Highlander's Touch (8 page)

“If this is what winning feels like—”

“The losers are dead.” There was no need to tell him that a single MacDonald had gotten away. With his fever—and the possibility of it getting worse—the last thing she needed was dreams of battle and enclosing enemies to cause him to lash out and make a ruckus that would only draw them closer.

“Bhaltair,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut. “Go,
rach
. Let the fairy take ye.” The last of his words were whispered so quiet, she could barely make them out.

But his mount understood, heading back toward the door. If she didn’t know better, she might have thought the horse was a man re-embodied.

Shona led the horse back to the barn, careful to inspect her surroundings. When she had him secure, she’d check on her traps, too. ’Twas too bad when Rory left that he’d taken their wolfhound Stretch with him. He was a great guard dog. Another reason why she was certain he must have come across something foul. Stretch would have fought to protect Rory, and then come home to find her if he couldn’t.

In the barn, she could see that Bhaltair had somehow managed to open the gate to his stall. She wasn’t surprised, more than she was annoyed.

This time when she put him in there, she blocked his gate with a bench. She’d made sure he had sufficient water and oats from a lovely supply that she’d been paid in for her services.

“Be a good horse and stay put this time,” she said.

She checked on her other animals—a pig, a goat and a few chickens that roamed. All looked to be fine, and had plenty of food to munch.

Next on her rounds were the woods surrounding her cottage. She tugged the dagger from her belt and held it tight, wishing she’d brought her bow and arrows with her, and thinking twice about going back inside to get them. There would be both MacDonald and Grant warriors out looking for Ewan. She would do best not to roam outside without proper protection. Decision made, she hurried back to the cottage to grab her bow and quiver.

Ewan still slumbered soundly, a soft snore every few breaths. With her quiver tossed over her shoulder, an arrow nocked in her bow, she carefully exited the cottage, closing the door behind her. Her heart pounded, feeling like it would come up into her throat. Shona paused just outside her threshold and took several deep breaths.

“Be strong,” she murmured to herself.

She was brave. She was strong. If anyone wanted to trespass on her grounds, she’d put an arrow in them and ask questions later.

Well, maybe not. If it were one of the local healers, she’d not shoot them. But if it were a MacDonald, she definitely would. If it were a Grant? She wasn’t certain. Shooting one of the Grants would only get the laird angry with her. And she didn’t want that. After all, she had to remain at the cottage, and so far he’d kindly ignored her presence.

At least she had some leverage. Ewan could always be used for a bargaining chip—her life for his. She just wanted to be left in peace.

An annoying tug pulled at her heart. She didn’t want to be alone in her peace. Aye, she desired peace and happiness, but rather she sought it with a companion. She craved love. And despite his silliness in his fever, Ewan struck a chord inside her. Made her feel things she’d longed for, sparked a hope that had long since been buried. If he left, then she’d never know exactly what it was she wanted from him.

Shona marched carefully through the surrounding wood, jumping every time a squirrel scurried up a tree, or a bird flew from a branch, crunching the leaves and limbs.

By the time she got back to her cottage, she’d thoroughly wound herself up—and found nothing in the process, save for a rabbit to cook her stew. Though no warriors or outlaws had been out there this time, she wasn’t naïve enough to believe that eventually someone wouldn’t be knocking at her door.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she’d barely eaten any supper, and if she was going to have a delicious stew by this evening, she’d best get on with preparing it. The broth of the stew would help Ewan heal, too.

Shona opened the door to her little house and stepped inside, stunned to see Ewan standing—naked—in the middle of the room. Her heart leapt to her throat, her bow fell to her side. She was speechless as she regarded him, trying hard not to let her stare wander downward.

He held his sword straight toward her. Sweat soaked his entirely nude skin. She kept her eyes on his, afraid to see the impressive length of his cock—which she’d already witnessed while cleaning him—and from her peripheral vision was proudly jutting toward her.

“Who are ye and what have ye done to me?”

Shona ignored him, her eyes roving over the bandages to check for any blood seepage. Thank the saints, they’d not reopened, but she would need to clean them and rub a fresh salve on them once she got him to calm down and lay back on the bed.

She met his feverish gaze—eyes red and cheeks flushed.

“I am Shona, do ye not remember? I saved ye.”

A grin curled his lips, but not like the ones he’d given her before, not sweet or full of desire. This was wicked and full of lust—and rage. She immediately felt as though he’d wrenched off her clothes to fully expose her. She shivered.

“There is one thing that would make me feel better—that would take away this awful ache in my head,” he murmured, dropping his sword to his side, stabbing the point into the wood of her floor and stepping forward.

Shona’s heartbeat leapt. Oh, dear lord… “What?” her voice came out breathless.

All she could think about was being hauled up against his hard body and repeating that steamy, toe-curling kiss.

THE world was spinning.

Ewan managed to stay standing despite the dizziness clouding his mind. A vision stood before him. Wild auburn hair, a beautiful face illuminated by sunshine.

Her gown looked worn, but clean, and her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and lust. Blood surged to his cock, as his body spontaneously responded to the hunger she tried to hide.

He should answer her—put her at ease. He should tell her that a healthy serving of whisky would make him feel a hell of a lot better. But the way she looked at him... The way her eyes kept flicking to his lips, the way she so obviously tried not to look at his thick erection, he wondered if she thought he might want to ravish her—and if she wanted him to.

