Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) (16 page)
Read Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) Online
Authors: Jenna Stone
The survivors of
the initial wave of the attack scrambled in the darkness, grasping frantically
for muskets and weapons in an attempt to save themselves. A few ran off into
the trees only to be hunted down by the Cherokee warriors. The Cherokee were of
the forest. They were in harmony with the forest and tracking prey through the
dense trees came second nature to them.
Quinn watched the
battle unfold from where he was tethered to the tree. He was stiff from being
restrained for so long and his arm and chest throbbed in pain.
So, it was to be
the Cherokee that finished him off, not the English. This was a most unlikely
turn of events.
Utilizing the last
few moments of his life in the best way that he knew how, he thought of Sarah.
He focused on her beautiful face, her alluring smile and he felt joy bloom
within his heart. He tried to remember the smell of her hair and the graceful
curve of her breast. He closed his eyes as he remembered the love that had
overwhelmed him when they had made love for the first time. He would die a
blessed, lucky man.
Not all men could
say with honesty that they had experienced the joy that love could bring.
Quinn counted his blessings that he had loved and been loved in return by two
distinctly wonderful women.
Sarah.
He
whispered her name aloud and focused his mind on her in the darkness. If he
only had a few moments left to live, he would spend every last second thinking
of her. He sent thoughts of love to her, hoping that they would find their way
over the mountains and through the dark night and settle on her soul.
He said goodbye to
her. He told her that he was sorry.
A hand fisted in
Quinn’s hair and jerked his head upright. This was it. Quinn was prepared to
die and his soul was lightened, ready. His heart was filled with love for his
wife. He raised his eyes defiantly to meet those of his killer.
They recognized
each other in the same instant.
Adahy.
Adahy released
Quinn’s hair and smiled broadly.
“Uzumati!”
he exclaimed in surprise, using the Cherokee name for Grizzly bear as he nodded
in recognition Quinn.
“Aye,”
Quinn said, relief flooding his senses. Never had he dreamed that he would be
happy to see Adahy.
“Uzumati…uzumati
good,” Adahy stammered as he racked his brain, searching for the English words
that he wanted to say to Quinn.
Quinn
knitted his eyebrows together, unable to understand what Adahy was trying to
say to him.
The
bear was good?
Adahy
abandoned searching for the right words and turned to the universal form of
communication. Hand gestures. He pointed to his abdomen and used his hand to
illustrate a rounded, pregnant belly.
“Inola,”
he said and nodded enthusiastically. “Uzumati!” he added for good measure in
an effort to explain that Quinn’s gift of the grizzly bear had resulted in his
wife becoming pregnant.
“Aye?”
Quinn said, smiling.
Adahy
nodded firmly, and reached behind Quinn, cutting the ropes that bound him to
the tree. He covered Quinn’s hands with his own and bowed his head over them.
He
was thanking Quinn for the bear, which he believed had yielded the baby that
grew in Inola’s womb.
Adahy
leaned back on his heels and studied Quinn intently.
“Sarah?”
he asked, eyes showing genuine concern.
“Sarah
is good. She’s fine. The baby’s fine too,” Quinn added, mimicking rocking a
baby so that Adahy would understand the meaning of his words.
Adahy
nodded in approval.
“Sarah,”
Adahy said firmly as he pointed through the trees in the direction of the Murray homestead. His eyes flashed to Quinn and he pointed again, this time more
adamantly.
“Aye.
I’ll go to Sarah. Thank ye,” Quinn said, understanding the meaning of Adahy’s
gestures. Adahy was freeing him so that he could go home to Sarah.
Mimicking
Adahy’s gesture of gratitude, Quinn captured the small man’s hands in his own
and slowly bowed his head over their clasped hands in thanks.
“Thank
ye,” he whispered.
Their
eyes locked for an instant. Adahy gestured with a flick of his head that Quinn
should go now. Quinn stood, and his muscles cried out in protest as he walked
shakily into the cover of the trees, leaving Adahy and the savages to avenge
the deaths of their fallen Cherokee brothers.
