by Nora Roberts
Perhaps the tall, silvery figure was the ghost Pembroke had described. Tall he was, like a giant. He stood, feet apart, sword lifted as though asking a blessing from the gods. The plaid was tossed rakishly over one shoulder. The breeze caught the hair at his neck and feathered it about his face. A face lifted to the sky, lost in contemplation.
Suddenly the clouds drifted away, leaving the figure bathed in moonlight.
Neither guard nor ghost, Arianna realized. The shadowy figure was Lachlan MacLean.
5
LACHLAN’S FIRST THOUGHT when he saw the figure in the loch was that this was surely some sort of spell. With moonlight trailing a ribbon of gold across the water, bathing her in a golden halo, she looked like a goddess.
He blinked, certain that she would disappear. Instead she seemed to come into even sharper focus, until all he could see was Arianna. Hair hanging in fiery ropes around her face and shoulders. Eyes looking too big in her pale face. A face so beautiful it took his breath away.
Though the water covered her, he could see the outline of her breasts beneath the waves and the darkened cleft between them.
Heat rushed to his loins. His throat was dry as dust. He forced himself to swallow, and, in defense, his mouth twisted into a fierce scowl.
“Woman, why are you here?” His tone was as harsh as the look in his eyes.
“Your friend Pembroke told me this place is enchanted.” She saw something flicker in his eyes and wondered about it. Not fear, she reasoned, but some deeper emotion. As though he both loved and hated this place. “Perhaps you think I foolishly came to seek release from my father’s promise.”
When he said nothing, she sighed and decided to confess the truth. “Since my future is now out of my hands, I decided to spend this, my last night of freedom, alone.”
He inclined his head. “Then I’ll leave you to your solitude, my lady.”
As he turned to leave she waded onto the shore and, ignoring her nakedness, lay a hand on his back.
He flinched. And froze.
Arianna absorbed a blow to her heart. “Is my touch so offensive to you, Lachlan?”
He kept his gaze averted. “Is a flogging not enough for me? Is it your intention to have me killed by my laird as well?”
“Oh, Lachlan.” His name was torn from her lips. “How can I ever make you understand how sorry I am about last night? It’s true I wanted to use you to gain my freedom. But it was never my intention to have you punished in my stead.”
His tone softened, but just a little. “In truth, I’ll not mind the punishment. A beating is little enough price to pay for the pleasure of your kiss, my lady.”
Her heart leaped to her throat. “You…aren’t angry?”
“At myself, perhaps. For being such a fool. For those few precious moments, I allowed myself to think you enjoyed the kiss as much as I.”
Before he could step away she caught his hand. “Look at me, Lachlan.”
“Nay.” He shook his head. “I’m in enough torment. To look at you, to see you as my laird will see you, would only bring heartache.”
“Lachlan.” She spoke quickly, afraid if she didn’t, she might lose her nerve. “I did enjoy that kiss. As much as you. More, perhaps.”
He turned. The sight of her standing before him, water sluicing from her hair and sheeting down her body, stunned him and sent his heart reeling. The need for her was so sharp, so demanding, it nearly staggered him.
“I’ve never felt that way before.” She saw the way his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Nor will I ever again. You were my first, Lachlan.”
“The first to kiss you.” His voice hardened. “But not the last. On the morrow you will belong to my laird.”
“Aye.” She lifted her chin. “That I cannot change. But tonight, I belong to myself. Tonight whatever choices I make are mine. I thought I wanted to spend this time alone. But now that you’re here, I realize what I truly want. I want, more than anything, to lie with you. To love you, Lachlan.”
Already he was shaking his head. “So that you can rouse the entire camp and accuse me of something far worse than a kiss?”
“I would never do that, now that I know what your punishment would be.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I know I have no right to ask you to trust me. Not after the cruel trick I played on you. But I swear on my mother’s grave that I had no idea of the consequences of my action.” She lifted a hand to his mouth and traced a finger over the frown that carved his lips. Lips that trembled at her touch.
The thought that she could make this brave warrior tremble made her heart thunder. “I would give anything—anything,” she repeated with a fierce whisper, “to bring the smile back to your eyes.”
He could feel the jolt clear to his heart. And though he warned himself that he would be a fool to trust her again, the need to taste those lips was more than he could resist.
He closed a big hand over hers, stilling her movements. “I could easily snap your bones like twigs.”
“Aye. And if I betray you, Lachlan, that should be my punishment.” She shivered at the strength in him.
Seeing it, he misunderstood. “You’re cold, my lady.” He took the plaid from his shoulder and wrapped it around her, drawing her against the length of him.
“It isn’t the cold that makes me shiver, Lachlan. It’s you.”
“Do you fear me, then?”
She shook her head. “Nor is it fear that has me trembling. It’s the wanting. I want you, Lachlan. Only you. And I have, from the moment you kissed me.”
His hands gripped her upper arms roughly, holding her a little away from him. His eyes were narrow slits of doubt and anger. “You must stop this talk. You’re a maiden. Betrothed to my uncle.”
“Aye. And if I must spend the rest of my life in a loveless marriage, at least let me have my memories of tonight.”
