Love Me Forever (35 page)

“I am not a naive young girl anymore.”

He laughed. “I made certain of that.”

He certainly had and the thought turned her
stomach.

“So tell me, did I teach you enough so that
you pleased this barbaric warrior who you spread your legs
for?”

“You think him barbaric? His deeds are so
great that they have made him a legend.”

“He is a ruthless warrior who kills for fun
and profit.”

She knew Royce too well to fall for Arran’s
lies. “And you think you can get more coins from him for my return
than you can from Ian?”

“You are quick witted. A quality I despise
in a woman.” He grinned. “But Royce Campbell will pay a hefty price
for your return that I am sure of. I saw the way he looked at you
when I interrupted your wedding celebration. It is obvious that he
loves you and he will do anything to get you back.”

She spoke with courage. “Royce taught me
what true love really is, and I am grateful the good Lord sent him
to me, for I love him with all my heart and soul.”

Arran sneered. “You were always a fool, and
love is for fools. He uses you. He wishes an allegiance with the
Cameron clan, and what better way than through marriage. He
tolerates you in bed and probably seeks fulfillment with other more
talented females.”

“As you did?”

He seemed pleased when he said, “You were an
inadequate lover. You gave me no choice.”

Her temper took hold. “I was an innocent
young girl. I knew nothing.”

“And you learned nothing.”

“You taught me nothing but pain and
humiliation,” she said, her temper flaring. “Royce taught me
differently. He taught me about the beauty of love and the
pleasures in sharing that love.” She bit her tongue, for she wished
to scream out at him that Royce was truly a man and he just a
shadow of one.

“Then if this man loves you so dearly, why
was he not successful in keeping you safe from me? And where is he
now? Why has he yet to rescue you?”

He meant to demean Royce in her eyes and
fill her with fear, but his tactics were worthless. She was far too
secure with Royce’s love, and her response proved it. “He is not
far away. He waits for the right moment, and then you will taste
his wrath.”

She was convincing enough that Arran cast a
hasty glance around him.

“He will come for me,” she assured him. “He
will definitely come for me.”

“He will come for you with a pocket of
coins.”

“If he must he will, though love is
priceless, Arran, and you never understood that.”

“Everything has a price, even love.”

“You are right,” she said with a nod.
“Everything does have a price. You demanding a ransom from Royce
will have a price. Are you willing to pay that price?”

“You talk nonsense.”

Her words had the effect she had hoped for:
he squirmed in his saddle.

“I speak the truth. Do you think a man with
Royce’s reputation will pay a ransom and seek no retribution?”

“Do you think me a fool? Do you think that I
am not prepared for that?”

Her skin prickled.

“I see you are worried.” He grinned. “You
know me well, and you know I will do what is necessary to
survive.”

She knew she should not ask, but she needed
to know. “What do you plan, Arran?”

“I plan on returning you when the ransom is
paid.” His grin widened. “I see that surprises you. I had thought
to kill you, but that serves me no purpose, and besides, I need to
guarantee my escape before Royce can retaliate.”

Fear ran her skin to gooseflesh.

“Ask me, dear wife. Ask me what it is that I
will do to prevent the great warrior from following me?”

She feared asking the question, for she
thought she knew and that thought gave her a horrible fright.

“You cannot bring yourself to answer.” He
grinned. “Or do you already know the answer.”

She did not want to play his game. He had
always played frightening games with her, and she would no longer
be a willing partner. “Speak your intentions and have done with
it.”

He laughed, enjoying the control he had over
her. “Perhaps I will make you wait.”

This time she laughed. “Nay, you wish to see
my reaction when you inform me. You ache to see it. I would not be
surprised if you were hard from the thought of it.”

His face exploded a bright red. “You will
suffer for that and—” He intentionally paused, making her wait and
wonder, letting the fear build inside of her and diffusing his own
anger. Then calmly he said, “I will turn you over to Royce but keep
your child.”

Fear raced through Brianna. She shivered and
sent a silent prayer to the heavens for Royce to hurry and rescue
her.

“I inquired as to your birthing time,
thinking that it might prove beneficial to me, and it certainly
has. It is one of the reasons I waited to capture you. And do not
think he will find us quickly. He would not think to go where I
take you,” Arran said, pleased with the fear he saw on her
face.

The babe remained safe inside her. He would
not take the chance of injuring the child if he felt he needed the
child. It was a relief to realize that, at least, but his
intentions still frightened her beyond all reason.

“I will treat the child well until he is
returned to you.”

His tongue charmed, and most would believe
him, but she knew better. “Nay, you will not, and Royce will not
let you take his child.”

“He will have no choice, unless of course he
wishes to forfeit one life for the other. Who would he choose to
live—you or his child?”

She would gladly give her life for her child
and knew that Royce would do the same, but she wished for them all
to live and share a long life together. She would not allow her
husband to rob her of any more dreams.

She turned her startling blue eyes on him.
“Royce will come for me before the babe is born, and then the
problem will be yours.”

He forced a laugh, though Brianna could see
she had cast doubt over his plans.

“Think what you wish,” he said, and having
grown tired of tormenting her, he rode ahead.

Brianna took a comforting breath. She needed
to keep her wits about her, and as much as it frightened her to
consider such a horrible possibility, it was necessary.

Prepare.

She had to prepare for the possibility that
Royce would not reach her in time. If so, she needed to have a plan
of escape. She did not know where he was taking her, but when she
learned of their destination, she would better be able to formulate
a plan. The plan would mean an escape, and provisions would be
necessary.

She began making a mental list of all the
things she needed and what things to look for. Her first thought
was their destination. Where could he be taking her? Her mind
listed the various possibilities, adding to that Arran’s devious
mind.

