Highland Knight (21 page)

“Ah, Avery, ’tis a joy when ye do that for me,” he said as he set his goblet down on the floor. “I wish I could savor it longer ere I have to stop you.”

“And ye always stop me,” she murmured against his inner thigh.

The mere thought of her doing otherwise nearly made him groan. “It would disgust ye if I didnae.”

“But ye would like it if I continued?”

“Lass, I…” He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I have never…”

“Never?” she asked as she kissed his hard stomach, intrigued by the thought that she might be able to give him something no other had.

“Never.” He combed his fingers through her hair as she looked up at him. “In truth, that poor wee laddie has ne’er had more than a kiss or two, and that begrudgingly given. I have heard other men say, weel…” he faltered, uncertain of how to finish his sentence without being crude.

“’Tis a night for wishes and dreams fulfilled,” she said, kissing his chest. “A night for shameless gluttony, for blind, sweaty exhaustion. A night for memories to be made and held close.”

“Ah, because on the morrow,” his eyes widened slightly when she placed her fingers over his mouth.

“Nay, dinnae speak of it. That truth will direct our every step this night, but let us try to ignore it. Let us just selfishly take what we want, as often as we can. That truth will come with the dawn. Dinnae let it intrude upon this night of dreams, wishes, and memories.”

“Wishes and dreams, eh?” he asked, and when she smiled and nodded, he whispered, “Then aye, dinnae stop.”

He almost changed his mind when she kissed her way down his body again. If she was disgusted, it could ruin the rest of what could be their last night together. Then he felt her tongue stroke him. He gasped, closed his eyes, and decided that if she said aye, she meant it.

It was more than any man deserved, he thought, as he clutched the arms of his chair and fought for some control. She seemed to know just when to pause to allow him to catch his breath. Just as he thought he might be able to last a goodly while and truly savor this delight, he felt something cool and wet dripped over his heated groin. He looked down to see that she had dribbled honey over him. As she began to meticulously lick him clean, he groaned, closed his eyes again, and gave himself over to the pleasure she was giving him. By the time she ceased toying with him, he was nearly writhing in the chair. He shook all over from the strength of the release she gifted him with, then collapsed in the chair, savoring each lingering flicker of pleasure all the way down to his toes.

When he was finally able to move, he looked down at her. Her head was against his thigh as she idly stroked his leg. The occasional touch of her warm lips against his skin told him that she was not disgusted. He reached out grasped her beneath the arms, and stood her up in front of him. His mind was suddenly full of every dream he had ever had of her, of every little trick of loving he had ever heard of and he was more than eager to try them all.

“Fetch a pillow from the bed, loving,” he said, and he watched her every step. “Ye do look bonny in that,” he murmured as he accepted the pillow she gave him. “But ’tis time to take it off.”

“What is the pillow for?” she asked as he undid the laces on the gown.

“So ye dinnae bruise your back against the arm of the chair.” He tugged the nightdress off her, held her by her slim hips, and looked her over thoroughly. “Ye are so lovely, lass. Ye fair steal my breath away.”

She gasped when he lifted her and settled her across his lap. Her back and head were against the pillow he had set against the arm of the chair. Her legs were draped across the other chair arm. A blush heated her cheeks, for she felt too exposed to his gaze—almost vulnerable. That blush deepened when he slid his hand between her thighs and watched himself stroke her.

“Cameron, I dinnae think,” she ended up murmuring against his lips as he gave her a quick, hard kiss to silence her.

“I want to see your pleasure, lass. I want to see it begin, see it grow, see it
overwhelm ye.”

“Ye see that each time we make love.”

“Nay, not truly. A wee glimpse. A moment here and there. But I fear my own pleasure steals the chance to watch yours.”

He raised her up slightly and put his mouth to her breasts. As he licked, nibbled, and suckled her until her breasts ached, she began to lose some of her embarrassment. It was not as if he had never seen her naked, she told herself, closing her eyes.

“I want to see every blush,” he murmured, eyeing her damp, hard nipples with satisfaction as he settled her back down. “I want to watch those bonny breasts as your breathing grows quick and hard. I want to see your bonny wee stomach clench as passion grips ye. I have felt those sweet tremors in your thighs when they are clasped about me. Now, I want to see them, too.”

The way he was caressing her, the way his scandalous words heated her blood, soon had her relaxing her guard, welcoming his touch. Then he moved her legs further apart. “Nay, Cameron,” she started to protest.

“Aye, loving, let me. Remember—dreams and wishes?”

“Dreams and wishes and shameless gluttony,” she whispered.

