Love Letters from Largs: Brodie and Celestina (Highlander Clan Grant Series Book 3) (19 page)

Loki
, who’d pulled his head out of the water, managed to draw out a few more stones from his pocket, which miraculously hadn’t tumbled out when he’d been turned upside down, and slung them at the brute.

“You have no right! No right. You
churlish bastard!” she shouted, continuing to swing her weapon. “Leave him alone.” She dodged his grasp without difficulty, mostly because his movements had slowed, both from drink and the combined attack of her and Loki. He staggered in her direction, but she did not, could not stop. When he saw her arms swing high above her head, he dropped Loki and the boy sprinted away. Grinning stupidly, the man tried to grab her, but she managed to elude him again. He almost fell, but then righted himself and turned around with a dazed expression, reaching for her. She took the club and hit him as hard as she could.

His dazed expression turned dark and angry.
The viciousness of his growl would have normally caused Celestina to back down, but not today. The man tried to walk toward her again. In her own mind, she knew she had lost control, but somehow she felt justice was being served.

Stalking toward him with a vengeance and a purpose
previously unknown to her, she hollered at him. “No right, you have no right. Do you hear me? How dare you pick on someone smaller than you?” Visions of Loki hanging in the air fueled her anger. Tears ran down her face and she continued to swing. “You are three times his size and you pick on him. Leave him alone.”

Another couple of blows, and h
e fell to a sitting position. Still, he continued to stare at her. Anger bubbled from within her. “Who gave you permission to touch me?” She held the club in front of her, gasping for air now. She needed to replenish her energy because she was not done. Her arms lifted again, heavy with retribution for this unknown assailant, this man who now represented all the atrocities she had ever been forced to endure. “Leave
me
alone.” She swung again, and the man toppled face first into the dirt.

Po
werless to stop, yet empowered with a freedom she had never before known, she continued. Her arms reached as high as possible and she hit him again. “
Leave
.” She heaved again. “
Me.
” She bellowed with her last swing. “
Alone!
”

Her tears turned to sobs when she realized the man no longer moved. She
whirled around, searching for Loki, but didn’t see him anywhere. She started down the road, tears blurring her vision. Another group of bellowing Norsemen was running directly toward her. She ran back and picked up her piece of wood, now drenched in blood.

She charged down the middle of the road
with her club over her head and screamed, “Nay!”

Chapter Twenty-One

A Journey Within

Brodie had caught up with Nicol and Inga just outside of the village and made arrangements for their travel. They agreed to stay together until they found Loki and Celestina. He came down the path in time to see his wee wife running in the opposite direction with a club held over her head, straight at a group of Norsemen. Loki was running to join her, and Nicol and Inga were on horseback headed straight for Loki. As he watched, his friend swooped down to pick up the wee lad.

“Celestina!” he screamed his wife’s name as loud as he could. He had to get to her before th
at group of warriors did.

“Celestina!”
he yelled again and she finally glanced over her shoulder. The crazed look in her eyes told him he needed to get to her and fast. He galloped toward her with full force and yelled, “Arms up!”

She slowed and turned her head sideways but
kept running forward. She had almost reached the Norsemen now.

“Celestina, arms up, remember my
story about my sisters? Arms up! Face me!”

The warriors
started to whoop in excitement.

She
turned toward him and held her arms up, still running, a haunted look in her gaze.

“Drop the club, love,” he shouted.

She threw the club behind her just before he leaned down to grab her around the waist, and plucked her off the ground. “Arms around my shoulders. Hang on to me.”

She grabbed onto him
, fighting to hang on. He struggled to right her and she floundered. “I have you, trust me.” She relaxed and he settled her in front of him right before he rode past the group of warriors.

“Loki! Where is Loki?”
she yelled.

“He’s fine.” Brodie pointed to Nicol
who was not far behind them.

Celestina
turned to make sure Loki was safe and promptly collapsed in sobs against her husband. She held a death grip on his tunic, and he whispered calming words in her ear. He held her as she cried and cried until she had no tears left inside.

He had already talked to Nicol and made arrangements to meet up with him later. His wife was his priority now and he had to take care of her.
“Lass, did they hurt you? Are you all right?”

Her head came up enough to say, “
Aye, I am fine. I do not know what came over me. Brodie, I…” She stared back over his shoulder as if in a trance.

