Enchanted Lover (3 page)

Ailleagian made a sudden jerky movement and Asilinn
spun around. Jared was struck by the perfection of the vision before him. She
stood motionless staring into his eyes. He could not meet her gaze. His
attention was focused on her body while she stood frozen for the feast the view
presented.

Her breasts were full and creamy white, capped with
rosy crests that begged for his caress. If she stood there much longer, Jared
would have no control at all. Angry at his lack of discipline he snapped at
her. "Cover yourself!"

Asilinn turned crimson and jerked the oversized shirt
over her tender flesh. He let out his breath in a rush and walked over to her.

The momentary gleam of a jeweled hilt caught his eye
as the ragged groomsman's britches swung loosely about her knees.
"Zounds!" He couldn’t believe it. The little wench was armed. Still
dumbfounded by his rude refusal to grant her privacy she did not seem to notice
he had seen it.

"Sit," he ordered. Asilinn sank to the ground.
He knelt, grabbed her slim ankle, and snatched the bejeweled dirk from her
garter. Her small hands closed around his in recognition of his purpose.

"Mother Mary, protect me from the dragon."
She released her grip and crossed herself as if she thought he would strike her
dead for her effort.

With a low growl, Jared stripped off the wet hose and
gave them a toss. "Dragon? Think you I am a dragon set upon purifying you
with fire for your deceit?"

"'Tis nigh deceit. You did not ask if I was
armed."

"Silence," he snorted through his rage. Her
seemingly innocent beauty had seduced him into carelessness. It would not
happen again. Satisfied his scowl made her sufficiently uneasy he turned back
to the task.

Slipping the dirk in his belt, he grabbed her ankle,
wrapped it in a layer of soft wool, and slipped on the over-sized boot. The
wool filled in the extra space around her foot. Satisfied she would at least be
able to walk and stay dry; Jared gave the other leg equal treatment. Pulling
her to her feet Jared took her plaid and wrapped it around her shoulders in a
cape arrangement. It covered her head and kept most of her body in a snug
cocoon. Stepping back, he appraised her appearance.

"'Tis the best we can do for now." Turning
from her, he loaded his meager supplies on the horse and slid her jeweled
dagger into his pack.

The impression of her naked form still lingered to
send fire through his veins. Perhaps this was the punishment for all his sins,
to have his body scalded by an enemy wife. It wouldn't be the first time—he
fought down the bile rising in his throat. At least this enemy was known for
what she was.

He returned to Asilinn's side. His torture was just
beginning. Now he must ride for hours with her pressed close to him, scorching
his man root until it throbbed to possess her yet ever wary of when she might
betray him. He lifted her onto Ailleagian and climbed up behind her, feeling
the soft press of her hip against his hardness. Slinging the weighty leather
cape over both of them, he guided the horse out into the rain that now fell in
sheets.

They rode through the foggy night moving ever west
towards Dunbocan. The heavy leather blocked most of the rain from Asilinn, who
leaned back against him when he pushed the horse forward. Asilinn dozed
occasionally in their seemingly endless ride. Her whole body ached from her
cramped side saddle position in front of him and still they pressed on.

Eventually Asilinn felt the horse slow. The rain had
eased a bit and she poked her head out of her leather cover. It was near dawn
and they were riding through a narrow pass. The towering, gray-green giants of
the Grampian Mountains rose above them tapering the trail to a tiny notch by
their overwhelming size.

The MacLean turned his full attention to her.

"I just wanted a breath of air." Asilinn
tried hard to ignore his penetrating stare as she looked around. "A secret
pass through the Grampians?"

"Hardly secret," he said. "Here we are
most vulnerable to thieves who choose to prey on innocent travelers. It is a
well-traveled trail."

"How long are we in the pass?"

"Are you planning another escape?"

"I dinna think ‘tis safe here without some
additional men. Father says a lone traveler is asking to be robbed."

"True enough under most circumstances, I
suppose," he replied with an amused grin. "Is milady afraid someone
will steal her from me before we can complete our wedding plans?"

