My Highland Bride (6 page)

Chapter 6

Kenna skidded to a stop halfway down the hillside.
Oh my…
The majestic vista spread before her took her breath. How could the past seem so much more…more what? Vibrant? Was that the word? Kenna blinked hard, then opened her eyes wider. Yes. “Vibrant” was definitely the word.

Kenna slowly turned in a half circle, awestruck by the beauty of Scotland dressed in the heart-stopping hues of spring. Deep rich greens subtly bordering the lighter chartreuse of new growth reached toward the sunlight and the promise of warmer days. Clouds as wispy as combed strands of cotton skittered across the brightest blue sky she had ever seen.

Suddenly, she clearly understood the legend of Scotland’s flag and how the cherished Saltire might’ve come to be. When King Óengus saw those startling white clouds forming a cross against the stunning blue of the sky, his dream of Saint Andrew must have felt so real it inspired him and his forces to reign victorious over their enemies in that long ago battle. No wonder they’d memorialized the omen with a flag fashioned after the sight—or so the story went.

In the distance, blue-gray mountains stretched across the rolling horizon like the glorious curves of an ancient giantess lounging on her side. Granny had said there was no beauty anywhere on earth like that of the Highlands. Kenna took in a deep breath of the clean cool breeze and lifted her arms toward the sun. Granny was right: the land of their ancestors was stunning.

Thudding footsteps came to a stop slightly behind her. Kenna didn’t bother turning, just grinned to herself. She already had this Colum Garrison all figured out. Mr. I-am-gift-to-all-women was probably still pouting because she hadn’t fluttered her eyelashes and fawned all over him when he’d held out a muscular arm attached to a body that would’ve made Atlas look like a stick figure.

Well, Mr. Muscle needed to learn up front that Kenna Sinclair never fawned.
Yeah, but I damn sure fluttered.
Kenna rubbed her palms against the sides of her jeans and took off down the path again. Hell yes, she had fluttered. What healthy, damn-it’s-time-to-lose-this-virginity girl wouldn’t flutter when faced with a man who looked as good as Colum Garrison? She’d always been drawn to gingers, and this sexy cinnamon hunk could’ve stepped right out of a Viking legend. The man was definitely made to be climbed, then slid down like a fireman’s pole. Kenna coughed to cover a nervous giggle.
Um-yeah
. She was still fluttering over that walking panty-dropper.

Kenna glanced back over one shoulder. Colum the walking mountain had decided to move forward and was currently stomping down the path a few steps behind her. Jaw locked and eyes narrowed, the man looked as though he could bite through a piece of steel. Kenna stopped walking. Maybe she should at least try to be a little more appreciative. After all, according to Granny, this time and place was now home, and she needed all the friends she could get. It was time to make peace. “Thank you for coming to meet me and also for carrying
all
my bags. I know my arrival was a bit…different…so, I really do appreciate it.”

Colum graced her with a curt nod, then flexed a massive shoulder to resettle the bags higher on his back. He came to a stop beside Kenna and held out his arm again, this time with a stiff jerk that dared her not to take it. “Yer most welcome, Lady Kenna. Here—on MacKenna land—we treat our women wi’ respect and honor.”

Kenna bit the inside of her cheek. Her lips almost cramped as she struggled to keep from grinning.
Lordy, he looks so…determined.
Apparently, she’d seriously wounded his pride and now he felt she deserved a scolding. An uncontrollable shiver zipped up her back as Kenna eyed the muscular arm waiting for her hand. What harm could come from playing along and soothing Mr. Muscle’s ego?

“Thank you again.” Kenna smiled up into Colum’s stern face as she slid her hand across his forearm. She wasn’t prepared for the sharp tingle that surged into her palm and flashed a deliciously hot sensation through her body.

Colum’s eyes widened. He jerked and stared down at her hand on his arm, then quickly lifted his gaze back to her face.

Oh Lordy.
He must’ve felt it too. Kenna wet her lips. How in the world had that happened? Had she accidentally released some residual energy from the jump? Kenna swallowed hard. No. This was different. She’d never felt such a connection with anyone before. It was almost as though her heart and soul had jumped to attention and shouted,
“Hey! He’s the one
.
Don’t let go!”

Her gaze trailed down Colum’s arm and took in the rest of his body. She wanted to touch him. All over. She wanted them both to
tingle
until they exploded into sighing bits of ecstasy.

