Here Comes the Rainne Again

by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

  Lake stopped and leaned his head back while the rest of his body kept hers pinned to the wall. He resisted the urge to grind his hips against her just so she could feel how much he wanted her. He looked down into those wide blue eyes of hers and ached with how much he loved this woman.

  “Is that what’s been bothering you?”

  She nodded as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Lake groaned, swept his mouth down and took over the task of teasing the spot she’d been worrying. It took great control to stop again, and when he did his breath was uneven and shallow and his need for her was almost out of control.

  “I thought you didn’t want to marry me.”

  “Kirsty Campbell—soon to be Benson—you think too much. It shouldn’t be allowed. It leads to nothing good.” He waited until she looked back up into his eyes before he spoke again. He wanted her to know he meant every word. “I love you. No. It’s more than that. Without you I can’t survive. You’re essential to me. My thoughts are filled with you. Only you. Saying I want you doesn’t even come close to how I feel. I don’t just want you. I’m desperate for you. And we are definitely getting married.” He cocked an eyebrow at her as his lips twitched. “Maybe not here, but it’s happening.”

  “Oh, Lake,” she said on a sigh. “Then why haven’t you made love to me?” Her words were soft, but the pain behind them was loud.

  Hell, he’d made her feel rejected and unwanted. It was the last thing he’d intended to do. He let out a sigh. “Too tired. Too busy. Too stupid.” He flattened his hands against the small of her back and pressed her into him. “I’ll make up for it. Starting now.”

  He kissed away any protests she may have made as he fisted his hands in the knit dress she wore and inched it up those long legs and over her hips.

  “I need you now,” he said against her mouth, then kissed her again. Tasting her passion, making her moan with need and lose herself in him.

  “Uh, Lake,” a voice said in his ear, making him freeze. It was Flynn. “Your mic is on.”

  Lake cursed loudly. “One second,” he said to his beautiful woman. “Flynn’s in my ear.” He kept his body flush against hers and tuned out the confused look on her face, preferring to focus on the dazed glint in her eyes and the lips swollen from his kisses. “I’m switching off,” he barked at Flynn. “Guard the door.”

  “Lake!” Kirsty slapped her hands on his chest as he ripped the comm unit from his head and threw it over his shoulder. “We can’t do anything in here. Not now.”

  She might be protesting, but he noticed her fingers had curled into his sweater to hold him closer rather than push him away. He heard laughter as the grand room door closed firmly. Someone would be standing guard. And he damn well wasn’t going to waste his time worrying about what people might think or overhear.

  “We can,” he told Kirsty. “And we are.”

  Then he stopped all conversation. His tongue licked up the side of her throat before his teeth nibbled on her earlobe.

  “My mother is out there somewhere.” Her voice was breathless.

  Lake continued to inch her emerald-green dress up over her hips.

  “I don’t care.” He captured her mouth again.

  He felt worry leave her as she lost herself to sensation. Lake hooked his hands under her backside and hauled her up.

  “Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered.

  Her ankles hooked behind his thighs. He pressed his hard length against the heat of her core and ground into her. Her breath hitched and her head fell back to rest on the wall. Lake had never seen anyone more beautiful. Her cheeks were pink; her lips were full and parted. Long, dark lashes rested on her cheeks as she moaned.

  “This is going to be fast,” Lake said. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  Her eyes opened but they were heavy-lidded with desire. “After the wedding?”

  “Possibly during, too.”

  Her bright smile made his whole world align itself. He slid his hand over the satin skin of her hip, hooked a thumb into the side of her panties and felt a ribbon bow. He grinned.

  “They were my new line,” Kirsty said. “I’m calling it ‘easy access.’”

  Lake tugged at the bow and felt the underwear fall away.

  “Have I mentioned lately how much I love your lingerie designs?” He shifted to balance her weight between the wall and his hips. His fingers sought her centre, and he groaned to find her wet and ready.

