A girl who trusted him so much she had slept better in the past few days than she had in those same months.
I was just thinking how nice it is to sleep through the night without worrying.
Slade knew the thought of giving the girl that kind of peace shouldn't touch his heart.
But it did.
~ * ~
"Look!" Lainie said
While she spoke, she reached across the small space between her horse and Slade's, grabbed his right arm, and pointed.
"Over there,"
Slade stared beyond Lainie's fingertip and saw only rolling green hills and the ever-present mist that accompanied them most days and nights.
"I don't see anything unusual," he said.
"There, on the top of that hill," she insisted. "Can't you see it? Those stones. Do you think those are ruins--a decaying castle maybe?"
After a moment, Slade understood.
"Those aren't ruins," he told her. "They're just boulders that have poked up from the constant wearing down of the land from the water and the wind."
Lainie started to argue, then thought better of it. When Slade had first told her they would be riding into rough rugged country that few people ever saw, she thought he'd been teasing her. She'd known all along they would stay off the main roads. Slade hadn't wanted to run into English soldiers anymore than he'd wanted to see her brothers. But her brothers were busy with their own lives, and they had no idea she might need their help.
He hadn't been teasing her though. There were hidden roads. She had seen them, ridden through them and acknowledged the loneliness of this country. Lord, but she didn't want anything to happen to Slade. She'd never find her way out of the hills.
For Lainie, the rugged landscape was a constant source of wonder. She had heard her brothers speak of the hills and the mountains with love and mystery, but she'd never thought to see them herself. And she had never truly understood the very beauty of the land that could steal your breath and rob your heart.
Yet even more than the wonder and the beauty, Lainie was astonished by the pillars and rocks that rose out of the land. Sometimes they resembled sleeping beasts. Sometimes like now, they resembled castles with buttresses of solid stone rising skyward. The sights gave her cause to think of home and the memories of a wonderful childhood she'd never forget no matter where she ended up.
Slade stood in the stirrups and looked over his shoulder. The hills rising into mountains were a dark blue blot against the horizon.
Since dawn, Slade had seen nothing move over the face of the land but a few forest animals and few of those.
"Looks like Jericho's horses finally gave up," Lainie said, staring over the back trail.
Slade made a sound that could have meant anything.
"Does that mean we can camp early?" Lainie asked hopefully.
He looked at her and smiled.
"Depends," he said.
"On what?"
"On whether we can find a secluded spot with water. If we can, we'll make camp a few miles away."
"A few miles?" Lainie asked, hoping she had heard wrong.
"Don't want to tempt fate. If Jericho and his men are nearby, they're going to be looking for the same things we are. Only a fool would settle down where an army of men might find them."
She thought about what Slade said and sighed. She had thought that with a little water she might be able to take a bath of sorts.
"I see," Lainie said unhappily. "Camping by water would be like camping in the center of a crossroads. With all this mist, fog and rain, I don't see why any one would need more water."
Slade laughed.
"How far do you think we have to go?"
"It’s not very far."
When Lainie fell silent, Slade glanced aside at her. Despite the hard miles on the trail, she looked good to him. The shine of her hair was undiminished, her color was high, and the quickness of her mind hadn't changed.
"You know where you’re going, don't you?" Lainie asked.
"You have something in mind?"
"A bath," she had not given up that one small hope.
The thought of getting Lainie naked in a pool of water had a rapid, pronounced effect on Slade's body. With a muffled curse, he forced his thoughts away from the memory of her nipples drawn taut and shiny from the searching caress of his mouth. Sweet jesu, but that seemed an eternity ago.
Slade tried very hard not to think about Lainie in that way at all. It was too damned distracting besides it was the torture of the damned. He was a man of unusual self-control, yet he had very nearly reached for her at dawn that morning, and to hell with worrying about the mercenaries on their trail.
There might be time to take a short bath," he said evenly.
The purring sound of pleasure Lainie made did nothing to decrease Slade's sensual awareness of her.
"Is it at the end of the valley?" Lainie asked.
"The water will be cold as ice. Hope you're ready for that." His vision of her with droplets of water gliding down her body and shimmering in the moonlight didn't help either.
She looked at Slade, then at their back trail.
"Cold water isn't going to stop me," she said. "I've wanted a bath for days now. I know how cold the mountain lochs can be."
He watched Lainie close her eyes, and wondered what she was thinking.
"You'll stand guard?"
Slade took off his hat, resettled it, and smiled at Lainie.
"No, I thought I would join you," he said with a grin.
"You thought wrong," she said.
