Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1)

by Stone, Jenna

  Rowan stormed forward and grabbed Anna’s hand, “What did they do tae ye?” he asked, his voice angry as he examined the thick bandage that was wound around her forearm.

  “It’s nothing,” Anna said, jerking her hand away from his grasp. “They didn’t do anything to me. I fell in the forest last night and I cut my arm,” she said, cradling her arm in her lap.

  “It was foolish of ye tae leave in the middle of the night,” Rowan said, exasperated, not caring that the eyes of the entire English squadron were intently focused on their conversation.

  “It’s none of your concern, Rowan,” Anna fired back as she glared up at Rowan in challenge. “I’m fine.”

  The innkeeper cleared his throat, enjoying the drama but still seeking to avoid a costly brawl in his establishment. “I’ve got a room for the lady,” he continued, seeking to stay in the good graces of Lieutenant Arbor by providing his best accommodations to his fiancée, “But the rest of you will have to take up in the barn with the horses,” he said, eyes flashing over towards Rowan, who was now flanked on either side by Quinn and Malcolm.

  Quinn nodded in agreement, not being able to muster the energy or the will to fight with the innkeeper. He knew that the inn could not be more than half full.

  Rowan paid for Anna’s room and the innkeeper slid the key across the counter and into his waiting hand. Anna reached out to take the key from Rowan but he stuffed it hastily into his pocket, scowling at her. “After what happened last time ye were left alone with them, I’d feel better if I walked ye up tae yer room and saw that ye were safely locked inside,” Rowan said, eyebrows still knit together in a scowl as he remembered his previous altercations with the English. “I’ll meet ye out in the barn shortly,” he said, dismissing Quinn and Malcolm and starting for the stairs.

  Anna bid the soldiers good evening and followed Rowan up the stairs. Rowan fit the rusty key into the lock and swung open the door to the small chamber. The small bed was covered by a shabby quilt, an ancient looking rocking chair sat in the corner, and there was a rickety bedside table. Rowan ushered Anna into the room and went to the business of starting a fire in the small hearth. Being satisfied that the fire had taken; he stood and brushed the soot from his hands, walking towards the door.

  He could not talk to her now, not while he was so shaken and unprepared. Rowan planned to go to the barn, collect his thoughts and then speak with Anna in the morning. He wanted to make sure that his words came out correctly. He wanted to make sure that his anger at the fact that Anna had left him did not cloud his thoughts.

  “Lock the dead bolt as soon as I’m out the door. I’ll wait tae leave until I hear it.”

  Anna was puzzled.

  He’s going to leave? He chased me down, and now he’s going to leave without speaking to me?

  “Stay,” Anna said, standing next to the small bed. “I owe you an explanation.”

  Rowan shook his head and rested his hand on the door knob. “No, Anna. I canna.”

  “Stay with me, Rowan,” she said more urgently now, closing the distance between them and pulling his hand from the door knob. “I don’t want to be alone here. I’m scared of them…and if you’re all the way out in the barn…”

  “If ye are so damned scared, then why did ye take off in the middle of the night? Saints! When I think of what might have happened tae ye. Christ, Anna,” he muttered. “When I found that you were gone, and saw yer blood on the road I….” Rowan thundered, his rush of emotions making it difficult for him to put his feelings into words. He raked his hand through his hair and scowled down at Anna, trying to collect his thoughts. “Ye’ll be fine, Anna. Look at this lock,” he said, pointing at the thick metal bolt that would be sure to keep intruders out of the room.

  “And with your ribs, the last place that you should be sleeping is on the ground,” Anna said, trying to strengthen her plea to get Rowan to stay. “You may have the bed, and I’ll…I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  “It doesna matter much where I sleep, they’re still going tae hurt like hell,” Rowan said, knowing full well that Anna had no intentions of sleeping on the floor.

  “We need to talk,” Anna said honestly, now getting to the root of the matter. “Stay,” she said simply, hazel eyes imploring him not to walk out on her.

  Rowan let out a heavy sigh and settled himself gingerly down so that he was sitting on the bed. “I canna continue tae do this, Anna,” he said, raking his hand through his hair and looking up at Anna. “I’m mad with the wanting of ye. It felt like a dagger had been driven straight through my heart this morning when I found that ye were gone,” Rowan admitted, spilling out his emotions. “I understand that ye’ve made yer choice, and I ken that I have no claim upon ye…”

  “I left because I wanted to stay,” Anna blurted out, her heart wrenching because she knew that Rowan had been hurt by her actions.