  “You want me,” he whispered as his forehead fell against hers. His eyes closed as he concentrated on the feel of her, silken and delicate to his touch.

  “Always,” she whispered back. “Always, Lake.”

  He couldn’t wait a second longer to feel her around him. Moving his hand away from her, he smiled at her moans of protest as he unzipped his jeans and released himself. He was hard and desperate to get inside her. Three months? It couldn’t have been that long since they’d been together. He was an idiot. But he wouldn’t be one ever again. With no hesitation, he surged inside Kirsty. Her moan of pleasure and completion mirrored his own.

  “Love you,” he said before capturing her lips with his.

  His tongue plundered as his hips rocked his length into her. He needed her. He needed all of her. She was his. With a gasp and a whine, Kirsty wrenched her lips from his. His name was a moan as she tightened around him, making him lose his own control. They sagged against one another, panting and sated.

  “I do love you.” Kirsty kissed the side of his neck.

  “Then marry me.”

  She made a great effort in lifting her head to look over his shoulder. “Not here.”

  “No. Not here.”

  “I really wanted a Leap Day wedding.”

  He smiled. “I’m not waiting another four years to make you my wife.” He’d waited too long already, putting it on hold while they both got their businesses up and running.

  Kirsty ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. She stopped dead. Damn. He’d forgotten about the bullet wound.

  “Lake? What’s this?” She pushed at his shoulders, making him back up a little. Then she looked down at her fingers. They were covered in blood. Her face paled. “Lake?”

  He inwardly cringed. This was not going to go well. “I might have gotten a little bit shot.” He aimed for levity.

  “Lake Benson, you’ve been shot and you didn’t tell me?” Kirsty’s face flushed with outrage. “Let me down. Let me down now.”

  He winced as she slid off him and down to the floor. She tugged down her dress and bent to pick up her underwear. She pulled the panties back on as she glared at him.

  “I can’t believe you let us do that when you were bleeding.” Now it was fury making her eyes glow. He preferred when it was desire.

  “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Get that jacket off. How bad is it?”

  “It’s fine. Seriously. I’m okay.” In truth, he wanted to get back to the kissing part of his evening before there was more crap to deal with and the kissing would get delayed. It seemed to be the story of his life these days—work and obligation pushing out all the good stuff. A sense of peace flowed through him as he thought of Callum taking on half his burden. Hopefully he’d never again go three months without touching his woman.

  “Jacket off. Now.” Kirsty pushed away from the wall and stalked towards the door. She yanked it open. “Flynn, Abby,” she said with dignity to the people who knew exactly what they’d been doing.

  Lake could only imagine the look Flynn was throwing her way. He winced as he pulled off his jacket.

  “Lake’s been shot. I need the first-aid kit.” She frowned at Lake. “I’ll be back in a minute. I need to visit the bathroom. Don’t go anywhere. We’re dealing with that gunshot wound when I get back.”

  “No way.” Flynn pushed past Kirsty to step into the grand room. He scanned the devastation, then focused on the blood still dripping from Lake’s arm. Flynn’s grin was slow and
wide. “You are a legend. Not that we heard much—the walls here are thick and the doors are solid wood—but I can imagine. And all that while wounded. Kudos.”

  A hand yanked Flynn back into the hall. “What?” Lake heard Flynn protest. “Tell me you aren’t impressed.”

  Lake hung his head and counted to ten.

  Then things got worse—his mother-in-law appeared.

  Margaret Campbell frowned at him. “Is this really the best time for hanky-panky?”

  “Mum!” Kirsty’s face turned the same colour as her hair as she came back into the room. “Lake’s been shot. Where’s the first-aid kit we’re using for our own men?”

  “We have separate kits?” Lake said, hoping it would be enough to distract attention away from what they’d been up to.

  “We kept the good stuff for our boys,” Margaret said. “This kit has painkillers in it.” She glared at him. “Although I’m not sure you deserve them.”

  Lake tried not to smile. “We’ve been living together for three years. You know we have sex.”