"Blackguard beast!"

"Put your head back under. The storm is far from
over." As if to verify his statement, the heavens let loose with a
drenching torrent of rain and the wind whipped wildly at Asilinn's hair. Her
captor pushed her head under the cape and shoved it back against his chest.

The foul weather had foiled Jared's attempt to get
them through the pass before morning. They were moving much slower than he
would have liked. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and searched
for some sign of danger in the trail ahead.

There it was—a tiny flicker of movement on the ridge
above. His legs tightened around Ailleagian in preparation for their escape.
They were almost at the critical point. Jared wrapped his arm securely around
Asilinn's waist hearing her moan of protest. A brief smile flickered across his
face when he kneed his mount into a little used side trail.

***

High above them he perched on a rocky ledge. Turning
his mount, he headed back to his master's encampment. He rode swiftly, fearful
of the punishment that would follow if he failed to get the message back in
time.

When he finally looked into the black eyes of his
lord, he dropped his gaze to regain his wits. "Laird Jared approaches with
the Innes girl," he reported, never lifting his head to the searching eyes
of death staring at him.

"You've done well," his master's voice
purred. The dark lord rose from his seat and gathered them all around him.
"It must look like thievery. The girl must die but dinna kill Laird Jared.
I have other plans for him and the time is not yet ripe. Keep your faces well
hidden. I wilna have our plot discovered."

The lookout shivered involuntarily when he watched
each of his comrades’ nods of assent. There was no turning back now. He joined
them when they ran to their horses.

***

The clatter of hooves behind them echoed through the
moors. A group of hooded riders swept after them in a cascade of thundering
hoof beats. Jared turned in the saddle to get a brief view of what he was up
against. He cursed when he saw their number. His cousins had begged to
accompany him but he had insisted on completing his mission alone. Now it
appeared he had miscalculated.

At his command, the horse bolted to a flat out run
along the rough earth. Seven cloaked figures pursued them with a vengeance and
he was hampered by the burden of his future wife clutched tightly to his chest.

Spurring Ailleagian forward he rounded a sharp bend
in the twisting trail. He pulled the horse up short and dumped Asilinn on the
ground. "To the rocks," he shouted, turning to challenge the oncoming
riders.

Asilinn scrambled to her feet and ran to the rocks,
picking her way up the embankment. From her vantage point, she could see the
trail below. Jared MacLean drew his sword from the scabbard and rode fearlessly
into the throng of faceless riders outnumbering him seven to one.

One assailant was knocked from his mount with Jared's
first swing. Two others wheeled their horses and fled in terror. Jared wielded
the two-handed sword expertly, unseating the rider in front of him, but one of
the others came at him from behind. The man struck him in the side of the head
with the blunt end of a battle-ax. Asilinn let out a strangled gasp as her
protector fell to the ground and lay motionless.

The riders re-grouped and headed straight toward her
position. Terrified, she sought to conceal herself in the maze of rocks and
boulders littering the side of the trail. The men drew up in close proximity to
her location and dismounted, fanning out to search for her.

The tallest man gave the orders. "Find
her." His cry was muffled by the mask hiding his features from view.

How could they possibly know she was there? Perhaps
her father sent them.

Asilinn bit her lip in indecision. Should she reveal
herself? No, her father's men would not conceal themselves behind masks. They
would ride proudly after her, confront her captor in the open, and demand her
release. These vermin must be robbers or else villains bent on some treachery
to the MacLean's plan to take her for his wife.

She heard a yelp of delight as the men spotted her.
She tried to scramble away but her makeshift boots would not allow her the
speed she needed. Two men caught her and dragged her to the tall man who had
remained mounted.

With a quick tug, one of the men tore her wrap off
her shoulders until it hung in a lump around her waist. She stood before them
in the raggedy clothes Jared MacLean had given her. Her colors billowed in the
wind identifying her as a member of the Innes clan.

The man to her right ran his hand through her hair.
Asilinn jerked away and he snickered.

"Give me a few minutes alone with this beauty
before we do the deed," he petitioned.

