by Hyman, F. S.
Derek groaned beneath her.
“My God, Annabelle!” he cried as she increased her pace.
She grabbed on to his shoulders for support. They both cried out at the same moment as Derek’s seed filled her womb and her body shook with her release. She slumped against him trying to catch her breath and come back to earth. She felt him kiss her temple and his hand rub down her back.
Annabelle tried to shift to lie beside him, but his arms clamped about her to keep her where she was. She felt him slip from her body.
Derek held Annabelle for a long moment letting his body return to itself. That was the most intense experience he had ever had. Even going into battle did not compare to the pleasure he had just experienced with Annabelle. They still had a few hours left before they had to prepare for their trip to Bondlach. He felt Annabelle’s body relaxing against him. He had awakened with her pressed against his side and could not resist taking her again.
“Annabelle?” he said quietly in her ear.
“Hm?” she said sleepily.
Derek smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around her.
“We are leaving early for Bondlach for Tobias’ wedding. I thought ye should ken it,” he said nuzzling her neck.
Annabelle sighed and moved her head to give him easier access to her neck. Then she stiffened.
“Leaving? What do ye mean leaving?” she asked as her head shot up.
“Just what I said, lass. As ye recall, I told ye that Colm and I had been on our way to our friend’s wedding,” he said trying to gain access to her neck again. She resisted him.
“Nay! I canna leave. Ye said that ye will send word to my parents. They are probably expecting me. I need to go assure them that I am fine,” she said pushing to his side and sitting up.
“I did send a messenger to yer parents. It will take him two days to reach them. I explained everything in the message so ye doona have to worry,” he said kissing a trail up her arm.
Annabelle looked down at her husband. Everything?
“Did ye tell them everything?”
“Aye, lass. Everything,” he said sitting up beside her and pulling her into his embrace.
Derek knew that she would be upset about that part, but it had to be done. He only hoped that they had not perished with the other members of her clan at Dunwiche. Although that would make things easier, he hoped they still lived for her sake.
To diffuse the situation, he had to distract her. He did not want her temper to interfere with him making love to her again. Because that was what he wanted. He could not seem to get enough. He kissed her neck and her cheek.
Annabelle barely felt Derek’s kisses and caresses. Her mind was reeling with the news. She had not expected him to tell them of her shame and subsequent marriage. She was embarrassed and outraged.
“Derek MacDougal, ye dinna have to tell them everything! Ye said ye would just let them ken that I was weel,” she demanded of him trying to push him away.
“They would need to ken it eventually, lass,” he said still trying to arouse her passion.
“My Da is going to be verra angry! I have a betrothed! One that he arranged for me to marry! Ye doona ken his temper!”
Derek stopped what he was doing and gave Annabelle a hard look.
“Ye doona have a betrothed any longer, Annabelle. Ye have a husband,” he said quietly.
Annabelle waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.
“It doesnae matter! He is going to be livid,” she said trying to get out of bed.
Derek was irritated on how she brushed the fact away. He stopped her from getting up.
“It does matter! Ye need not worry about yer betrothed anymore because…” he almost blurted the truth in his irritation.
“Because what?” she asked him distractedly. She had to figure out a way to smooth things over with her father when she returned to the keep.
“Because ye have a husband,” he finished.
“I have to figure out how to appease his anger,” she said again with a faraway look in her eyes.
“How could ye do that, Derek? I ought to throttle ye!” she said angrily.
Derek just watched her, hiding a smile.
“Annabelle, what ‘tis done ‘tis done. We leave for Bondlach early so let’s get some sleep.”
“Sleep? Who can sleep at a time like this? Ye doona ken my father when he is angry. ‘Tis not pretty,” she said exasperated.
“I can imagine,” he mumbled.
Annabelle gave him a sharp look. Then sighed.
“Ye say it will take a few days fer the messenger to get to Kinloch?”
“Aye,” he said warily.
“Good. That gives me time to come up with a plan to stop my Da’s anger. How long will we be gone?”
Derek almost sighed. He berated himself about almost telling Annabelle that her betrothed, or first husband, was dead. But now that she had acquiesced, he would avoid doing so again.
“It will take us three days to reach Bondlach. We will stay only a day or two and then return,” he said taking her in his arms again. She did not resist him.
Annabelle melted into his arms this time. Since she now had time to plan, she had nothing else to occupy her thoughts but how it felt to be wrapped in Derek’s arms. He brought his lips to hers, and she returned it with all of the passion she possessed.
“Who am I, Annabelle?” Derek asked her as he trailed kisses to her breasts.
“Derek,” she replied breathlessly.
“Nay! Who am I?” he growled taking her nipple into his mouth.
“My husband,” she cried as passion took over.
“Aye, and doona forget it,” Derek commanded.
Chapter 12
Derek sat down at the head table. He looked around for Annabelle, but she hadn’t appeared yet. He wondered if she was in the kitchen. He smiled as his body hardened at the memory of their night of passion. Her lips had been so sweet and her flesh so soft.
“Annabelle will be down in a moment, Derek. I was able to find more gowns fer her so she is packing them,” Megan said as she sat her bulk at the table beside him.
