by Donna Grant
Kate’s heart pounded as she waited. She was grateful when all he did was lean down and kiss her. He threaded his fingers with hers and slowly pulled out of her. She smiled up at him when he broke the kiss. There were no words, and by the satisfied look on his face, there wouldn’t be. Then he shifted to reach for something from the table by the bed.
“Hold out your hand,” he bade her.
A niggling feeling of foreboding washed over Kate, but she gave him her hand. She watched as he dropped something into her palm. She opened her fingers to find a stunning gold ring with the largest garnet she had ever seen. Her gaze jerked to his.
“I meant to give this to you yesterday,” he said. “I picked it out after I signed the marriage contract with your father, but as soon as I saw you, I knew the garnet belonged to you.”
She looked down at the stone and couldn’t resist putting the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly, as if it had been made specifically for her. She released a pent up breath as the gem glistened in the firelight. She smiled, because she had been so very wrong about the annulment. She was still his wife.
“’Tis…magnificent, Ewan.”
“I’m glad you like it. I have another gift for you.”
Kate sat up when he leaned for the table once again. Another gift? What else could he possibly have for her? She spotted the roll of parchment in his hand and dread filled her. The smile faded from her face and her blood turned to ice. She wanted to run from the chamber, to act as though she never saw the parchment.
But she couldn’t. She had faced everything life had thrown her; she would face what she had pleaded for.
“You know what this is?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “The annulment.”
“Aye. I’m giving you your freedom, Kate.”
“Why? You asked for a fortnight. ’Tis only been a few days.”
He ran a hand down his face, showing his exhaustion. “I knew the moment our lips touched the first time that our joining would be like nothing I’d ever experienced. And with each time after, it became more and more difficult to even think of letting you go.”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “If there’s a child?”
“There willna be a convent for you, nor will I take the child you’ve always dreamed of having. I will give you enough coin that you will never need to worry. All I ask is that I get to see the child during his or her life. I want to know our child, Kate.”
He was giving her everything she wanted, yet she didn’t want to take it. Her vision blurred with tears. Whether she wanted what he offered or not, he had given it to her. As soon as the annulment had been signed, their marriage had ended.
“You willna have to return to your father,” Ewan continued. “Nor will you have to worry about being forced into another marriage ever again. You are free, Kate.”
“Why are you doing all of this for me?”
“I could have forced you to stay with me, and it crossed my mind. But I couldna do it. You are a unique woman with unbelievable passion. Neither should be destroyed, and that’s what would happen if I forced you to stay.”
She looked at the parchment he now held out to her. Her hands refused to take it.
Tell him you’ve changed your mind. Tell him you want to be his wife. Tell him!
But she recognized it was too late for that.
Slowly, she reached for the parchment and let it drop in her lap. “You’ve given me everything. How can I ever thank you?”
“Nay. To give you everything, I would have been the man you could have lived your life with.”
His words were like a punch in her stomach. She moved to kneel before him with her hands on either side of his face. “You are everything a woman could ever want. You’ve shown me what it’s like to have a real man touch me, and I…I’ve…”
“What, lass?” he asked, his blue gaze searching hers. “Tell me.”
“I’m not sure I want to leave.”
For a moment he didn’t respond. Then she felt his hands on her back. “I’m giving you your freedom from marriage and your father. Not many women would pass that up.”
Now that she had told him her feelings it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I’m not most women, nor have most women been pleasured by such a powerful, handsome laird.”
“You want to be my wife?”
She licked her lips and nodded her head. “I knew when I found you gone this morning that you had left to get the annulment. I should have been happy, but I wasn’t. I’ve had the entire day to realize that I’ve made such a terrible mistake, Ewan.”
He pulled her against him, his arms wrapping around her. “At least you’ve told me.”
There was something wrong, Kate realized. She had expected him to be excited at her announcement. And then it hit her. Maybe he had just been nice, not wanting to hurt her. Maybe he had found another woman.
She pulled out of his arms. “You have your freedom now as well.”
“I suppose so.” He shrugged and wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger.
“You could find you another wife, one that wouldn’t change her mind as I have done.”
“I could.”
Kate gritted her teeth as anger rose up within her. He had been playing her all along. How could she have been such a fool?
“Or,” he said, “I could ask the woman kneeling before me in all her naked glory if she would be my wife.”
She blinked. “What?”
“We’ll do this the proper way. No one will stand in my stead, no proxy marriage. You and I will stand before God and the clan and pledge ourselves to each other.”
Kate’s heart pounded so hard she feared it would leap from her chest. She threw her arms around his neck as the tears fell down her cheeks.
“Is that an aye, lass?” Ewan asked worriedly.
She nodded, unable to find the words with her throat clogged with emotion.
“About time,” he ground out before he pulled her arms from his neck and lowered her to the bed. “I’ve a mind for more time loving my future wife before dawn.”
She giggled through her tears. “Shouldn’t we wait?”