Why did he feel as though he’d dreamed of a kiss before? He was confused about where he was, about who she was, and yet she was familiar to him.

Ewan didn’t like this feeling of uncertainty. He didn’t like the shake in his legs either.

“Whisky,” he said, his voice coming out rough. “I need a drink.”

There was a flicker of disappointment on her face, and then relief. Ewan frowned. He might have ravished her—but only if she wanted. And it had appeared that was what she wanted, and yet she’d looked reassured? What could that mean?

Seeing this, the surge of heat in his blood dissipated to a dull roar he could mostly ignore.

Shona nodded, more to herself than him with her gaze flitting about the room. She closed the door and scooted around him, placing a skinned rabbit on a hook near the hearth.

She could hunt? The woman must have been skilled with a bow. A flash of memory from the woods assaulted him. He saw her. He saw his enemy dead at his feet, an arrow in his chest.

“How does your head feel?” she asked, pouring potent amber liquor into a cup.

“It aches something fierce.” He studied her features.

The lass shifted on her feet, and seemed to have a hard time meeting his gaze. She was on edge.

When she handed him the cup, his fingers brushed over hers and a jolt went through him. Heat filled his blood and coursed a path down his body straight to his groin.
Ballocks
! A vivid memory flashed of her body rocking against him, his hand cupping her breast, a soft moan from her lips. His cock jumped, jutting between them like a lance.

’Twas then he recalled his nudity. But he didn’t care. Whoever she was, her face colored red, and he found he liked it. Liked that she licked her lips, excited about his rising arousal. Liked that she tried to hide it behind a modest and demure façade.

Ewan chugged the whisky, keeping his eyes locked on hers, and handed her back the cup. “More, please, lass.”

Och, but he sounded terrible. His voice was rough and cracked with disuse.

Shona said not a word but filled his cup with another dram, holding the jug to her chest as though she waited for him to ask for another refill. Which he did.

When he’d had his fourth, she shook her head.

“Ye’ve eaten nothing since ye’ve been here. Afore I let ye drink another drop, ye’ll need to eat.” This time her gaze did plunge, eyes widening as they took in the sight of his engorged shaft. Her lips parted as she let out a proper gasp and then quickly clamped closed. But she couldn’t hide the swift surge of need that tingled between the two of them. “And get ye covered.”

She yanked her gaze away from him and hustled toward the bed, grabbing up the plaid blanket there. He liked how she played at being a maiden, but he’d seen the lust light her gaze. And how was it he could recall her tongue sliding against his?

“Or, if ye like, ye can undress and we’ll both be naked,” he teased with a chuckle.

The lass snapped her eyes back to his and put her hands on her hips. “Ye’re in no shape for such… such... sport.”

“And, if I was, would ye?”

Her mouth fell open in what he supposed she hoped was outrage, but curiosity flared in her eyes.

Ewan grinned and nodded. “Ye would,” he drawled.

But before she could respond, he swayed on his feet, the wooziness returning. He swung his arms out to steady himself, dropping the sword as he did so. Hell and damnation, but he was weaker than he thought. More feeble than he wished. Ewan glanced at the lass, hoping she hadn’t noticed too much that he tottered like a wee bairn.

Shona watched him with narrowed eyes.

Ballocks!
He did not want to appear frail to the woman he hoped to seduce. That would not help his cause at all.

He stumbled backward, grappling for purchase against the wooden table. Tiny stars danced in his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to rid himself of his dizziness and to clear his sight, but it didn’t work.

He heard a clink as she set his sword on the table and then a warm hand slid over his back to his arm.

“Come, I’ll take ye back to bed.”

Ewan wanted to be strong. He stood straight, forcing himself not to sway, though the room still tilted and whirled.

“I’ll allow ye to lead me, but only because ye’re a bossy wench.” His voice came out strong, which made him proud. He wrapped her arm tighter through his own—for her comfort.

“As ye say, warrior. Now come lay down and I’ll bring ye some broth.”

“Will ye be laying with me?” He glanced down at Shona and winked.

She clucked her tongue and gave him a stern look, though the curve at the corners of her lips did not seem too severe. He raked his gaze over her curvy form—luscious in all the right places.

Ewan lay back against the bed and the lass quickly swung a blanket over him, covering his nakedness, and his arousal. If he’d not seen her veiled interest, he might have thought she was embarrassed by the sight of his flesh—his rigid cock. But he knew better. A fire had burned in her gaze, and even now, he could see that her nipples were hard, pushing against her gown.

He reached out to touch her, but she jerked out of his reach.

Pity. He had a feeling her breasts would be warm and soft.

Shona muttered “broth,” and whirled on her heel.

She crossed the tiny one-room cottage, swigging the whisky as she went. Ah, a lass who could drink like a man. That made him smile. She set the jug a little too hard onto the shelf and several of the other containers there clanked together. Her hands flew up as she scrambled to keep them all from falling.

Ewan couldn’t help but smile. She was delectable. And damned seductive.

He sighed. Then frowned. The whisky on an empty belly was making him act a fool. He needed to compose himself.

“Ye’ve still not told me where I am,” he said. From when he’d glanced out the window, he determined he was in the middle of nowhere. Castle Gealach could have been five or five hundred.