And modesty had no place in such a night, she decided as she allowed herself only to feel, not think. He took his time, keeping her balanced on the blade’s edge for a long time before he granted her release. His hoarse words of delight only enhanced the strength of it. She felt deliciously weak as he lifted her up, turned her to face him, and joined their bodies with one deep thrust. Avery collapsed against his chest, and he held her close for a moment before turning her face up to his.

“I have heard that one can kiss one’s way to bliss,” he said, brushing his lips across hers.

“Where do ye hear such things?”

“Men talk.”

“Weel, I am nay sure that will work.”

“We will just have to try it and see.”

They did, and it did. When Avery next came to her senses, Cameron was supporting her with one arm and drying her off. She had obviously been too dazed to notice the washing. He wrapped the drying cloth around her and handed her a goblet full of mead. Avery had drunk over half of it before she recalled that mead tended to go to her head very fast.

“Strong drink, that mead,” Cameron said, and he grinned when she nodded, “We seem to be fulfilling only
my
wishes. Surely ye must have one or two.”

“I only thought as far as seeing if I could survive making love all night long.”

He gently urged her to drink some more. “That is verra close to one of my wishes, too. Tell me what ye like, then.”

She took another drink and mumbled, “I do rather like your kisses.”

“Thank ye, but we just did that. Finish the mead,” he ordered gently.

“’Tis making me a wee bit drunk.”

“Good. That was my plan. So, tell me what ye like, besides kisses,” he urged softly, kissing her ear.

“But I do really like the kisses.”

“So ye said, and, so we did.”

“Not those kisses. The
other
kisses,” she whispered. She frowned at her empty goblet. “I hadnae meant to say that.”

“So ye like my
kisses
?” He started to nudge her back toward the chair. “I am good at that, am I?”

“Humph. I am sure ye ken verra weel that ye are.”

“Nay. ’Tis difficult to tell if one is good at something when one has ne’er done it before.” He yanked off her drying cloth and spread it over the chair.

“Never?” Avery was so surprised by that confession, she did not protest when he gently pushed her into the chair but just stared up at him when he leaned over her. “Truly?”

“Truly. ’Tis just another one of those things I heard about.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “The women I have kenned in the past were, shall we say, weel traveled. And sometimes nay all that clean. Ah, but ye, my bonny Avery, have only been with one mon—me. And ye are nay only clean, but delicious.”

She shivered with pleasure “And ye gave me mead because?”

“’Tis said that, if one is just a wee bit drunk, one is more freely amorous, but that heady ending to the loveplay can be verra, verra slow to arrive.”

“Oh, my.” She frowned in confusion when he picked up a small bowl from the table. “Blackberry jam?” The smile he gave her in reply made her eyes widen. “I used honey.”

“Ye are sweet enough, loving. Honey and ye together would probably make my teeth ache. A little tart will be better,” he murmured as he slowly covered her nipples with blackberry jam.

“I think we may have gone beyond shameless gluttony,” she said shakily, “and plunged right into licentiousness.”

“
Licentiousness
is a fine word.”

When he bent to touch his mouth to her breasts and began to slowly lick away the blackberry jam, Avery decided that he just might be right about that.

The sharp sound of knocking and Leargan’s voice were not what Cameron wanted intruding upon his dreams. He snuggled closer to Avery’s silky, warm body and felt himself harden with interest. That made him smile. Considering the long hours they had spent making love, he should be more than well sated, he should be glutted. However, if he hooked her lovely leg back over his hip a little, he could probably ease himself into her tight heat—

“Curse it, Cameron, get your arse out of bed!”

“Go away, Leargan!” Cameron yelled right back, and he was a little surprised when Avery only muttered a complaint about the noise and went right back to sleep. He had completely exhausted her, he thought proudly.

“A certain Sir Payton awaits your company in the great hall.”

Every hint of warmth left Cameron’s body. He slowly eased himself away from Avery, even as everything inside him demanded he hold onto her. He reminded himself that Katherine was with child and needed a husband. That gave him the strength to get out of bed, although it was a struggle. Duty was banging at the door and he had to obey the call. He was not only Katherine’s brother, he was her laird. He had no choice.

Easing the door open a crack, he told Leargan he would be down in ten minutes. He then went to tend to his morning ablutions, fighting to ignore all the signs of the long, sensuous night he had spent with Avery. To his dismay, by the time he was dressed, she was awake. It was cowardly, but he had hoped just to slip away. After all, what was there to say?

“Payton is here,” she said as she sat up and brushed her tangled hair off her face.

“Aye, he waits for me in the great hall,” Cameron replied, clenching his hands against the urge to touch her.

Avery held the blanket around her as she climbed out of his bed. “Will ye still let me visit with him for a few moments before I leave?”

“Aye.”

