Wed to a Highland Warrior (11 page)

“Something wrong?” she asked when he saw how strangely he stared at her.

“The symbol you drew. Draw it for me,” he said, and held out his hand.

Bliss obliged, drawing a cross and pressing her thumb in the center.

“What does this symbol mean?”

“It is a symbol my people use to let our kind know that it is safe to trust the one who knows it.”

“There are no words that accompany it?”

“A Pict will sometimes attach a message to it,” she said.

“How do you know the message is from a Pict? Couldn’t an outsider who knows the symbol also add a message?”

“The Picts deliver their message in a special way that is never discussed with outsiders.”

“So if I asked you to explain—”

Bliss shook her head. “I couldn’t.”

“What if I recited a message that accompanied that symbol? Could you tell me if it was sent by a Pict?”

“That I could do.”

“Good,” Trey said with a nod. “The message was ‘When two are one, it will be done.’ ”

“Aye,” Bliss said with a smile, “the message was from a Pict.”

Trey looked shocked. “Mercy’s mother gave her that message, which means—”

“Mercy is part Pict. You did not know that?”

“You did?”

“Of course, as soon as I met her I knew,” Bliss said. “Besides, I know Mercy’s grandmum. She’s Dolca, the woman who is in need of healing.”

Chapter 14

T
rey didn’t move, even though Bliss started walking. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. It had stunned him to see Bliss draw the symbol that Mercy’s mother had drawn on her hand before they had parted and her mother had died. And it had shocked him even more to learn that Mercy’s mother had been a Pict.

Could that have some connection as to why Mercy’s mother had been in possession of the piece of hide, symbols on it that made reference to the true king’s birthright? And there was still the burning question . . . who had stolen the hide from the keep and given it to Mercy’s mother.

“Are you coming with me?” Bliss called out.

Trey shook his head, confused, and hurried to catch up with her.

“The answers you seek will come in their own time,” Bliss said, when he caught up to walk alongside her.

He was about to ask her if she already knew the answers but held his tongue instead. If there was something she could share with him, she would. And he couldn’t continue to constantly seek answers from her like everyone else.

He would be the one to give to her, not constantly take.

He did, however, say, “Dolca must be Mercy’s father’s mother, since Duncan made mention of Mercy’s mother’s mother being dead for some time now.”

“Aye, you’re right.”

Trey hoped to learn more, but Bliss spoke before he could.

“You will meet Dolca when we reach my village. I am sure she would be happy to satisfy your curiosity”

“Does that mean you do not wish to say any more on this matter?”

“You have not reached for my hand since joining me,” she said. “This news you have learned has upset you.”

Trey had not even realized he had failed to take her hand. It had become an instinctive reaction when walking beside her to reach for her hand. But his mind had been so focused on what he had inadvertently discovered that he hadn’t even thought of holding her hand.

She took his hand before he could rectify the matter, and he was glad she did. Her hand joined tightly with his, as if letting him know that she didn’t intend to let go, and that was fine with him.

“What questions can I answer for you that will help ease your troubled thoughts?” she asked.

He had so many that he didn’t know where to begin or what was relevant. Until he finally said, “Mercy will be pleased to have found her grandmother, and Duncan will be pleased for her.”

Bliss grinned. “Aye, that is the most important thing of all . . . family reuniting. Just think of what Mercy will learn about her family.”

And think of what secrets he and his brothers might learn from it.

“No more questions?” Bliss asked, Trey having remained silent.

“Not at the moment,” he said, though there was a burning question that he wished answered, but he kept it to himself. “With so many soldiers in the area, it’s wiser that we remain alert. We should reach Albert and Teresa’s farm tomorrow by midmorning if we keep a good pace.”

They walked in silence for several minutes before Bliss finally spoke. “Ask the question that torments you.”

Trey shook his head. “Are you forever in my thoughts?”

“Perhaps it is you who is in my head, for I hear only the most persistent ones.”

“I have no such powers like yours.”

“Not so. I believe many people have the ability; they simply do not pay heed to it.”

He was about to disagree, but her words stopped him.

“That matters not right now. My concern is that something troubles you, and I wish to help ease your burden.”

Leora was not as thoughtful as Bliss.

