Prescribed for Love (26 page)

“So, if the
y’
re here to talk war and strategy, why do I need to go down?”

“Because the man is a lecher,” said Lainie.

“She exaggerates,” said Ailsa. “But the man does tend to be more agreeable when he is full with ale and able to flirt with a pretty woman.”

“And
Alasdair
approves of this tactic?” asked Catriona, completely surprised.

“Nay, he doesnae even know I have
this planned
. But anything we can do to ensure MacKinnon’s cooperation will be well worth the effort. If war does arrive, I want more men
supporting Alasdair
to increase the chances
he
will return whole,” said Ailsa seriously.

“So you’re planning on flirting with
MacKinnon
as well?”

“Aye, and I could use yer support.”

“Fine, let’s go get this over with,” said Cat.

So prepared, Cat left for the hall, ready f
or a battle of wits.
The man sitting at the head table next to
Alasdair
looked to be in his seventies; this helped Catriona relax
.
She had a feeling he had probably
been a shameless flirt
in his younger days, but now
was
most likely
just
a
harmless
, horny old ma
n. Truthfully, Cat had always enjoyed interacting with these
types of
men;
she had always found their antics
hilarious.

MacKinnon did not disappoint.
“
Alasdair
, ye have been holding out on me! Ye didnae tell me yer sister had grown so beautiful and that ye had such a lovely guest here,” said their newest guest.

“Laird MacKinnon, this is Lady Catriona. Catriona, Laird MacKinnon,” introduced
Alasdair
.

“Lady Catriona, would ye believe MacLean has had me talking about warfare, when we could have been talking about one as lovely as yerself?”

This man has obviously already been well plied with ale.
“I don’t see that there is much of a difference,” said Cat.

“What do ye mean?” asked MacKinnon.

“Well, whether
through war or a woman, men are always trying to prove how skilled they are with their sword
, are they not?
”

The man’s eyes widened at her question. Finally, he asked,
“Lassie, are ye married?”

“Why
? A
re you asking?”
prompted
Cat.
She had been correct, this man was harmless. But, she could tell Ailsa was uncomfortable around the MacKinnon, so Cat kept his attention solely on herself.

***

“Nay lassie, ye are far too brazen for my tastes. If I were to take another wife at my age, I would want someone far more docile.”
Alasdair
had had trouble controlling his emotions during Catriona’s exchange with MacKinnon. He had wanted to reach across the table and squeeze the ma
n’s throat when he had begun his flirtation
.
But, since he denied having any serious interest in Catriona, Alasdair let the matter drop.
“But, if ye want to see my skills with a sword, I will be more than happy to show ye,” said the old
MacKinnon
with the wink.
Or maybe I will kill the man after all.

“Now who is being brazen?” teased Catriona with a gentle shove to the man’s shoulder. “Besides, from what I understand, it is your other sword in which we are more interested.”

“Aye, aye, true enough. Shall we get back to business
Alasdair
?”

Alasdair cooled his anger. He realized now Catriona had simply been trying to make their guest more amenable to discussion.
“Aye,” said
Alasdair
. “
Ye still havenae
answer
ed
my last question.”

“Have the Camerons been a nuisance? Of course they have, th
e
y
have never been anything but trouble,”
said MacKinnon.

“But have they been even more troublesome lately?”

“Well—now that ye mention it—
aye
, they have. The Camerons
have been raiding
my lands
far more than should be necessary for their clan.”

“I have
noticed
the same on
MacLean
land,” said
Alasdair
. “I
think
he
has gathered something of an army
.
The additional livestock would be
needed to feed all the extra men.
”

“I have feared the same.
But ye have not simply called me here to discuss what I already know. What have ye in mind
?” asked the older laird.

“I would like to form an alliance
to ensure the Camerons dinnae succeed in whatever endeavor they are planning,
”
replied Alasdair.

“An alliance? With MacLeans?
Ye must be mad.
”

“I ken we have had our
differences
in the past,” said
Alasdair
, “But, I
fear what
Cameron wi
ll do. Ye know as well as I the man
has grown cruel and eccentric.
He
simply takes what
he desires
with little
concern
for the consequences.
It is why his own land is so desolate and he desires ours.
”
Alasdair
felt hopeful as he saw MacKinnon nod in agreement. “I would offer my men
to help if ye were attacked, but
would ask the same of ye.”

“I cannae deny the idea has some merit, but I would like to
consider the matter a
awhile longer.
My clan willnae be receptive to an alliance with ye,
”
acknowledged MacKinnon.

