by Temple Hogan
“I expected as much.” Bitterly, she turned away.
“Did you now?” He drew her against him. “And what did you expect?”
“That you’d have your fill of me and be on your way without a backward glance.” Anger made her slim body tremble in his grasp. She folded her arms across her chest, creating a barrier between them. Her lips compressed into a single line, and her chin jutted forward in an attempt not to cry.
“Lass, I’ll never have my fill of you,” he whispered gruffly. “You’re my wife. Didn’t we exchange words to bind us?”
“I’m just your country wife and such words can be forgotten,” she said stubbornly, and angled her head so she could study him from beneath wet lashes. She saw a slight smile on his lips.
“Don’t you have a laugh on me, Callum,” she said softly. “Remember I nursed you to health.”
“More than that, m’lady.” He ran his hands over her slim back. “You’ve given me a touch of heaven these past few days. Trust me, lass. I’ll not leave you save to gather my men, then I’ll be back for you and wee Rose.”
“Will you come back to us then?” She searched his face.
“Lass, have I not spent these last three days telling you so? You and Rose are part of me. I would take you with me now, but I fear who might be lurking on the way. Surely, word of my presence has reached Lister by now, and he’ll be looking for me. Let me gather my men at the rendezvous point, and I’ll be back for you. Take comfort in knowing I can’t go forward without you in my life.” His large hands cradled her hips, holding her close to him. His scent surrounded her, covering her with a reassurance of his protection and love.
His eyes twinkled as he met her gaze. “I’ll come back, Lilli. You belong to me whether you want to or not. I’ll come fetch you and Rose and we’ll go to my castle where you’ll reign as m’lady wife.”
She stiffened in his arms. “‘Tis not possible, Callum. If Sir Archibald finds me, he’ll kill Rose and me. To the rest of the world, I must remain a simple, Highland lass.”
“Lilli, I see the terror in your eyes, but you must trust me. I’ll not let anyone harm you or Rose. I pledge my honor on that.”
“But he’s one of the powerful men in the Highlands.”
“I’ll protect you or die trying.”
Roughly, he pulled her against him so she could not resist as he lowered his head and kissed her thoroughly. The feel of his hot lips against her own swept away her fears. His kiss changed, the plunging urgency of his tongue awakening a familiar passion within her.
When she was breathless from his embrace he set her on her feet and smiled reassuringly. The wind ruffled his dark hair and reddened his high cheekbones, leaving its mark on him as it had on her, making him one with the mountain and sky. She caught her breath, for never had she seen a man so wonderfully bonnie. Even now, he touched her heart so it skipped a beat. New life tingled through her, waking her body to the glory of living and loving. The past three days and nights had been filled with new discoveries and endless delights, and they were not enough. She wanted a lifetime in his arms.
His eyes darkened. “Ah, lass, how can I walk away and leave when it causes me nothing but pain and misery. Come with me to the shieling while I fetch my steed. We’ll have a few more hours together before I go.”
“Aye, just let me get Rose and a bannock or two for your journey. How long will you be gone?”
“Only long enough to reach and gather my men. You’ll be safer here at Tollis croft than on the open road.”
“Aye, I understand. We would but hold you back. We’ll wait here so you can go more quickly.” She nodded regretfully and raised her head to gaze into his eyes, communicating all her love for him.
“I’ll watch the path a hundred times each day until you return and pray each night for your safety.” Her words sounded braver than she felt.
“I’ll be back as quickly as I can. Now hurry, so we can have some time on the mountain.”
With a lighter heart, she wrapped Rose in a makeshift sling for traveling. Callum fastened her so she rested against his chest. Rose gurgled her approval. Lilli carried the bannocks she’d put aside for Callum’s journey.
They set off up the mountainside to the shieling huts and the green pastures where the lowlanders would bring their cattle to fatten on sweet alpine grasses in the summer months. The day was glorious, the air heady, the sunlight a promise of spring and burgeoning life. What could be false on a day like this?
