Wild about the Witch (23 page)

“Take the room ye were in when the physician bandaged ye,” Lachlan said, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, he scooped her up, carrying her like a baby to their room. She protested the invalid treatment even as she wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her face against his chest. His heartbeat was now reassuringly steady and she closed her eyes and let the rhythmic thump soothe her.

Once in their room, he helped her get into bed, took off her shoes, and handed her a glass of water.

“You’re so good to me,” she said.

She couldn’t hide how badly her hands shook when she accepted it and the water did nothing to ease the hot pain that still sliced through her. His face was tight with concern and he frowned, taking the glass before she dropped it.

“What happened?” he asked, sitting beside her and tucking the blankets up to her chin.

She wriggled her arms free and took his hand, trying to figure out what had transpired in the secret passage. Her thoughts flapped around in her aching head and a dark image flashed through her mind. A shadowy presence, the thing with the claws. Sweat beaded at her hairline and she struggled to remain calm for Lachlan.

“There’s something,” she said. “Something was stopping me from doing it.” She studied him, tracing the solid line of his jaw with her finger. “It felt like something from the outside, something angry, didn’t want them to go back.” Her eyelids felt heavy and she let them drift shut.

He jostled her shoulder, but she’d never felt so exhausted. “Piper, what if this has to do with what’s happening in Bella’s time?” His voice sounded so panicked, she forced her lids open and reached out to him. His eyes were wide with fear and he clung to her hands. “I shall try again. I’ll go myself at once, and fix this.”

This roused her enough to get her to sit up, and was rewarded for the effort with more stabbing pain. “No, you can’t,” she said, each frantic word making her weaker. “Look what it did to me. I can barely move.”

He stood up and ran his hands through his hair as he prepared to argue with her. She closed her eyes against his tortured face.

“Then what do I do?” he asked.

She heard the wretchedness in his voice but was so very tired. She lay back down, feeling the cool, soft pillowcase against her cheek and used the last of her strength to answer, feeling oddly assured that what she said was right. “Try again tomorrow,” she said. “Just stay here with me. Don’t leave.”

She felt the comforting weight of his hand on her side and snuggled deeper into the pillows, finally getting a bit of respite from the pain.

“I willna leave ye,” he promised. “I will watch over ye all night.”

***

Lizzie rushed into Quinn’s embrace. She found herself shivering even though the room was warm, and Quinn’s body emanated heat. Her mind couldn’t settle. Were they stuck here? She couldn’t believe she considered it in such a negative way, when she’d been fighting to get back for so long. What would happen to little Callum and the other Glens fighting against the illness raging through this very castle, so many years ago?

“Things have gone as wrong as they can go,” he said, his lips brushing her hair.

 At one time she’d thought of everyone she met in the past as a walking historical footnote, not really real. She certainly never thought she’d care so deeply for any of them. She stretched her arms around Quinn and held him with all her strength.

The warmth of his body and his hard chest pressing against her made her forget about the dire situation they might face if the spell failed again the next day. And the way Quinn’s hands roamed down her back, she thought he might be willing to be distracted.

“We should get to bed,” she said, foolishly feeling her face flood with color. The days of having to pretend to be a prim spinster chaperone were long behind her.

He nodded and slipped his arm through hers, and led her along the hall as if they were promenading in the park. He finally found the right bedroom after opening several different doors, and pulled her inside.

“I just want to look at ye for a moment,” he said.

She watched his eyes as they flitted over her face, how he flinched at her bruises. She wished she looked prettier, and remembered the first time they’d danced, wishing she looked better then, too. It didn’t seem to matter to him. He didn’t seem to even notice all her perceived shortcomings.

“I know what ye’re thinking, and wish ye wouldna,” he said, running his fingertip lightly around the edge of her black and blue jaw.

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I used to notice ye look at the other ladies’ finery as we took Catie about in London, and ye dressed so plainly as her chaperone.”

“How did you possibly notice that?” Her heart beat a little faster as he tugged at the laces on her dress, loosening it to slide the fabric off her shoulders. He leaned over and kissed the base of her neck.

“Because I couldna take my eyes off ye for even a second. Ye were always the most beautiful to me.” He kissed her neck, under her chin, and leaned back to look into her eyes. His hands settled at her waist and his expression pierced through her. “Ye fascinated me.”

“Do I still?” she asked, curling her fingers into the belt of his kilt.

Quinn pulled her closer so she had to tilt her head back to keep eye contact with him. His lip quirked up in a half smile as he dipped to kiss her mouth.

“Yes,” he said, kissing her again.

Thankfully he still held onto her waist because her legs wobbled at the soft touch of his lips against hers. The frenzied moments in Bella’s time had been full of desperation. She’d only wanted to make him see that he still loved her, that her heart was his. Now it felt true and serene, and as soon as she rested against him in her happiness, desire bloomed full force within her.

“Oh my word, I want you so much,” she said, digging her fingers into his shirt and pulling. Blasted sling, blasted clothes. She burned to lay her hands on his skin.

“Aye, I feel quite the same,” he said, tightening his hold around her back to raise her feet off the floor and move her toward the bed.

“This is real, right?” She caught herself before landing flat and sat looking at him. How much had passed since they were last together, and how much still stood between them? “I’m sorry,” she said one last time for good measure.

He shook his head. “It’s behind us now. Catie is safe and we are together. But since we’re rehashing things, I myself am sorry for not looking for ye when ye didna show up. When we get back, I’m going to hunt down that madman and break him into pieces for what he did to ye.”