Derek nodded. He wondered at the satisfied feeling he had that Megan had taken to Annabelle almost from the start.
“Ye look satisfied, Derek. I take it yer wedding night was what ye dreamed?” Megan chuckled.
Derek gave her a sharp look, but then his expression softened. Megan was like a second mother to them, so he should expect such bluntness from her.
“Aye, ‘twas.”
“Good! Annabelle is good fer ye. It ‘tis time ye stop dallying with every skirt that is raised to ye,” she said with a meaningful look in her eyes.
Eilidh walked up at that moment and gave Megan a scathing look.
“Derek,” she purred as she walked behind his chair and trailing her hand over his shoulders.
“Do ye have to leave right now? There is something I want to give ye,” she whispered in his ear, letting her warm breath caress his earlobe.
Derek frowned.
“Aye, Colm is waiting fer us in the courtyard,” he said, standing.
Eilidh wrapped her arms around his waist as he tried to move away.
“Please, Derek, it will only take a moment,” she whispered, rubbing her body against his.
“Aye, Derek, I think we can spare a moment,” Annabelle said walking up to the scene.
Derek looked at her. Her face was devoid of emotion, but she looked between him and Eilidh with a raised eyebrow.
When Annabelle came down, she had been eager to see Derek much to her chagrin. She remembered the night of passion and it brought a blush to her cheeks. She wondered if she looked different, if everyone would know how much she had enjoyed being with Derek. When she had come into the great hall and saw Derek wrapped in Eilidh’s arm, the air rushed from her lungs. Then anger quickly filled the void, but she was determined not to let Derek see how she had been affected by what she saw.
Eilidh turned her hea
d with a smug smile on her face. She leaned her head against Derek’s chest and rubbed her cheek up and down.
“Hello, Annabelle. Did ye sleep well?” she asked innocently.
Annabelle narrowed her eyes at the woman and then turned her gaze to Derek.
“I will be waiting in the courtyard fer ye,” she said flatly and stormed from the keep.
Derek growled and pushed Eilidh away. He followed in Annabelle’s wake.
“Derek!” Eilidh screamed after him.
“Ye ought to be ashamed of yerself, ye hussy! Derek is a married man now,” Megan hissed at her with contempt in her eyes.
“Shut up, old woman. I doona care that he is wed, I will have him again,” she replied and stalked off toward the kitchen.
Megan shook her head. Then a worried frown creased her aging face. Eilidh was going to be trouble, and there was no telling what the woman would resort to, to get what she considered hers.
Derek stalked into the courtyard only to see Colm’s hands around his wife’s waist as he helped her into her saddle. His brow darkened because he knew that Annabelle could mount a horse on her own.
“Thank ye, Colm,” she smiled sweetly down at the other man.
“Anytime, Annabelle,” Colm murmured in reply.
Derek had had enough and walked over to them.
“Let’s get going. We’re wasting time,” he said and mounted his own horse. He would talk to Colm later about touching his wife.
Annabelle completely ignored him, but Colm nodded and mounted his horse and they started forward. They were quiet for the beginning of the journey, and Annabelle just marveled at the lush landscape. The MacDougals owned very pretty land. The lush grasses swayed in the slight breeze and Annabelle closed her eyes and raised her face to the breeze. It seemed to wash all over her, she felt refreshed.
“So ye doona have any sisters or brothers, Annabelle?” Colm asked her nudging his mount next to hers.
She smiled at him before she answered. He was turning out to be a very good friend. When she had stormed from the keep, he had asked her what was bothering her, the concern written all over his face. He had looked over her shoulder to see if Derek followed her. She had almost laughed. She could feel the tension between the two men, but she was not sure what their quarrel was.
“Nay. I am the only child, but many of my cousins live at or near Kinloch. My Da has four brothers and one sister. My Aunt Melba is the eldest child and she always ruled over the five boys. Their mom died when my Da was only eight years and Aunt Melba took care of them until they married and moved on. Aunt Melba married, but her husband was killed in battle. She hasnae felt the need to marry again and came to live with us once her husband’s estate was settled. She owns her late husband’s keep, but she gave it to one of my uncles to look over,” she replied.
Derek heard them talking and strained to hear what they were saying. He was a little ahead of them. He was trying to avoid the confrontation that was sure to ensue, and it was not like him to back down from a fight. It irritated him that he was not ready to face Annabelle over what she witnessed, even though he had not done anything wrong.
He frowned as he remembered Eilidh’s body rubbing against his. There had been a time that that would have been all it took for him to toss her in bed, but strangely the motion elicited no reaction from his body. He had just been about to push her away when Annabelle entered the hall.
He turned his head slightly to get a glimpse of his wife. She had avoided riding too close to him and had kept a distance behind him. Colm had been taking up the rear, but was now riding beside her. Annabelle was bestowing Colm with a sweet smile and talking to him like they were old friends. He ignored the pain he suddenly felt in his chest. He turned back forward.
“What of yer mother? Has she any family?”
