Shipwrecked (4 page)

“Of course, I’ve
thought of those things, but I didn’t really have a choice.  I have to marry
him,” Anna said quietly.  She had thought long and hard about what she was
giving up, sacrificing herself for her family name and for her mother.

“Not now, ye
don’t!” Malcolm exclaimed enthusiastically.  “No one but us kens that ye
survived the shipwreck…just think, this could be your chance to escape!”

“I’m afraid that
you don’t understand,” Anna chuckled at Malcolm’s boyish enthusiasm.  “I
have
to marry him.”

“What about love?”
Malcolm asked plainly.

“Maybe I’ll love
him in time,” Anna said hopefully despite the sinking feeling that was settling
in her stomach.  “My family needs the money that my marriage will bring,” Anna
said, not believing that she had admitted her plight to the Murray brothers,
Scottish criminals that they might be.  Now they knew that she was worth
money. 

“Money isna
everything, lass,” Quinn broke into the conversation from his silent post
sitting on a log.  “Love is a luxury that is worth far more than any amount of
money when ye get tae experience it,” he said as he stood hastily and walked
off down the darkened beach.

Anna, Malcolm and
Rowan sat in silence, contemplating Quinn’s comment.  Quinn seldom spoke, but
when he did, it was because he had something powerful to say.

“Why would a man
of
that
status send his bride unescorted across the ocean to the New
World?” Rowan asked breaking the silence with suspicion weighing heavily in
his voice.  “Is he no decent enough tae provide ye with a chaperone tae see
that ye arrive safely?” Rowan questioned further, feeling strongly that any
good man would have the forethought of taking the provision of seeing that his
betrothed was well protected on her journey to the New World. 

Color flushed
angrily across Anna’s face as she straightened her spine and glowered at
Rowan.  “I am perfectly capable of protecting myself,” she snapped heatedly in
Rowan’s direction.  “And, in Jonathan’s defense, it was Murdock  ...my…my…
uncle
,”
Anna stammered before she continued, “Who arranged from my travel to from England.”

“It seems that yer
Uncle was unaware of the risks that might be presented to a fair young lady
such as yerself, traveling alone on the high seas,” Rowan said, shaking his
head from side to side in disapproval of her Uncle’s neglect.

“I’ll be sure to
educate him on the err of his decision to send me without a chaperone when I
meet him in Williamsburg,” Anna said coolly as she cast her eyes down to the
sand.

 She hated that
she had been reduced to lying about her unfortunate circumstances, and detested
herself for claiming Colonel Murdock, the broker of her unwanted marriage, as
an Uncle.

“I’d like to
educate
him myself, the English bastard,” Rowan muttered under his breath.

Anna stood
abruptly and brushed off the tails of Rowan’s shirt before walking briskly away
from the brothers and settling herself down into the sand at the base of a
large palm tree.  She was angry with herself, angry with her present situation,
and most of all, she was angry with Murdock.  Rowan had been right, what sort
of idiot was Murdock to have sent her unescorted and alone to this strange New
World.  Just think of what might have happened to her! 

Anna seethed with
frustration and emotion as she curled herself into a fetal ball, tucking her
knees up inside the tails of Rowan’s shirt to conserve body heat.  The crashing
of the ocean waves on the beach and the masculine smell wafting from Rowan’s
shirt made her feel strangely comforted.  The knot that was growing steadily in
her stomach seized suddenly. 

Anna now knew what
she had given up by agreeing to come here, it had just taken a young, naïve boy
to make her see.  She was giving up the prospect of marrying for love.

                                                                 
***

“I wish that she
was marrying me,” Malcolm said with a wistful look on his face as he and Rowan
combed the shoreline for anything useful that may have washed on shore from the
Mary Catherine.
.

“And what would ye
possibly need with a wife!” Rowan exclaimed, exasperated with his love struck
younger brother.  “Ye wouldna even ken what tae do with one besides.”