“Wodge?” She hadn’t spared him a thought since she dumped him by the fallen log. She didn’t want to spare him a thought now, but Quinn looked good and bloodthirsty. “Forget about him. He’s probably in the Jurassic period taking lessons in how to be more lizard-like.” She pulled him to sit beside her, then kept pushing him until he was flat on his back. “Please, Quinn. Promise me you’ll forget about him. He’s dangerous, and he won’t bother us if we leave off time traveling.”

He carefully eased out of his sling and slowly rolled his shoulder. “It’s a bit better, I think.”

Narrowing her eyes at his refusal to promise and his slippery way of distracting her, she pulled at his acres of plaid, deciding she’d let him this once.

“You should leave it on, idiot.” She instantly regretted the thoughtless word, meaning it as a silly endearment, but hating that he got called that so callously and frequently by his brother. She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart beat under her palm. “You’re not really an idiot, you know.”

He smiled. “I know, and am glad ye dinna think so. And I want the bloody thing off so I can better grapple ye.”

“Oh, well, then.” She leaned over and kissed him as he ran his hands down her sides.

Lachlan wrenched open his eyes, heart pounding with dread. How long had he been asleep? He’d meant to stay awake all night, keeping watch over Piper, but the strange and sudden tiredness that claimed her must have got the best of him, too.

He pulled himself out of the hard chair he’d expressly brought into the room to help stay awake and cracked his neck, forcing himself not to panic when he saw the bed was empty. Panic took over in full force, however, when the bathroom was empty. Not even a damp towel showed that she’d already taken a shower.

He tore down the stairs and slammed into the kitchen, startling Evie and Catie, who had just sat down to breakfast by the look of their full plates. Even wee Magnus, who sat in his chair between them, jumped and wrinkled his chubby face into the beginnings of a howl.

Evie quickly patted him, but her face echoed his feelings when she saw how distraught he was.

“Didna I tell ye he’d think we’d be late?” Catie asked cluelessly, offering Mags a comforting finger to squeeze.

“No, that isna it,” he said, not sure he wasn’t overreacting. He slowed his steps.

“Where’s Piper?” The urgency to Evie’s question brought back all his dread. Of course he wasn’t overreacting. An evil witch had her in her clutches!

“She isna with ye?” he asked, already heading for the door.

“No,” Evie answered, standing up. “We’ve been here for twenty minutes or so and haven’t seen her come down. Have you checked the library?”

Lachlan looked at the soothing hand she’d placed on his arm and forced himself not to throw it off and run from the kitchen. He was angry at himself and stopped to take a breath.

“I fell asleep,” he said, shaking his head. “I dinna know what came over me. I meant to watch her all night.”

Evie put down her phone. “She’s not answering.” She gave Lachlan a long look, one that frightened him even more than he already was. “You’ve probably managed to stay awake during some pretty harrowing situations, right?”

He shrugged. “Aye, long night watches are common when ye’re raiding or preparing for battle.”

She swallowed hard. “I think something did come over you. I don’t think you fell asleep at all. Something wanted Piper to get out of that room without you seeing. Or stopping her.” She handed Magnus a bottle, making sure he clutched it properly, then turned to Catie. “Stay here with the baby.”

“Where are ye going?” she asked, her voice becoming uncharacteristically small and afraid.

Lachlan felt a surge of anger toward her. If she’d stayed put, done what she was supposed to in her own time, they wouldn’t have a need to tamper with the spells, and Piper’s powers could remain dormant, instead of being brought to the forefront to plague her. Everything had been fine, how much more could the poor lass take from her wicked ancestor before she was lost completely? She had to hang on. He couldn’t, would not lose her.

“Do ye think she’s wandered to the lake?” he asked, all his muscles tense, raring to smash something.

Evie nodded, looking in desperation at her wee lad. “Catie, don’t let him out of your sight, but find Quinn and Lizzie and get them to search the place. If Piper’s here, call me. But take Mags and hide first.”

“Why?” Catie asked, lip quivering. She reached over and held onto the baby’s foot.

“Just do it,” Evie said.

She nodded curtly at Lachlan, who itched to be going and was glad she’d finally finished telling Catie what to do. It set the hairs on the back of his neck to standing, but he didn’t want to consider why Evie would instruct his sister to hide from Piper.

“To the lake?”

She nodded, halfway out the door.

“I must gather my weapons,” he said, gaining resolve until Evie’s face fell.

“You can’t bring weapons, Lachlan,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “It’s still Piper, even if it’s taken over her.”

He stopped short, her words hitting him like a vicious blow. His beloved and the thing he hated most were one and the same. Helplessness nearly blinded him, but Evie grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

He barely heard Catie whimpering as it swung shut behind him and he stopped and stood in the courtyard, dragging Evie to an abrupt halt. She turned and looked at him questioningly, pulling at his hand to get him to move.

“I canna harm her,” he said, shocked at the raw sound of his voice.

He’d never been so scared, not even to face his own death. If that was all it took to free Piper, that would be an easy choice.

A hard knuckle dug into his shoulder and he shook himself from his frozen state. Evelyn had her fist clenched and looked poised to crack him again if he didn’t gain control. The small, sharp pain cleared his mind of its frenzied thoughts and he began walking again.

“Sorry,” she said. “But you need to keep it together.”

He frowned. “I fear I may be useless to help her.”

He watched her shake her fiery red hair back and forth, and toss a dark look back at him. “Why won’t you let Catie stay?” she asked.

He was utterly gobsmacked at the jolting change of subject and couldn’t answer.

“I’m trying to distract you. You’re psyching yourself out,” she explained apologetically. “Think about something else for a second, you’re all up in your head.”

Even after all this time he didn’t understand a lot of what she said, nor Piper for that matter. They chattered so fast and freely, their American accents making even plain English sound like a whimsical foreign language. They were like birds, and he did love them, but sometimes he wished things were simpler.