“You’re mad.”
“Perhaps. If loving you, wanting you, is madness, then surely I’m possessed of it. And I’ve no one to blame but myself. For I was the one who shamelessly used you in my little scheme.”
He ran his hands up and down her arms, staring into her eyes with a look so intense it made her heart race and her skin heat. “We’re both mad, then, my lady. For I haven’t the strength to walk away from what you offer.”
“You’ll stay with me this night?”
He nodded and drew her close, pressing his mouth to the tumble of damp hair at her temple. “God help me, Arianna. God help us both. I’m too weak to resist.”
He tangled his fingers in her hair and drew her back, so he could stare into her eyes. The look he gave her was so hot, so fierce, she felt her heart constrict. “When first I looked at you, I felt a need I’d never known before. I tried to deny it. But that kiss shattered my heart.”
A thrill of triumph shot through her, piercing her to her soul. “It was the same for me. No other man will ever have my heart, Lachlan.”
But the knowledge that another would wed her sent pain, swift as an arrow, crashing through him. He thrust aside that knowledge. For now, for tonight, they would forget about what lay before them and take what pleasure they could.
He brushed hot, wet kisses across her cheek to her ear, holding her as if she were a fragile doll. “I want to be easy, Arianna, for I know you’re a maiden. But all through the night, after that kiss, I lay awake, dreaming of the ways I’d like to love you.”
She shivered at the warmth of his breath and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself to him. “Show me, Lachlan. Teach me the ways.”
Still he held back, his hands gentle, his mouth hovering over hers. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”
She stepped back to frame his face with her hands. “I’m not a child. I’m a woman.”
His smile was quick and dangerous. “Oh, my lady, I’m well aware of that.”
“Then kiss me. Now, before my poor heart stops beating.”
His mouth covered hers, and he heard her quick intake of breath before
she poured herself into the kiss. It seemed to spin on and on until they were both breathless and gasping for air. And still it wasn’t enough. He kissed her again, feasting on her lips as though starved for the taste of her. And all the while his hands, those strong, clever hands, moved over her, lighting fires wherever they touched.
The heat that surged through his veins had him moaning and taking the kiss deeper, until he was nearly devouring her.
Arianna had never known such feelings. She was hot and cold, and her legs were trembling until she feared they might not hold her. Her fingertips tingled from the mere touch of the hair at his nape, and she wanted more. She wanted to touch him everywhere, as he was touching her.
He lifted his head and she felt bereft. But seconds later he nibbled kisses down her neck to the hollow of her throat.
She felt a strange weakness taking over her limbs. All she could do was arch her neck and thrill to the pleasure as his mouth roamed her collarbone, then lower, to the swell of her breast.
When he took one erect nipple into his mouth she gasped and clutched blindly at his waist.
Half mad with need he lifted his head. “Did I frighten you, Arianna?”
“Nay.” She could barely get the word out, over a throat clogged with passion. “Well, perhaps.” She smiled then. “But I wouldn’t mind if you did that again.”
He chuckled and covered her mouth with his. Now their kisses grew more heated, their sighs more muffled as they lost themselves in each other.
Lachlan tossed his plaid to the ground, then caught her hands and dragged her down with him. He lay beside her, loving the way she looked, shimmering in the moonlight.
His fingers played with the ends of her hair. Hair that glinted like fire. Her eyes, as green as a Highland loch, were fixed on him with such intensity, he felt she could peer into his soul. She smelled as fresh and clean as the evergreens in the forest.
Water slapped against the banks, a steady, rhythmic sound that neither of them heard. Somewhere in the distance a horse stomped and whinnied, but they took no notice. All they could see was each other. All they could hear was the thunder of their two hearts. All they could feel was the glorious wonder of their newly discovered love.
“I have so little to give you, Arianna.” And so he gave her kisses, soft and light, until she relaxed in his arms.
“I need nothing more than this.” She returned his kisses. “Only this, Lachlan.”
He fought the needs that warred inside him, forcing himself to go slowly. To taste, to savor. If this was all he could give her, it would have to be enough to last a lifetime.
Responding to his tenderness, she lifted a finger to trace the outline of his lips. Growing bolder, she brought her mouth to his throat and pressed soft, moist kisses there until, with a groan, he dragged her into his arms and kissed her mouth, her throat, her breast.
What had moments earlier been a purr turned into a gasp. Pleasure now bordered on something so intense she couldn’t put a name to it. The heat between them became an inferno, until even the coolness of the grass, and the rush of night air on their skin, did nothing to put out the fire that raged.
Lachlan stared into her eyes and could see the desire that burned there. Could taste the passion on her lips. Could feel the need that struggled to be set free.
He framed her face with his hands and kissed her deeply, fueling the hunger that demanded to be fed.
“Know this, Arianna. I love you. Only you. And will love you for all my life.”
She reached for him, desperate now for release. “And I love you, Lachlan.”
He drew her closer, and she could feel the thunder of his heartbeat inside her own chest. A heartbeat that was as out of control as her own.
