“You would have given your life for them?”
The thought of him dying rushed tears to her eyes.
“My life was not in question; my honor and
actions were.” She did not know if she wished to hear more and yet
part of her wished to hear it all. “And this challenge is what
caused your scars?”
“Aye, every one of them.”
“This man you fought left you with these
scars?”
He waited as if weighing his response. “Nay,
he did not.”
She looked at him, confused. “Then who? Who
did this to you?”
“His men attacked me before I was to meet
with him.”
“You were alone? Was there no one to help
you?” Her heart beat wildly at the thought that he was one against
many.
“Not one. I stood alone.”
She understood now why he was a legend. He
was fearless and relentless in battle, and he stood standing no
matter how many fell around him. “You were victorious.”
“Aye, though I suffered many blows.”
“But you remained standing.”
His pride surfaced. “Always.”
“And the man you were to fight?”
“I fought him.”
“Wounded as you were?” she asked, thinking
that he could not have been able to see out of his injured eye and
must have bled profusely from his lip and the wound to his face.
How did he ever fight?
“It was necessary.”
“The battle ended,” she said, knowing full
well he had taken the man’s life.
“Aye, it ended and we buried our dead and
returned home.”
“You did not.”
“This battle left more than the scars on my
face.”
“It scarred your soul,” she said with a
gentle hand to his face.
He kissed her palm. “That is why I sought
solitude—to make sense of it all.”
She felt guilty. “And my presence did not
allow you that.”
He placed her hand to his cheek. “Your
presence healed my soul.”
His words touched her heart and her tears
spilled freely.
“I thank God for the day you entered my
life.”
Words failed her; actions did not. She moved
to cover his body with hers, stretching out along the length of
him.
“Do you know what you do?”
“Nay,” she said with a smile, “but I will
learn.”
His smile was wide. “I will help you.”
She shook her head. “Nay, this is for me to
do.” She pushed at his arms so he was forced to rest them above his
head, and then she kissed him starting on his forehead.
He shivered, for he knew full well her
intentions, and he did not think himself capable of letting her
completely have her way with him, but he would try. Try hard, for
it was her wish to do so.
She kissed almost every inch of his face and
moved slowly to his neck, where she licked and nibbled, enjoying
the delicious taste of him. She took her time exploring his flesh,
for every inch of him tempted her tongue and she could not pass up
a single morsel.
She was branding him for sure, for he felt
on fire. The heat ran through him, rushing his blood, causing his
heart to beat wildly, firing his loins until he wanted nothing more
than to grab her, shove her beneath him, and drive into her with an
urgency that frightened him. And if she continued feeding on him
with a lazy slowness, he would surely lose control.
“Brianna.” His heavy breath whispered her
name in warning.
She paid no heed to him, lost in the
pleasure of her passion. She moved down to his chest, her mouth
instantly seeking his nipples, and she feasted, her soft mewling
sounds driving him to the edge of insanity.
He grew hard—so hard that he hurt with a
relentless ache, and he attempted to warn her once again.
“Brianna.”
She heard nothing but her own soft moans,
and they heated her own passion. She continued her pursuit of
pleasure, moving farther down him.
It was a slow descent with her hot mouth
scorching his flesh. His moans surprised him, for it was he who had
always caused his partner to moan in pleasure. And she did bring
him pleasure, intense pleasure.
She purred and moaned and slipped slowly
down along him, her mouth following, and when she descended over
him for that first taste, he knew he would be lost if he did not
take control.
He reached down, grabbed her around her
waist, and turned her so that she lay solidly beneath him. “I can
stand it no more, I must be inside you.”
He gave her no time to respond, but entered
her with an urgency that had her crying out in pleasure, and he
rode her hard and fast, she responding with her own urgent
need.
She cried out in pleasure and clung firmly
to his muscled arms. It seemed that neither of them wished it to
end.
They held firm to their control, fighting
the sensation that continued to rush at them, that continued to beg
for release.
Brianna surrendered first, his name an
urgent cry on her lips. “Royce.”
He needed to hear no more. He surrendered
along with her, and they climaxed as they had coupled, fast and
furious.
They slept soon after, tired and content, a
silent prayer on Brianna’s lips asking for a miracle.
It was time for Royce to leave. His men were
ready and waiting, as was he—waiting for Brianna. He had thought
she would come and bid him good-bye. After last night he had
assumed they had settled their differences. Obviously they had not.
She continued to deny the truth, the truth that she loved him.
“She can be stubborn,” Ian said, standing
beside Royce. Ian noticed the tight grasp Royce had on the reins of
his horse and knew he was annoyed.
‘Too stubborn,” Royce snapped. “She knew
full well that I intended to leave this morning. She is purposely
ignoring my departure.”
“Women? Who can understand them?” Blair
offered, walking up to join the two men.
“Let Anne hear you say that and you will get
an earful,” Ian said with a laugh.
“Aye”—Blair grinned—”but I calm her soon
enough with my charming tongue.”
“I do not know how to charm; it is not my
way.” Royce glanced toward the village a short distance away. He
hoped he would see her hurrying past the many villagers who were
busy going about their daily chores, but there was no sign of her.
His disappointment turned to annoyance and his anger rapidly took
over.
Could she not put her stubbornness aside and
bid him farewell? Would she not miss him? His heart felt as if it
were being ripped in two at the thought of not seeing her for
several weeks. He wanted to hold her tightly one more time, kiss
her softly, and tell her how much he loved her. Tell her that he
did not want to leave her ever.
He mounted his horse swiftly and turned to
his men. “Stay as you are. I will return shortly.” He turned to
Ian. “Do you know where she is?”
“The last time I saw her she was walking
with Moira and Anne north of the keep.”
Royce galloped away with a firm hand on the
reins and a heated look in his dark eyes.