A sudden thought came to her, but she
disregarded it. He would not be that foolish. Then it struck her
and she slowly shook her head. He would send his men to the keep,
and he would take her to the cottage, where Royce had taken her to
recover from her wounds. And the men that had first divided off
from them would circle back to the cottage and be his
protection.

By the time Royce discovered his error, it
would be too late. He would never be able to reach her before she
birthed the babe. Now she realized just how much she truly was on
her own.

Her hand went to her stomach. “It is all
right, little one. I will protect you until your father comes for
us.”

Royce would find them. He would hunt for
them no matter how long it took. He would not give up until he
found them, and she would be patient and do what must be done to
survive.

~ ~ ~

Royce sat braced against a large rock
staring at the night sky. Hundreds of stars sparkled against the
darkness, almost as if each wished to prove their own brilliance.
He wondered if Brianna looked on the night sky at this moment.

He shut his eyes tightly, opened them, and
cast a silent prayer to the heavens that she was well and safe. He
had done that every day and night for the last two weeks. They had
found the one trail, and as thought, Arran was headed for the keep
where he and Brianna had resided when together. Every day had been
a torture without her. He was aware that she had become an
important part of his life, but now he knew just how essential she
was to his life. He missed sleeping beside her at night. She would
cuddle against him, and oftentimes he would feel the babe kick and
marvel at the tiny being their love had created.

In the morning she would slowly stretch
herself awake, and he would slowly caress her until she purred like
a contented kitten. Throughout the day they would seek each other
out to talk, walk, or share needed kisses.

But most of all he missed hearing her tell
him how much she loved him. A day did not pass without her saying,
“I love you.” He had enjoyed hearing those words over and over,
though he had not realized how much until he had not heard
them.

“Do you wish solitude, or may I join you?”
Ian asked, walking up to him.

“Join me,” he offered. “I have dwelled on my
problems long enough.”

“With good reason; you miss my sister and
worry over her safety.” Ian sat opposite him a tree trunk as his
backrest.

“More than I ever thought possible. Her
safety was my concern, and I should have been more diligent. I
failed her.” It had tormented him that Arran was able to abduct
Brianna from the keep. He had arrogantly assumed that any attempts
would be met with defeat. He rarely underestimated his opponent,
and it would not happen again.

“I felt the same when my wife’s life
continued to be in danger in our own home. If I could not protect
her there, how then could I protect her at all?”

“Perhaps it has to do with love,” Royce
said, attempting to understand.

“Love? What would that have to do with
it?”

“We love our women. Arran loves no one and
can therefore make decisions based on logic rather than emotions,
which is how a skilled warrior handles battle.”

“Are you saying our love blinds us to the
best course of action?”

Royce nodded. “If I thought more like a
warrior than a man in love, my course of action would have been
different.”

“How so?”

“If someone wanted something I had, I would
have used it as bait to draw my opponent out instead of hiding it
away.”

“But you could not use Brianna as bait
because you loved her and worried over her.”

“Exactly,” Royce said. “I would not dare
risk her life, and yet by not risking it, by not doing as I would
normally do, I risked her life even more. And now she is on her own
with no one to protect her.”

“The thought plagues my mind, for I feel as
guilty as you in failing my sister.”

“I was so concerned with my own guilt, I had
not thought about you.”

“I have thought much,” Ian said. “I failed
in protecting her after learning how her husband treated her. I
failed again when I assumed him dead, and now for a third
time.”

“This was not your fault, it was mine,”
Royce insisted. “She belongs to me now and is my responsibility. I
was the one who should have made certain of her safety.”

Ian shook his head. “Say what you will, it
was my fault. I should have made certain Arran was dead and not
have accepted a ring and burnt corpse as the only evidence to his
demise.”

“I think what troubles us is that Arran has
managed to outsmart us both.”

“That does irritate me.”

“I agree. The man irritates me more than I
care to admit.”

“Arran deceives with charm and character. He
confuses his opponent, giving him ample time to attack or
escape.”

Royce frowned. “Then he does not often make
mistakes.”

“If he makes mistakes, he is often prepared
with another plan. He never seems to be caught unprepared.”

“So he prepares for every possibility.”

“Moira believes so. That is why she spoke of
being prepared to Brianna.”

“She did?” Royce asked with surprise. ‘Tell
me what they spoke of.”

“Moira was educated by a monk who taught her
many skills. The one skill she found the most useful was
preparation, preparation in all her studies and writings and
experiments. Without such preparation she believes she would have
no success. She took that knowledge and applied it toward life.
This is what she discussed with Brianna. She convinced Brianna that
while she felt safe with your protection, there was always the
possibility that Arran could succeed in his attempts to abduct her.
What then? What would she do?”

Royce slowly shook his head. “You tried to
convince me of this.”

“I know my wife well, and I knew she was
concerned for Brianna. She had made instant friends with my sister
upon meeting her, and she was aware, for a stranger sees with
clearer eyes than a family member, that Arran did not treat Brianna
well. She helped her to regain her self-esteem and self-confidence
after Arran’s hasty departure.”

“Moira did an excellent job. Your sister’s
strength and courage saw her through the accident and helped her
deal with a complete stranger she was entirely dependent on. Not an
easy task for any woman.”

“Moira has done well with Brianna, which is
why she wanted Brianna prepared for any possibility.”

“I am confused,” Royce admitted. “How could
Brianna be prepared for her husband abducting her? I would like to
think it was possible, but how?”

“I wondered the same myself. Arran ingrained
my sister with fear. How could she possibly be prepared for facing
a man she feared?”

Royce shook his head as if the answer
finally dawned on him, and he found himself an idiot for not
realizing it. “By showing no fear.”