Highland Savage (17 page)

She turned around and looked up at him. Lucas Murray had to be the handsomest man she had ever seen and he wanted her. Whether it was just lust or not, at that moment she did not care. Katerina slowly ran her finger down the scar on his face and heard him catch his breath.

There was a look in Katerina’s fine blue eyes that had Lucas feeling as if he had just run from here to Donncoill and back again. He glanced at her tankard and wondered just how much wine she had drunk. It could be the wine that had her looking at him in the way she used to. Then she leaned her body into his, her full breasts pushing against his chest.

“Lucas,” she whispered.

Suddenly he did not care if it was the wine. The way she said his name, her voice low and husky, made him as hard as iron before she had even finished saying it. She was making him sweat and he was debating the right and wrong of taking her to bed. His brother Artan would think he had gone insane.

“Katerina, best ye be verra careful,” he said, not surprised to hear the tremor in his voice. He was astounded that his whole body was not shaking. “If ye say my name like that again I will be racing up the stairs with ye in my arms and headed for your bedchamber. And this time I willnae let ye shut me out.”

For just a moment Katerina was tempted to see if he would do that, but a faint glimmer of good sense prevailed. Lucas did not make empty threats, or, she thought with an inner grin, promises. She slid her hand down his arm and threaded her fingers through his. Ignoring his slightly puzzled look she led him out of the great hall. Near the stairs she took a last good look around to make sure no one was there to see what happened next, and then she looked up at him and smiled.

“Lucas,” she whispered.

She had to bite back a squeal of laughter when he growled and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. What made her want to laugh was that she knew he was not completely jesting, that a part of him was feeling just like this and it thrilled her. Katerina was glad that no one saw them as he raced to her bedchamber. Somehow this did not
seem as if this was the way the lady of the keep ought to act.

Lucas went into her bedchamber and then set her on the floor, letting her lush little body slide down his as he did so. He was ready to tear off their clothes and have her up against the door, but he needed to give her one more chance to get away. The very last thing he wanted to face in the morning was her suffering from regret and embarrassment.

This is a dangerous place for me to be,” he said, struggling to catch his breath and sound like a man courting a woman instead of one who was ready to go down on his knees and beg her to let him stay just this one night. Then she could go back to being proper and he would try to go back to courting her.

“Is it now? Dangerous for whom?”

“Dangerous for ye.”

“Oh, nay, I dinnae think so.” There was a part of Katerina that was shocked at how much she was enjoying herself. She kicked the door shut and then latched it, all the while staring at him with a little smile on her face. “I think ye may be the one in danger tonight, Sir Lucas.”

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed and reached for her.

Katerina finally found the strength to lift her head and looked around the bedchamber. Her and Lucas’s clothes were scattered everywhere. She hoped they had not ripped too many things or the laundry women would have a hearty chuckle.

“Ye are a wild mon, Sir Murray,” she murmured.

“Thank ye, m’lady,” he said as he nuzzled her breasts.

Humming her pleasure over his touch, Katerina knew she ought to send him directly to his own bedchamber. Sleeping wrapped in his arms held an allure that she might find too hard to give up again. Waking to him in the morning could also prove very risky indeed. She shivered with pleasure as he dragged his tongue over her hardened nipple and lightly nipped it

“Savage.”

“Ye flatter me.”

She laughed and then squirmed a little when he drew the tip of her breast deep into his mouth and suckled her as if had all the time in the world and was not driving her mad. Katerina threaded her fingers through his thick hair and held him close, closing her eyes as pleasure washed over her. She had missed this, missed him. Surely for just one night, one short night she would end before morning came, she could indulge herself.

Lucas looked at her as he slid his hand down to her stomach and idly stroked her soft skin. She was so beautiful when her passion was running hot She was even more beautiful when she was tearing his clothes off as fast as he was tearing hers off, he thought with a satisfied grin. Katerina could be as wild as he was and he was more grateful for that than he could say.

“Katerina, are ye certain ye arenae drunk?” he asked, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt as he wondered yet again if he had taken advantage of her.

“Aye, I am certain. A wee bit mayhap, but ye need not thrash yourself about taking advantage. I do believe I, er, pushed ye a wee bit.”

