The Bride (33 page)

"His order, Father, and I am ever dutiful. Which way is England?"

The priest was too stunned to point the direction. Jamie guessed it was downhill. "Thank you for being kind to me," she said.

She left the priest staring after her with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Jamie knew he'd eventually go and tell on her, then decided it didn't matter. Alec wouldn't come after her. She wasn't significant enough. He'd be happy to be rid of her.

She thought she'd have trouble at the drawbridge, yet after she'd explained that she was doing their laird's bidding, the soldiers immediately let her pass.

She let Wildfire race with the wind then. Jamie simply held on, openly weeping. She didn't know where they were headed or how long they continued at the neck-breaking pace. In truth, she didn't care about anything but having her cry. When the horse finally stopped in the shelter of the trees, Jamie decided it was time to regain a bit of control.

She saw the boy then. He wasn't a Kincaid, she realized, as his plaid was of a different color. Jamie didn't make a sound. She hoped the boy wouldn't notice her, for she didn't want anyone to see her in such a disgraceful condition, not even a child.

The boy was too preoccupied to look behind him. He was staring intently at the bushes to his right. Jamie wondered what held him so entranced.

He suddenly cried out and started to back away just as a giant boar let out a vile-sounding snort and charged forward.

Jamie instinctively reacted. She slapped Wildfire's flank, sending her into a full gallop. The mare flew down the slope.

Jamie clutched the reins and Wildfire's mane in her left hand and leaned to the right side.

The child saw her coming. He started running toward her, his hands outstretched. Jamie prayed she had the strength to lift the boy. God proved merciful. With the child's eager assistance and his death grip on her right arm, she was able to haul him up high enough for him to swing one leg over Wildfire's back.

They both held on for dear life. The boar gave up his chase a few minutes later, but Wildfire was still prickly with fear. The horse suddenly turned. Jamie and the boy went tumbling to the ground.

She landed on her side. He landed on top of her. He quickly rolled to the side, then stood and tried to help her.

He was tugging on her right arm. She grimaced against the pain. "Are you hurt?" the child asked, his fear obvious in his thick Gaelic burr.

"Just bruised," Jamie answered in Gaelic. She slowly regained her feet, then noticed her bliaut was torn at the shoulder seam.

They were standing in the center of a narrow clearing. Jamie was shaking from head to toe. "We've had a close call, we have," she announced. "Lord, I was scared. Were you?" she asked when the boy looked up at her.

The child nodded.

They both smiled then. "We gave him what-for, didn't we?"

"Aye, we did give him what-for," she said, thinking to herself what an adorable child he was. He had long red hair. It curled around his cherubic face. His nose was painted with large freckles. "I'm Lady Kincaid," she continued. "And your name?"

"I shouldn't be telling," the boy whispered. "I'm not supposed to be on Kincaid land."

"Did you get lost?"

He shook his head. "You'll tell."

"No, I won't tell. What are you doing here, then?"

The child lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I like to go hunting. My name's Lindsay."

"And what is your clan's name?"

"Lindsay," he repeated. "You speak Gaelic, but you sound different. You aren't wearing the Kincaid plaid, either."

"I'm English."

His eyes widened.

"I'm Alec Kincaid's wife, Lindsay," she explained. "How old are you?"

"Nine, this summer."

"Your mother will be looking for you, I would think."

"My father will be doing the looking. He'll be getting worried," he added. "I better go home now."

Jamie nodded. She didn't smile, for the child's expression had turned very serious.

"You saved my life," the boy said. "Father must repay."

"No," Jamie countered. "He doesn't have to repay. You have to promise me you won't go hunting on your own again. Will you give me your word?"

When he nodded, she smiled. "Do you want me to follow you home?"

"They'd keep you if you did. We're feuding with the Kincaids," he explained very matter-of-factly.

"Be careful, then," she cautioned. "Hurry. I think I hear someone coming."

The child disappeared behind the line of trees before Jamie had taken a step toward Wildfire.

She was standing all alone in the center of the clearing when Alec and his stallion broke through the branches. He was so relieved to see her that he stopped his mount and sat there, staring down at her, while he calmed his ragged breathing.

Alec couldn't tell if she was upset or not. Her head was bowed. He knew he'd terrified her. The look on her face when he'd shouted at her had shown how frightened she was.

He hoped to heaven she'd gotten over her fear, though… and her tears. He'd noticed those, too, when she walked past him with her coin in her hand.

Hell, he'd probably have to apologize. He wasn't any good at it, he knew, but he'd still have to give it a try, he decided. He would force himself to be calm… and reasonable.

Then he noticed the leaves in her hair and the tear in her gown. "What the hell happened?" he shouted. "Did someone…"

He was off his stallion and racing toward her before she could answer. Jamie took a quick step back. "Nothing happened to me," she announced.

"Don't lie to me." He grabbed her in his arms and pulled her up against his chest.

"You lied to me."

"I didn't," he answered, calming once again.

"You lost your temper with me."

"You had the men tear out the back wall of my home," he countered.

"You said I could rearrange your kitchens," Jamie whispered. "In the winter, Frieda and Hessie and all the other servants have to wade through the snow to get your supper. I was trying to do the right thing, Alec. It made sense to add the building onto the back of the house. You wouldn't let me explain, though."

Alec closed his eyes and prayed for patience. He couldn't seem to quit hugging her long enough to lecture her. "I did forget my temper," he admitted. "And I'm furious with you."

"Because of the hole in your wall?"

"No," he told her. "Because you were afraid of me. Did you think I'd hurt you?"