“’Tis all right.
As you are no’ hurt, we will go on. If you need to stop, we will.”

They rode for awhile, and she alternated
between sobbing and sleeping against him, but she never once let go of him. He kissed her hair, so thankful to have her in his arms again. Baron Lunde was dead and would never bother her again. Ivarsson was a traitor, and probably had headed straight for the galley ships on the coastline. Their situation was definitely improving. Now he just needed to be honest with her.

Once h
e found the isolated area he sought, not far from Loch Lomond, Brodie tethered his horse and helped his lass down into the soft grass.

Celestina
turned and stared at the land around her. “Brodie, this is so beautiful. I have never seen anything like this.”

“Lass, you have been imprisoned most of your life, have you no’?”

“Aye.” She stared down at the ground, clearly trying to make sense of her thoughts.

“Wife?”
Brodie gave her a few moments, but he knew he needed to keep her talking after all she had been through. He sensed her struggles had been much worse than he could possibly imagine. He would allow her to talk when she was ready, but he did no’ want her to shut down on him. They loved each other, but there was so much they still did not know about each other.

Her gaze came up and
met his, steady even though her eyes were misting. “I think I killed a man. I lost total control and pummeled him for touching Loki. Our Loki.” She sniffled as she talked. “He hit Loki, so I hit him. Again and again and again. Do you know what?”

Brodie reached over and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He hoped
to help her to heal, to be there for her, yet he wasn’t quite sure how to do it. “What? Tell me, love.”

“For some strange reason, I felt better afterwards. Does that make me a bad person?”

“Nay.” He reached for her hand. He had to touch her and hold her, but he didn’t know if she was ready. “It makes you verra brave, verra strong, and I am proud of you.”

A weak grin crossed her features.
“Truly?”

“Truly, you were protecting Loki, which is admirable.”

Her head nodded as she hitched her breath and stared at the sky. “I hope someday God will forgive me for what I have done.”

“
You did no’ kill him, Celestina.”

Her gaze jerked back to his.
“Nay?”

“Nay, he
was still moving when I passed him. If he is aught like the other Norsemen I saw, he was sleeping in a drunken stupor when you hit him. I think they found a cask or two of the good Scottish
breath of life
and sampled it a bit too much.”

She
wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Thank you. I didn’t mean to kill him, just stop him from hurting someone smaller than him.”

His hand ran down her
jaw line, caressing the soft skin. How much he loved this woman. His brother had been right to say that there would be no doubt in his mind when he met the lass for him. “Are you all right, wife?”

“I am all right, just confused by everything that has happened.”
Celestina stepped back and looked into his eyes. “Am I your wife, Brodie? Or am I bound to Fredrik? Inga tells me a marriage can be dissolved if it is no’ consummated. He…hurt me, but he never…”

His heart filled with relief to discover she had been spared at least this trespass. He stepped toward her and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her ardently.

“Oh, Brodie,” she said softly as she pulled back. “I want to lie with you now, but the marriage…perhaps we should deal with that first. I know we share a troth, but ‘tis an unusual situation, and I do no’ want to do anything against the church.”

“Fear no’, my lady. Father Padraig has taken care of everything.” He smiled at her and winked.

She pulled back
to look at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Do you recall the marriage document signed after the ceremony in front of Father Padraig?
The one signed by Baron Lunde and Ivarsson?”

“Aye.
”

“Did
you have the opportunity to look at it while Fredrik signed it?”

“Nay, I was too upset. It was just after the ceremony and I felt myself slipping away from you.” She
pressed her face against his chest as tears slid down her cheeks.

“Father Padraig had the document written in
Latin and Gaelic so Ivarsson would no’ be able to read it. It was nonsense.” His hand caressed her back, attempting to soothe her.

“What?”

“You are not married to Fredrik Ivarsson, not in any way. ‘Twas all a hoax masterminded by the priest to get the money to change hands for the king. Father Padraig arranged all the false documents. He is verra fond of you, lass, always acting in your best interest. I just found out about it and hoped you would be as happy as I am.”

Celestina threw her arms around her husband and squealed. “Aye, I am verra happy. I am free! I am truly free! Make love to me
now, husband. We have been away from each other far too long.”

She sealed his lips with a kiss and Brodie growled.
Melting against him, she opened her mouth, allowing him free access to taste her. Tugging on his shirt, she yelped in frustration when her hands came up against the chain mail.

