend. She’d actually been born into a circus family and had acquired an unusual set of skills—both in and out of the bedroom. So when she dared him to learn to walk a tight rope, he couldn’t resist a challenge from such a beautiful and very agile woman.
As he scrambled up onto the stable roof, he never dreamed how handy the skill would be some day. Keeping to the shadows, he carefully walked the roof line to where it joined with the main building. A curtain fluttered on the main floor, and he held his breath a moment before continuing, then continued until he was at the top.
He paused with a hiss as he pressed his back, cold with sweat and the chilly night air, to the wall. His ears sought out the slightest sound of voices beyond the small window beside him, but all was still. He braced himself with a deep breath, not knowing what he would find inside, and squeezed through the window into the attic.
The darkness engulfed him as he eased across the room to the narrow staircase. He paused at the top and listened. Nothing. His steps had not been heard, there was no one sounding the alarm.
He continued on and made his way down the narrow staircase. Pausing at the foot of the stairs, he watched and waited once again, but this time for some sign, something to tell him where Deidra was being held.
It wasn’t long before Macconach emerged from a room down the hall. Adam had to stifle the urge to leap from the shadows and go straight for the man’s throat, but instead pressed deeper into the darkened corner of the stairwell.
Macconach went down the center stairs and was met by a voice from below.
“So how does the bitch take ta yer gentle handlin’, Macconach?” Several jolts of laughter echoed up the stairs as he descended out of sight.
Adam’s gaze shot to the room he’d come out of. It had to be where Deidra was being kept, and he prayed that sarcastic crack about gentle handling proved false.
His breath, trapped in his lungs, he eased from his hiding place and made his way down the hall. Pausing before the room Macconach had left, he listened for any sound from inside, but there was nothing. He lifted the latch and slipped into the room with only the faint squeak of the door to alert anyone to his presence. But he heard no change in the noise coming from below.
With a relieved breath, he turned away from the door and caught sight of Deidra, tied to a bed, her cheek red from an apparent blow, and a faint glistening of tears on her cheeks.
Macconach was a dead man.
****
A soft shuffling caught Deidra’s ear, pulling her from her thoughts, from the pain, and the faint cloudiness edging her mind. She refused to let Macconach know that some of what he’d mixed in the ale had made it down her throat. She could not, would not let him win.
“Back so soon?” she said, her voice not as firm as she would like. And she feared her tears had slipped away, but her tone was cold enough to give the illusion of strength.
A hand suddenly clamped over her lips, and she thrashed beneath the pressure. It couldn’t be Macconach. He would have gagged her if he were afraid someone would hear her. She prayed as she struggled that her future had not taken an even darker turn than the one he planned.
“Shh, Dee. It’s me, Adam.”
She fell still, fearing her broken heart and muddled brain were playing tricks on her. Or mayhap he was a ghost, for it would serve her right to be haunted by him for the rest of her days. ’Twas the least she deserved for bringing about his end.
“I’ve got to get you out of here. There’s half a dozen of them at least.” The ghost untied her hands and feet, and yet she could not bring herself to move, to think, to dare to hope it was truly Adam.
“Deidra?” He slipped his hands to her face and cupped her cheeks. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“You’re—you’re no’ a ghost? You’re no’ dead?” she asked, her voice broken and raw from the tears that begged to fall.
He chuckled lowly. “No, baby. I’m no ghost.” His thumb rubbed over her cheek and she winced as it brushed a tender spot. “That son-of-a-bitch,” he said with a snarl. “I’ll kill him. After I beat the hell out of him. But first we’ve got to get you out of here.”
Adam pulled her to her feet, but had to catch her as she swayed. “Dee?”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
“Maybe I should rescue you more often,” he teased.
“He said he killed you,” she whispered roughly.
He chuckled. “And you were worried about me?”
She tilted her head back and tried to focus on him. “Aye. More than you know.” Her eyelids sagged and she pressed her face to his chest as a shiver quaked through her body.
Adam held on to her as fear surged through him. “Deidra, what’s wrong? What did he do to you?”
She took a deep breath then lifted her head. “Herbs in the drink. I didna’ take much, but I couldna’ spit it all out.” She shook her head as if to clear it, and forced her eyes wide. “I will be fine.”
“I hope so, because we have one hell of an escape to make.”
Satisfied with her firm nod, he took her hand and led her to the door. As he reached for the latch, she placed her hand atop his and stilled.
“Wait, there is one more thing I must do,” she said.
“What?”
“This.” She pressed her lips to his in a fevered kiss. One he couldn’t help but return.