Rose rode in a sling across Callum’s chest and Lilli checked to see her dainty face was covered from the bite of the crisp mountain air.
“You worry over much, lass,” he teased her, but she noted he took extra care to see that the babe was well protected as they climbed.
When they reached the shieling huts, they paused to rest. Callum’s horses cantered to the edge of the stone fenced pasture to greet them and he handed Rose to Lilli so he could pat them and brush their coats, cooing soft endearments.
Lilli smiled, thinking he treated them with tender loving care much as she did with Rose. Watching the man and his beautiful steeds, she thought of the world he came from, a world of plenty and privilege, a world of intrigue and power, a world that had been denied to her and her clan despite their history and birth right. How simple she must seem to him with her humble life and country ways. Their lives were too far apart. Melancholia rose within her.
Walking toward her, Callum must have seen the slump of her shoulders and the sadness in her eyes.
“Don’t doubt me, lass,” he said, sprawling on the ground beside her, his weight resting on his elbow so he might study her face. “The time will go quickly and I’ll soon be back.”
Her searching gaze met his. “I’ll not doubt you, Callum MacAlister, for time will do the telling.” She sat on her heels, her skirt billowing around him, her fingers twisting a piece of grass. “And if you should forget me, I’ll understand. You’re a fine new chief, a laird of your clan while I, despite my noble birth, am but little more than a plain country lass. Our clan is broken. I have too many enemies and no clan behind me. I have nothing to bring you in a marriage, no dowry and no titles.”
“None of that matters to me.” His large hand cupped her chin, his dark gaze held hers, his message unspoken but all too clearly said in his touch and in his gaze. Suddenly, he leaped to his feet, pulling her up beside him.
“You don’t have faith in me, lass,” he accused. “You fret and call yourself a plain country lass, but you’re my wife and we haven’t had a ball to celebrate our union. Come, can’t you hear the bagpipes. Let us dance at our own wedding ball.”
“Our wedding ball?” She looked around in dismay.
“Aye, a magnificent ball here on the mountain top before God himself.”
He threw his arms wide as if encompassing the very heavens. Laughter welled, her heart beat rapidly and she gazed at him in open-mouthed delight.
“Come, plain country lass, don’t stand there gaping. Let us dance!” He spun her around.
She couldn’t help but giggle as he tugged her around in a facsimile of a country-dance, singing a well-known folk ditty in a lusty voice. The wind blew across scrubby grass and rock, seeming to echo their mingled laughter. At last, when they were both breathless, he released her and stood staring down at her, his chest rising and falling, his eyes sparkling. Then they grew somber and placed a hand on either side of her waist.
“I, Callum MacAlister pledge myself to you, for all time, Lilli MacGregor MacAlister. I vow to protect you and provide for all your needs as long as we live.”
She couldn’t speak. She felt something of wonder grow deep within her.
“Won’t you make your pledge to me again, lass?” he asked, gazing into her eyes.
Her heart swelled with joy. “I can’t speak for I have no breath,” she whispered. Tears trembled on her eyelashes.
“You must,” he urged, “or it will not be valid. Do you take me for your husband?”
> “I do,” she said softly. “I pledge myself to you for all time. I’ll be obedient and faithful and do all things required of me.”
“Love me, that’s all I require,” he said and pulled her into his arms. His dark head lowered, closing out the sunlight and blue sky, leaving only him to gladden her heart.
He lifted her in his arms and carried her a short distance from the sleeping baby. Gently he lowered her back against the fragrant, wind-swept grass, his gaze smoldering with the passion she’d tasted before. She welcomed him with her slim arms, her willing body and her ready heart. She gave him her passion, her heart and love.
Leisurely, he removed her clothes and rose above her, his gaze sweeping over her body and face.
“The sun has never shown on such a beautiful wild Highland flower,” he murmured and planted little kisses over her face and throat and down to her breasts.
