Highland Master

by Amanda Scott

  Laying a trail of warm breath and kisses along her belly as his head moved lower, he nipped her skin between his lips and even now and again, gently, with his teeth. So focused was she on what he might do next that she failed to notice that he was shifting her hands lower, too, until they were nearer her waist than her head.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded when his breath tickled the curls at the juncture of her legs.

  “Shhh,” he said, and she trembled when his breath sent a rush of heat through her most private parts.

  Her hands were even with her hips now, and still he held them. The things he was doing affected her senses so that she wanted to cry out and tell him to stop. But the torment was too pleasurable, and the last thing she wanted was for Ewan to pound on the door and demand to know what was going on, or even break it down.

  It was a near thing, though, when Fin touched her with his tongue, and nearer still when his tongue invaded her most secret places, caressing the spot that had sent her soaring that morning. His tongue’s touch was softer, more engaging, and far more stimulating. Her body heaved, encouraging him of its own accord to do as he pleased. The sensations increased, sending her higher and higher until he stopped.

  “Oh, prithee, don’t stop,” she breathed. “That feels wonderful, and it was beginning to seem as if something even more were about to happen. ’Twas the strangest, most wonderful sensation that I have yet felt, and gey promising, withal.”

  “But recall that I had a long swim, sweetheart, so I’m hungry for food now, and you said you wanted your supper,” he added with a teasing smile. “We can continue this later if you like. As your grandfather said only this morning, we’ll enjoy it more if we have sustenance first.”

  She nearly shrieked, “What! But why did you begin if—?”

  “Now, lass, we must rejoin Ewan,” he interjected. “He must fear by now that we’ve forgotten all about him.”

  “But, surely, if he has waited this long, he will wait a few minutes longer.”

  “Mayhap he would, but I don’t want just a few minutes more with you. I want to take my time and enjoy every minute.”

  “God-a-mercy, when you let me up, Fin Cameron, you had better take care!”

  “There is no need for me to let you up at all,” he said, grinning now. “I might command you to stay here and wait for me instead, just as you are.”

  Glowering, she said, “Very well, sir. But do not think I will forget this.”

  “Sweetheart, I mean to make certain of that—right after supper.”

  Still smiling, albeit with more difficulty than she knew, Fin released her and picked up his mantle. He was achingly aware that at least one body part meant to let him know that in punishing her, he was likewise punishing himself considerably.

  After he arranged his mantle, he helped her dress, noting with delight that every time his fingers brushed her skin, she reacted. As he urged her back into the hall, he swore to himself that if Ewan had dawdled, the man would go hungry.

  But Ewan was on the dais, examining the baskets and platters of food already on the table. Looking at Fin, he shook his head. “Ye took your time, lad.”

  “Not nearly enough of it,” Fin said, grinning again and more easily. “I mean to desert you again right after supper, so you must entertain yourself this evening.”

  Chuckling, Ewan said, “Since it is your wedding night, I expect I’ll manage. But do not think that ye’ll keep to yon bed all morning. I want to hear about all of your adventures these past four years, and I warrant that will take some time.”

  “You may have me until midday if you like, because I mean for my lady to be so tired that she will sleep the whole morning away.”

  Glancing at Catriona, he saw that her cheeks were as red as fire. Her eyes flashed, though, and her rosy lips formed a straight line, indicating that she ached to tell him what she thought of his tactics. They seemed to be working, though.

  Catching her gaze, holding it, and noting that her breath caught audibly when he did, he knew that her heat had not ebbed in the slightest.

  When she did not speak, he devoted his conversation to Ewan until they had finished the meal, the entire time as aware of her presence beside him as he knew she was of his. Only once or twice did he move a hand to touch her warm thigh, or let his leg brush against her. Her reaction each time encouraged him to believe that even if she had harbored the slightest lingering fear that she might again suffer the painful ache she had described that morning, she was not thinking about that now.

  Catriona had begun the meal with a strong urge to kill Fin for exciting her senses to such a point and then stopping too soon. But so aware was she of every move he made and every time he inadvertently touched her that long before the meal ended, it was Ewan she wanted to murder for having such a healthy appetite.

