Highlander The Dark Dragon

by Donna Fletcher

  “I will always hear you.” He kissed her briefly, though with strength that left her wanting more.

  “You think that a kiss?” she chastised with a twinkle in her eyes. “Or perhaps the Dragon’s wife exhausted him last night and he is just not up to it.”

  “I think my wife needs to be taught a lesson,” he said and flipped her over his knees so fast that she had no time to even gasp in shock.

  She slipped out of his grasp just before his hand met her backside and she laughed as she danced away from him. “I will not let you take your hand to me.”

  He laughed as well. “You think you can stop me?”

  “I am swift on my feet.”

  “Not swift enough to escape the Dragon.” He jumped toward her and she ran form the Great Hall laughing. He laughed himself, for no matter how swiftly she ran, he would always catch her.

  He went after her and reached her when she got to the top of the stairs to their bedchamber and scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

  She squealed with laughter and playfully pounded his back. His hand came down on her backside, but much too softly and Heather smiled. It turned to a gasp when his hand found its way under her nightdress to caress her backside.

  “You do not play fair,” she said.

  “You are right, I do not play fair.”

  This time it was a groan that hurried past her lips when he ran his finger down between her buttocks, to dip in between her legs and tease her with his finger.

  Once inside their bedchamber, the door closed, he dropped her on her stomach on the bed and before she could turn over, he stretched out on top of her. He nipped playfully at the back of her neck, his teeth taking sharps bites that sent shivers through her.

  “Stay as you are wife, I am not done punishing you.” He felt her soft laughter ripple through her body, though he soon changed it to a shiver as he ripped her nightdress off her. He kissed and nipped along every inch of her naked back and when he started to do the same to her backside, the shiver changed to a moan.

  She was a delectable morsel and he could taste her forever, but he was hard and aching and he wanted inside her. He stripped off his garments before yanking her up on her hands and knees and entered her with such a hard thrust that her whole body jolted.

  He thought he had hurt her and it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was about to ease out of her when she pushed back against him, forcing him deeper inside her. He smiled. She was as hungry for this as he was, and he slammed against her.

  He kept a firm hold on her backside as he plunged in and out of her, their bodies pounding against each other, their groans filling the room, and their climaxes building rapidly.

  They climaxed together, Heather calling out his name and Rhys biting his tongue so the words would not spill out.

  Good God, Heather but I love you!

  When they were both spent, Rhys took her in his arms and they lay wrapped around each other. In minutes, Heather fell asleep and Rhys followed soon after. And surprisingly, he felt a tingle of something he had not felt in a very long time...fear. He feared losing his wife and her love, and he swore to himself he would never ever let that happen.

  ~~~

  “What do you mean you do not know where Lady Heather is?” Rhys asked, bolting out of his chair and Pitt doing the same beside him.

  Duff took a step back. “Lady Heather was right here in the Great Hall a minute ago. The warriors guarding the door did not see her. She did not pass Tam standing guard by the stairs. I took a look in the kitchen and she is not there. She just disappeared.”

  Rhys slapped his hands down on the dais table. “People simple do not disappear.”

  Pitt shook his head at the young warrior in warning. He knew exactly what he was going to say and it was the wrong thing at the wrong time. Rhys would not want to hear his warrior remind him that the Dragon was adapt at doing just that, being there one minute and gone the next.

  “Nessa!” Rhys shouted and the servant lass jumped and hurried over to the Dragon. “Have you seen Lady Heather?”

  “No, my lord, the last time I saw Lady Heather she was here in the Great Hall.”

  “A room full of ghost warriors and my wife vanishes in front of them all.” Rhys shouted.

  “That would include you too,” Pitt said with a smile.

  “Perhaps I should have a pit dug just so I can toss you back into one.”

  Pitt sobered his expression, though a smile still threatened to break free and he took a step closer to Rhys. “It seems your wife has done what others could not...she has touched your heart,” he said for Rhys’ ears alone. “Scowl if you will, but you cannot deny the truth.” He did not wait for a response, he turned and called out. “Find Lady Heather now, she could not have gone far.”

  Pitt walked around the dais to Nessa. “A thought on where she might be?”

  Nessa felt more uncomfortable than ever around Pitt ever since the incident with Fife a few days ago. She had made certain to avoid him as much as possible, but it had been difficult since he was around more often than not. She had been grateful for his consoling embrace, but she also felt foolish for having been such a fool.

  “She has been keeping close to the keep since the day she mistakenly found the secret passage. So, I do not believe she wandered off. She would stay close by.”

  A servant entered with a tray of sweet cakes and followed behind Rhys as he went to speak with one of his warriors. “My lord,” he called out.

  Rhys turned sharply and the young servant cringed and stumbled back away from him.

  “What do you want?” Rhys snapped.

  The servant kept his head bowed as he extended the tray out to him. “Lady Heather instructed me to see that you got a sweet cake or two.”

  “Where is she?” Rhys snapped again.

  “Lady Heather stepped outside the kitchen to see the new pups born a few weeks now to the kitchen dog.”

  Rhys grabbed a sweet cake off the tray and said to Pitt as he passed, “Call the men back, I will get my wife.”

  Pitt nodded and called out to the men and as he did, he reached out and stopped Nessa from leaving with a gentle touch to her shoulder. “How are you doing, Nessa?”

  “I am well, sir.”

  “Pitt. I have told you to call me Pitt.

  She swallowed her pride and said, “Forgive me for not saying this sooner, but I am ever so grateful for your kindness to me the day—”

  “Fife made himself known for the deceitful man he was? It was good that his reign of lies ended, and it is due to you that in the end we knew who he was or you and Lady Heather could have lost your lives.”

  Nessa shook her head. “Me?”

  “Aye, I saw wherever you went so did Fife, and it troubled me that he seemed so taken with you, but he never attempted to kiss you. There had to be something wrong that he did not at least try to steal a kiss from a beautiful woman like you.”

  Nessa felt her cheeks heat.

  “Perhaps later when all is quiet, we can enjoy some sweet cakes together and talk. I am sure there are things that still trouble you and I am a good listener.”

  Nessa felt too vulnerable to trust another man, especially one as handsome as Pitt.

  Pitt held up his hand. “We will only talk; I will not try to kiss you,” —he smiled—“not yet at least.”

  Nessa did not think her cheeks could get any hotter, but they felt on fire and embarrassment had her nodding and hurrying off, thinking of ways she could avoid the handsome warrior.