"No," she answered. She put her arms around his waist and relaxed against him. "You embarrassed me. A husband shouldn't yell at his wife."

"I will try in future to remember this dictate," he promised. "Jamie, there will be times when I will forget again."

"I'll have to get used to it, I suppose," she said. "Your shout could fell a pine tree. But you're mostly bluster, aren't you, Alec?" Alec rested his chin on the top of her head while he decided whether or not to let her get away with that small insult. "Father Murdock said you were going back to England. Was that your intent?"

"You told me to get out," she reminded him.

A smile eased his frown away. "I meant for you to leave the hall, Jamie, not Scotland."

"I just wanted to leave for a while, husband. 'Tis the truth I'm not settling in very well."

She sounded terribly forlorn. "I know you'll find this difficult to believe, but back home people actually liked me. They did! I'm not at all used to being thought of as inferior, Alec. That does take some adjustment. Your soldiers were waiting to tell on me, weren't they? They don't like me any better than you do."

Jamie suddenly burst into tears. "Oh, I'm being pitiful, aren't I? Why did you bother to come after me?"

"Jamie, the soldiers were waiting to have their chance to defend you," he announced. His voice was a gruff, aifectionate whisper. "They're as loyal to you as they are to me, wife."

He let her pull away so she could see his nod. It was his undoing, however, for once he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, his discipline all but deserted him. "I came after you because you belong to me. Don't ever try to leave me again, Jamie, or you'll truly see my anger. Love, quit your tears now. I didn't mean to…"

His voice shook too much to continue. Alec leaned down and kissed her brow. Jamie mopped at the corners of her eyes with the backs of her hands. Her arm started throbbing from her bruising, reminding her of her mishap. "I fell off my horse," she admitted.

"I know."

Now he sounded forlorn. Jamie smiled. "I'm really very skilled, Alec, but the boar frightened Wildfire and…"

She quit trying to explain when she saw his frown. "Never mind," she said. "Alec? When a husband and wife have had a disagreement, they usually kiss after they've made up."

"The wife is wearing her husband's plaid, though," Alec pointed out. "Still, I wouldn't break my word if she wasn't wearing anything at all."

She didn't understand his meaning until he'd pulled her torn bliaut over her head and tossed it on the ground.

"You cannot mean to—to—" she stammered. She took a step back.

"Oh, I mean to, all right." He took a step forward.

She let out a scream of laughter when he lunged for her, then turned and ran into the cover of the trees. "You're daft, Alec," she called over her shoulder. " 'Tis the middle of the day."

He grabbed her from behind and pulled her up against him. "There are children about," she pointed out.

Alec nuzzled the side of her throat. "You want a proper kiss, don't you?"

"This isn't at all proper," she answered. Her breath caught in her throat then and a shiver raced across her shoulders. Alec was nibbling on her earlobe while he whispered in great detail all the erotic things he was going to do to her.

She went limp against him. Alec leaned back against a thick tree, bracing her between his thighs. He took his time undressing her, ignoring her feeble protests and when he'd completed that task, he pulled her up against his hardness. His hands cupped her breasts while his thumbs lazily stroked her nipples.

He knew he had her surrender when she let out a soft moan. "Now I'm going to show you how inferior you are to me," he whispered.

"You are?" she asked on a gasp. His hand had just moved between her thighs.

He grunted with pleasure when he felt her heat. She was already wet and hot for him. "I'm going to kiss every inch of your inferior body," he promised.

He turned her around finally. Their open mouths met in a ravenous kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbed her breasts against his plaid. Alec tore his mouth away, then discarded his own clothing in quick time. He turned her until she was leaning against the tree, facing him, and lowered his head to the valley between her breasts. His tongue drove her wild. His hands massaged her breasts, and then he finally moved to take one nipple into his mouth. The pressure was excruciatingly wonderful. She cried out in pleasure, clinging to his shoulders now for support. Alec gave her other breast the same blissful attention, then trailed hot kisses down her stomach.

He made her forget to breathe. He knelt down in front of her, cupped her smooth buttocks with his hands, and roughly pulled her up against his open mouth.

She wasn't capable of thinking. His tongue stroked the passion in her, pressing, in, out, again and again, until she was whimpering for release from the sweet torture. She was begging him not to stop when he stood up to face her. Jamie tried to capture his mouth for a long, hot kiss, but he pulled back. He suddenly grabbed hold of her hair, twisted it around his fist and jerked her forward. "Don't ever try to leave me again."

He didn't give her time to answer. His open mouth claimed hers. His tongue thrust inside. She melted against him. He lifted her high, spreading her thighs in one powerful motion. She wrapped her legs around him. "Alec," she demanded in a near shout when he hesitated.

"Promise me." His voice grated against her ear.

The agony in his voice drove through her sexual haze. "I promise," she whispered.

He groaned his approval, then thrust inside her with one forceful surge. He whispered love words against her ear as he withdrew and then drove back into her.

Jamie clung to him, chanting her own love words, and when she knew she was about to find her release, she cried out his name.

Their surrender was absolute, their passion appeased. He stayed inside her a long while. Even after his breathing had slowed and his heart had quit hammering he still didn't move. He didn't want to lose the scent of their lovemaking, didn't want to quit holding her.

For the first time in his life, he was content. He under stood what that meant, yet instinctively rebelled against admitting the full truth. It was too soon, he told himself. Far too soon. It would weaken him, make him vulnerable… He wasn't ready.

Jamie felt Alec tense against her. He eased her back down to the ground, then turned away from her to gather their clothes. She caught only a glimpse of his dark expression. "Alec?" she whispered. "I didn't please you just now?"