by Jarecki, Amy
“How did you find me?”
“Angus mentioned Kerrera was part of the Dunollie lands. I took a skiff from the pier and refused to stop rowing until I found a cave. If I had to cover every square inch of Kerrera, I would have done it.”
“My God, you are an amazing woman.” He grasped her hand and kissed it. “You are my very own guardian angel.” He slid his hand to her upper arm. “You rowed all the way from Dunstaffnage without assistance?”
She closed her eyes as his fingers kneaded her aching muscles. “I do not ken how I did it. If it weren’t for my determination to find you, I would not have been able to continue past Dunollie.”
His hand stopped. “Why are you wearing breeks?”
She chuckled and looked down. She’d forgotten about her clothing. Biting her bottom lip, she gave him a sheepish smile. “They’re Duncan’s. I couldn’t very well slip away from Kilchurn in the dead of night dressed like a lass.”
“You did?” He knitted his brows. “You could have been killed.”
She reached inside the satchel and pulled out the remaining oatcakes. “You would have done the same for me.”
“Aye, but I’m a man.”
“So does that make me any less a person?”
“No, lass.” He shoved a crunchy cake into his mouth. “You’ve proven that it most certainly does not.”
Gyllis blew on her palms.
Sean leaned in and examined them. “Christ almighty, your skin is raw.”
“I told you I wasn’t about to stop.”
He hissed. “Bloody hell. I still cannot believe you suffered so much for me.”
“But I love you.” She blinked back her tears. “I would have moved heaven and hell to save you.”
He brushed his fingers along her cheek. “I believe you would have.”
There was nothing Gyllis wanted more than to wrap him in her arms and smother him with kisses, but he was so weak and needed a bath. He’d require more than a few drops of watered wine and a handful of oatcakes. “Lady Meg is at Dunstaffnage. She can tend your wounds.”
“Dunollie is closer. Jinny will set me to rights and I can gather my weapons and clean clothing.”
“Weapons? You are not planning to fight…”
“Bloody oath I am. I’ll not rest until Alan is brought to justice.” He cradled his head in his hands as if it pained him. “If he’d told me he was my brother I would have honored my father’s wishes and given him land and coin, but now there is no turning back for him.”
“Aye, he must be caught and sent to the gallows, but let Duncan lead the charge.”
“And lick my wounds like a miserable coward?” He tried to stand, but dropped back. “I will not sit idle while other men risk their lives for me.”
Since he’d taken a wee bit of sustenance, a dangerous fire flickered in Sean’s eyes.
Gyllis held his stare. She would not lose him. Not ever again. “But first you must promise we’ll go to Dunollie and find your healer. I doubt you could raise your sword at the moment, let alone face Alan.”
“Agreed. But I will regain my strength. Make no bones about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
By the time they left the cave on Kerrera, the sun had begun to set. It would be dark before they reached Dunollie. Sean was almost relieved—almost. In no way would he allow Gyllis to row the skiff up the shore. Every fiber in his body ached. His mind was clouded by pain, starvation and thirst. God help him, he’d even swooned a time or two.
They’d filled the flagon with water from a spring, but his thirst would not be assuaged. His stomach rumbled. A few oatcakes made little impact and his fingers shook. Bloody hell, he could barely propel the boat in the seas, given the storm’s effect and his trembling limbs.
Gyllis sat on the bench across from him, her eyes filled with adoration, even in his wretchedness. In no way could he fail her. She alone was the source of his motivation to continue on. The fascinating woman had singlehandedly overcome insurmountable odds to come to his rescue. He loved her before, but now his respect for her soared to a new level. He would love her through eternity. That her beauty outshone any lass in Scotland no longer mattered. If she were to turn grey with age on the morrow, he would love her no less.
When he at last moored the skiff at the embankment, he couldn’t be certain who helped whom more, but somehow they managed to make it up the trail to the keep. The old guard, Cadan, ran to meet them, weapons clanking. “M’laird, you look as if you’ve been to hell and back.”