  ~~~

  Rhys stood in the open doorway, finishing the sweet cake while he watched three little, black pups, except for one who had one white paw, scamper and climb all over his laughing wife. She sat on the ground by a small shed that the dog no doubt had claimed for her home with the pups. One pup was nipping at her fingers another slept comfortably in her lap and the other slipped beneath the hem of her dress.

  That did it for Rhys. That area was for him and him a
lone. He bent down, yanked the little pup out and dumped him on his bottom, ordering sharply, “Mine, stay out!”

  The pup could not climb into Heather’s lap fast enough, stepping over the sleeping pup to plant himself as close to Heather as he could get. The other pup, the one with the white paw, sensing something was amiss, hurried to drop himself against her thigh and drop his head down so he would not be seen, or so he thought.

  “A brave little batch you have there,” Rhys said and sat down beside his wife. “And what are you doing leaving the keep without telling me?”

  “I am sorry. I was distracted when one of the pups wandered into the kitchen while I was getting the sweet cakes for you.”

  It dawned on Rhys then that Heather had told him that she would go fetch sweet cakes for them, but he had been so busy speaking with Pitt that it had slipped his mind. Still, though, she had stepped outside the keep.

  “Stay in sight of a guard at all times,” he said.

  “I assumed a guard follows me at all times.”

  “One follows that you can see, the other you do not see, but the two work together, so do not make it more difficult for them.”

  Her soothing strokes finally had the one pup settling down, nearly on top of the other pup in her lap.

  “I was thinking,” Heather said, reaching out to slip her hand around his. “This is foreign land to Haidar. How is it that he seems familiar with it?”

  Rhys squeezed her hand. “I can understand why your father sought your counsel. You often see what others fail to see. I thought the same myself and dispatched one of my men to see what he can find out. The more likely answer would be that Haidar promised someone riches in exchange for his help, though the only thing the person will see is the end of Haidar’s blade as he slices his throat.”

  “With Fife having been with you about a year, then that would mean Haidar had known all this time where you were. Why did he wait?”

  “To see if I wed. It is important to him to repay me in kind. It makes his revenge that more satisfying and makes him more powerful in the eyes of his people. Besides, he would not want to take a chance of anything going wrong, so he would plan well.”

  She smiled and gave a slight tilt of her head as she said, “And you would do the same...you would plan. You would leave nothing to chance.”

  He loved when she smiled. It was so natural, so heartwarming. “I am going to have to be careful with you, wife. I am not going to be able to keep secrets from you.”

  Her smile spread. “The more I learn about you, the more I see who you truly are.”

  The smile that had slowly worked its way to his mouth vanished. “Be very careful, wife, you may see something you do not like.”

  Heather’s laughter drifted on the warm air, and she released his hand to rest hers between his legs. “I think I need to look more closely to know for sure.”

  His smile sprang free. “You have looked extremely close on several occasions, but do feel free to look as often as you would like.”

  “I will do that.”

  “And I encourage you to do so.”

  The pup with the one white paw raised his head and yapped, being too young for it to sound like a bark.

  Rhys was impressed, for just after the yap he heard the hurried footfalls. He just may have to train the pup.

  Pitt was suddenly in front of them and his intense look had Heather anxious.

  “Word has arrived. Greer McLaud is not far from Macinnes keep. And besides Greer’s wife’s body being found on Macinnes land, a headless body has also been found there.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Heather paced in front of the window in Rhys’ solar. Thankfully Rhys had included her when he and Pitt retired there to discuss the impending problem. She was worried for her family, for her clan. They were good, honest people and none deserved to suffer because of a man hungry for power and wealth.

  “My family needs to know of this,” Heather said worry filling her gentle green eyes.

  “They have been kept apprised of Greer’s movements,” Rhys said.