Wrapping his arms around her, he clasped her to his chest as wave after wave of desire surged through his body. But this was not the time or place, and she was still under the influence of the drug. He eased his lips from hers, their heavy breaths mingling in the musty air.
“As much as I’m enjoying this, I don’t think now is the best time,” he said.
“Aye.” She pulled her arms from around his neck and took hold of his hand. “Later would be best.”
The look in her eyes accompanied with that remark, had him thinking what he shouldn’t be thinking. Not now, not ever, bu
t it remained at the edge of his mind as they silently made their way out of the room and down the hall to the attic.
“Okay, this is the hard part,” he said, coming to the small window. “We’ve got to cross the roof line to the stables.
He looked back at her over his shoulder. Her eyes widened, but were filled with determination. She bent over and tied up her skirts the way she did for a workout in the lists, and he knew they’d be okay. Although she seemed to still be unsteady, Deidra could handle just about anything.
“I’ll go first.” He climbed out onto the roof, then helped her through the window to join him. “So far, so good.”
Holding tight to her hand, he led her across the rooftop, hoping like hell she wouldn’t have a sudden dizzy spell form that drug. “The trick is to not look down.”
“You act as this is no’ the first time you’ve done something like this,” she whispered.
He smiled at her over his shoulder. “You don’t really want to know. Believe me.”
She opened her mouth, no doubt ready with some smart remark, when a door opened below, leading to the courtyard.
After a moment’s hesitation, they eased down into a crouch, and her grip on his hand tightened. The voices below were muffled, but he could make out most of the words. Macconach was sending someone to inform Gorin of his success, and to meet at the ruins in two days.
Adam and Deidra exchanged glances, each knowing exactly what the other was thinking. The MacLeans would be there as well, ready and waiting.
Silence returned to the courtyard, and they resumed their dangerous trek across the roof. After only one slip, a close call that had sent Adam’s heart to his throat, they were soon on the ground, and running for the woods.
His horse was where he’d left him, and with a sigh of relief, they mounted up. Deidra held on tight, her delicious body rubbing against his back as they galloped as far and as fast as they could. He had to stop thinking of her, of that kiss, and remind himself that no matter what he wanted, no matter how sweet her kisses, or delectable her body, he couldn’t have her.
With miles behind them, he slowed their harried pace to a walk.
“I think we’re safe for now,” he said. He looked over his shoulder at the top of her head where it rested against his back. “You still holding up okay?”
“Aye. My head is finally clearing.”
“Good. That’s good.” Hopefully, he thought, with a clear head she’d never mention that kiss or the promise of more again, because he only had just so much willpower.
“Can we no’ stop for a while?” she asked.
“Sure. It won’t be long before we meet up with everyone else anyway.”
“Everyone else?”
“Yeah, we found Aunt Tuck and Uncle Colin, and had just returned when all hell was breaking lose with your disappearance. My mom and dad are there too. So they’re all probably out looking for both of us by now.”
“Then Da and Mum are no’ hurt?”
“Nope. And they had no knowledge of any kidnapping or that anything was wrong.”
“Good, but wait. Did you no’ say your parents were here?”
“Surprised the hell out of me too,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Mom said she’d explain it all later, but I think she’s figured out how to travel whenever they want.”
“Then you could go home whene’er you wish.”
“I guess so.”
He reined in their horse beside a stream and jumped down. “This looks like a good spot to water the horse and stretch our legs.”
“Aye. ’Tis a fine spot.”
Adam ignored the sultry tone of her voice, certain it was his imagination, and lifted his arms to help her down.
But once her feet touched the ground, and her arms slid around his neck, he couldn’t seem to let her go, nor did he want to. He knew it was crazy, that he was risking everything, risking harming the one woman he would walk through fire for, but he just couldn’t stop himself.
Her lips met his softly on a sigh, but he forced himself to ease her from his arms. “I won’t take advantage of you, Dee. That drug has you mixed up—”
“Nay. ’Tis no drug that makes me feel this way.”
She pressed against him once more, allowing her lips to brush against his, and he could no more let her go, than he could speed the moon across the sky.
“You should push me away,” he whispered, trailing kisses along her cheek, to her ear, then to her neck where he pressed his face against her delicate skin, aching to crawl inside her where he was someone better—someone worthy.
“Ne’er could I do such a thing. I have wanted this—wanted you for far too long.”
Lifting his head, he peered into her eyes filled with sincerity. But he slowly shook his head, unwilling to take what she offered. “I don’t deserve—”
“Shh,” she said, pressing her fingers to his lips. “You deserve whate’er I wish to give.”