Sean smirked. “I have.” With Gyllis under his arm they hobbled toward the stairwell. “Send Jinny up with food and a salve.” He stopped and regarded the guard over his shoulder. “Order a bath. I ride at dawn.”
“Dawn, m’laird?” The guard stood dumbfounded. “In your condition?”
“Do as I say,” Sean bellowed. “Make it quick. I cannot bear the stench of my own flesh.”
Gyllis stumbled on a step, but held on. “I daresay Cadan may be right. ’Tis madness to ride when you’re in such a state.”
“Do not worry. After a good meal, a bath and a sleep, I’ll be fit.” His thighs burned with every step. Why in God’s name did his chamber have to be on the third floor?
“We’re nearly there,” Gyllis said as if she’d heard his thoughts. “A meal will help us both I’d reckon.”
After they pushed through the door, Gyllis didn’t release him until she’d led him to the bed. “You’d best rest here until the healer comes.”
He sat. “I hate weakness.”
“As do I.” She set to lighting a candle with the flint. “Now you have an inkling of what it was like to be confined with paralysis for months.”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it, but her words hit a chord. How unconscionably difficult things must have been for her. Yes, he’d known she was suffering, but had no idea of the depth of that pain…until now. “Come here.” He pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his ear to her breast. Her heart beat a steady rhythm “You are the strongest person I know—stronger than any man. If only I could have an iota of your strength.”
She cradled his head in her hand. “You do. Can you not see it? If you had not inner strength, you would not have survived in that dank cave with all those lesions on your body.”
The door opened and Sean swallowed down the lump in his throat. He would have preferred it if Jinny had taken a bit longer. Followed by a serving girl who was carrying a trencher of food, the healer walked to the bed with her medicine basket.
Sean begrudgingly released Gyllis’s waist while Jinny set her things on the bedside table. “Thanks be to God, you are safe, m’laird.” She glanced sidewise at Gyllis.
Sean gestured with his hand. “You remember Miss Gyllis Campbell. If it weren’t for her, I would have perished this night in the Kerrera cave.”
“Kerrera?” Jinny glanced between them. “But everyone thinks Alan MacCoul is holding you in the Dunstaffnage dungeon.”
“Everyone but me,” Gyllis said, nodding at the matron. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, matron.”
Jinny remembered her manners and curtsied. “My thanks, miss.” Then her eyes popped when she looked Sean head to toe. “Forgive me for saying so m’laird, but you look as if you’re half dead.”
“’Tis exactly how I feel.”
She looked closely at Sean’s lesions and then sniffed. “These have started to fester.”
Gyllis blew on her palms. “The conditions in the cave were deplorable.”
Jinny fished in her basket and pulled out a pot. “My salve will fix you up.”
Sean jolted and hissed as she attacked the first sore. The woman’s bloody ointment stung like a posy of nettles, but it worked—eventually. He clenched his fists and took the rest of her ministrations without any outward display of pain. He wouldn’t be any sort of man showing weakness in front of Gyllis, not after she’d borne so much agony herself.
Jinny wiped her fingers on a cloth and
stoppered her pot. “That ought to see you through to the morrow. Shall I bring up a tonic to help you sleep?”
“I should be fine with a tot or two of whisky.” He reached for Gyllis’s elbow and held up one of her hands. “The lady’s palms could use a bit of your salve as well.”
Jinny gasped. “My Lord, what on earth did you do?”
Gyllis shrugged and blushed. “I rowed a skiff from Dunstaffnage to the southern end of Kerrera.”
“Blessed be the saints, and you being a noble lassie and all.” She shot a concerned look at Sean. “Why did the men not help her?”
“They didn’t believe me.” Gyllis cleared her throat. Aye, the lass could speak for herself. “They tried to send me back to Kilchurn.”
Jinny slipped the cork off the pot and dug in her fingers. “Is that why you’re wearing a pair of men’s breeks?”
The color in Gyllis’s cheeks deepened. “Aye, matron.” She pursed her lips and glanced at Sean, making it clear she didn’t intend to relate the whole story. Sean figured she ought to because the tale alone proved how strong-willed and determined Gyllis was.