He watched her with the hope she would ask him to join her. He knew she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t because he was sure she'd come to know him as well as he knew himself. He wouldn't risk frolicking in a cold lock if it meant Jericho catching them off guard.
"What something looks like or seems like depends on how you come at it," he told her.
"Even Bertram's plaything?" Lainie asked.
The instant the words were out of her mouth Lainie looked away. He didn’t think she had meant to bring anything up that would make his disdain of her more pronounced. But she was right. It was the only thing she could say that might keep him away from her.
"You never give up, do you?" Slade asked coolly. "Well, I've got bad news for you. Neither do I."
For a long time after that, nothing broke the silence but the sound of hooves striking the ground in a rhythm so familiar it was like a heartbeat, unnoticed unless it changed suddenly.
The farther the trail went to the north, the higher the cliff on the right side became, and the more narrow the passage. After a time, Slade slipped the bow he'd kept across his shoulder and notched an arrow in it before settling it across his lap.
Slade hoped his actions didn't tell Lainie there was no other way to go but straight ahead. And that one trail led farther and deeper into what was rapidly becoming little more than a path that was only a foot wide at its best. He watched her pull out the dirk she kept strapped to her leg, knowing it was probably not enough of a weapon to hurt anyone if it came to fight.
Slade didn't doubt Lainie's courage. He knew first hand from the tavern brawl that she'd stand her ground and fought along side him. How he knew he wasn't sure but his gut told him she would do whatever she had to do to survive.
Slade's eyes moved ceaselessly, probing shadows and the random turnings of the trail. The horse he rode liked the narrow trail no better than he did. Her ears swiveled and pricked at the least sound. Despite the long trail behind, she carried herself lightly, muscles coiled, ready to leap in any direction at the first appearance of danger.
Lainie's horse was equally edgy. Slade could sense the mare's wariness in her quick movements and nervously lashing tail. Even the two packhorses were skittish. They crowded up on her horse's heels as though taking no chance on being left behind.
Suddenly Slade reined the mare in, stopping beneath a low overhang where the trail widened far enough to let two horses side by side if ne
cessary. The other horses stopped. When Lainie would have asked why, he gestured for to keep silent.
Long minutes later, the cry of a falcon floated on the wind. She watched the bird soar and dip with the wind currents. And then the silence pervaded everything once again.
To keep her horse quiet Lainie leaned forward in the saddle and clamped her fingers around the horse's nostrils.
The motion caught Slade's eye. He saw what Lainie had done, nodded approvingly, and went back to watching. Long after the bird had flown by, he waited.
Nothing else moved.
Slade considered the tiredness of the horses, the time of the day, and the map in his mind.
It didn't take long to decide.
"We'll camp just a little ways from here."
~ * ~
Around the bend, the trail opened out onto a small valley where a tiny fall of water dripped over the rocks above. He had scouted this land for the army many times. Too many years ago to recount, he had discovered this spot. He reminded himself that he had meant to return here. He had just never realized it would be with a woman like Lainie. A woman who could make his soul burn with a fever he didn't understand.
The fall of water ended in a pool. This time of year Slade knew the water would be so cold it would steal your breath. But he didn't think Lainie would care. She wanted a bath. He wondered if she had any rose scented soap in her bags. He didn't remember seeing any, but he wouldn't be surprised if she carried it with her.
Slade sat on his heels, studying the terrain around the pool of water. No tracks led into or out of the area except animal tracks. A few deer, some squirrels, maybe a wild cat. He didn't see any sign of horses. Then Jericho wouldn't leave sign. He didn't see any sign that Jericho had been here but he didn't see anything to prove that he hadn't either.
Reluctantly he stood, mounted Baby, and rode back up the hill to the place where Lainie and the packhorses waited. After a bit, he turned to look at his own back trail. Baby's shod hooves left clear marks in the damp, churned earth at the fringes of the pool.
"Do you think it's safe to camp here?" Lainie asked with outward calm as Slade rode up.
He had been expecting the question. The hours and days on the trail had taught him Lainie was accustomed to using her eyes and her brain. Even though there was no clear trail they followed, he was sure she knew where he was taking her. That her brothers could be following or that Jericho had gotten in front of them was always a strong possibility.
"Don't know," Slade said.
"If you could venture a guess?" she asked impatiently.
"If he's been here, he's left. Hopefully, he thinks we're ahead of him."
She let out a silent breath.
"Don't get your hopes up. He could still be on our back trail, waiting for us to make a mistake. He's got Red with him, and it won't take him long to figure out where we are."
Lainie made a sound of exasperation and licked her lips.