“Aye, I would, I could
figure it out, I guess,” Malcolm said, using a long stick to pull a piece of
netting from the surf.  “It’s just that she’s sae pretty, I can’t help but
watch her, the way that she moves, she’s so graceful even when she’s not tryin’
tae be…”

“She’s way out of yer
league, brother…. Sorry tae break it to ye.  All of those attributes that ye
just listed off, the grace, and the beauty, those were born and bred intae
her.  I don’t think that ye could handle her…” Rowan chuckled as he visualized
his awkward, clumsy brother matched with the somewhat regal likes of Anna
Stanton.

“Aye, I could…”
Malcolm said dreamily as he looked over at where Anna was curled up sleeping.

“How about ye
focus on something useful, like trying tae hunt us up something tae eat?” Rowan
asked, annoyed with his brother’s crush.

“Have ye no
noticed her?”  Malcolm asked, prodding.  “I ken that ye have, in fact, I saw ye
lookin’ at her on the beach.”

“Buggar off,”
Rowan said, shaking his head and raking his hand through his hair.  “I’ve more
important things tae do, like keep yer ass alive, than tae be makin’ eyes at a
lass who is by the way, betrothed tae be marrit!”

“No, I think that
I’m on tae something, ye fancy her, don’t ye Rowan?”  Malcolm chided, watching
his brother’s blood begin to boil.

“I most certainly
do not,” Rowan said, stopping and squaring his shoulders in challenge to
Malcolm’s accusation.  His eyebrows knit together and he gave his foolish
brother his most intimidating stare.

“I can see now for
sure that ye do!” Malcolm teased, “I know ye better than ye know yerself,
brother,” he said, balling up a piece of netting and tucking it into his
pocket.

Without further
comment, Rowan turned around and stomped back up the beach towards their
rudimentary camp.

“May the best man win!”
Malcolm shouted after his brother as he walked away. 

                                                            ***

“Rowan?” whispered
Anna into the pitch blackness of the night.  Quinn’s rhythmic deep breathing
and Malcolm’s muffled snoring told her that they were asleep, but she could
tell that Rowan was still awake.

“What?”  Rowan
whispered from where he was laying in the sand.

“I’m cold,” Anna
responded through chattering teeth as she gathered Rowan’s shirt around her and
pulled her shivering knees up to her chest.  “My clothes are still damp and my hair
is wet, and I can’t stop shaking.”

“Cm’ here then,”
he whispered, reaching out a hand in the direction of her voice.

She sat up in the
dark, feeling her stiff frozen muscles rebel, and crawled towards Rowan’s
voice.  Reaching out her hand so as not to bump into anything in the dark, she
jumped when she unexpectedly touched Rowan’s hand.  She grabbed onto him in the
dark, surprised by the warmth that was radiating from the rough skin of his
hand.  He pulled her towards him until they were only inches apart.

“Lay down next tae
me, I’m right here,” he invited, still holding her hand, guiding her down into
the sand next to him.  Anna’s hand was ice cold in his, and she didn’t protest
as he fitted her body against his, gathering her up so that her back was to his
front.  Her body was overwhelmed with the tremors of her shivering, and her
teeth chattered noisily as she lay her head down on Rowan’s arm.  He brought
his right arm around hers, and grasped her shivering fingers, pulling her close
against his body.

“How are you this
warm?” she questioned through chattering teeth, relishing the heat radiating
from Rowan’s body.  “You don’t even have a shirt on.”

“I’ve always been
this way, my Mam gave me a hard time as a bairn, I used tae kick off the
quilts, always complainin’ of being tae hot,” he chuckled quietly, thinking
about how his mother used to fuss over him.

“You feel really
nice, thanks,” Anna whispered as she cuddled up against Rowan’s muscular
chest.  She had never been in such intimate contact with a man, but she cast
her thoughts of propriety aside and melted into Rowan’s warmth, enjoying the
feeling of heat returning to her frozen body.

Rowan continued to
hold her hand in his, and brushed the back of it with his thumb, seeking to
reassure her that they would be alright. 

“You’re welcome,”
he whispered against her ear, inhaling her sweet scent as his lips nearly
brushed against the skin of her cheek.  He didn’t dare tell Anna how nice she
felt against his bare skin.

“Why do you and
your brothers keep talking about freedom?” Anna whispered eyes wide open as she
stared into the night.  Her imaginative mind had dreamed up all sorts of crimes
that the brothers might have committed, and she had to know if her life was in
danger as one of these very criminals held her in his arms.  Honestly, she felt
too safe in Rowan’s arms to believe that she was in any danger.