His teeth settled around the bud of her nipple and he suckled first one then the other. She lay gasping, her head thrown back, her hair fanning around her in the grass, her gaze filled with the sky and clouds. She was part of something much more than just herself, she thought briefly before his mouth slid downward. He parted her legs and lowered his head and she felt the brush of his tongue across her clitoris. She jerked and cried out but opened her knees even more. In the past three days, she’d come to anticipate the fiery awakening his intimate kiss brought her. Her hands stroked his hair, her fingers wove through his dark locks. His wicked tongue brought her to the throes of passion and she gave way to the waves of completion, sharp as a knife, as she fell off the mountain and into a land of wonder such as she’d never imagined. He rose above her, raising her knees high as he slid into her moist channel. She felt his invasion and for a moment, caught up in her own climax, resisted, then she felt his cock inside and opened herself to him, yet again. The wind bent the grass, revealing its blue-green underside and rattled around the huts, howling and whistling as if it, too, must express its own euphoria. She wrapped her legs around his waist, ensnaring him with her body and heart, wanting to hold him close always and knowing they must part. As he loved her with his hands and mouth, caressing her, claiming every part of her very soul, she forgot all else. When he’d brought her to climax, so she seemed to soar over the very edge of the great mountain and ride the wind, she cried out his name, scattering the birds that had settled on the rocky outcroppings nearby.
“The mountain moved,” she gasped later, gazing at the cloudless sky above.
Callum had collapsed beside her, his body still shuddering, half covering hers, his face against the soft hollow of her neck, his hot breath like a benediction.
“Aye, lass,” he said hoarsely and pressed a swift kiss against the ivory column of her throat.
They lay thus, unspeaking, slowly returning to the reality of the world around them until the wind chilled them. They rose silently to dress without looking at each other, the reality of their parting heavy on them. Pensively, she watched as he saddled one of his steeds. “I’ll leave Clach in case you need him. He’s the gentler of the two. His saddle’s in the shieling hut.”
“I’ll check on him while you’re gone.” She looked away, not knowing what else to say. The wind had sharpened, its capricious nature turned against them now.
Callum lifted Rose and placed a kiss on her sweet face. “Farewell, wee little bairn,” he crooned. Rose opened her blue eyes and stared at him, then waved her tiny fists and gurgled. “Ah, she’s talking t’me. She’s telling me she believes in me and knows I’ll come back safe and sound.” Callum smiled at Lilli and handed the baby over. “Be like Rose and believe in me, lass,” he whispered, brushing her cheek with a gentle finger. His dark gaze was somber.
He mounted his steed and looked down at Lilli. The wind blew her hair around her face and whipped at her skirts, but her fierce gaze was steady on him.
“Lass, I hate to leave you,” he said roughly and held out his hand.
She placed hers into it, clinging to him. “Then don’t go. Stay here on Tollis Hill with Rose and me. We have no need of anything else.”
“‘Tis not so simple. Someone else would become laird and they’d have say over your mountain and our lives. I must go to protect us all from our enemies.”
She withdrew her hand and stepped back. “God go with you then, Callum MacAlister. I’ll be awaiting your return.”
She watched him ride away, down the mountain she must traverse. Then he was gone, hidden by rocks and scrubby pines. The wind raised a shiver in her, as cutting as a sob. Wee Rose protested and Lilli drew her shawl around the baby, tying it into a sling so she rested against her breast. She didn’t look back at the meadow where they’d lain. She couldn’t bear to remember, not now. She’d have tomorrow to remember and the next day and the next, perhaps the rest of her life. She’d remember and grieve, but she’d never regret.
Chapter Twelve
Three days had come and gone without a sign of Callum’s return. Remembering his fervent declarations of love, Lilli hung onto her memories and hoped that nothing had gone wrong and he would soon return to them. Each day she climbed to the shieling huts and the meadows beyond to see to his steed, feeding it bits of hay or oats from her hand. She smoothed her hand over its sleek nose and talked to it of its master until the horse tossed its head as if in exasperation and trotted away. Still, each time she arrived at the stone fence, he came to her, sniffing and searching her sleeves for his expected treat. For a moment, Lilli’s laughter spilled out, silvery and happy. For a moment, she forgot her pain and loneliness.