“Nay,” he said between placing kisses around her nipple. “You want bairns, and I’m going to ensure we try as much as possible.”
Kate let out a breathy sigh when he suckled her nipple. Maybe her father hadn’t tricked them. Maybe he had seen something in Ewan. But he was hers now, or would be as soon as they could be married again. Until then, she planned to enjoy the pleasure he brought her.
“Concentrate,” he murmured.
Kate groaned when his finger pushed inside of her. There was no doubt in her mind that their days and nights would be filled with hours of pleasure.
No more freedom for her. She wanted to be well and truly tied to her Highlander.
10
Two days later…
Kate smoothed her hands down the MacDonald plaid draped across her chest and down her skirt. Ewan had given it to her the day before as a surprise. Ever since he had asked her to be his wife, he had been giving her small gifts.
First the ring, which hadn’t been such a small gift. Then there were the ribbons. How he had come to have so many ribbons, and in so many colors, Kate would never know. After the ribbons there had been a fur-lined cloak. Then, the tartan.
“Ready, milady?”
Kate started and whirled around to find Beth in the doorway. “Aye. Ewan is there?”
Beth chuckled. “Of course, milady. I think he’s more worried about whether you will come down or not.”
“Silly man.” Kate hurried past Beth, anxious to see Ewan. She had slept little the night before. Between Ewan’s loving and the wedding, sleep hadn’t been an option.
“See, milady?” Beth said when they reached the great hall.
Ewan stood facing the stairs, his hands clasped behind his back. His long, black hair hung free, just as hers did. He smiled and winke
d at her, a wicked gleam in his blue eyes.
Kate made her steps slow, savoring each moment. When she reached him, he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.
“You look divine, Lady MacDonald. The tartan suits you.”
“Even though I’m a Lowlander?”
He shrugged. “I’ll turn you into a Highlander yet.”
“I fear you already have.”
“Just what I wanted to hear.”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing as he guided her out of the castle and onto the steps. The entire clan had gathered in the bailey and on the battlements to watch the wedding.
Even the weather was cooperating. There were no clouds in sight, and the sun shone bright above them. Uncharacteristically, the wind had died down to just a breeze.
“Do you need your cloak?” Ewan whispered.
She shook her head. There was no way she was going to hide the tartan, not after it had finally been given to her. “I’ll be all right.”
Ewan stopped them in front of the priest. “Last chance, love?”
She glanced up at him. “Nay. You cannot back out now. You’ve already asked.”
“Kate.”
At the seriousness of his tone, she faced him. “What is it?”
“Are you sure? You wanted your freedom so desperately.”
She caressed his cheek, the love in her heart warming her. Her Highland laird had asked her the same question every day. The only way he would ever know she meant it was for her to take the vows.
“I’m yours, Ewan. I was the moment you rode through those gates the first day I saw you.”
“My Kate.”
“Aye, Ewan.”
The priest cleared his throat, and they both faced him to begin the ceremony. Kate didn’t hear any of the words, she didn’t need to. The only words that meant anything to her were the words of love Ewan had whispered the night before after he thought she had gone to sleep.
Suddenly, Ewan grinned and jerked her to him. “There’s no escaping me now, love.”
His mouth descended on hers in a scorching kiss that set her blood on fire. A great cheer went up around them, and the clan shouted their names.
Kate broke the kiss and pulled away. “You really thought I would change my mind?”
“I let you go once, I wasn’t about to do it a second time.”
She put her hands on his chest and studied him. “When I came here, I thought I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t. You showed me what it could be like as your wife. I’d be an utter fool if I walked away from that.”
“Not to mention the bedsport.”
Kate laughed and licked her lips. “I love you, Ewan MacDonald.”
He stilled, the smile falling from his mouth. “You do?”
“I do. I don’t know how, and I don’t care. We have a future ahead of us, and it’s going to be full of ups and downs, tragedies and joy. But we will have each other.”
“I don’t know how I lived without you.”
“Tell me what you whispered last night.”
He jerked. “You heard?”
“Aye. I want to hear the words every day for the rest of my life.”
“I love you, Kate MacDonald.”
Kate laid her head on Ewan’s chest and sighed as she looked out over her clan. She would wait for the morrow to give Ewan her surprise. Her lips pulled back in a smile as she imagined his delight when he learned about the child growing inside her.
ENTHRALLED
1
Aldvale Kingdom, Azure Province
Linarra seethed with rage and stared at her king. She fisted her hands in an effort to keep from hitting him. “Nay.”
Usotae laughed, the sound hollow and malicious, much as he was. His bejeweled fingers drummed lazily on the arm of his throne as his gaze raked over her. They were alone in the vaulted-ceiling chamber with its gilded pictures and jeweled throne.
Linarra had always thought the throne room of Aldvale Palace a majestic place. Until Usotae had been crowned. His cruelty and abuse had dusted the entire kingdom in a grimy film that might never wash away.