  “Do ye realize that that makes exactly no sense? If ye want tae stay then why the hell don’t ye just stay?” Rowan strode across the room in two strides and silenced Anna’s explanation with his lips, astonishing them both. His arms were demanding as they caressed her back, her arms and her neck as if assuring himself that she had no further injuries; that she was indeed safe.

  Anna parted her lips in response to his kiss. She savored the shivers that ran down her spine as Rowan’s tongue slid inside her mouth, staking claim. Her body thrummed in response to Rowan’s hot, wet mouth, and his fingers burned trails of gooseflesh on her skin.

  Rowan was so aroused by the intensity of Anna’s response to his kiss that he felt as though he might combust. Her skin was so soft beneath his rough fingertips. Her sweet feminine scent drove him wild with desire. Memories of how Anna had allowed him to make love to her with his fingers caused him to go hard, his erection strained against the fabric of his pants.

  Oh, how he wanted her. Not just for one night, Rowan wanted Anna forever.

  Anna felt light-headed from the passion that Rowan had evoked within her. She kissed him softly and then pulled away, her lips hovering just beyond his mouth.

  “Stay,” she whispered. Anna un-tucked Rowan’s shirt and ran her fingers slowly up inside of it, savoring the feeling of the warm, taut skin that covered his abdominal muscles. “If you want to stay, then why the hell don’t you just stay?”

  ..ooOoo..

  Rowan snuck quietly into the barn, well before the first light of morning.

  “Did ye get lost?” Malcolm asked from underneath his blanket at the back of a horse stall, resentment heavy in his tone.

  “Mind yer own business,” Rowan grumbled. He tenderly lowered himself down into the hay, wincing from the pain of moving his ribs.

  Quinn sat up in the dark, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Ye must stop this, Rowan,” he said firmly, seeking to finish the argument that they had started in the forest the morning before.

  “And just how am I supposed tae do that, Quinn?” Rowan asked, eyes open staring into the dark of the barn.

  “I’ve seen the way that ye look at her, brother. Ye canna hide it. Hell, I’ve seen the way that she looks at ye back,” Quinn said, voice steady in the darkness.

  Malcolm grumbled from beneath his blanket.

  Quinn continued, refusing to drop the issue. “Nay good can come of this, Rowan. Ye need tae let her go, distance yerself from her. She’s promised tae be marrit.”

  “Do ye think that I doona realize that, Quinn? I ken what I should do. It’s just that I canna force myself tae do it!”

  “We’ve got Malcolm tae think of. Every day that ye dally here with the lass is one day that we should be runnin’ for our lives. What if we’re found out, Rowan? What if we’re captured and indentured as we were meant tae be when we were shackled tae that bloody ship?”

  Silence fell between them in the dark.

  “Have ye taken her maidenhead?” Quinn asked, gritting his teeth together, expecting the worst.

  “Do ye think that I have no morals?”

  �
�I doona ken what tae think, Rowan. I’ve seen ye rollin’ around beneath the blankets with her in the woods, heard ye groanin’ and her whimpering and…”

  “I’ll admit that I havena been completely proper with the lass, but I’d never stoop sae low as tae dishonor her,” Rowan said adamantly, angry that his brother was butting in to his personal issues.

  “I hope she’s worth it… I…” Quinn trailed off, searching for the right words.

  “Was Mairi worth it?” Rowan flung the words angrily at his brother.

  Quinn stood up silently, his muscles tense and his eyebrows furrowed together into a deathly scowl. He punched to heavy wooden wall of the barn with an explosive blow. Quinn let out an inhuman roar and pummeled the wall again before stalking angrily into the darkness.

  Chapter Twelve

  Anna had found her warrior’s weak spot. Rowan’s nipples were ticklish. She smiled, sliding her hand deviously under his shirt and up his taut chest. Feeling his solid, muscled abdominal muscles beneath her fingertips made her heart flutter. She remembered the solid warmth of Rowan’s tanned skin and how she had trailed kisses over his bare chest the night before. Touching Rowan secretly like this made desire begin to pool between her thighs. Rowan made no effort to stop her quiet invasion, causing Anna to smile to herself.