But at night, alone in the cottage when Rose slept and the fire had burned low, she felt that loneliness more keenly than ever she had. It would have been better if he’d never come here, she thought, then immediately brushed the idea aside. If he’d never come, she would never have understood the love between a man and woman. She would never have known what ties bound them and what passion existed in the making of a little one like Rose. She cherished Rose even more, understanding now the passion that forged Edward and Jane’s love.
Part of her chafed at the loss of independence as she’d known it before, then she came to realize that she hadn’t lost her independence. She’d given it willingly and in the giving had grown stronger. Was such a giving of the heart and body always to bring pain she cried in the darkness of her lonely nights? Only little Rose heard and stirred in her sleep so Lilli clamped a hand over her mouth and suffered in silence.
Each morning brought renewed hope, making the passing of each day more bearable. One morning, when she and Rose returned from the mountain pastures, she heard below the sound of horses and men. Her heart leaped with joy.
“He’s back, wee Rose,” she cried elatedly and raced down the mountain path but some shred of caution made her pause. Hidden behind a stone outcropping, she studied the men gathered in the cottage yard below, searching for her first glimpse of Callum. A sense of foreboding closed over her. She ducked down and quickly loosed her shawl to wrap Rose in it.
“‘Tis not Callum, Rose,” she whispered. “I fear ‘tis some other men than his.” Her trembling hands settled the baby in a hole in the rocks. “You must be quiet, little one. That’s my bonnie lass. Don’t make a sound until I see who’s there.”
Rose turned her head and closed her eyes, her delicate pink lips moving instinctively as if suckling. Lilli rose and moved down the path. At that moment, a man cried out below, the familiar sound of his voice filling her with dread.
“There she is, lads,” Owen Waite called out. “He must be up there, too.”
Lilli froze, staring down at the melee of men and horses. Strangers ran up the path toward her, Waite at the forefront. Lilli whirled and climbed the path. She had no time to grab Rose from her hiding place. Desperately, she sought to lead her pursuers away from the baby. She could only hope Rose would make no sound and reveal herself.
Lilli left the path, scrambling over sharp rocks and boulders, but most of her pursuers raced up th
e path from whence she’d come. She was not their quarry after all. They were looking for Callum, she realized and her heart squeezed painfully. At least he’d gotten away safely. Now she must see to herself and Rose. She would work her way back around and get the baby. She should never have left her there. In the distance, a black spiral of smoke rose in the still air. They were burning the croft. No, she cried deep within herself.
Blindly, she moved back along the path and halted as Waite sprang up in front of her. His eyes glittered with purpose. If he caught her, there would be no mercy for her this day. He’d have his way with her. She could hear him gaining, his rasping breath frightening in the cold mountain air. She redoubled her efforts but a stitch in her side took her breath and her legs trembled with fatigue as she climbed over yet another sharp outcropping. Suddenly, a hand closed around her ankle, yanking her backward. She fell against a flat rock, stunned for a moment. Waite was on her, pressing his soft body against hers, his weight pinning her down.
“No!” she screamed, but he laughed, capturing her hands and pinning them above her head. She arched and bucked beneath him, trying to free herself, but he seemed to enjoy the tussle.
“Where’s your fancy protector now?” he snarled and slapped her across the face.
The unexpected pain made her draw a sharp breath. She stopped fighting, stunned and disbelieving. Waite laughed.
“That’s better, lassie,” he cackled. “‘Twill be easier if you don’t fight me. I’ve no use for a woman who disobeys.”
Gripping her hair in his meaty fist, he pulled her head back and slapped her again, his face filled with an evil glee at each blow he delivered. A dull pain claimed her, darkness danced behind her eyes. Gathering her last bit of strength, she brought up one knee as hard as she could. She heard him grunt with pain, saw the dark lust in his eyes turn to agony. His hold on her loosened and he curled into a ball, his hands cradling his crotch. Lilli rolled away from him, her hands scrabbling over sharp rocks.