“Aye, sweetings, you will have to help me out of my gear first
since Nicol is not with us. I shed some of it before I came, but not all.”

Celestina assisted him, giggling at all he had on. When she finally finished, she stared at her husband from head to toe, licking her lips before
they broke into a winsome smile.

“My turn, wife.”
He helped her out of her cloak. “Turn around so I may find my way to your luscious body.” As he untied her ribbons, he kissed his way down her spine. He turned her to face him and undid the front of her chemise, leaning over to suckle one of her breasts.

“Och, Brodie, I have thought of this too much. I have missed you so.”

Brodie found a soft spot hidden in the trees in the glen, led his wife over and settled her underneath him. He kissed her sweet lips and ran a trail down her collarbone to her breast until he found her nipple, suckling the fine pebble until she arched her back.

W
rithing beneath him, she grabbed his hair and said, “Kiss me again, husband.”

He feasted on her lips until she had to push him away to come up for air.
She ran her hands over his chest and his belly, licking her lips in delight. “Brodie, your body is delicious, so strong, so powerful. Someday, I want to taste every inch of you, but there is no time today.”

“Sweetness, there is no need to rush.”

“Aye, there is. I want you now, husband. It has been too long.”
She grabbed his biceps and squeezed in delight.

He kissed her hard on the mouth, possessing her, demanding more from
her. He caressed her breasts with his hands before following with his mouth. As he teased her nipples with his tongue and then the edge of his teeth, she moaned until her throaty cries of pleasure echoed through the glen. Then he ran his hand down her soft hip and found her nub. Tweaking the tender pearl with his thumb, his plundered her with his fingers.

Unwilling to wait another moment, Celestina
reached down and wrapped her hand around him, loving the feel of the soft skin that covered his hardness. Moving her hand up and down, she arched her hips up and opened for him. As she teased her entrance with his hot member, she moaned at the feel of his hardness against her hot passage, pressing herself to him.

“Enough, lass,” he said with a growl. “
I can no’ take anymore.”

He grabbed her hips and entered her swiftly. She tried to stifle the groan of sheer pleasure that erupted from her throat, but she couldn’t and didn’t
really want to. This was how they were meant to be, together as one, pleasuring each other, creating bairns.

She managed to leverage her feet on the ground and forced him to pick up his rhythm, thrusting inside her until she wanted to scream
with pleasure. He fondled the taut peak of her nipple right before she went over the edge, and she screamed his name as a delicious climax tore through her body. She heard his roar moments later, and then he nestled his forehead against hers. Their panting was the only sound in the glen as he softly kissed her forehead, her nose, and each cheek.

“You are mine, Celestina. ‘Tis meant to be, forever.”

When they were finally able to catch their breath
, Brodie helped her stand. She reached for her clothes, and he said, “Nay, no’ yet, wife. I have something to show you.”

They strolled hand in hand until the sides of the small glen grew taller. As they continued, they found a stream surrounded with moss
-covered sheer stone walls. They stood on a flat rock, slippery with green, and she giggled as she teetered against the massive force that was her husband. She glanced at him, in awe of his powerful body, so pleased to know he was hers for life. His muscles rippled as he guided her into the middle of the stream, taking each step with care, always there to catch her when she lost her balance. Eventually they discovered a small pool in the middle that was deep enough to cover her shoulders.

The water was cool
and refreshing against her hot skin. “Do you know how I feel right now, husband?”

He gathered her close
, water sluicing down her back, and whispered in her ear. “Tell me.”

“Free.” She loosened her plait and let the golden tresses
float free, leaning her head back to bask in the glory of the water and the sunshine.

“Aye, you are free, Celestina.
Free of your father and free of Ivarsson.” He kissed the tender spot just inside her collarbone. “You are so beautiful.” He used the spot of soap he always kept in his sporran and lathered her belly. “What else do you feel?”

She stood on a rock
, letting her upper body emerge from the water. Water sluiced down her back as she swung her tresses back and forth, then tipped her head back to the sun. “In love. I am so in love with you, Brodie. I want us to live together forever.” Her arms swung over her head and she arched her back in delightful surrender to the beauty of the glen. “I want to have your bairns, take care of you. You make me feel special, protected, and I know you will always be there for me.”

He reached for her and tugged her into his embrace again.
“Aye, I will. You know that, do you no’? No matter what happens, we will always be together. I will love you forever.”