“Good. Thank ye. I will wait for him in my room.”

He watched her walk to the door, the blanket draped around her and trailing slightly on the floor. “Avery?”

She paused in the doorway but did not turn to look at him. “There really isnae anything to say, is there?”

“Nay. Nay, I suppose not.” He rubbed his chest, wondering why it felt so tight. “I wish…” He hesitated.

“Ah, Cameron, so do I, but I do wonder if we wish for the same thing.”

The sound of the door shutting behind her made him jump, even though she had shut it very quietly. He started to look around the room, then forced himself to fix his gaze upon the door to the hall. As he walked toward it, he decided he would get someone to clean the room thoroughly before he had to return to it.

A group of women were clustered around the door to the great hall, peering inside and sighing. Cameron began to get a very bad feeling as he nudged his way through them. He paused in the doorway and heard their skirts rustle as they all moved so that they could peer around him. And standing next to Leargan, sipping wine and chatting amiably with his cousin, was what they were all sighing over.

Sir Payton Murray was indeed bonny, Cameron thought with some irritation. He
was not particularly tall nor broad of shoulder, but Cameron had no doubt that the man could hold his own in most any fight. What Payton Murray had were the lean, strong lines of a finely bred horse. He was dressed well, and his every move was graceful. He was just as Gillyanne had described him. He also looked very young. Cameron suddenly doubted that Payton was that much older than Avery.

“Just how old are ye?” Cameron demanded as he strode over to Payton and Leargan.

“I will be one and twenty in a month,” Payton replied calmly.

“But, ye have been
Sir
Payton for several years, havenae ye?”

“Aye I did a small service for our king when I was but seventeen, and he gave me his spurs.”

“Saved the king’s son from drowning,” Leargan cheerfully told Cameron.

“Of course.” Cameron poured himself some wine from the jug on the table, only to pause in sipping it when he caught a grinning Leargan staring at him. “Ye want to say something, Leargan?”

“I was just listening for the gagging to start.”

“Ye will have our guest thinking we are all madmen here.”

“Oh, I think ye are doing that weel enough without my help. Sir Payton Murray? Meet our laird, Sir Cameron MacAlpin.”

Cameron returned Payton’s brief nod. Leargan was right. He was acting like a lunatic. Somehow he had to pull himself together, to fix his thoughts on one thing and one thing only: the need to get Katherine a father’s name for her child.

“Payton, my darling!”

A quick glance toward the door revealed Katherine pushing her way through the women, and Cameron looked at Payton. “My sister, Katherine. I believe ye are acquainted with her.”

“Vaguely,” Payton drawled.

The lad had presence, Cameron decided, and he watched closely as Katherine ran up to Payton. The young man neatly circumvented her attempt to throw herself into his arms. A distinctly sulky look crossed Katherine’s face when Payton murmured a polite greeting and briefly kissed her hand. What Cameron did not see was any hint of passion in either of them. If there had been any, it was gone now.

“Get out of the way. Wheesht, ye would think ye had ne’er seen a redheaded laddie before.”

Katherine muttered a curse at the sound of that voice. “I thought the brat was still abed.”

After giving Katherine a sharp, cold look, Payton turned his attention toward the door. “Gilly, m’love,” he called. “Fight on.”

At that moment Gilly managed to break through the knot of women and stumble into the great hall. “Payton, ye are a bleeding hazard,” she grumbled then ran over to fling herself into her cousin’s welcoming arms.

Payton hugged and kissed her, then set her on her feet and looked her over. “Ye are looking verra fine, brat.”

“Aye.” She winked at him. “My beauty has been undimmed by my many trials and tribulations.”

“Verra true, love. It has only been enhanced.”

“Oh, that was a good one.”

“Thank ye. I do try.”

“I thought ye were leaving,” Katherine said, glaring at Gillyanne.

“Going to miss me?” Before Katherine could reply, Gillyanne looked at Cameron. “I guess she willnae be inviting me to the wedding. Just when is it to be, anyway?”

Cameron got the distinct feeling there was more behind Gillyanne’s question than simple curiosity. “A week. Mayhap two.”

“But Cameron,” protested Katherine, “what about my bairn?”

“What about it? It isnae going anywhere.”

Katherine looked shocked. Payton and Leargan stared into their wine as they obviously tried to compose themselves. Gillyanne fell against him, giggling. Cameron sighed, wrapped his arm around her thin shoulders, and gave her a hug.

“Why, Cameron,” Gillyanne drawled as she grinned up at him, “I think ye might actually have a sense of humor.”

“I must. I havenae strangled ye yet.”

“Been endearing yourself to everyone as usual, pet?” Payton teased.