Kenna hitched in a deep breath and blinked hard against the trance her starving libido had triggered.
Get a grip.
She had to use her head and keep her focus above her waistline.
Yeah, but what about what’s below his waistline?
Kenna pinched the bridge of her nose, scrubbing the inside corners of her eyes.
Get. A. Grip.

Rubbing her fingers together, she looked up, searching Colum’s face for a clue as to what he might be thinking. How much did this man know about the Sinclair women and all their abilities? Granted, he’d just witnessed how they traveled through time, but was he aware of all the other little bells and whistles included in the Sinclair package? Kenna toyed with the idea of slipping into Colum’s mind and looking around. No. That wouldn’t be right. She didn’t need to flip through his memories…at least not just yet. She shoved her still tingling hand in the tight back pocket of her jeans. “Uhm…did you say it wasn’t very much farther?”

Colum jerked again as though waking from a trance, then nodded toward a broad stand of trees just a few feet away. “Aye. MacKenna keep lies just beyond this wood.” He frowned down at the hand Kenna still had stuffed in her pocket and motioned toward a bend in the dirt road. “Rua and Geal wait just beyond the turn. If ye be weary, we can ride the rest of the way.”

“Rua and Geal,” Kenna repeated. “I assume those are horses?”

Colum’s stern expression relaxed into a smile. “Aye. Horses.”

“I don’t know how to ride a horse.” Kenna stared nervously down the roadway, chewing on her bottom lip. Apparently, between his wounded pride and the surprise of the breathtaking tingle when they’d touched, Colum had completely forgotten the fact she’d told him she couldn’t ride a horse. “Remember?”

Colum waived her protest away. “Ye ne’er had a proper teacher. I’ll have ye feelin’ as though ye’ve been astride all yer life.”

I bet you would.
Kenna clamped her lips tighter together and held her breath through a hurried count to ten.
Good gosh
. Did the Highlands emit some strange mating chemical? Even before she’d actually touched Colum, she had been very much
aware
of every nerve ending in her body. At first, she’d thought it was just some weird aftereffect of jumping centuries, but now, following the
uber-tingle
she’d just enjoyed, she knew better.

Kenna expelled the breath she’d been holding and sucked in another deep breath.
Enough with the hornies
. She wasn’t some freakin’ schoolgirl panting after a boy. “All I’m worried about is reaching the keep in one piece. I can’t wait to meet my new little nephew or niece.”

Colum squinted up at the sky, shielding his eyes against the shining sun. “Mother Sinclair said the babe would arrive before sunset. We best be on our way. Perhaps ye could bring comfort to yer sister while she struggles with the birth.”

Immediate guilt washed over Kenna. Here she was fantasizing about riding a Highlander and her sister Trulie was fighting to bring a baby into the world. As they rounded the bend in the road, her heart fell at the size of the horses she was supposed to conquer in a matter of minutes.

The bigger horse, a reddish monster that could have rivaled a Clydesdale, peacefully swatted his coal black tail back and forth while he stripped leaves off a nearby bush. A smaller horse, almost blonde with a white mane and tail, amiably grazed beside her much larger partner.

Kenna caught her lower lip between her teeth again as she stared at the horses. Even the small one was so tall she’d need a stepladder to climb into the saddle. She glanced up at Colum, who was standing proudly at her side. “You don’t have any smaller ones?”

Colum pointed to the blonde mare as the horse turned and whickered a friendly greeting. “Yon Geal there is tame as a newborn lamb. There’s no finer horse in our stables for ye to learn to ride.”

Kenna glanced up at the position of the sun. A sense of urgency squeezed her. Trulie needed her; she felt her calling. “I don’t have time to learn today. Would your horse let me ride with you? I know how to hang on. I just don’t know how to steer one.”

Colum’s broad smile beamed clear to his eyes, and if Kenna didn’t know better she’d have sworn his chest expanded to at least double its original massive size. “Aye, lass. I’d be honored t’have ye ride in front o’ me.”

Colum hurried over and secured Kenna’s bags across Geal’s saddle, then held out his hand to her. “Come t’me, lass. Rua and I will get ye to yer sister.”

Something about the way Colum said “Come t’me” made time stand still and created a jelly-like weakness in Kenna’s knees. The deep sensual echo in his voice made her ache to hear those words whispered, warm and inviting against her cheek, while he held her in the darkness.