Just what have
you done, Rowan?

“We were forced to
flee Scotland during the rising,” Rowan said with a hint of despair in his
voice.  He vowed to keep the details of their voyage vague, not knowing if Anna
could be trusted with their secret.

“Were your
prisoners?” Anna asked blatantly, having noticed the tell-tale marks around all
three of the brother’s wrists that could only have been from iron shackles.

Rowan inhaled
deeply, not wanting to give away too much information, refusing to endanger his
brothers and their newfound freedom.

“We felt like
prisoners in our own country during the rising, life as we knew it ceased tae
exist.  I lost sae many that I loved, and tae what gain?” Rowan asked into the
night sky with resentment heavy in his voice.  “In a way ye could say that we
were prisoners, and arriving here is a new chance at freedom,” he said in half
truth.

“I’m sorry about
your country, and that you lost people that you loved,” Anna said as she
nestled into Rowan’s expansive chest, feeling the warmth radiate from his body
and into her own.  “I know what it’s like to lose people that you love,” she
whispered, thinking of her father, and all of the strife his death had brought
upon her.

Silence fell
between them, and Anna noticed that Rowan was absentmindedly brushing his thumb
against the back of her hand as he held her close.  His touch set her nerve
endings alive, and tingles reverberated through her body. 

“So…you’re not
going to murder me tonight while I sleep?” Anna asked, now feeling silly about
her previous fears surrounding the brothers.

Rowan’s body was
racked with a sudden wave of laughter.  “What?” he managed to get out between
giggles.  “Ye thought that we might murder ye?  Really?”

“When you kept
talking about freedom, I started to wonder what sort of horrific crime that you
might have committed.  I thought maybe you were being transported here to serve
penance,” Anna explained, now feeling foolish in her assumption.

“Nay, I won’t
murder ye.  Ye can rest well,” Rowan responded, repressing further laughter. 
Good night, Anna,” he whispered, ending the conversation before she asked for
more details.

Anna fitted her
legs against his muscular thighs and nestled her bottom against him, causing
Rowan’s eyes to fly open in the darkness.  She clearly had no idea of what she
was doing, moaning softly as she snuggled against him.

Rowan’s body most
certainly did know what it was doing, and within seconds his groin was
throbbing painfully with an erection in response to her lovely bum rubbing up
against him so intimately.  This was torture.  His body was now hypersensitive
to Anna’s every movement, she felt so damn good with her body pressed up
against the length of his.

 He made out the
delicate curve of her hips in the darkness, and realized that his hand was
still holding hers, resting precariously right between her perfect breasts. 
Rowan exhaled slowly, fighting to retain his composure.  He resigned himself to
a very long sleepless night, and tried to ignore the throbbing in his pants,
which was nearly impossible because Anna kept moving ever so slightly against
him.

Rowan gritted his
teeth and grumbled under his breath.

“Are you alright?”
Anna whispered, hand tensing beneath his.

“I’m fine, go tae
sleep,” Rowan whispered through his clenched teeth, hoping that some form of
salvation would come if she fell asleep and stopped rubbing up against him.  “Shh…”
he coaxed, absentmindedly caressing the back of her hand.

Anna let go of his
hand, and rolled towards him, nestling her face into the crook of his neck. 
Her cheek now rested against his shoulder and upper chest, and she slid her arm
under his so that her hand was resting on his side.  Rowan settled his arms
firmly around her and pulled her close, enjoying the fact that he now had a few
precious inches of space between his manhood and Anna.  It was only then that
he realized that her breasts, nipples piqued from the cold were pressed most
intimately against his bare chest.

Rowan looked up at
the night sky and tried to focus on making patterns out of the stars, looking
for anything that would distract him from Anna, distract him from how his body
had so eagerly responded to her. His hand stroked her back, and he realized how
small, how defenseless, and how trusting she was of him as he held her tight. 

He found his hand
caressing its way up to her neck, and rubbing slowly, releasing the tension
from her muscles.  His fingers twined in her blond hair, brushing it back from
her face, enjoying the feeling of its silky threads between his fingers.