Cadan pushed through the door, carrying a wooden bath, followed by a pair of stable boys laden with buckets of water.
“Careful not to slosh on the floor,” Sean said. Normally he wouldn’t pay a rat’s attention to whether they spilled a bit of water or not, but wet floorboards could be slippery for Gyllis.
Cadan placed the basin in front of the hearth. “Shall I light the fire, m’laird?”
“Aye, thank you.”
Jinny frowned. “I suppose I’d best leave the salve here if you intend to wash it off.”
Sean gave her a wink. “That’s a good lass.”
She didn’t even try to feign a smile. “Miss Gyllis, you can come with me and we’ll find you a proper bed.”
Gyllis shot a panicked stare to Sean.
He stood with his fists on his hips. Heaven help him, he was still weak-kneed and dizzy. “I’ll see Miss Gyllis to the lady’s chamber. I’ve a word to have with her first.”
By the way she crossed her arms and pursed her lips, Jinny didn’t approve. “Pardon me for saying so, but you both need your rest.”
Sean gave her his sternest look. “That will be all, Jinny.”
She ticked up her chin. “Very well, m’laird. Do you require anything else?”
“I’ve a terrible thirst. Could you send up a ewer of ale?”
Jinny gestured to the table with the food. “The chambermaid brought one up with the trencher.”
Sean spotted it and grinned. “That she did.”
“Come, Cadan,” Jinny said. “Let us leave our chieftain to his rest before he succumbs to exhaustion.”
Sean waited until the door closed behind the servants. God he was tired, but he could smell Gyllis’s allure from across the room. His mouth watered. He wasn’t sure if it was hunger for her or hunger for food, but when his stomach growled he chose the latter. For now. “I ken I need a bath, but that food looks too good to pass by. If I do not get a good meal in my belly soon, I fear my strength will never return.”
“Agreed, I’m famished.” She looked at the door and twisted her mouth. “Your healer must think me a harlot.”
“Do not worry about Jinny. I shall ensure her priorities are set straight at my next opportunity.” Sean lumbered to the table and held the chair for Gyllis.
“My thanks, but I should be holding the chair for you. Jinny was right when she said you looked like you were on death’s door. I’ve never seen anyone so pale.”
Sean slid into the chair across from her, suddenly feeling twice his age, perhaps even thrice. He reached for a slice of roast lamb and shoved it in his mouth. “I’ll be fit once I have something substantial in my belly.”
She picked up the ewer and served his tankard first. “I’m sure food will help.” She poured for herself. “But so will rest.”
He raised his ale. “Then ’tis settled. We shall eat, bathe and then rest.” He glanced at the bed, certain his idea of rest did not meet with Gyllis’s, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
“We shall eat, but you will bathe, not I.”
“Only me?” He popped a grape in his mouth. The food must be helping because he grew more amorous by the moment. He inhaled deeply. “What the devil fragrance are you wearing? It’s making the pulse thrum beneath my skin.”
Her tongue shot out and she licked those delectable, pouty lips. “You must be mistaken. I’ve not applied a fragrance, especially dressed in men’s clothing.”
He reached across and ran his finger over the back of her hand. “Then it must be entirely your allure, m’lady.”
She smiled, her dimples dipping into a lovely blush. “I should leave you to your bath. ’Tis not proper for me to remain in your chamber—especially when the servants are aware of my presence.”
Sean puzzled at her shyness. “Do not think on Jinny’s dour frown. ’Tis none of her concern what we do within this chamber.”
“But rumors will spread—’tis different from the last time. Jinny had a bairn to deliver and I was appointed another chamber by Angus.”
He reached across the table and cupped her face in his palm. “As long as you remain in Dunollie, your reputation is safe. I’ll not stand for anyone sullying your name. Besides, as far as anyone is aware, you are staying in the lady’s chamber.”
Gyllis lowered her chin and looked up with the coyest of stares. “Very well—if you are certain.”
He took a bite of cold roast lamb. “I am.”
She raised her eyebrows and glanced toward the bath. “Then I should like to wash your back.” Honest to God, what a change his promise had brought about.