  At first, Fin offered him more and more food, as if he were still teasing her. But she had noticed in the past quarter-hour that he had not only stopped offering but was barely replying civilly to his brother’s comments.

  At last, Ewan pushed his trencher away. But when the gillie picked it up, the fiendish man ordered another jug of wine. Catriona gritted her teeth, then sighed aloud when Fin got up, saying, “If you will excuse us, we’ll bid you goodnight.”

  “Aye, I thought ye might,” Ewan said, grinning at him.

  Catriona could have sworn that she heard Fin growl, but her thoughts swiftly flew ahead to what would happen in the bedchamber. She had no time to think long though, because when he’d shut the door, he wasted no time disrobing her.

  Fire spread through her everywhere he touched her, but when she reached to put her arms around him, he stopped her as he had earlier. Then he scooped her up and carried her to the neatly turned-down bed, laying her naked upon it.

  When she reached to pull up the covers, he said, “Nay, sweetheart, leave them. ’Tis warm enough in here, and I want to think of you lying as you are whilst I stir up the fire and light more cressets. Then I want to look at you.”

  Chapter 18

  Fin attended quickly to the fire and the cressets, but the image of Catriona as he had left her stirred him to even more haste in doffing his clothing. It occurred to him as he did that a tunic and mantle were much more convenient in such situations than a man’s doublet, shirt, braies, nether hose, and shoes or boots.

  “The two of you said naught to me or to each other about your talk,” she murmured as she watched him fling off his tunic. “What did Ewan say to you?”

  “Not enough, since he clearly thought that I still needed some of my own sauce served to me at supper,” he said as he moved to join her in the bed. “But we are not going to talk about Ewan. Where were we before we stopped?”

  “We did not stop,” she muttered, only to gasp when he recalled what he had been doing and reached to see if she was still as ready as she had been then.

  She was nearly so, and he noted how eagerly she welcomed his touch.

  Knowing that his control was limited due to his earlier tactics, he forced himself to disregard a nearly overwhelming urge to take her hard and swiftly.

  She was already moaning at his slightest touch and arcing against him. So he gently kneed her legs apart and positioned himself. Easing himself into her silken sheath, he waited to see if she might reveal any sign of lingering discomfort.

  Instead, she rose to meet him as if to aid and encourage him.

  Instinct took over, and the result for him came swiftly. Aware that she had neared her own climax, he stroked her until she, too, gained release.

  Afterward, lying beside him with the coverlet over them, his arm around her, and her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder, she sighed and said, “Grandame said that it could be pleasurable. And you promised earlier that I would not forget it. But I had no idea what either of you meant.”

  He chuckled. “Do you think that you might like this aspect of our marriage?”

  “I do, aye, although it did last but a short time
. And you said—”

  “Sakes, lass, we’ve only just begun,” he said, still smiling.

  They lay quietly for a time before he pushed the coverlet away with his free hand and began to caress her again. The cressets still cast a golden glow over the room; so rising onto an elbow, he delighted in watching her reactions for a time while his hands sought to memorize the wondrous planes and curves of her body.

  Moving purposefully, he made slow, sensuous love to her until she squirmed with pleasure beneath him, gasping his name, and begging him for release.

  Midway through the night, he took her again. And then, in the gray dawn light, she reached for him. Afterward, as they lay beside each other, sated, he knew that God had spoken at last and all was well.

  As he had promised, he spent the morning with Ewan, while Catriona slept. But she was up before midday to rejoin them and beg to hear their reminiscences of their years together at Tor Castle. She listened raptly, too, as Fin recounted more of his adventures with Rothesay and others.

  They retired early again that night and spent Thursday in much the same way. Shortly after midday on Friday, Tadhg arrived, big with news.

  “Himself said ye’re tae return at once, Sir Fin,” he said as he ran across the hall to the dais, where they were sitting down to their midday meal.