“He is angry,” Blair said to Ian. “You do
not worry for Brianna?”
“He will not hurt her, he loves her. And my
sister is being foolishly stubborn and will regret her actions
later on when it is too late to do anything about it.”
“A common error we all make one time or
another,” Blair said.
‘True enough,” Ian agreed, “but Brianna has
suffered enough. It is time for her to be happy, and she is happy
with Royce.”
“You do not fault him for not speaking the
truth to her?”
“I was guilty of the same myself with Moira.
Sometimes it is necessary.”
“I do not think Moira or Brianna would agree
with that remark,” Blair said with a wide smile.
Ian grinned. “Aye, but it is Royce who must
deal with his woman. We have already dealt with ours.”
Blair slapped him on the back. “Then let us
go watch the fun.”
~ ~ ~
Brianna walked in silence while Moira and
Anne chatted. She nodded now and again when they addressed her,
though she could not say what they asked her. Her thoughts were in
turmoil and her heart ached.
She had argued with herself this morning as
to whether she should bid Royce farewell or not. This was not to be
a final farewell, for he was to return; yet in her heart and mind
she feared this would be a final farewell. They would never again
love as they did last night, and the thought brought tears to her
eyes.
“You are teary much of late,” Moira said,
stopping when she heard her sister-in-law sniffle. “Why not go to
him?”
Brianna cried and grew annoyed with herself.
“I am confused.”
“You are confused because you are
emotional,” Moira corrected. “Your heart rules, not your head.”
“I can make sense of nothing.” Brianna threw
her hands up in the air as though she completely surrendered—to
what, she did not know.
“Love often does that.”
“It hurts to love.” Her tears refused to
stop falling, and with an impatient swipe she wiped them away,
though more followed.
Moira laid a gentle hand on her arm. “What
hurts is that which we refuse to admit. Do you love him?”
“Aye, I love him. I do not refuse to admit
that.”
“You do if you refuse to bid him
farewell.”
Her tears flowed strongly and sobs broke her
words. “He will never be mine.”
“Does he love you?”
“Aye, he does,” Brianna answered without
hesitation.
“Then why do you believe that he will never
be yours?”
She had no clear answer, and doubt and fear
haunted her. She had thought Arran had loved her and she him.
Now she could see how wrong their marriage
had been and how foolish she had been to believe his many lies.
Royce had not been completely truthful to
her, as Arran had not been. Would she repeat the same mistake?
Moira was perceptive and questioned, “Do you
fear Royce is as deceptive as Arran was?”
Brianna sniffled back her tears. “I do not
believe him to be, but then, I did not believe Arran could be
deceiving. I fear that I am a poor judge of character.”
“Women love deeply and not always wisely,
but then, we love with our hearts, not our minds. If we would
listen to reason, we might not make the mistakes we often do.”
“Reason tells me to be cautious with my
heart while my heart tells me to surrender, thus the
confusion.”
Moira gave her arm a comforting pat. “Then
this time apart from him will be beneficial.”
“Then why do I not look forward to this
separation? My heart already aches for him and he has only
left.”
“He has not left yet.” Moira pointed past
Brianna’s shoulder and she turned.
Royce was riding straight for them, and his
look was one of a man ready for battle. A chill ran through her and
she braced herself for their encounter. But as she watched him
approach, her defenses began to melt. He looked magnificent on his
stallion; he rode with pride and confidence. All he passed quickly
scurried out of his path, and she could understand why men trembled
with fear in his presence and women surrendered to him.
He was a portrait of power even with the
scars. Yet she knew a different man, a tenderhearted man who had
dealt with her with patience and understanding.
She did not fear the man she saw; she loved
him and she paid heed to her heart.
Royce slowed his horse as he reached
Brianna. His anger had mounted and he was ready to confront her. He
dismounted with ease and took quick strides toward her.
Moira and Anne had walked off a distance to
give the couple privacy.
He bore down on her and Brianna saw the
anger in his eyes. She also saw his disappointment. She had hurt
him and in hurting him she had hurt herself. Her heart ached for
him and for her.
She did what she always did when she needed
him. She called his name and it trembled on her lips, and tears
once again threatened to spill. “Royce!”
“Damn,” he mumbled, catching sight of her
tears and hearing the desperation in her voice. He opened his arms
to her and she ran to him.
He hugged her tightly, her cries muffled
against his chest.
Ian and Blair joined their wives, each
receiving a poke to their ribs for grinning so widely.
“I will miss you,” he said, his hand
stroking her back.
“And I you,” she said, raising her head to
look at him.
Her bright blue eyes sparkled from her
tears, her creamy cheeks were flushed a soft pink, and her lips
begged to be kissed.
She did not wait for him. She kissed him
like a woman too long denied. They held tight to each other, and
their kiss ignited their passion.
He grabbed her face with a gentle firmness.
“I do not want to leave you.”
Her own tears annoyed her, for she did not
seem to have control of them, and his words worried her, for once
again the thought that they would not be together haunted her.
“I will not be gone long,” he said, his hand
moving to circle her waist. “And we will marry upon my return.”
She did not argue with him; the choice would
be hers. She rested her head to his chest.
“You will rest and take care of yourself
while I am gone.” He was firm in his edict.
That brought her head up with a snap. “I
will do as I please.”
He laughed. “Aye, I know you will, but you
will answer to me if there are consequences to your actions.”
She was about to object when she decided
that if she was answerable, then so was he. “And you will answer to
me.”
She heard her brother and Blair laugh along
with Royce.
Brianna stepped away from him, or at least
she attempted to. He was too quick and too strong. She was locked
in his arms before she took one step.
He kissed her soundly, hugged her close, and
whispered, “I will answer to you anytime.”
“You promise?”
“Aye, I promise. Now kiss me good-bye.”