  Anna sat cradled in his lap on the horse. Ever so slowly, she inched her fingers up his chest. Rowan shuddered under her touch. When Anna brushed her fingertip faintly across his nipple Rowan squirmed in surprise and nearly unseated both of them from the saddle.

  “Doona provoke me woman,” Rowan whispered haughtily against Anna’s ear so that his brothers wouldn’t hear. “Ye ken full well that I’ll get ye back ten fold tonight when I’ve got ye alone.”

  Anna felt Rowan’s muscles tense beneath her. She knew immediately that something was wrong as he jerked the horse to a stop. Her blood iced in her veins when she saw why Rowan had stopped. Her hand froze in place, still concealed under Rowan’s shirt right over his rapidly beating heart.

  Turning a sharp corner in the well traveled road, they had nearly collided with the soldiers. It was too late to flee and there were too many of them to outrun. Rowan increased the pressure of his protective grip around Anna’s waist and reined the horse to a complete stop.

  Quinn glanced at Rowan, nodding ever so slightly at his brother. His gray eyes darted first at Malcolm and then at Anna. Quinn and Rowan had made a pact that if a situation like the one that they had just walked into arose, they would work together to save Malcolm and Anna.

  They had planned to sacrifice themselves in whatever means necessary to give their younger brother a chance at survival, hoping that Malcolm could safely deliver Anna to her uncle.

  Rowan nodded in agreement, feeling the weight of his dagger against his side. The meager weapon would do little to defend him against twenty soldiers, each one armed to the teeth. No, a dagger would not defeat the English. But if Rowan could fight them off long enough, if he could create a big enough distraction, Anna and Malcolm might slip away into the dense forest.

  Rowan was confident that he had trained Malcolm well. His brother knew how to disappear into the forest, how to hide and forage for food. Malcolm would be capable of seeing to Anna’s welfare, but he would need a diversion to slip away with her.

  The leader of the soldier rode forward, or at least the Murray brothers suspected that he was their leader, being that his coat was bedecked with more medals and finery that the other soldier’s uniforms. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a squared jaw. His skin was tanned from much time spent outside and he had his blonde hair slicked back into a thin queue secured with a black ribbon at the base of his skull. The solider reined his horse to a stop in front of them and looked quizzically at Rowan and Anna.

  “Anna?” he asked cautiously, blue eyes scanning her face. “Anna Stanton?”

  “Yes?” Anna responded nervously, her voice shaky.

  How does this man know my name?

  The soldier dismounted his horse and shouted over his shoulder to his comrades, “It’s her. We’ve found her!” He straightened his jacket, still holding the reins of his horse in his right hand and then took a step forward. “Jonathan Arbor, at your service,” he said, introducing himself and lowering into a formal bow.

  Anna’s mouth dropped open in shock. She made a conscious effort to close it. Her stomach clenched into a knot and for a split second she thought that she might be sick. Rowan’s legs tensed beneath her own. His grip was now so tight about her waist that Anna had trouble breathing. She slid her hand carefully from beneath Rowan’s linen shirt. Rowan’s thundering heartbeat pounded against her back.

  Jonathan stared at Anna impatiently, his blue eyes studying her beneath scrunched together brows. He stood up to his full height and brushed a strand of his blonde hair back behind his ear. “Don’t you know who I am, Anna?” he asked, his eyes trained on Anna’s face. “We’re to be married.”

  Anna swallowed hard, the shock of Jonathan’s introduction taking hold. “Yes…I know who you are,” she stammered, unsure of what to do next. “Forgive me,” she managed. “It is such a shock to find you here. I’d never expected…”

  “I’ll take her now. Hand her down,” Jonathan said, now addressing Rowan as he walked briskly toward the mare. “We owe you and your companions a debt of gratitude for keeping Miss Stanton safe. You’ll be handsomely rewarded,” Jonathan smiled, motioning for Anna to get down from Rowan’s horse. “C’mon, Anna…I’ll help you down,” he said, extending his gloved hand up towards her.

  Fingers shaking, Anna obediently took Jonathan’s hand and allowed him to help her dismount. Rowan held onto her waist for just a second too long. Her eyes met his as Jonathan pulled her down from the horse. Rowan’s eyes were stormy with possessiveness and rage. He was using every ounce of his self-control as he let her go. Anna could still feel Rowan’s touch hot against her skin. His eyes haunted her.

