Aidan (7 page)

“Aidan, put it in a headlock,” shouted Ian.

“I’m no guid at headlocks the way ye are, Ian. And this is no’ a person, it’s a damned animal with sharp claws and even sharper teeth.”

“Jest let it go,” called out Onyx, coming toward the animal with a big stick in his hand. “I’ll get it.”

“Nay, I got it handled,” Aidan called back, and Effie thought it was for her benefit that he refused to let it go. Then he did something that both surprised and amused her at the same time. He leaned over, his long, blond hair falling over his face, and he . . . bit the animal on the ear.

The animal
whimpered, and he let it go. Then he got to his feet with his arms spread out wide. His friends were doing the same. Aidan’s bare doup was facing her now, and she realized he had muscles everywhere on his body, and not a bit of fat. He was the perfect image of a woman’s fantasy man. His friends may have been as mesmerizing, but since her eyes were fastened on Aidan, she really wouldn’t know.

Then the chattering of a squirrel was heard and Effie saw Aidan’s pet, Reid
, making its way toward him over the ground.

“Go away, Reid,” shouted
Aidan. “Shoo, afore ye are this beast’s dinner.”

And the
n to her horror, the animal lunged at the squirrel. It may have caught the squirrel if Ian hadn’t picked up the dead grouse and thrown it as a distraction. The animal stopped, its head low, its eyes focusing on Ian. She thought for a moment it was going to attack him, but instead, it grabbed the dead bird and quickly limped away.

That angered Effie, as there went half their dinner. So, not caring that she was naked, she got up out of the water and stormed to the shore.

“What the hell did you do thet fer?” she shouted at the men.

Aidan turned around to see Effie standing there in the moonlight, naked, and looking like a goddess of the sea. Her small form didn’t matter, as she made herself look intimidating with a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips. Her red locks were wet and the strands stuck to her chest, sending water droplets running in rivulets over her firm, perky breasts. Her nipples were cold and taut, and the nest of red hair between her firm and shapely thighs was just as red as that on her head.

All three men just stood there staring with their jaws dropped
open, and then Aidan realized that she was seeing his friends naked as well. He didn’t like any of this. He took a step to block her, and looked over to his friends.

“Go
get our clothes, and we’ll meet ye back at the camp.”

“O’ course,” said Onyx, turning to leave. But when Ian was still standing there, he reached over and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Ian, this one isna yers.”

Aidan didn’t turn back around until they were gone. And when he did, he felt the slap of a sting to his face.

“What was thet fer?” he asked
, his hand going to his cheek.

“Fer givin’ away our dinner.”
Effie stormed over to the dead crow that was being inspected by Reid. The squirrel scolded her and scampered away as she picked up the bird by the feet. “I caught this as well as a grouse. But now thanks to ye three, that wolf is goin’ te be eatin’ better than us tonight.”

“
Thet was no wolf, sweetheart. It looked te me like a wolfhound tho, and I think it was wounded.”

“Whate’er it was, it has our dinner.”

“Well, ye’re welcome thet I saved yer life twice in one day,” he said. “And I wasna the one who gave the grouse te the hound, if I must remind ye. That was Ian.”

“Ye three are fools!” She stormed over to her clothes and started to don them. Aidan would have loved to look at her perfect, alluring body longer, but she quickly h
id it from his sight.

“Why do ye say thet, lassie?”

“Becooz ye’re standing there naked, arena ye?”

“And so were ye.”

“But I wasna divin’ off the cliffs in the dark. Ye coulda killed yerself.”

“Nay. We do it all the time.”

“In the dark?” She was fully clothed now and pulled on her shoes as she spoke.

“It’s more o’ a challenge in the dark. How do ye think we earne
d our titles o’ being madmen?”

She turned to him then, and her eyes scanne
d down his body. Her perusal caused him to become excited, and he felt his manhood growing quickly.

“Like what ye see, lassie? Becooz if ye do, we can do somethin’ aboot it.”

“Ye are no better than those English curs that tried te take me in the forest.”

“What?” he
asked, totally confused. “Lassie, I am askin’, no’ takin’ like they were.” He held up his hands in a mock form of surrender.

“Well,
dinna ask me again, fer I’m no’ interested.” She picked up the crow and headed through the dark forest, making her way to camp. She only hoped Aidan believed her statement of not wanting him. Because she wanted him badly, but didn’t want him to know. She was trying her hardest to not fall for him, because she knew in a matter of time she was going to have to betray not only him but her country as well. And the last thing she wanted to do was to break a heart. Especially if it was her own.

Chapter 6

The next morning, Aidan busied himself breaking down camp and preparing the horses rather than have to talk to Effie.
She finally gave up trying to talk to him, and headed down to the lake a while ago. After the way she made all three of them feel so guilty, they’d all given up their portion of the crow last night in order for her to eat.

“I’m
starvin’” grumbled Ian, coming to join him by the horses.

“Well,
mayhap ye shoulda thought o’ thet before ye went and gave our dinner te the hound,” Aidan pointed out.

“The poor thing
looked so skinny and hungry,” said Ian. “And did ye see the way it limped and had blood on its fur? It was hurt. Mayhap attacked by wolves. With the shape it was in, it probably didna even make it through the night.”

“Je
st another reason why ye shouldna have fed it.” Aidan secured the travel bags to the horses. The bags were filled with supplies from the fair.

“Mayhap we can find the hound’s
deid body and eat it te break the fast,” said Onyx, rubbing a weary hand over his face and coming to join them.

“Dinna say thet!”
Ian seemed disturbed by the suggestion. “I couldna eat thet poor animal, no’ after seeing thet sad look in its eyes.”