Chapter Eleven
Quinn hesitated
outside the door of his small cabin, his fingers resting on the handle of the
heavy wooden door. The moonlit sky illuminated the night, casting a silver glow
on the puffs of breath that escaped from Quinn’s lips. He released his breath
slowly in a large billowy cloud and sent a quick prayer of gratitude
heavenward.
He had never
expected to come home again.
His pulse
quickened when he clasped the door handle.
How could he ever
explain himself to Sarah?
Swallowing hard,
he opened the door and crossed the threshold. The small cabin was dark save
for the remnants of the fire burning in the hearth.
Quinn felt the
distinct blooming of love overwhelm his senses when he looked at his girls.
Mairi was nestled in her box beside the bed. She lay on her back with her arms
stretched out over her head. Her lips were slightly parted, and Quinn smiled
when he watched them move suddenly as if she was nursing in her sleep.
His eyes darted to
Sarah, who was fast asleep in his bed. A rush of feelings overtook him as he
watched her. Love swelled up within him as his eyes scanned her beautiful face
in the firelight. He would devote his life to loving her and keeping her
happy.
Sarah was the
greatest and most unexpected gift of his life.
Stepping quietly
out of his boots and stripping out of his clothes, Quinn lifted the covers and
settled his body against his wife’s.
“Sarah,” he
whispered anxiously against her ear as he stroked her long black hair. She had
every right to be angry with him and Quinn prepared himself to feel the bite of
her scorn. His body however, had different ideas. He gritted his teeth as he
felt himself beginning to become aroused. Lying next to his beautiful naked
wife, whether she was angry with him or not, was simply more than he could
stand.
Sarah turned in
her sleep and snuggled up against his chest. Quinn fitted his arms around her
and whispered her name again.
Her eyes flew open
and a smile spread over her lovely face when she realized that Quinn was in bed
with her.
“I’m mad at you,”
she said sternly as she forced the smile from her face.
“I had a notion
that ye might be,” Quinn said, chuckling softly as he watched Sarah fight the
urge to touch him. “Leaving ye and going after Murdock was the most difficult
decision of my life,” Quinn revealed. “Please doona stay mad at me for long
because I couldna bear it,” he said as he kissed Sarah gently on the neck.
Feeling Quinn’s
lips against her skin caused gooseflesh to break out across Sarah’s her body.
His lightest touch could cause such a reaction.
“I was so worried
about you! Rowan told me more about what Murdock had done. Quinn, I thought
that you might be killed!” Sarah said, the cadence of her voice speeding up as
she voiced her fears aloud.
“But, I wasna
killed and I’m here with ye now. Thank God,” he said huskily as he kissed a
trail up Sarah’s graceful neck.
Shivers ran down
the length of Sarah’s spine in response to her husband’s touch. It was growing
very difficult to stay mad at him when she wanted nothing more than to kiss
him.
“I had tae settle
the score with Murdock. I ken that it was wrong tae leave ye, but this was
something that I had tae see through. I had tae see that the bastard was sent
straight tae hell for Mairi’s sake and for my own. When I saw him again, I
kent that Mairi’s soul couldna rest in peace for so long as he walked the
Earth. I also kent that I couldna lay the horrors of my past tae rest as long
as he was living still.”
Quinn dropped his
forehead to Sarah’s. He closed his eyes for a moment and collected his
thoughts.
“I beg ye for
forgiveness, Sarah. Leaving ye was torture. I had tae take care of Murdock
sae that I could move forward and build my life with ye. I’m begging ye tae
understand that this was something that I had tae do,” Quinn said, his gray
eyes imploring Sarah for forgiveness.
Sarah’s anger dissipated
and her final defenses crumbled as she looked at her husband. She could not
begrudge him this act. Avenging Mairi’s death had lifted the last shadow of
pain from Quinn’s soul. He was free now.
“I forgive you,”
Sarah whispered, her heart aching for Quinn. “I understand,” she added as she
stroked his face. “Good Lord! What happened?” she exclaimed, feeling Quinn’s
bruises and cuts as her fingers explored the terrain of his bloodied face.
Her eyes struggled
to focus in the firelight, but even in such dim light, they had seen enough.