"Don't worry little fox," Slade said. "I'm not planning on making you go without your bath."
She smiled with apparent delight.
As he watched her, he realized somewhere down the long, hard trail, he’d lost the emptiness in the pit of his stomach he always felt when he called her by that nickname.
Or maybe it was simply that his voice had lost its cutting edge when he called her little fox. Now his tone was darkly caressing, as though she were indeed a cunning fox being coaxed closer and closer to his hand. He hardened at the thought. If she came too close, she would not escape. He didn't want to give this well-used woman his heart but he was afraid he already had.
The next moment brought a flush to Lainie's cheeks that had nothing to do with the sun shinning brightly on her.
"Watch the trail while I get water," Slade said. "When I'm finished, I'll water the horses."
By the time Slade finished, the sun could no longer be seen above the rugged cliffs and towering trees, nothing remained to give away the camp's presence but a faint fragrance of smoke fire. Lainie ate quickly and gathered up what she would need for a bath.
Silently Slade watched Lainie walk out into the darkness with a satchel, a small metal pan, a soft rag, and a piece of soap. Once again, he wondered if the soap was rose scented and if she'd come back smelling of roses and reminding him that he burned for her.
"Don't go far," Slade said, his voice too husky for his own liking.
Though he had spoken quite softly, Lainie froze.
"And make sure you keep your dirk close by."
Slade followed the small sound Lainie made as she moved into the darkness. She didn't go far--just far enough to be well beyond the reach of light from the fire.
Slade heard the muted splash of water and told himself he could not possibly hear the subtle whisper of cloth against skin as Lainie undressed. Nor could he hear her sigh of pleasure as the cold water caressed her. He most certainly couldn't hear her breath shiver when her nipples peaked in response to the wet cloth but he could imagine it.
He was a man sure and truly damned.
Chapter Ten
Lainie shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. Her skin tingled as she walked from the cold pool of water that left her refreshed and feeling clean all the way to the tips of her toes. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. The moon, bright and full, gave chase to the shadows dancing around the pool. She jumped, startled by a sound, suddenly realizing she was no longer alone. She slipped the pants on, quickly sucked in her breath and pulled her shirt over her head.
"Water cold?" Slade's husky, mellow voice came from only a few feet away.
Lainie spun toward him. He was standing close enough to her to touch if she reached out. He had clean clothes bunched in one hand. His smile sent a wave of hot shivers rippling through her as well as thoughts she couldn't believe she was having.
"Yes," she whispered, moistening her dry lips with her tongue. "The water is freezing."
"Then you won't mind if I use the basin."
"How long have you been…" she breathed.
"Long enough."
Lainie inhaled a deep shaky breath and reminded herself she wasn't disappointed Slade had followed her merely because he, too, wished to refresh himself after the long ride. Quickly she held out the basin.
"It's yours," she said and turned to leave, wishing Slade wasn't so dangerously handsome.
"May I use the cloth, too?" he asked.
The throaty huskiness of Slade's voice sharpened Lainie's awareness of him until it was almost painful. Her skin tingled as though he had stroked her. She wanted to both flee and stay. And she didn't want to feel as if an inferno swept through her.
"Aye," she spoke softly, her nerves frayed.
"And your soap?"
Mesmerized by the subtle play of his voice, she nodded.
Her hair tumbled from the loose knot she'd made earlier. She gave an impatient sigh and pushed her hair behind her back, knotting it and hoping it would stay in one place.
"And your hands, little fox. Can I use them too?" He reached out and tucked a wisp of hair she had missed behind her ear.
Lainie's breath caught deep in her throat. She watched Slade, wishing she could see his eyes. She wanted to know where his thoughts were headed, whether he taunted her or perhaps had begun to believe she was not the tainted woman he had once thought she was.
"I'll understand if you say no," he said, his voice dark and compelling, "but I would appreciate a shave."
He watched her with shimmering green eyes that challenged her in ways she didn't understand.
"I can do that," she said, wishing she had not let her heart betray what she knew to be true about Slade. He would always think of her as a thief and a whore. She had already spent too much energy and invested too much hope in her cause to change his mind.
"Have you shaved a man before?"
His question was innocent yet provoking with sexual innuendos that sent shivers of crazy anticipation tumbling through her.
&nb
sp; Moonlight danced on the water like liquid silver when she looked away from him for a moment. She wanted so much for him to think of her in a different light, and he denied her in every way. He wanted only what the moment could give nothing that would last a lifetime.
Yet she made excuses for him. She knew his heart had been hardened beyond repair by a woman.
Highland Song Page 16