His heart struck against his chest with such force it felt as though his ribs had cracked. Clamping his lids closed, he took a deep breath. He would hurt her, break her heart, let her down just like so many others.
“Make love to me, Adam,” she whispered against his lips. “I want to feel you, to be with you.”
Unable to bear the onslaught of her soft lips against his skin, her sweet pleas, and luscious body pressed against him, he gave her his answer in a kiss.
Their tongues dueled, their breaths mingled, and a moan tore from his throat. It was too late to stop the pain that would come, too late to keep from hurting her—or himself.
She pulled from his arms, a sly enticing grin on her moist lips, and strolled toward a grassy place at the edge of the wood. Adam snagged the blanket from the saddle then followed. With every step, he told himself to stop, to change direction, to take her back to her family and never touch her again, but his heart refused to allow his good sense to rule his actions.
He spread the blanket on the ground and together they lay down in the shadows cast by the moonlight. With unsteady hands, they rid themselves of each other’s clothes between hot, sweet kisses, and cherished caresses.
The filtered glow of the moon upon her alabaster skin was lovelier than any masterpiece Adam had ever seen or would see. Nothing would ever take this one image from his mind. Not time, not the centuries that existed between them, not even death.
Poised above her on his elbows, he pressed tender kisses to every exposed inch his lips could reach, and she did the same to him. The sensation was a heady mix of pleasure and perfection. Her soft moans as he worshiped her breasts, the subtle rubbing of her thigh against his erection, drove him to the brink, and finally, with one slow but fluid stroke, he entered her tight passage.
Adam lifted his gaze to hers, and she smiled. Slipping her hand to the base of his neck, she pulled him down for a long, delicious kiss, as he stroked her heated core. Higher and higher they rose, and just after she found nirvana, he pulled from her to do the same.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, her voice broken with quickened breaths.
Collapsed beside her, he turned his head to face her. “I won’t leave you with a baby, Dee,” he said, his own breathing heavy.
“Oh,” she said, and shifted her gaze to the night sky.
He rose up on his elbow to better see her face, and even in the dark, he could see regret in her eyes. There wasn’t any doubt he’d taken her virginity, and he was leaving the first chance he got. He should’ve kept his hands to himself and his pecker in his pants.
With a disgusted sigh, he got to his feet and snatched up his clothes. “We need to get going. Last thing I need is for your father to catch us like this.”
“Aye,” she said, her voice hollow.
He’d known this would happen, that he’d blow it, that he’d hurt her, but he did it anyway. When would he ever learn? When would he get it through his thick skull that he was no good for anybody?
As he continued to silently damn his soul, they
finished dressing in silence. Deidra could barely stomach it. She wanted to say she loved him, but after he reminded her that he was only a visitor in her time, she didn’t dare. Their coming together for this single moment would have to be enough.
He worried about leaving her with a child, not wishing to burden her in such a way, and she didn’t wish to burden him with her heart. She had doubts that he would accept it, in any event.
But none of it mattered, she realized as she took her place behind him atop the horse. He would leave, and she would never see him again. This she knew with all her heart, a heart that was breaking.
How could such an organ survive so many beatings in one day? First she thought him dead, then he was alive, then he was loving her, and now—now he was gone again. He’d pulled away from her, his manner and tone cool. He’d not wanted to lie with her, thinking himself unworthy, but she knew it was more than that.
She was not a woman men wanted. She’d learned that years ago. But she had hoped, if only for a moment that Adam would be different, that he would want her for always.
Her arms tightened around his waist as new tears sprang to her eyes. Oh, how she wished he had left her with a babe. Then she would have part of him with her when he left. But it was not to be. She would grow old alone, for no man would ever take his place in her heart or in her bed.
Chapter Eleven
Adam pasted on one of his false grins as they came upon Colin, his father, and several guards. He didn’t dare let on what had transpired between him and Deidra, but it had been a close call. It was a good thing they’d gotten dressed when they did or his ass would be in a sling about now.
Colin pulled up beside them and gave Deidra a good once-over, his eyes a bit glassy. But Adam wasn’t about to comment on that. The old Scot would happily knock him clean off his horse for the slightest suggestion of womanliness.
“How do ye, daughter?”
“I am fine, Da.”
Colin’s jaw clenched then he looked to Adam and gave him a terse nod. “I am grateful, lad.”
Adam managed a nod in return, but felt like slime. He didn’t deserve any thanks, not after taking his daughter’s virginity only to leave her behind in the past.