  “Lake,” Kirsty wailed.

  “I know,” Margaret snapped. “But this isn’t the time or the place and I don’t need to know about it when it happens.” She stomped off, hopefully to get the kit.

  Lake looked down at his arm. There was a gouge that ran across his bicep. It wasn’t deep, but it was still bleeding. Kirsty grabbed his arm to study it.

  “You could have been killed,” she said, as though it was his fault.

  “No. I couldn’t. I’m good at what I do. It’s only a flesh wound. No big deal.”

  “No big deal.” Her voice went into hysterical territory.

  Lake looked at a still-grinning Flynn for help.

  “It’s only a scratch,” Flynn said. “He’ll be fine.”

  Kirsty frowned at Flynn. “It’s time for you to be gone.” She turned back to Lake and folded her arms over her luscious breasts, making his mouth water. They needed to find a bed, and soon. “You and I are going to have a proper talk about this later,” Kirsty threatened as she cleaned out the wound.

  “Yes.” He leaned forward and kissed her again. “We’re going to have lots of proper talks from here on out. I’ll try to communicate better in future.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled up at him. “Damn straight you will.”

  28

  * Rainne and Alastair *

  Rainne was curled up in front of the fire in the office when Ryan arrived back at the castle with Doctor Murray. He took one look at Alastair, lying on the couch with a straw in his side, and declared he needed to be taken back to his clinic. It wouldn’t be possible to get Alastair to hospital, but thanks to Josh, Invertary’s clinic was probably the best-stocked rural practice in Europe. As soon as Josh found out Caroline was pregnant for the first time he’d bought an x-ray machine, an ultrasound, a crash cart and anything else the doctor could think to ask him for.

  Before the orange haired doctor went off to assess the rest of the castle’s wounded, he examined Rainne.

  “You’re fine,” he said. “A bit bashed up, that’s all. You need to stay warm and rest. No need for you to come to the clinic.”

  “No!” Alastair protested from his position on the couch. “She needs to be checked out properly. She was unconscious. She hit her head.”

  “She is also sitting right here, feeling fine,” Rainne pointed out.

  “There could be internal bleeding.” Alastair glared.

  “Who’s the doctor here and who’s the fisherman?” Doctor Murray demanded. “When I want help with my fly casting, I come to you. I don’t tell you how to do it. You’re the one with the awards on your wall. It’s the same with medicine. I’m the one with the degree and the experience. There’s no internal bleeding. Rainne is fine.”

  “And you know this how?” Alastair asked. “With your x-ray vision?”

  Doctor Murray stood, grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “I need to see other people. Deal with him,” he said to Rainne. Then he was gone.

  “I’m fine,” Rainne said to the grumpy man on the sofa. “No symptoms of anything. I don’t need to go to the clinic.”

  “Aye. You do. You can’t take a chance with your health, Rainbow.”

  “I’m not the one with a broken wrist and a plastic straw sticking out of me.”

  “You had blood in your hair.” He sounded so outraged it was hard not to laugh.

  “Nothing a good shower won’t fix.”

  His mouth tightened. “You’re coming to the clinic. And that’s final.”

  Rainne got up and walked over to Alastair. She stroked his hair, feeling the soft brown strands slide through her fingers. “You can’t decide that, Alastair. There are people here hurt a whole lot worse than I am. I’m going to stay and help Caroline clean up while we wait for the police to get here. Lake said the main road has been cleared, so it shouldn’t be long now.”

  “No. It’s too dangerous. You can’t stay here with all these guys in the castle.”

  “They’re being guarded. I’ll be fine.” Her hand dropped back to her side. “I should go see what I can do.”

  Alastair’s good hand shot out and his fingers curled around her wrist. Dark, unreadable eyes looked up at her. “I want you in the clinic with me. We have things to talk about. Things to sort out.”

  It took all of the energy she had left to smile at him. “We can do that once you get better.”