  Heather turned to glare at her husband. “And you did not think to tell me of this?”

  “Until there was something to tell you, there was nothing for me to say,” Rhys said and held his hand out to her.

  Heather reached out and took it, easing into the folds of his tender embrace.

  “Our union has its advantage. Is that not why you married me?” he asked.

  “Aye, it is, but it is different now.” Heather turned with a smile to Pitt. “Do you know that I love the Dragon with all my heart? And he loves me, though he does not realize it yet, but I am patient and will wait for however long it takes.”

  “The Dragon is a lucky man,” Pitt said with a grin.

  “That he is,” Heather agreed. “And soon he will realize just how lucky, but for now...what do we do to help my people.”

  “We wait,” Rhys said more pleased by his wife’s remarks than he would have either of them know. “We see what Greer does. We see if he is aware that the Dark Dragon is now an ally of the Macinnes.”

  “With his wife and brother’s body found on Macinnes land Greer will demand retribution and,” —she stopped abruptly, her brow knitting—“why would Haidar dump the headless corpse on Macinnes land?”

  “A question I was wondering myself,” Rhys said, giving his wife’s waist a gentle squeeze. “Greer is rash and unpredictable, dangerous traits in an enemy. It would be foolish for anyone to think him an ally. Greer would appear loyal, until it did not suit his need any longer.”

  “As he did with Hew McDolan,” Pitt said.

  Rhys nodded. “He turned a friend into an enemy when he allowed his brother Rab to send Saundra away with the intent of having her killed. Of course, if Saundra had not escaped, Hew could still be an ally of Greer’s.”

  “It is good we kept watch over Saundra, though she did make it easy for us, escaping on her own,” Pitt said.

  “You followed her and made certain she stayed safe?” Heather asked with a curious stare.

  “Aye, we did,” Pitt confirmed.

  Heather looked from Pitt to her husband, back to Pitt, and then to her husband again. She quickly moved out of his embrace to stand in front of the two and pointed her finger from one to the other as she said, “You let me escape!”

  “Of course I did,” Rhys admitted. “Did you not once question how you could escape my ghost warriors so easily?”

  Heather sighed, shaking her head. “It was not until later that I gave it thought and wondered over it.”

  “It was time for you to return home,” Rhys said. “Negotiations with your father had been completed. Once the documents were signed, you belonged to me.” He gave a nod to Pitt and he quietly left the room. “If your father would have agreed when I first approached him requesting to wed you, it would not have been necessary for me to abduct you. It had not been part of my plan.”

  “You spoke with my father about marrying me before the marriage agreement had been made with Rogan MacClennan?”

  Rhys nodded. “I had someone approach him. Unfortunately, he was not in favor of it. He was actually quite clear that he would never allow such a union to take place.”

  “So you abducted me and forced my father to agree.”

  “He left me little choice after he agreed to a marriage between you and Rogan, though it took some convincing since he was quite certain your sister Patience would be successful in finding you, and she did come close a couple of times. Your father understood that I would be denied for only so long, and with the unexpected threat of war with the McLauds, he realized refusal was no longer an option.”

  “His health as well was not good,” she said, feeling guilty that he had shouldered this burden himself.

  “Your father was not as ill as he made it seem.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, though did not give him a chance to respond. “Are you suggesting my father faked his illness?”

>   “Aye, I am.” Rhys stood and walked over to the side piece, filled a goblet and held it out to her.

  She shook her head. “My father would never—”

  “Your father knew it was past time his daughters wed and since the three of you showed no interest in it, he knew he had to do something. Feigning an illness, making the three of you think he was too weak to lead the clan would make you more agreeable to an arranged marriage. If anything, he knew the three of you were loyal to your clan and would do whatever was necessary to see it kept strong.” Rhys raised his goblet of wine. “I toast your father, a very wise and brave man.”

  “This is complete nonsense. He sought my counsel on many things, why not this?” Heather asked more to herself than Rhys. She simply could not comprehend her father doing this.

  “You and your sisters are very close. Would you have been supportive of an arranged marriage for either of them?”

  She thought of both Patience and Emma. Patience would never have accepted an arranged marriage and when Rogan had turned down her father’s proposal for such a union between him and Emma, saying he would only wed the beautiful sister, it had hurt Emma and made her adamant about never marrying.

  Heather shook her head. “I could have never forced my sisters to wed against their will.”

  “Your father did what he had to do, not only for his daughters, but for his clan.”

  “How do you know all this? It is as if you have lived among us,” —Heather’s mouth dropped open and her eyes turned wide—“oh my God, you planted a spy in our clan.”

  “It was necessary,” Rhys said, setting his goblet down and walking over to her.

  She poked him in the chest when he got near. “Who? Who is the traitor? I will inform Patience and have him returned to you immediately.”

  “I do not think your father will agree to that,” he said, brushing her poking finger aside.

  “He most certainly will.”

  “Afraid not,” Rhys said with a smile and wrapped his arms around her. “He has grown rather attached to the spy and I do not think he will surrender her.”

  It took Heather a minute to understand. “Maura?”