Sean stopped mid-chew. His mind went blank. His hunger fled. His cock lengthened. And then he swallowed. “I would be bathed by no finer hands than yours, m’lady.”
“I believe the fire has warmed the air enough for you not to catch a chill.”
“Quite right.” Not that chilly Scottish air ever bothered him. After shoving a bite of bread in his mouth, he stood and moved to the bath. Untying the braies, he let them drop to the floor. The heat of her gaze seared his back. He knew Gyllis as a passionate woman. Her earlier embarrassment had been a fear of gossip by the servants, not a fear of him. Sean wanted her to see him naked. He pivoted and faced her.
Her gaze raked down his body, lowering to his manhood, Gyllis gasped.
Even on the brink of exhaustion, his cock was hard.
He tapped his top lip with his tongue, anticipating her hands around his cock. Absently, his hand snuck down and he stroked himself. “I want you, lass.”
Gyllis’s green eyes sparkled as she inclined her head toward the tub and waited for him to climb in. She was right. He did need to bathe first. Unfortunately, the damned barrel wasn’t large enough to pull her in. She removed her cloak and sauntered forward. Her limp hardly noticeable, she’d come so far since she was stricken.
Picking up the cake of soap with the tips of her fingers, she held it to her nose. “Mm. Rose.”
Sean’s flesh tingled with anticipation as she knelt beside the basin. His voice box was too thick to speak.
She dipped the soap in the water and with her first touch, Sean shuddered. He closed his eyes and moaned.
“Shall I cleanse your back first?”
“Aye,” he rasped.
“I’ll be careful to avoid your sores.”
He’d scarcely felt the lesions when he’d slipped into the tepid water.
Gyllis smoothed a soapy hand over his shoulder.
Never in his life had he experienced a touch so ethereal. Her fingers plied his skin with light swirls, making his skin come to life and his blood pulse. Giving in to her heavenly ministrations, the tension shed from Sean’s shoulders in concert with the water trickling down his chest and back.
Gyllis scooted forward, her face only inches from his. “Shall I cleanse the rest?”
Yes, for the l
ove of everything holy, yes. “Aye,” was all he could manage to utter.
Gyllis lathered the cake of soap. “I can be more careful when I use my fingers.”
Sean needed those deft fingers plying him now. “Feels like heaven.”
She tickled his chest and swirled her fingers around his nipples, leaning so close her wild, sensuous scent overpowered the rose in the soap. Sean’s cock grew a mind of its own. It had been hovering just below the water, but it jutted through the surface, so hard it tapped his stomach.
A groan rumbled through his chest while Gyllis continued lower. He couldn’t see her face, but he felt her eyes boring into his erection while her hands continued lower. Her touch became torturous as she bathed everything but his member, continuing to swirl her fingers around the sensitive skin on his inner thighs.
The further her hands got from his cock, the more he craved them to stroke it and free him from the hot, aching, yet exhilarating tension in his groin.
Sean realized he’d leaned his head back and closed his eyes, when she stopped.
Gyllis cleared her throat. “S-shall I wash you there too?” Her voice had taken on an erotically husky tone. The state of his arousal had affected her more than he’d realized, making his need all the more intense.
“Pleeeeease.”
Slowly she lathered the soap between her fingers. Her braid swung around from her back. Sean grasped it and tugged off the thong at the end. Before she set the soap down, he had her hair released. The chestnut flickered with coppery highlights from the glow of the fire.
Their gazes collided as if steam erupted between them. Sean held his breath. Gyllis’s lips parted and she released a stuttered exhale, her stare drifting down his body until it met with his cock.
Sean groaned before her slender fingers wrapped around him. She stroked him with such a feathery caress, he thought his heart would blast to the rafters. He realized he must have moaned when she asked him if she was hurting him.
“Nay,” he managed through clenched teeth. “Grip harder.”
With two more strokes, Sean could take no more. Either she would bring him undone or he would need to quell his burning desire and make this moment last. With a guttural growl he pulled her into the bath and smothered her mouth with his.