  “Why such hurry?” Fin asked him. “We’d return tomorrow in any event.”

  “Them bloody Comyns, sir. They killed three o’ our men ashore, and Himself did hear that a large force o’ Albany’s be gathering this side o’ Perth and mayhap a Douglas army near Glen Garry. He thinks they be meaning tae join wi’ them Comyns to try and take Lochindorb Castle and mayhap even Rothiemurchus, too, if the Comyns did tell them that three great lairds all be there.”

  “What has he done with our noble guests then?” Fin asked.

  “Donald o’ the Isles did leave yestermorn afore word o’ the army at Perth did reach Himself. But the Duke o’ Rothesay do be there still.”

  “And the Lord of the North?”

  “Him, too, aye. He and your da were talking o’ sending for more men when I left, but Himself did say that the Laird o’ the North should no leave the island until they kent that he’d be safe. He said they should send Sir Ivor tae fetch men from Lochindorb, ’cause the laird’s men do ken Sir Ivor fine and trust him well.”

  “If Sir Ivor left when you did, he should be at Lochindorb, for ’tis nigh the same distance that you’ve come,” Fin said. “I have few men here, though.”

  “Himself said tae leave the Moigh men here, and that Ewan Cameron should choose what he’ll do. But he said also that wi’ ructions threatening, mayhap Ewan Cameron should be away to warn Lochaber that uproar in Strathspey may hearten Donald o’ the Isles to attack them in the west. Who might this Ewan Cameron be?”

  “This gentleman here,” Fin said, gesturing. “He is my brother and a chieftain of Clan Cameron of Lochaber. You’ve done well, laddie.”

  “Aye, sure, but I did wonder about Ewan Cameron, ’cause Himself did say that if he be still here, ye should tell him the lot and then let him choose how.”

  “I’ll do that, but you go and get yourself some food now,” Fin said.

  “Don’t leave the dais yet, Tadhg,” Catriona said, gesturing to a gillie. “You may sit here at the high table and tell me the news from Rothiemurchus whilst we wait for them to bring your food. You deserve a treat if you ran all that way.”

  “Hoots, m’lady, I didna run but from yon boat landing up to this hall, ’cause Aodán let me ride a garron. He said it would be safer and more like tae get me here.” But he took the seat she indicated, grinning, clearly delighted to sit at the high table.

  Fin left them chatting and bore Ewan outside to tell him all that he had not yet revealed to him about Rothesay’s presence in the Highlands.

  When he had finished, Ewan said, “I must get back then. With Alex and Shaw at Rothiemurchus, ye’ll have men aplenty without me or mine, and Mackintosh is right. I must let men in the Great Glen and west of it know what is happening. Donald uses the same network of informants as his late father did, and he is sure to see Albany’s invasion of the Highlands as an occasion to make mischief himself.”

  “Donald and Albany are competitors for power, not allies,” Fin said.

  “But Donald will seize any opportunity that offers gain to him,” Ewan said.

  Catriona was still talking with Tadhg when Fin and Ewan returned. Greeting them, she said to Fin, “I must tell Ailvie and Ian to pack our things at once.” But when she began to rise, she saw that he was shaking his head.

  “You’ll stay here, lass. You will be much safer so.”

  “Don’t be daft, sir. Of course, I shall go with you. I must.”

  His expression altered to a sternness that shot a thrill up her spine. But after a glance at Tadhg he said, “You’ll do as I bid, Catriona. I am not leaving you with strangers. You know your grandfather’s people as well as you know your own.”

  “Ye canna leave her,” Tadhg said earnestly. “Himself did say he’ll put lights on the ramparts for ye tae see when ye top the ridge. A host o’ them if all be well, three if there be Comyns about, and nobbut one should ye no come down at all.”

  “I can remember all that without her ladyship, however,” Fin said.

  “Mayhap ye will,” Tadhg replied with a near cheeky grin. “But Himself did say that ye’d be less likely tae be doing aught tae make her a widow if she be with ye. So they’ll no put any boat in the water nor open the gate till she makes her owl’s cry like she used tae do tae waken yon echo. But ye’d best bestir yourselves,” he added, glancing from one to the other. “There do be black rain clouds rolling in.”