If she were a man, a warrior, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. She’d lift her sword and sink it into his black heart. Maybe then Aldvale could return to the grandeur that once claimed their peaceful kingdom.
“Oh, Linarra. How you disappoint me.” Usotae rose from his throne and slowly walked around her. “You are so predictable.”
Linarra refused to cower before him despite the fact her life hung in the balance. There was only so much she was willing to do for her kingdom. What he asked of her was…impossible. She had the power to refuse, and there was nothing he could say that would convince her to go through with it.
He stopped behind her and bent close to her ear. “Did you really think you had a choice in the matter? Did you really think you, a mere…woman…could outwit me?”
She had to keep control of her temper. “I won’t do it.”
He chuckled as he moved to face her once more. His black eyes flashed dangerously, giving him a malevolent look she saw more and more often. So many in their kingdom thought their young, handsome king with his black hair and dark coloring was just what the kingdom needed. Only a few knew the truth about Usotae.
Those who did ended up dead.
“I’m merely asking you to spy for me, Linarra,” Usotae said with a tsk. “Don’t make it sound as if I want you to murder him.”
But murder him they would. Linarra didn’t know the Kellian king, but she had heard numerous rumors of the warrior king’s skills and the skills of his men. If she walked into the Kellian jungle, she would never return. The Kellians did not tolerate outsiders.
“Find someone else to do your spying. I owe you nothing.” Linarra turned on her heel and made for the door. She got five steps from Usotae when his voice halted her.
“But you do owe me. Or have you forgotten your sister so quickly? I told you she would hinder you, but you didn’t listen.”
Linarra sighed, the weight of the world on her shoulders. One of her worst mistakes had been begging Usotae for help when her sister had been charged with murder. She had always known Usotae would use it against her. It had been too much to hope he had forgotten, but she should have known Usotae would never forget.
“I had the charges against your sister dismissed,” he continued as he walked toward her, the heels of his boots clicking on the white stone floor. “However, new evidence can be found.”
Her sister’s life for her own. Linarra would never condemn her sister to death, not when her sister was innocent. And Usotae knew it. Linarra’s knees threatened to buckle. She had never felt so helpless, so powerless.
He brushed his hand against her hair to finger the end of her braid. Linarra fought the urge the slap his hand away. How she hated him, hated everything he stood for. The kingdom would perish because of him, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She kept her gaze on the door, wishing she could take her sister and leave Aldvale, never to return. But she knew Usotae too well. He would never allow them to leave. They would be hunted for the rest of their lives until his men found them. When they were finally caught, their deaths wouldn’t be quick. Usotae liked to torture his prisoners and watch the life drain from them in slow drops.
Nay, if there was ever going to be a chance of being free of Usotae, Linarra had to do as he asked. Once she was finished, she planned to take her sister as far from Aldvale as she could. If Usotae dared to stop them, she would kill him. And damn the consequences.
If you survive the Kellians.
She would. She had survived her parents’ deaths, and her king’s abuse and betrayal. She was nothing if not a survivor.
Usotae caressed a finger down her neck to the swell of her breasts. “The assignment is easy. You will be given to Falcor as a present of goodwill. Falcor won’t be able to refuse your exotic beauty. No man can.”
“What is it you want me to do, exactly?”
“You would give me to a man when you have kept me from all others?” There was something that nagged at the back of her mind, something that she should puzzle together.
Usotae had wanted her for his queen, and when she had refused, he had seen to it that no man in Aldvale would want her by staking his claim on her. She was destined to spend her life alone, but it was better than being his queen. Death was better than having Usotae as a husband.
“I think sending you to Falcor is the least of what you deserve,” Usotae said.
She should have known he would punish her for refusing him. She should have been prepared for it, but this had taken her by complete surprise.
“The Kellians are barbarians, Linarra. He will use your body until there is nothing left. You will be broken, just a shell.”
“Ah, this is my penalty for refusing to marry you?”
“This is only the beginning. You will pay again and again until I grow tired of you.” He stepped away from her, his lips pulled back in a sneer. “There will be another spy waiting for you to deliver the information.”
Linarra whirled around to face him. “Once Falcor discovers what I’ve done, he’ll kill me.”
“Maybe.” Usotae shrugged. “But I doubt it. Use your charms wisely, my dear. Also, let me put aside any doubt in your mind about going to Falcor for help. If any Kellian steps foot in Aldvale, I’ll kill your sister myself.”
“You think I would trust a Kellian?”
“I think you would do anything to get your sister out of Aldvale.”
It disturbed her that he knew her so well.
“To be sure there is no miscommunication, I’ll have your sister kept at the palace until your return.”
Linarra swallowed, loathing Usotae with each beat of her heart. “How will I know who to deliver the secrets to?”
“There are Kellians who have contacted me, men who want to see Falcor overthrown. You won’t have any problems finding them.”