He’d wanted to be gentle, but now there was no stopping the demon that had taken over his will. He had to possess her. Body. Mind. Soul. He was like a madman as he entered her. Then, hearing her gasp of surprise, he went deathly still.
“What was I thinking? You’re a maiden. Arianna, forgive me…”
She pressed a hand to his lips to stop his words. Then without speaking, she drew him in and began to move with him. Climb with him.
He held on to her as he took her higher, then higher still. Together they raced across the darkened sky, beyond the moon, to the distant stars, where they shattered like diamonds and drifted slowly to earth.
“Did I hurt you?” Lachlan lay, his face buried in her hair.
“Nay.” It was the only word she could manage. Despite the fact that her heart seemed so full, her body felt weightless.
“I tried to be gentle but…”
With a smile she lifted her hand to his mouth. “Shh. Lachlan, it was so wonderful. Is it always so?”
“I’m told, if the love is true, it can be so.”
“Have you ever known love?”
“Never before.”
At his admission she went very still. “Pembroke said you took a vow.”
“It is one I made to my father, before he died. That I would dedicate my life to being a warrior worthy of his name. To that end I decided that I would never lose my heart to a woman, for to do so would be to weaken my resolve on the field of battle.”
“I don’t understand.”
“In battle, only one thing matters. Survival. If a man is distracted by love, it can cost him his life.”
“Was your father distracted by love?”
“He was. That love, that determination to protect those he loved, cost him his life.”
“And so you will journey through life alone.”
“Aye, my lady.”
Arianna sighed. “Knowing that makes me treasure all the more the memory of this special time with you.”
He nuzzled her throat. “You speak as though our time is over.”
“Isn’t it?” She ran her hands through his hair to still his movements.
But he continued nuzzling her throat until she wriggled beneath him. “We’ve only begun, Arianna.”
She went very still as the meaning of his words became clear. “We can…again?”
“And again and again.” He lifted his head and with a knowing smile looked down into her eyes. “You said we had the night.”
“Aye. But your vow?”
“Has already been broken. I’ve already lost my heart to you.” He brought his lips to hers. The words he whispered inside her mouth were warmed by equal parts of love and amusement. “So, since we have the night, let’s not waste a moment of it, my love.”
With but a kiss she found herself sliding back into a world of dark, mysterious tastes, and even darker passions. A world known only to lovers.
6
ARIANNA AWOKE IN Lachlan’s arms. As her lids fluttered open, she found him watching her. In his eyes was a look of such intensity, she sat up in alarm.
“Why did you let me waste our precious time together in sleep? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You looked so peaceful, love.”
Love. The endearment wrapped itself around her heart. She knew what it cost this strong, brave warrior to admit such a thing.
She glanced up at the sky, where the first faint ribbons of dawn were just beginning to paint the horizon. How cruel of the night to flee so quickly. “You must hasten to camp before your men find you gone.”
“First, my love, a kiss.” He drew her down to him and kissed her long and slow and deep.
They’d spent the night loving. At first they were seized with a quiet desperation, as though frantic to store up whatever memories possible. And so they loved just as desperately. But as the night wore on, they became soft and easy with each other, as comfortable as old lovers who had all the time in the world.
They talked, eager to learn all they could about each other. They spoke of their childhood, hers spent in happy play with her sisters until the death of her mother, when she’d been thrust into the role of housekeeper and hostess. During his childhood he had learned the ways of war from his uncle, who had taken h
im in after the death of his father. Lachlan’s skill with sword and knife had become legendary. As had his insistence that no woman would distract him from his true calling.
“Tell me something, Arianna.” He played with the ends of her hair, as they lay whispering together in the darkness. “Why did you not choose someone fair of face like Pembroke for your little scheme? Didn’t he seem a far easier man to ensnare?”
She was grateful that he couldn’t see the flush that stole over her cheeks. Even now it pained her to think how she’d trapped this good man in her little scheme. “Pembroke told me there was a lass who owned his heart.”
“Lana.”
“Aye. I feared that the scandal might cause him grief.”
He smiled at the evidence of her gentle heart. “And so you chose me.”
She sighed. “I was thinking only that you had no woman who might be hurt. I truly never thought about what this might do to you.”
“My sweet, honest Arianna.” He drew her close and kissed away the little frown that marred her forehead.
And when she finally slept, he watched her, memorizing everything about her, and wondering how in the world he could bear to let her go.
She was everything a man could ever want in a woman. Spirited and strong-willed. And blessed with a quick, inventive mind. Had she been more worldly, she might have succeeded in her attempt to escape her fate. And yet, it was her innocence that had first endeared her to him. When she realized the punishment that would befall the innocent victim in her little plan, she was filled with remorse. There was such goodness in her. He’d seen the tender way she dealt with her younger sisters. Best of all, there was such passion in her. After only one night in her arms, he knew that no other woman would ever satisfy him.
Before meeting her, he had believed he would always travel a lonely path through life. But now that he’d tasted her love, he knew he was doomed to much more than loneliness. He would live a life filled with regret at what the fates had denied him.
“I can’t leave you yet, my love.” His hands began moving over her.