The unexpected thought stunned him, for he had always assumed that any woman would pale in comparison to Leora. And he suddenly realized that simply was not so. It seemed that his concerns were Bliss’s concerns. She not only worried along with him, she offered to help ease his worries.

Leora had often told him that he could talk with her about anything, even his missions, if he wished. She would not betray his trust, but he never did. He would never take the chance of putting the true king in harm’s way. And she had never realized when his thoughts troubled him though she had been quick to share whatever troubled her, and frequently.

This time spent with Bliss had him seeing Leora differently. Not that it changed his love for her, but it made him see that perhaps she wasn’t the perfect woman he had thought her to be.

He realized then that Bliss could be hearing his thoughts, but she had said that it was the most persistent ones she heard, and this thought was new. It worried him that his thoughts were so available to her.

“I hear nothing at the moment if that is what concerns you,” she said.

And it concerned him even more that she should say that as he thought it. She had been nothing but honest with him, and so it was his decision whether to trust her word or not.

He didn’t hesitate; he trusted her. “I do have a concern.”

“Tell me.”

Again he didn’t hesitate. “Do you know the identity of the true king?”

She didn’t hesitate as well. “I do.”

Trey felt a burden descend on him like never before.

“You worry that if I should be captured I would reveal his identity, leaving him vulnerable,” she said.

Damn, if she didn’t know his very thought.

Bliss stopped and stood in front of him. “I have known the true king’s identity for some time. I have never spoken of it to a soul, and I have no intention of ever revealing it—under any circumstances.”

“Torture can reveal truths as well as lies,” Trey said.

She smiled. “I am a seer and therefore what I say is taken as my word.”

Trey chuckled. “Are you telling me you would lie?”

“I would do what I must to protect the true king, for I know he will keep my people safe.”

Trey caught her chin with his fingers. “It is a heavy burden you carry.”

“You carry it as well.”

He shook his head. “It is different.”

“Why?”

He stared at her a moment as if the answer was obvious. He was a man who could defend himself; she was a woman who . . . knew more than most.

He grinned, leaned down, and kissed her before whispering, “You best me more often than not.”

It was her turn to chuckle. “It is easy to do.”

His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close. “Be careful, woman, or the warrior in me will rise to defend.”

“Promise?” she said, pressing her cool cheek to his.

“You tempt fate.”

“Fate drew us together, so I but give her what she wants.”

“She wants me to kiss you,” Trey whispered, his lips almost touching hers.

“My thoughts, not fate’s,” she murmured, and kissed him.

Their kiss was hungrier than usual . . . hungry for more than just a kiss. It stole the breath and ignited passion that lay so close to the surface.

Arms wrapped around each other, bodies drew near, and hands touched places that neither objected to. It was an aching frenzy that drove them until finally a sound of footfalls intruded, and they broke apart, Trey shoving her behind him and drawing his sword from its sheath, ready to defend.

A hare sat a few feet away, staring at them with wide, round eyes, and, with a twitch of its nose, it hurriedly hopped away.

Trey returned his sword to his sheath and turned to take Bliss’s hand. “We need to be on our way as much as I’d prefer not to.”

She held his hand and walked alongside him in silence, and he wondered why. Usually, she would have a comment or at least a smile, but, instead, she appeared deep in thought. What was she thinking? Could he possibly sneak into her thoughts?

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck him.

She wanted to make love with me.

The thought actually turned him hard, and he silently swore. Damn if he didn’t want the same, and to know that she was willing only made him harder. He’d love to throw a blanket on the ground and consummate their vows here and now, but it was not a good time or place.

Danger could lurk at any turn, and he had to keep her safe. Making love to her might satisfy his lust, but it would do little to protect her. Besides, it wasn’t lust he was looking to satisfy, and that was something he himself had to understand. He wanted more from Bliss and their unusual union.

He was beginning to realize that love played a larger part in what he was looking for than he would have thought possible. He had believed that he would never love again, at least not the way he had loved Leora. But time changed things, as did life, and he was finding that it just might be possible to find love again, and a stronger one at that.

“What troubles you?” he asked with a squeeze of her hand.

She smiled along with a brief laugh, and he was glad to see it.

“Roles reverse, and you worry over me,” she said.

“As husbands and wives do, so share your troubles with me.”