“I’m fine,” Quinn
scoffed. “It’s probably for the best that it’s dark in here,” he chuckled,
knowing that his injuries would be far worse looking in the light.
“Who did this to
you?” Sarah demanded as her fingers explored the myriad of cuts and bruises
that marred her husband’s face.
“It could have
been much worse,” Quinn said, knowing full well that he had almost lost his
life seeking revenge against Murdock. “The English did this tae me, but it’s
none sae bad as it could have been.”
“Let me get a
cloth to clean you up! I need to see what they did to you!” Sarah said as she
tried to push up from the bed.
“Nay, lass. I’ll
be fine till morning. The damage has been done,” he said in protest, pressing
Sarah gently back against the feather bed. “What I need right now is my lovely
wife. For she is better than any medicine…” he said, trailing off as he kissed
Sarah lightly on the lips.
Sarah wrapped her
arms around Quinn’s shoulders and kissed him back. The overwhelming love that
she felt for him was perceptible in her ravenous kiss. Her love matched his
own.
Quinn pulled away
from his wife slightly.
Sarah smiled up at
him in the darkness, her heart blooming with love and relief at her husband’s
safe return. The depth of the love and happiness that Sarah saw in Quinn’s
gray eyes astonished her.
“As it turns out,
it was yer past that saved my future,” Quinn said softly as he stroked Sarah’s
cheek.
Sarah’s dark
eyebrows scrunched together as she regarded her husband.
“Adahy saved me
from the English. I would have died if it were no for him,” Quinn confessed.
He watched how the gravity of his words affected Sarah.
Sarah blinked in
disbelief. Her life had certainly come full circle. The man that she had
hated above all others, the man that had raped her and threatened to steal her
child from her had saved Quinn’s life.
Adahy had given
her two unexpected gifts. He had given her a beautiful daughter. And he had
given her the gift of Quinn’s life.
“Kiss me,” Sarah
demanded, reaching up and pulling Quinn’s face towards her own.
“Gladly,” he
drawled as he began to lower his lips to Sarah’s. Halting just a breath away
from kissing her, Quinn froze. “I love ye sae much, Sarah Murray,” he
whispered, smiling down at his wife. Her black hair was spread wildly around
her on the white linen sheet and the fire cast a lovely glow on her olive
skin. Quinn’s heart felt as though it would burst with happiness as he looked
at Sarah now. She was all that he had longed for, all that he had ever wanted.
Sarah smiled
radiantly. “I love you too,” she said and she placed one hand on either side
of her husband’s handsome face. “Don’t make me beg, Quinn Murray,” she said
teasingly. “If you don’t kiss me properly, I think that I might go insane.”
“We canna have
that now can we?” Quinn teased as he claimed Sarah’s lips in an all consuming,
possessive kiss. “I’m sure that keeping ye sane is an essential part of
ensuring yer happiness, something that I’ve pledged my life tae do.”
“Aye, it is,”
Sarah smiled as she brought Quinn’s lips to her own. “And I am pleased that my
husband has become such a happy man,” Sarah approvingly. “And it will be my
life’s ambition to keep him that way,” she promised as Quinn’s lips settled
upon her own and they sealed their pact with a kiss.
..ooOoo..
Thank you for
reading
Redemption
! I expect that the final book in the
Shipwrecked
Series
will be completed by summer of 2013. This book will tell Malcolm’s
story, a story that I’m really looking forward to telling
J
If you’ve enjoyed
Redemption
,
please consider reading one of my other novels. I’ve attached a sample from
The
Imposter
, which is my personal favorite of all of the books that I have
written.
Happy Reading!
Jenna Stone
The Imposter
The Handfasting (a novella)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Handfasting-ebook/dp/B00APPO6KU/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1
Shipwrecked (Book One in the Shipwrecked Series)
http://www.amazon.com/Shipwrecked-Book-One-Series-ebook/dp/B009S89D94/ref=pd_sim_kstore_6
The Imposter (Sample Chapters)
Chapter One
My choices were
dismal. Forced marriage to a man twice my age or plunge to almost certain
death in the icy water. I stood on the bow of the ship clad only in my shift,
starting out at where the moonlit sky met the thunderous waves of the Atlantic Ocean.