“I ken yer reasons,” said
Alasdair
. “For now, let us enjoy the rest of the
meal
. We can
discuss the matter further in
the morning.”
Supper progressed much as it did every night, but it seemed to end sooner than usual. With the addition of the MacKinnon guards, his people were not as willing to linger over their food.
As everyone began to settle
for the evening,
Alasdair
made sure to intercept Catriona before she went to bed. “What do ye think ye were doing?”

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Flirting with Laird MacKinnon,
”
he replied in irritation

“That? Oh, that was nothing.”
She tried to wave away his concern

“Ye asked the man if he intended to ask ye to wed him.”

“So?”

“
So…if
any man is going to
marry ye, it is going to be me,
”
insisted Alasdair. For further emphasis,
Alasdair
wrapped Catriona in a feverish embrace, letting his lips finish his argument.
He had kissed her often in the past weeks,
but those stolen caresses had been an attempt to convince Catriona to stay. This was an entirely different matter. He felt consumed with the need to claim her as solely his.
Dragg
ing her into the shadows of the hallway,
Alasdair
pulled her tightly
against
his body. He deepened the kiss with an almost bruising force.

Briefly,
Alasdair
wor
ried he may have frightened her. He had not given her the opportunity to
escape from
his embrace as had become his habit. Fortunately,
Catriona
seemed to
completely lose herself to their shared passion
. With one hand on her waist, he
let the other slide lower to pu
ll her into his growing manhood;
h
e needed her to know just how she affected him.
Alasdair
broke the kiss to trail
his lips
down the length of her neck
. She
released
a small mewling sound as he
reached
the area just below her ear. Normally, she would have pushed him away
long before now
, but she did not seem to be in any rush to stop him this evening.

In
stead, she acted almost eager to move matters forward. Catriona spread the opening
of his shirt to allow her hands exploration of
the muscles of
his chest
and back
. His flesh heated wherever her hands
came in contact with his skin
.
Their embrace continued, growing almost wild in their longing.

But then Catriona broke suddenly away.
“
Alasdair
, I can’t,”
she said
,
even though he could still see her desire. “I’m sorry…
I
…I
just can’t.” She
left the shado
ws in which they had been concealed
before he could argue.

***

Catriona ran all the way back to her room and
slammed
the door
shut. She did this
not to keep
Alasdair
out, but to keep herself in. She had been
this
close to throwing caution to the wind and allowing things to progress
further.
The irrational part inside her had argued there could be no harm in succumbing to a little love-making—i
t was not like she needed to worry about
any unintended
consequences at this point.
No, you would just need to worry about losing your heart.

As
Catriona
had become less able to resist Alasdair’s kisses, she
had begun to fear what would happen in the future.
The man was just so wonderful—she worried
she would always compare any man
she ever met
to
Alasdair—only to find no one could possibly compare to the
Scotsman’s shadow.
Why could I not have met him in my own time!
Catriona
had wondered
this with increasing frequency since
she had arrived here.
I will
NOT
let myself
fall in love with that man!
I am going to do everything possible to ensure he and I stay far away from each other.

Unfortunately, Cat’s determination proved to be far easier than she would have wished. Before the sun even rose the next day, Niall and Branan rode into the keep, yelling of a Cameron assault moving over the MacKinnon border. True to his word, Alasdair ordered his men to prepare to leave for battle. Upon seeing the might of the MacLean guards, MacKinnon readily agreed to the prop
osed alliance. Alasdair came
to Cat as the men began to leave the keep.

Inexplicably, a lump formed in the back of Cat’s throat. “How long will you be gone?”

“I dinnae ken.”

“And if I’m not here when you get back?”

“Ye will be here.”

Catriona did not know what
kind of response she had been hoping for—but that had not been it.
She knew Alasdair wanted a kiss farewell, but instead, she gave him her back and walked away. It took all of her will power not to run back toward the man and jump into his embrace.

“So when are you going to admit you have feelings for the man?” asked Keith.

“I don’t.”

“You’re in denial Cat. For almost three months now you have been pining away up here, obviously hoping to catch a glimpse of him returning.”

“That’s the worst part—the waiting!
I don’t know how women in this era can handle the stress
of not knowing
. I just wish I had some idea what was happening
to him,” replied Cat.

“Se
e, so you are concerned for him,
”
said Keith

“O
f course I’m concerned for him—
he’s the
father of my child—
but
,
that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”