“Nay. After she and my Da married, her Da passed away a few years later. He had been sick a long while, but he seemed to want to hold on until he saw my mother happily married. After that he held on until I was born, but succumbed to his illness a year after that,” she said sadly. She knew her mother still missed her father even though it had been such a long time.
Colm nodded sympathetically. He felt a kinship with Annabelle. She was easy to talk to, and she was unlike any other woman he had ever met. She was easily becoming a good friend. Even though he had feelings beyond friendship for her, he would never betray Derek in that way.
“How about ye? Are ye an only child?” Annabelle asked him.
“Nay, I have two sisters. I am the eldest, but my sisters have already married,” he smiled.
“Is that because ye havenae found the right woman, or are ye not ready to stop rutting around like a goat?” she asked amusement in her voice.
Colm stared at her and then burst into laughter. Annabelle joined him.
Derek turned around with a scowl on his face, but they did not seem to notice. It irritated him that Annabelle seemed so free with Colm. Although she shared her body and passion with him freely, she had never shared anything as intimate as a laugh or smile with him. It surprised him that he wanted that. He had never wanted anything other than sexual release from any other woman. He did not know what made Annabelle different, but he wanted everything she had to give. He watched as Annabelle wiped tears from her face and Colm was holding his side. His scowl grew darker.
“If ye two can contain yerselves, we will stop for the noon meal,” he grumbled, reining his horse to a stop.
Still giggling, Annabelle stopped her horse too and dismounted. Colm did the same. Derek pulled their meal sack from his horse’s saddle and unrolled it. Colm and Annabelle sat down under a tree to be in the shade. Derek noticed them and held back a growl. He had to separate them because he found himself wanting to beat his friend to a pulp. He walked over to where they were and handed them some bread, cheese, and a piece of cold chicken.
“This looks good! I am starving,” Annabelle said taking a big bite of her cheese. Colm looked at her with appreciation and then laughed.
“I have n’er seen a lady eat in such a way,” he said.
“Weel, I have grown up around men all of my life. Ye seem to pick up a few habits,” she giggled, chewing up a piece of chicken.
“We will have to teach ye some manners then,” Derek said, sitting down beside her.
Annabelle immediately stopped giggling and glared at Derek. Colm also leveled him with a frown.
“I assure ye, Derek, that I have manners when I need them,” she said icily.
“Really? When might that be? I havenae seen ye use them,” he replied back.
Annabelle gasped but quickly recovered; her temper at the boiling point.
“Apparently, Derek, I havenae been in any company that warranted good manners. Ye should have let me return to my betrothed,” she said sweetly and then stood abruptly and stalked toward a stand of trees.
“Ye are an ass,” Colm said after a moment.
“Aye, ye think so? I amnae the one coveting my friend’s wife,” Derek growled at him.
Colm stared hard at him, and then he stood.
“If ye would stop being that ass, Derek, ye would ken that I would never betray ye in such a way. And ye would also see what a treasure ye have in Annabelle,” he stalked away in the opposite direction that Annabelle took.
Derek noticed that Colm did not actually deny the charge, but he had to admit that he knew Colm would not do anything to harm Annabelle. He watched as she walked from the trees to her horse. Her back was stiff and she avoided looking in his direction.
Derek gathered up the remnants of their meals and put it back in the sack. He got up and walked to his horse to retie the sack to his saddle. He heard Colm approach his own horse. No one said anything as they all mounted and continued on their way.
Derek mentally kicked himself. His comment to Annabelle had been uncalled for. He did not know what made him say such a thing to her, but she somehow brought out the worst in him. He had never met anyone, let alo
ne a woman, who had him on edge like she did. She was his wife and he desired her, but he also wanted her. All of her. But he did not know how to accomplish that, and it irritated him that he was even in this situation. There had never been a time that he had wanted something so much.
Now he had accused his friend of wanting his wife, and all because he was jealous of the time they spent together. He hated that they talked easily with each other and that they seemed to seek one another out. Annabelle was his wife and it should be him she sought out and spent her time with. But every time they were together, he found a way to alienate her and make her angry.
Annabelle and Colm rode side by side but they did not converse with each other. He was sure that Annabelle was fuming over what he had said to her. He had to find a way to get her to want to spend time with him outside of the bedchamber. He did not want to examine what emotion made him want to get to know her better, but he knew it was something he craved even more than the thrill of battle.
Chapter 13
Annabelle stared hard at Derek’s back. She wished that she could kill a man with just a look, because he deserved it. She did not understand why he had been so cruel to her after the night they had just shared. Had it meant nothing to him? Was she no better than Eilidh in his eyes, except the fact that she was his wife? She fought the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She would not cry over him. He did not deserve such emotion.
When she had gone behind the trees, she had just sat staring up at the canopy trying to control her hurt. And she had been hurt. Why? She could not fathom. Derek had never treated her any different than anyone else. He was a brute, and she had better remember that fact. It would save her heartache in the end.
She looked over at Colm. He had a frown on his face, and he was also looking hard at Derek. She wondered what the contention was between the two men. Whatever it was, she could feel the tension surrounding them. She wondered if she asked, would Colm tell her.
“Colm, ye ken ye dinna answer my question,” she smiled at him trying to erase the frown that marred his handsome features.