The piercing cry of a hawk high above broke the mesmerizing spell. Somewhere deep in her consciousness, Kenna heard Trulie cry out as clear as the hawk’s scream.
Enough.
Trulie needed her. Monster horses and drool-worthy warriors would have to wait. Kenna shook herself free of her musings and slid her hand into Colum’s. “I’m ready. Get me to Trulie.”

Chapter 7

Lore, the scent of her was driving him insane. Colum tightened his arm around Lady Kenna’s waist and inhaled another mouthwatering breath of her sweetness. With a subtle nudge of one knee, Colum silently bid Rua to slow his pace. ’Twas much better if they traveled slowly. After all, he didna wish to frighten the wee lass—this bein’ her first time on a horse and all.

Rua tossed his head and danced a bit to one side. Kenna squeaked and clutched Colum’s arm tighter about her waist.

“ ’Tis all right, lass. I’ll no’ let ye fall.” Colum smiled as he hugged her tensed body back against his chest.
Well done, lad. Ye’ll have an extra share of oats and mayhap a carrot or two this verra evenin’. Rua always did have a keen sense for his master’s wishes.

Colum leaned forward, nuzzling his cheek against the silk of Lady Kenna’s hair while pretending to dodge a low-hanging tree limb that couldn’t possibly reach them.
So soft. So silky.
What he wouldna give to lace his fingers through those tresses as she shuddered and cried out his name.

“Colum?”

“Aye, m’lady?” Colum dipped forward again, pressing his cheek snug against her hair. For sure and for certain, he nay wished to miss a single word the lady uttered.

Kenna cleared her throat and wiggled. Colum nearly groaned aloud as the delightful curve of her bottom brushed back against his aching cock.
Lore a’mighty.
What pure…albeit delicious…torture.

Kenna lightly patted his arm and wiggled again. “Uhm. You don’t have to hold me so tight now. I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Colum loosened his grip the barest bit. Damn, but the woman seemed oblivious to the excruciating waves of pleasure she triggered with every move of her sweet arse. He took a deep breath and kneed Rua to walk slower still. May the Lady Trulie forgive him. If Colum had his way about it, they’d ne’er reach the keep. He’d hold this precious softness against him and they’d ride on forever. “It gladdens me t’know ye no longer fear Rua.”

Kenna shifted in his embrace as she lifted her face to the gentle breeze soughing through the trees. “Rua’s not scary. It’s just he’s so tall. If you weren’t hanging on to me, I might fall and break my neck.” Kenna closed her eyes and shifted against him with a deep intake of breath. “This place is so…” Her voice trailed off as she inhaled again, then shivered.

Colum swallowed hard. A few more wiggles like that and the lass would completely undo him. “Aye, m’lady. Nothing compares wi’ the Highlands and the beauty they hold.”

Colum’s spirits fell as they cleared the last of the woods and came to the bridge. Damned if they weren’t nearly there.

Lady Kenna excitedly leaned forward, Rua’s immense size apparently forgotten as the breathtaking vista of the keep spread out before them. “Holy cow—look at this place.”

Colum failed to see how a cow could be holy, but he did agree that MacKenna keep was quite the impressive stronghold. Sheer cliffs rose on either side of the deep blue inlet, hemming in the rocky crag jutting out to the center of the bay. The keep sat perched atop the solitary knuckle of land like a great seabird about to take flight. The stone bridge they were crossing provided the only access by land. The keep was also safe from attack by sea, because it could only be approached by boat with extreme caution. Few other than the MacKenna himself knew of the narrow channel leading through the treachery of the jagged inlet.

Colum glumly straightened in the saddle as they rode beneath the welcoming stone arch. He’d soon have to hand the fair Lady Kenna over to the others. “The child must no’ be here yet. There are none in the bailey to greet us.”

Kenna bounced in the saddle. “Hurry then. Help me down so I can get to Trulie.”

Colum slid to the ground and pulled Kenna into his arms. For the barest second of sheer bliss, the lady rested her hands atop his shoulders and smiled down into his eyes. Did he imagine the lass caught her breath? Was he merely confused by his own aching need or was desire in her eyes as well?

Colum froze as Kenna’s gaze lowered to his mouth and she slowly traced the tip of her tongue across her lips. Dare he hope to steal a taste of her before he had to let her go? Ever so gently, Colum brought her closer. Her warm breath brushed across his skin as he closed the distance between her mouth and his.