A soft gasp escaped her when he slid his hand between her legs and began to caress her. She was not sure if that gasp was from a lingering shock at such an intimate touch or delight and soon she did not care. She clung to him as he tormented her with his caress.
When he began to kiss his way down her body, she tensed a little and blushed a little when she realized it was with anticipation. The first touch of his warm mouth made her shudder, pure fire racing through her body. Even as she thought that she ought to pull away from something so intimate and shocking, she no longer wanted to.

Lucas grasped her by the hips to hold her steady as he loved her with his mouth. He savored her soft cries and the way she slowly opened for him, her body reveling in his intimate kisses. When he felt her begin to tense, her release nearly upon her, he quickly joined their bodies. He kissed her as he thrust deep inside her and caught her cry in his mouth. A moment later he fell into passion’s abyss with her, his body shuddering from the force of his release as he poured his seed deep into her body.

As soon as he could move, he rolled onto his back and pulled her into his arms. Lucas was still uneasy for this was too big a change from what she had been even a few hours ago. He prepared himself for being sent away and, perhaps, finding himself right back where he had been come the morning. The fact that she still felt the same fierce need he did, that her passion still ran hot and wild for him would be some consolation, but it would also make it a lot harder to go to bed alone again.

“Woman, I think ye are trying your best to drive me mad,” he muttered.

Katerina smiled against his chest and then slowly licked it. “Mayhap I was suddenly verra tired of being good,” she said softly.

“Ah, weel, I think ye are being verra good right now.”

“Do ye?” She slid down a little and licked his stomach. “And this?”

“Even better.”

For a little while she idly kissed him and stroked him with her tongue. Tasting his skin, teasing his belly-hole with her tongue and savoring the hair-covered roughness of his legs. She could tell by the growing tension in his body that he was waiting to see if she would bless one certain very prominent part of him with a kiss or two, but she teased him just a little more.

“How about this?” she asked and dragged her tongue very slowly up his shaft.

“I think this may be the best,” he said, not surprised that his voice was hoarse and unsteady. He was surprised he could speak at all.

“
May
be? Weel, I shall have to see if I change that into an
is
.”

For as long as he could Lucas savored the way she loved him with her mouth. He was surprised that having made love to her twice was not enough to give him a lot of control, but he decided he had been too long without her. Only a few minutes passed before he knew he had to be inside her. He grasped her under the arms and brought her up his body. She immediately guessed what he wanted and lowered her body down onto his with a tantalizing slowness. The way she rode him, as if every glide of her body over his sent shivers through her, soon had him as crazed as he had been when he had first entered her bedchamber. Lucas grasped her by the hips and urged her on to a faster speed.

They soared together and the feeling was so rich and fine, Lucas quickly gave up his plan to linger on the edge of release for as long as possible. When they came together, their cries blending as their releases tore through them, Lucas decided that it was the sweetest music he had ever heard. He held her close when she collapsed into his arms and could tell by the way she seemed boneless but heavy that this time she would probably have to sleep for a while. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he could also use a rest.

He gently eased their bodies apart but kept her in his arms, her soft body sprawled
on top of him. For a while he just held her, stroking her hair and savoring the feeling of being completely sated. Lucas knew this was what he wanted, what he needed, but he was having a difficult time convincing her. It might be time to get in touch with one of his cousins who had a way with words and knew what a woman liked. Aside from this, he thought, and grinned.

Lucas wanted a wife
and
a lover, the perfect blend in one little woman with big blue eyes and hair the color of clover honey. He had known it a year ago and he knew it now. For some reason he had lost sight of that, gone a little mad for a while, but he had to convince Katerina that he would never do that again. It was a huge problem for a man who had little skill with soft words and explanations. He had not even been able to spit out a proper apology yet.

“Lucas, ye need to seek out your own bed,” Katerina mumbled against his chest.

That stung, but he had been expecting it.

“We cannae have anyone in the keep seeing ye leaving my bedchamber.” She hastily covered her mouth when a huge yawn shook her. They would guess what we have been doing.”

He was tempted to tell her that, with all the noise they had been making, he doubted many were unaware of what they had been doing. Lucas knew it was important to her not to be seen as anything like Agnes, however. She knew what they did together was nothing like what her half-sister had indulged in, but she was right in thinking others would not see much difference. He did not care what people thought, knew that the ones who mattered would never condemn them. Yet, despite how much he wanted to stay with her, he would go seek out his own bed because he did not want to ruin this night, or end it on a note of disagreement.