She shook her head. “It is nothing.”

“Nothing or something, I want you to share it with me.”

She looked over at him and when their eyes connected, she laughed and once again shook her head. “You already know.”

He grinned. “Did I get it right?”

“You tell me,” she said.

“You want to make love with me,” he said without hesitation.

“I see that secrets will be impossible with each other.”

While he had been annoyed that she could know his thoughts, he didn’t at all mind knowing hers, at least at the moment.

“There is no need to keep it a secret that you want to make love with me,” he said. “I want to make love with you.”

“It is a good feeling, a good thought, and one I enjoy thinking on. It frees me from sensing and visions, and, for a while I simply feel my own feelings; and I never realized how precious that could be. In a sense, you bring me peace.”

“I’m grateful that I can do that for you.” He grinned. “And believe me when I tell you that I can consistently keep your thoughts occupied.”

She smiled. “Promise.”

“I give my word,
wife.
I shall keep your musings busy with thoughts of me . . . and pleasure.”

He felt her shiver, and his own body did the same. Somehow . . . was it fate? They had become more husband and wife than they had realized, and he was not at all opposed to it. He actually found himself more and more liking the idea.

They traveled on in relative silence, only exchanging a word or two. It was imperative that they see this done. Now more than ever, Trey didn’t mind delaying his return home. He had a reason to go to Pict territory. He needed to meet Dolca and talk with her, and he needed to see that she returned to his home, with Bliss and him.

Clouds and cold settled early over the land, forcing Trey and Bliss to stop for the evening earlier than planned. A fire was necessary to chase away the cold that was settling into their bones, and food was required to fill their hungry stomachs.

Of course, the idea of making love to her remained strong in his thoughts, his body also reminding him since every time he looked at Bliss, he felt a catch to his groin. He had to keep reminding himself that now was not the time or place, but damn if he didn’t want to ignore his own words of warning.

They found a place to stop and feasted on a rabbit that Trey had been lucky enough to snare. Soon after, they cuddled on a blanket in front of the campfire though sleep eluded them.

Trey tried not to think about her body pressed so intimately against him though it was hard not to. Her full breasts lay hard against his chest, and the junction of her thighs nestled nicely against his groin, which responded instinctively.

He grew hard, and there was no stopping it. She had that effect on him, and it had been worsening lately. It could be because he ached to be intimate with her and because he knew she felt the same way. Nothing like a willing woman to grow a man hard.

If, however, it had been only lust he wished to satisfy, he could well have had his way with her by now. And that was the reason he presently fought his desire for her. He wanted something special with her, something memorable.

She cuddled her face in the crook of his neck, her warm breath tickling and heating his skin all at once, not to mention what it was doing to other parts of his body.

He should push her away, but he didn’t want to. He wanted her right where she was, tight up against him, where he could feel her nipples harden and poke at his chest. And smell the scent of her, so rich and ripe with desire.

“You need to turn away from me,” he said suddenly, and eased her away from him.

She shivered. “But I am cold, and you make me warm.”

He took hold of her chin. “And you make me hot. Now turn around and keep your back to mine.”

She wrinkled her nose in disappointment but didn’t argue with him.

He draped his arm over her waist, though he kept a space between their bodies. They didn’t utter a word, and, finally, after some time, they both fell asleep.

B
liss woke with a start to find Trey’s hand gently exploring her body. While his touch was intimate, it also explored, as if he wanted to get to know every part of her. His fingers lingered just beneath her breast, his hand slipping beneath to cup her and squeeze ever so gently. His thumb rubbed across her nipple several times, turning it hard, then he teased the tip with light strokes.

She stayed as she was, eager to see what he would do next, eager for him to continue. His hand slipped down over her stomach and splayed across it. It remained there, not moving, and for a moment Bliss feared he would go no farther . . . and she wanted him to.

He had brought her body to life. It was as if she was fully alive for the first time, her feelings foreign but ever so delightful. Tingles raced through her, and though the night was cold, she felt hot.

His hand began to move, once more slipping farther down until it came to rest between her legs. His thumb soon settled over a particular spot and began massaging it with just the right pressure. A sensation began to spread deep inside her until she found herself squirming against his touch and felt herself begin to pulsate between her legs.