"Were there more time, I’d have the wench
myself. She's a rare jewel," the tall man said, bringing his dancing horse
closer.

A strangled whimper tore from Asilinn's throat. The
man on the horse conjured up a vivid vision from her past—the faceless man who
haunted her nightmares—he reminded her of her mother's murderer. Her attacker
was as hidden to her as the man who killed her mother those many years ago.

"Let’s do it," one of her captors pleaded
groping her breast through the rough shirt.

"Step aside." His master drew his sword.
"There is no time. The MacLean wilna be down long."

Each man grabbed a wrist and held her arms
perpendicular so her body formed a cross. The taller man on the horse moved
forward and teased her voluminous shirt with his sword. He tapped her shoulders
lightly and raised his weapon over his head prepared for the down stroke that
would end her short life.

"Farewell, Lady Asilinn," he cried. Asilinn
saw the flash of cold steel—she screamed in terror when he started a downward
motion.

Suddenly Ailleagian bore down on them his rider's
battle cry echoing off the surrounding mountains. With one sweep of his sword,
Jared MacLean sent the tall man's weapon flying into the rocks below. The men
on the ground sprang back freeing Asilinn in their fright. Jared grabbed her up
in front of him and wheeled his horse sharply taking the narrow trail at a dead
run.

The men behind them found their horses and gave
chase. They were gaining. Around the next bend, the trail ended abruptly.
Ailleagian sailed through the air landing safely on the soft turf on the other
side of a chasm. Their pursuers skidded to a halt unwilling to make the jump
that would allow them to continue.

Jared stopped his horse and gazed back up at them.
Turning they disappeared into the trail above.

Asilinn's heart was pounding hard as she followed his
stony stare. "Who were they?" She was barely able to breathe.

"Traitors to my cause," he said. "But
how…." His voice trailed off. He sat pensively for a moment then looked
down at her. "Are you injured?"

"Nay, Milord" Asilinn murmured, remembering
all too clearly the sinister man who had threatened her life.

"I think 'tis time we found a campsite. There's
a shepherd's cabin beyond the hill. We can take refuge there." He urged
the horse forward up the winding footpath.

The cabin was a ramshackle affair. Its greatest
redeeming feature was the stone fireplace that would enable them to heat their
bodies and their food. Jared tied Ailleagian in a shed at the back and made
quick work of taking the chill off with a fire.

He handed her a small pouch of provisions. "Warm
it."

Asilinn did not protest. She could feel him watching
her as she bent near the fire. When she had completed her task, she brought him
his meal in a trencher borrowed from the shepherd's cupboard. Sitting down
beside him, she focused on her food.

He picked up his bread and dabbed at the heated meat.
"Asilinn, do you fear me?"

She raised her eyes to his and studied him for a
moment. "Aye, Milord, I fear all of your clan. Wherever you go violence
and death follows. 'Tis all I know of MacLeans."

"Two clans made the war and it will take two to
end it."

"I canna dissuade you from your plan?"

"Are you unhappy at the thought of being my
wife?"

His eyes danced at her lack of immediate response.
Asilinn's anger flamed. "Dinna make me kill you to gain my freedom!"

"Kill me?" He choked, totally amused by the
prospect. "The dirk is not much of a weapon to use upon a man of my
size."

"Still I would be obligated to fight you."
She scowled at him. "Do you know how much store I set in my murdered
brothers? They were dear to my heart. It was you and yours who killed
them."

His face grew sober. "We are in the midst of a
war, Asilinn. I dinna hold you responsible for the deaths of my clansmen."

"I did not go out on the field of battle and
slay your kin. You cannot say the same."

His jaw grew taut. "Regardless my plan is
set."

"I cannot lay with a man who killed my
blood." She could not lay with any man after what happened to her mother
she thought to add, but the words fell short.

He stared at her for a long time before he replied.
"You must learn to accept your fate. Your womb shall bear my fruit and
none will question the peace."

Panic rose in Asilinn's chest. She should have taken
the priest's advice and devoted her life to God.