“In a wee while, Kat. ’Tis hours before dawn and I suspicion a few hours before all the guests have left or sought out a place to sleep.”

“Oh, aye, I hadnae thought of that.”

It was only a few moments later when he felt her body go completely limp and he knew she was sound asleep. It was tempting to just join her in sleep and claim that as an excuse for still being in her bed in the morning, but he was determined not to give in to that temptation. He would wait until all was quiet and there were no more unsteady footsteps passing by the door and then he would slip away to his own bed and hope no one had fallen into it while he was gone. Tomorrow, however, he would sit Katerina down and they would have a talk. He could not abide this anymore and he did not want to wake up one more morning without her in his arms.

Katerina opened one eye and stared at the broad chest she was sprawled over. Her stomach knotted and then began to churn. The foul burning was creeping up into her throat. She knew what was going to happen next. It had happened every morning for a fortnight. It was why she had ignored her growing need for Lucas, stayed firm in her decision to keep him out of her bed long after she began to ache to invite him back in. It was why she should have made certain he had returned to his own bed last night. Groaning softly, she leapt from the bed, uncaring about her nakedness, and raced for the bucket in the far corner of the room.

Lucas frowned as he woke up to the sound of someone retching. For a moment he feared some guest had come into his room in the night and was now paying dearly for having drunk too much at the wedding. He hoped they had at least found the bucket. Then he recalled where he had been last night and he cautiously looked around. A soft curse escaped him as he realized he had gone to sleep and, if the light by the window was any indication, he had slept late into the day.

Which meant the retching he heard had to be from Katerina, he thought with alarm. He sat up and immediately saw her. She crouched by an old bucket, nearly hugging the thing, and she was completely naked. He knew he would have enjoyed the view if she had not been emptying her stomach and, if he was hearing correctly, crying and cursing at the same time. Lucas suspected she would not appreciate him commenting on how he would have thought that was impossible.

He got out of bed and hurried to her side. When he reached out to touch her, she swatted at him. Cautiously he caught her hair in his hands to hold it out of the way and, although she snarled at him, she did not try to hit him again. After several minutes he began to grow alarmed. He was sure she should not be this sick simply because she ate something that disagreed with her or drank more wine than she was accustomed to.

When she collapsed back against him, he ignored her weak insistence that she could take care of herself and carried her back to the bed. He fetched her some water and held a bowl while she rinsed her mouth out several times. She collapsed back onto the pillows and closed her eyes. Lucas dampened a rag in her bowl of wash water and, after warily sitting on the side of the bed, he began to gently bathe her face. She looked very pale and a whisper of a moan escaped her now and then.

“Too much wine?” he asked softly, as he inched his way beneath the covers and slowly took her into his arms, relieved when she allowed him to comfort her.

“Nay.”

Lucas stared down at her. Her response had been more of a grunt than a word. Slowly her body grew heavy and her breathing eased. He relaxed as he realized she was going to sleep. If she was ill from more than drinking too much wine or eating too much rich food, he did not think she could go to sleep so easily. Such fierce retching troubled him, however, and he was determined to make her rest until he was sure it was no more than just her body violently ridding itself of something it did not want.

“See, Kat? Ye need someone to take care of ye,” he murmured.

Thinking on that, Lucas decided he liked the idea of having someone to care for. What made it even more appealing was the sure knowledge that Katerina would not need such care all that often. She was healthy, strong, and a woman who did not need a man to tell her how to do everything. It was what would make caring for her when she needed it
a privilege instead of a chore.

His mind quickly returned to the problem of her retching. He had been living with Katerina for weeks and she had shown no sign of having a sensitive stomach. In fact there were a few times when he had expected her to suffer from what she ate, not because the food was spoiled but because of what she ate together. As far as Lucas was concerned there were just some foods that should never be put into one’s mouth or stomach at the same time.

The latch on the door was wriggled and he tensed, but then recalled that Katerina had secured the latch. For a moment he remained still, knowing she did not want anyone to learn that he had come to her bed. It would be a lot easier to explain a locked door than a naked man in her bed.