  Catriona nearly offered a smile to match Tadhg’s but thought better of it when Fin frowned at her. Soberly, she said, “Truly, sir, I won’t slow you down.”

  Still frowning, Fin said, “The Mackintosh leaves me no choice but to take you, lass, so tell Ian to see to our things. Tadhg, you find the kitchen and tell them to put up food for us. Come, Ewan,” he added. “We’ll collect your gear and your lads. Then I’ll go across in the boat with you to speak to Toby.”

  Catriona waited until they had left the dais before quietly sending the gillie who had served Tadhg to fetch Ian Lennox and Ailvie.

  When she told them to pack and explained why she and Fin were leaving, Ailvie said, “What about us then, mistress?”

  Ian said, “Sir Finlagh will take Toby and me, lass. So I expect that he’ll take you as well, unless you want to stay warm and dry here instead.”

  “I want to stay, sure enough,” Ailvie said with a grimace. “But me place be wi’ the mistress, come wha’ may, so I’ll go.”

  Ian nodded, and the two packed the sumpter baskets. By the time Fin returned, all was ready for their departure.

  To Fin’s relief, and somewhat to his surprise, the journey proceeded without incident, although darkness had fallen an hour before they forded the Spey.

  There was no moon and only a sprinkling of stars, but he was sure that Rory Comyn would not expect them yet if he expected them at all. Just as Fin knew how long it should take Ivor to reach Lochindorb, gather Alex’s forces, and return, Comyn would know that, too, and would expect it to take at least until late the next day for any reinforcement to reach Rothiemurchus.

  As they rode side-by-side through the woods in near pitch darkness to the top of the last ridge, Fin realized that Catriona was thinking along similar lines when she said quietly, “Do you think Rory knew we were going to Moigh when we met him?”

  “I don’t know,” Fin murmured, as aware as she clearly was of how easily sound traveled at night. “But we’ll assume that the Comyns know we’re here.”

  “Rory’s lads are not keeping a close watch here tonight, though,” she said. “There are many lights below on the castle.”

  “Or the Comyns have somehow lulled the castle into a false sense of security,” he replied. “They could up to mischief, and
no one from the castle has caught them at it. We should proceed as if that were the case. Recall that they have killed three of your watchers. I’ll wager that Shaw has put more lads out, doubtless two by two, to look after each other. But the long perimeter of the loch makes it impossible to secure entirely, especially on a moonless night like this.”

  “At least, those clouds have yet to produce rain,” she said. “We have seen patches of starlight ever since it got dark.”

  They had used torches at first, but Fin had ordered them doused as soon as they had safely forded the Spey. Nevertheless, instinct warned him that the Comyns had likely kept track of them both going and on their return.

  Warning the others to keep a close watch as they guided their horses down the hill, Fin kept his right hand poised to draw his sword at a moment’s notice.

  All remained quiet when they reached the shore. The host of lights on the castle ramparts should have reassured him, he knew. But they did not.

  “Waken the echo, sweetheart,” he murmured.

  With a low chuckle that stirred him to think briefly of more pleasant things, she hooted softly. When the echo failed to respond, she hooted again with more energy, and the sound echoed back to them. As it faded, another hoot sounded.

  “That’s Aodán, not the echo,” she murmured. “Watch for the boat to come.”

  The rowers made little noise and collected them swiftly. Fin told Toby, Ian, and Tadhg to remove the sumpter baskets and turn the garrons loose.

  “Aye, sir,” Tadhg said. “They’ll find grass and feed on their ownsome.”

  They made the trip back without a hint of trouble, and Aodán assured them that all had been quiet. “The laird do be away, gathering men to head for Glen Garry whilst Sir Ivor and the Lord of the North’s forces keep to the east,” he said. “But the laird left enough lads here to stand regular watches. We’ll be changing the guard in an hour or so, and we’ll ken more when our lads report aught they may have seen.”