  Jonathan stood next to Anna, openly appraising her. “It looks like you’ve had a rough journey,” he chuckled, taking in Anna’s dirty, torn dress and her disheveled hair. “We’ll get you home and cleaned up in no time,” he remarked, embarrassed that his bride looked like a common pauper.

  Anna stood next to Jonathan, stunned and unable to find the right words. An overwhelming feeling of numbness washed over her. She felt empty. Hollow. Anna dared not look up at Rowan, as she was already fighting back tears that were eager to fall. But she could not force herself to look at Jonathan either and so her eyes rooted on the dusty road. She struggled to quell the nausea that churned in her stomach.

  Jonathan dug into the inside pocket of his coat and produced a heavy purse. He tossed it handily to Rowan, who caught it reflexively. “For your trouble,” he said, nodding at Rowan. “Thank you for delivering her safely.”

  “Aye,” said Rowan numbly, the purse heavy in his palm. He didn’t want the money. He wanted Anna.

  Taking Anna’s hand in his, Jonathan started to lead her towards his horse. She stumbled, frozen in place, causing him to look at her harshly. “Shall we?” he asked insistently, tugging her towards the horse again.

  “Wait!” Anna said. “I need to tell them goodbye. They’ve been so kind to me…”she trailed off, shaking free from Jonathan’s grip and walking purposefully back towards the Murray brothers.

  “As you wish,” Jonathan said, swinging impatiently up into the saddle. “Don’t take long. We’ll need to get to the inn before dark.”

  Anna was unsure if her knees would carry her. They were shaking beneath her and threatened to give out. Her pulse was hammering in her ears, making it difficult to think rationally. She walked over to Malcolm and Quinn first. Malcolm had already dismounted his horse and was followed by Quinn, who still held the reins tightly in his left hand.

  Malcolm rushed towards Anna and captured her in a bear hug, crushing her to his chest. Anna distinctly heard Jonathan’s grunt of disapproval and responded by hugging the boy tig
hter. She pulled away from Malcolm, holding him at arm’s length. Her hands gripped his shoulders reassuringly and then slid up to hold his face between her palms. There were tears welling in Malcolm’s eyes and he fought valiantly to hold them back.

  “It’s going to be fine, Malcolm. I’m fine,” Anna said, seeking to reassure him. “You listen to your brothers now,” she said, smiling, and reached up to brush a strand of hair behind Malcolm’s ear. “I’m so proud of you. You’re growing into such a strong young man. You’ll make some lucky girl very happy someday,” Anna said as she forced a shaky smile.

  “I’ll miss you, Anna,” Malcolm whispered, sniffling and working hard to fight back tears.

  “I’ll miss you too,” Anna said honestly. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on Malcolm’s cheek. She hugged him tightly and then let him go, turning to Quinn.

  Anna knew that Quinn was not a hugger, but she wrapped her arms around him anyway, catching him off guard. He awkwardly fitted his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.

  Anna leaned up and whispered into his ear, “Take care of him, Quinn. He needs you.”

  Quinn knew that Anna was not talking about Malcolm.

  She drew slowly away from Quinn, smiled slightly and then kissed him on the cheek. Anna straightened her spine and prayed silently for strength. She was about to do the hardest thing that she had ever done.

  She had to say goodbye to Rowan.

  Rowan slid numbly down from his horse, holding the reins in his left hand. His eyebrows were knit together and a look of resentment was heavy on his handsome face.

  Anna walked up to him, standing less than a foot away from him. She waited for Rowan to look down at her. He swallowed hard, collecting himself and settled his gaze on hers.

  The resentment, the pain that was there in his eyes broke Anna’s heart.

  Anna bit her lip in an effort to keep the tears that she held back from flowing.

  “Doona cry, sweetheart,” Rowan whispered so that only she could hear. “It will only make this harder,” he said, reaching up to brush the first of her tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb. “This is right, Anna. Ye made the right choice,” he whispered. It took every ounce of restraint that Rowan had to hold onto his control. He fought every urge to grab Anna, toss her on the back of his horse, and to try to make a run for it. He knew that they would never make it. They were vastly out numbered.