“M’lady, I have brought ye your dry toasted bread and some weak cider. ’Tis what Annie says ye have every morning. Shall I just leave it here by the door?”

Dry toasted bread and weak cider? Lucas thought. There was something familiar about that filled his head with alarums. He eased out of the bed, donned his braies and his shirt, and went to the door. He recognized Megan’s voice and felt he could trust the woman not to tell the whole keep about him being in Katerina’s room.
As
quietly as he could, he opened the door and held a finger to his lips to silence Megan. She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment then appeared to be biting back a grin as she handed him the tray. Lucas stared at the unappetizing fare and then looked back at Megan, who was not even trying to hide her grin this time.

“Ye willnae say anything, will ye?” he asked.

“Wheesht, I am nay a rattle-tongue,” she said.

“I didnae think so.” He looked at the tray again and shrugged. “Weel, thank ye for taking o’er Annie’s chores for now.”

“’Tis my pleasure, laird.”

Before he could correct her and tell her that he was not a laird and, God willing, would not become the laird of Donncoill for many a long year, she had hurried away down the hall. Suddenly realizing that he was standing in the hall half-dressed where anyone might see him, Lucas quickly ducked back into Katerina’s bedchamber. He shut the door with his hip and took the tray to the small table near the bed. Shedding his clothes, he crawled back into bed and took Katerina back into his arms.

After a few moments of fruitlessly trying to go back to sleep, Lucas looked at the tray again. There was something he needed to remember but it was proving to be an elusive memory. Dry toasted bread. He frowned. He realized it was his brother Artan who had mentioned it, but Lucas was sure Artan would never accept such fare to break his fast. He tensed. Cecily, Artan’s wife, had eaten such fare every morning for several months as it seemed to ease her morning nausea. Morning nausea. Not wine. Not bad food. A child. Katerina was carrying his child and she had obviously known it for a while.

It took every ounce of willpower he had not to shake her awake and demand the truth. Lucas took several deep breaths to calm himself. He recognized that he was hurt that she had not told him and decided he better be rid of that emotion before he faced her again. There were some good reasons for her to have remained silent. To be fair, he did not know how long she had known. She could still be trying to decide what she should do, even worrying over how he might react Those fears he could ease. The others would
have to be soothed as she confessed them.

And they would deal with them after they were married. His child would carry his name. Lucas had the sinking feeling he faced a battle, but he would win. Whatever problems they had could be dealt with after they got married. He knew he would get no sleep now and so he held her, waiting for her to wake up, and sorted through what he had to do in order to marry her.

The first thing he would do was write to his brother Artan. Artan had dealt with a reluctant wife and now had a good marriage. Although it galled him to have to look to Artan for advice, especially about women, Lucas knew he would rather it was his twin he had to confess his trouble to than any other one in his family. He just hoped Artan had a few sensible answers.

Katerina woke up and wondered if she was having a dream. She could vaguely recall waking up with her cheek pressed against this very same chest not all that long ago. She struggled to recall the rest of that dream, or memory. When she recalled emptying her belly into a bucket as she had done nearly every morning for too long, she also recalled Lucas there. If this was a memory, then she had not welcomed his assistance, even grudgingly accepting his holding her hair and getting her water to rinse out her mouth. The way he had bathed her face with cool water had been a kindness she had not expected and then he had held her until she fell asleep. Now it all made sense. Unfortunately, it meant that Luca was still in her bedchamber and that he had been a witness to her illness.

Well, she thought as she braced herself to look at him, he was a man and men did not understand that much about the workings of a woman’s body. Katerina was sure she could think of something that would explain away her illness. Then she looked up, saw the look in his very silver eyes, and the smile she had started to give him froze right on her face.

“When is the bairn due?” he asked.

Obviously some men took the time to learn a few things, she thought and knew she ought to find that a good thing. At the moment she wanted to kick him. “I dinnae ken.”

“Katerina, I hope ye arenae going to try and tell me that ye arenae carrying my child.”

She had considered it, but was not about to admit to that.