“Well, ye had no qualms aboot
wantin’ te eat me squirrel when we first found it.” Aidan looked around, realizing he hadn’t seen his squirrel since it fell asleep on his chest by the fire last night. “Where is Reid anyway? We’re almost ready te go.”

“Gui
d mornin’,” came Effie’s cheerful voice as she made her way up from the lake and toward them, with a string of dead fish in her hand and Aidan’s squirrel on her shoulder. Aidan couldn’t believe his eyes.

“How many deid fish
have ye got there?” asked Ian eagerly, his eyes fastened to his next meal.

“Ferget the damned fish, what the hell are ye doin’ with me squirrel on yer shoulder?” Aidan reached out and took his pet back from her
and placed it on the ground.

“
Well, Reid seems te like me,” she said. “And Ian, I got up early te fish in the loch. Would ye care fer a bite te eat afore we leave?”

“Aye,” said Ian
, quickly reaching out for the fish.

“Nay!” Aidan stepped in front of him and took the fish from Effie. “We’ll take these back
te camp and share them with the boys who stayed behind te guard the stone.” He turned and started tying them to the side of the horse.

“I shoulda ate yer damn squirrel,” mumbled Ian, making his way to put out the fire.

“Too bad the supplies we are bringin’ back from the fair arena food,” grumbled Onyx, going to his horse.

“So . . . is this stone
thet the boys are guardin’, the Stone o’ Destiny, by any chance?” asked Effie.

“Dinna w
orry aboot it.” Aidan was in no mood for talking, nor to give her any information she wanted after she’d rejected him last night. He held out his hands to help her get atop the horse. “Let’s go.”

She let him help her atop the horse, and he wondered what
happened to the grouchy girl from last night who’d sat there glaring at him and his friends and hadn’t even bothered to thank them for helping her with the hound.

He pu
lled himself atop the horse, settling in behind her, and they headed toward MacKeefe territory. With any luck they’d be there by this afternoon, and he’d be able to take a nap on his dream stone since he’d laid awake all night, watching for the hound to come back, determined to guard his angel even if she said she didn’t want him.

And this, for some odd reason
, only made Aidan want her even more.

* * *

Effie knew she’d been harsh with Aidan last night, as well as his friends. She felt the tension between them all, and that’s why she’d woke
n up early and decided to fish. She wanted to make amends between them. She knew it hurt Aidan’s feelings when she told him she didn’t want him last night. And he couldn’t deny the fact he’d wanted her, because his body didn’t lie. She’d seen his immense desire to lay with her, and actually that was another reason why she’d denied him.

He scared her. And she didn’t scare easily. She’d had a hard life
, and even with all her trials and tribulations, she’d always managed to keep her head about her. But with Aidan, things were different. She couldn’t stop thinking of the kiss they’d shared and the way he’d risked his life twice now to save her.

She supposed she was so mean to him because she didn’t feel as if she deserved his acts of kindness. He’d even convinced his friends to give their portion of the crow last night to her. She’d gladly eaten it, ev
en though she hated eating crow. But she’d been so hungry after not having really eaten in the last few days, that she accepted the offer.

And she wanted more than anything to eat the fish this morning, but wasn’t going to fight with
Aidan if he said they needed to be on their way. It was probably better that they just get to camp as fast as possible and get this all over with. She’d been so upset thinking about her sister trapped in that English bastard’s cage last night, that she didn’t sleep a wink, even though she was dead tired.

She stifled a yawn and ran a finger over the back of
the squirrel now sitting on the horn of the saddle. The cute little thing had taken a liking to her for some reason.

“Reid likes ye,” she heard Aidan say from behind her.

“Well, I like him, too,” she said, not turning her head to talk. If she did, her face would be pressed up against Aidan’s and she’d want to kiss him again. “So, tell me aboot yer dream stone,” she said.

“What’s there to tell?”

“Have ye had it long?”

“
Why do ye keep askin’ me aboot it?”

She froze. “I’m jest tryin’
te make conversation.” She hoped he didn’t suspect what she was up to.

“I’d rather
talk aboot yer family instead,” he said.

“I
told ye . . . I have no family.” She truly wished to avoid this conversation. “Me father died in battle and me mathair died givin’ birth to me sister.”

“So ye have a sister? What is her name?”

Damn, she didn’t mean to tell him that. She had to be more careful. “Her name is Coira. But she . . . died,” she lied. “When the English attacked our camp.”

“I’m so sorry. I did
na realize. I ken how hard this must be fer ye. If I can do anythin’ te help ye ease the pain –”

“I dinna want
te talk aboot it.” Why the hell did he have to be so nice? No one had ever been so nice to her in her entire life. And now that she found someone, she knew it wouldn’t last. As soon as she did her dirty deed, he would hate her forever.

They rode in silence for
awhile, then she started wondering about him.

“Do ye have siblings?” she asked.

“I do,” he said. “Me sister’s name is Kyla.”

“Is she
married or have bairns?”

“Nay. S
he lives with the clan.”

“I see.
Are yer parents still alive?”

“Nay. I lost them both when I was very young.”

“In a battle?” she asked, curiously.

“
Me faither died when he was thrown from a horse ten years ago, and me mathair died from fever when Kyla was only six. I am verra protective o’ her and dinna like her bein’ with any laddie.”

“I am sorry fer ye
r loss as well,” she said, “but Kyla is old enough te be married and have several bairns by now. Ye need te let loose with her, Aidan.”

“
I dinna ken. She will always be me wee sister, and I promised me mathair I’d watch out fer her.”