  His grip tightened. “I mean it, Rainne. We need to talk. If you go running away again, I’ll chase you down.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, but her brain knew better. “You’re only saying these things because you’ve been badly injured. Before you were hurt, when you were in your right mind instead of delirious, you made it clear you didn’t want me. That you would rather I left.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.”

  Stubborn, foolish man.

  “No, you haven’t.” She pried his fingers from her wrist and stepped away from him. “You feel responsible for me after everything we’ve been through. It’s to be expected. You spent the past few hours worrying about keeping us both alive. But you don’t want me, Alastair. Not really, and not in the way I need you to want me.” She took another step towards the door. “When you’re well and thinking straight, you’ll agree with me. It’s best if I don’t go with you to the clinic.”

  She turned her back on him and walked towards the door.

  “Don’t you leave me again,” he said.

  “I’d have to be with you to leave you,” Rainne said softly, and then stepped into the hall.

  “Rainbow!” Alastair shouted, but she kept on walking until she hit the kitchen.

  Every eye in the room turned to watch her. Most of them filled with pity. Three years ago, Rainne would have burst into tears and fled in shame. But as she kept telling everyone, she wasn’t that girl anymore. Instead she held her head high and looked at Heather Donaldson.

  “What can I do to help?” she said.

  She was grateful when Heather smiled, linked her arm through hers and led her off to where she was needed.

  Alastair closed his eyes and lay back on the sofa. She’d done it again. She’d walked away. And he was in no state to chase her.

  What was it about him that made women eager to escape him?

  “She didn’t believe you,” a female voice said from the door.

  From his position Alastair couldn’t see who was speaking, and he didn’t recognise the voice.

  “It’s not that she doesn’t want you,” the woman said. “She doesn’t believe you.”

  “Who are you?” Alastair wished she would step into the room so he could see her.

  “I’m Julia.” She didn’t come into the room. “I work for Lake. I’ve been talking to Rainne on the phone for the past few months. We’ve become friends. Well, as much as you can from phone calls.” There was silence.

  Alastair was almost afraid to speak in case he scared the woman away.

&n
bsp; “She told me about you.” Julia sounded wistful.

  “What did she say?”

  “She told me how much she loved you.”

  Alastair’s heart ached and he closed his eyes.

  “She told me you wanted to marry her and start a family.” Alastair heard her take one step closer. “She didn’t believe you then either. It’s hard to believe someone really means it when they say they want you just as you are. It’s even harder when experience teaches you that people only want you for what they can get from you.”

  Julia sounded like she knew what she was talking about.

  Alastair cleared his throat. “I wanted her regardless of what she could do for me. I’m nothing like her family. My feelings weren’t conditional on what I’d get from her.”

  “Weren’t they?”

  He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “No. I wanted her here, making a life with me.”

  “And when she wanted to do something else, you withdrew your love. Withdrew yourself.”

  “That’s not what happened.” Was it? “I went to Glasgow. She shut the door in my face.”

  “You went to Glasgow to bring her back here.” Julia stepped closer, and Alastair could feel her standing just out of sight behind the sofa. “You went because you wanted Rainne, not because you wanted what was best for Rainne.”

  He flinched. “She said that?”

  “No, but I heard it. You were only twenty. You two were together such a short time. A few months of listening to you, against twenty-six years listening to her parents. Are you really surprised she didn’t believe you meant what you said? Especially when your actions said your love was conditional on her doing what you thought was best?”

  Alastair fell silent, and the mysterious Julia turned towards the door. “She really does still love you,” she said. “Don’t make her suffer because of it.” And then she was gone.

  Leaving Alastair alone, wondering if Rainne hadn’t been right to leave him three years earlier. Wondering if he’d been the immature boy she’d accused him of being, expecting her to give up her life to be with him after a few months together. He scrunched his eyes closed against pain of a different kind. The past was a mess. They’d both made mistakes. But they had a chance to fix them now. To start again. To do things differently.