“Ye are sick in the morning, retching as if ye are trying to bring up all your innards and have a look at them. Then, despite looking like a corpse, ye crawl back into bed and sleep like the dead for a few hours. Now ye are awake and ye look just fine. Also your lady Megan brought ye some dry toasted bread and weak cider. I recently heard about this sort of appalling breakfast. It was all my brother Artan’s wife could hold down in the morning until her nausea passed.”

“Weel, I guess I am with child then,” she muttered as she reached for her dry toasted bread wondering if any man had made a woman feel quite so wretched. A corpse, he said. “I wasnae too sure about it until the last week. Kept thinking it was because of all that has happened during the last few weeks. That would upset anyone’s belly.”

Lucas tried not to look too disgusted as she crunched her way through the dry toasted bread and sipped her weak cider. “Then our bairn shouldnae be born too early and raise too many questions about our marriage.” He waited, knowing it would not be that
easy.

Katerina felt her heart jump with excitement and joy only to come thudding down in the next breath. He wanted the child. He had never spoken of marriage before, not even when he had been courting her a year ago. She had only assumed it. This time, because he had been staying around and apparently courting her again, she had begun to think he was wooing her with an eye toward marriage. But, now, as he finally spoke of the thing she seemed to have been waiting for forever, it was because she carried his child. She had a strong urge to kick him right out of her bed.

“I dinnae see any reason for us to be married.”

“That bairn is a verra good reason.”

She looked at his finger pointing at her stomach and then noticed that she was still naked. Cursing softly, she got out of bed, dragging the blanket along to cover herself, and hunted for her shift Finding it draped over the chest at the far end of the room, she tried putting it on without dropping the blanket Irritated beyond words when that proved impossible she just dropped the blanket, yanked on her shift, and turned to glare at him.

“Out of here,” she said. “I dinnae want to get married for a bairn. This bairn is a Haldane and that is good enough.”

Realizing that she was in no mood to discuss the matter sensibly, Lucas got out of bed and finished dressing. “That bairn is a Murray and it might be a son. If it is, ’tis an heir to Donncoill. Ye might wish to think of what ye are denying him by being so stubborn.”

“He is also the heir to Dunlochan,” she snapped.

Knowing he was growing angry as well, Lucas opened the door and looked back at her. “I will start planning the marriage as I think ye might have a few wits in your bonnie head and will decide I am right and that we should be married. No need to delay it all while ye sulk.”

A look came into her eyes that told Lucas this was one of those times when retreat was in order. He stepped into the hall and shut the door. When he turned around he found William, Patrick, and Robbie all staring at him. Lucas just glared at them, daring them to say something.

“A wee bit of trouble with the lass?” asked William.

Lucas sighed. He should have known that William would not be intimidated. “I have told her that we will be married as soon as possible.”

“Ye
told
her?”

“Aye, and she isnae being verra cooperative.”

“I cannae imagine why when ye told her what she must do.”

“She is carrying my bairn.” He jumped slightly when something heavy slammed into die door behind him. Katerina obviously did not like him telling anyone. “I dinnae see any reason to wait.”

William frowned at the door. “Still, ye might have tried to be a wee bit, weel, romantic.”

“I have been wooing the woman for a month or more and I dinnae think she has e’en noticed. ’Tis clear that I dinnae have the knack. Fine. I am verra good at giving orders. Now, if ye will excuse me, I need to clean up, write a letter to my brother, and then speak to the priest.”

After watching Lucas walk away, William stared at the door. “So, Cousin, are ye
really with bairn?” He took a cautious step back when the door opened. The way Katerina was glaring at him made him seriously consider leaving, quickly. “I think we had best have us a wee talk.”

“Wheesht, ye are a brave mon, William,” murmured Patrick even as he hurried away, a grinning Robbie right behind him.

“I really do think we need to talk, Cousin,” William said.

Katerina rolled her eyes but waved him into her room. She really did not want to talk about it but should have guessed that William, who considered himself the head of the Haldane family, was obviously prepared to be the elder now. She finished lacing up her gown as she waited for him to decide what he wanted to say.

“I ken that ye dinnae like orders, but I think ye must heed this one.”

“Why? Because he wants the bairn?”

“Wheesht, lass, ye have to ken that he wants ye, too. The mon could have been home by now. He certainly wasnae lurking about here because ye were welcoming him into your bed.”

She gaped at him. “Does everyone ken my business?”