“One or two,” Gillyanne replied. “Where is Avery?”

“Aye, where is my sister?” Payton asked, looking at Cameron as he placed his goblet on the table.

There was a hard look in Payton’s eyes that impressed Cameron. The youth was bonny with fine, courtly manners, but Cameron suddenly had no doubt that he could be a formidable opponent as well. So far he had not found anything wrong with Sir Payton Murray, and oddly enough, that irritated him just a little.

“Avery wished a short visit with you ere she left Cairn-moor,” Cameron replied. “She awaits ye in her bedchamber.”

“I will take ye there, Payton,” Gillyanne said, clasping her cousin’s hand in hers. “I can collect my things then and bring them down. Ye can tell Avery that I will wait for her down here.”

“It willnae be a long visit, love,” Payton said. “Bowen said he would wait for two hours. One has already passed. Ye ken how your Bowen is when the ones he watches for dinnae show on time.”

“Weel, if the second hour starts to draw to an end, I will go to the gates and tell him that I am fine, to just wait a wee bit longer.” Gillyanne glanced back at Cameron as she and Payton started to walk away. “Bowen is just verra protective of me.”

The moment Payton and Gillyanne were gone, Cameron looked at Leargan. “Just how many Murrays are sitting outside my walls?”

“Two, three dozen,” Leargan replied. “I would assume we were just subtly told that if the lasses dinnae appear by the time two hours have passed, suspicions will be roused. ’Twould be best to ensure that doesnae happen.”

“Aye,” agreed Cameron. “The last thing I want is a battle.”

“Really, Cameron, they couldnae take Cairnmoor with so few men,” Katherine said. “There is nay need to worry.”

“I would think ye would prefer it if I didnae slaughter Sir Payton’s clansmen until ye are safely wed.”

Katherine’s lips tightened into a thin, flat line. “I can see that ye are in an ill humor. I will leave ye to it.”

As Katherine walked out, Cameron moved to the head of the table and flung himself into his chair. He had been awake not much more than an hour, and the day already felt as if it had been far too long. Considering what was to follow, it was undoubtedly only going to get worse.

Avery sat on her bed staring at her small bag of belongings and trying not to weep. Anne and Therese had stopped to wish her a good journey. They both acted confident that she would not be gone for very long. Avery desperately wished she could share in that certainty; yet at that moment, all she could think of was that Cameron had never given her any words of love. Not once, not even in the heat of passion, had he given her the smallest hint that this was not the ending it appeared to be.

She looked up when the door opened, and there stood Payton. Her brother’s presence was both a pleasure and a pain. She loved Payton dearly and was always glad to see him. Unfortunately, this time his visit signaled the start of her journey home, away from Cameron. Avery found that she was able to smile, however, and she rose to her feet to hug him in greeting.

“He gave ye a verra fine room,” Payton said, looking around.

“Nay verra subtle of ye, brother dear,” she murmured.

Payton grimaced, dragged his fingers through his hair, and asked, “Are ye lovers?”

“Aye. And ye can take that look of anger from your face. I went willingly into his arms.”

“He didnae seduce ye for revenge?”

“Oh, in the beginning he did have such a wondrous plan. He was told that ye had raped his sister, and there was no one about save Gillyanne and I to try to tell him different. Not only had we been in France at the time of the supposed crime, but we could hardly be considered unbiased in our opinions.”

“He doesnae believe that any longer.”

“Nay. I am nay sure when his mind changed, but it did. His plans changed for me as weel. He went from wanting to shame me as he felt his sister had been shamed to making it just a matter between the families and on to…weel”—she blushed—“e’en offering at a particularly awkward moment to leave me my maidenhead.” She blushed even more beneath Payton’s steady stare.

“Wretched lass,” he murmured, and he laughed briefly before growing serious again. “Ye love him.”

“Desperately,” she admitted on a sigh.

“Yet he sends ye away.”

“I dinnae think he kens any other way to do this. Ere we arrived at Cairnmoor, I am sure he was hesitating; then he saw that Katherine was indeed with child and she was still pointing her finger at you.”

“The child isnae mine.”

“Ye didnae e’en have to say it, Payton. The moment he told me ye had denied the child, I kenned it wasnae yours. And, I kenned there was only one way ye could be so sure it wasnae yours, and that was because ye ne’er bedded Katherine.”

“But your lover thinks I did.”

“Aye and nay. He doubts, Payton. I am certain of it. So is Gillyanne.”

Payton muttered a curse and paced the room for a moment. “Yet he will still force
me to marry her.”

“He has a sister, unwed and rounding with child. Cameron may have gotten her to cease claiming ye raped her, forced her to soften her tale to one of seduction and desertion, but she still insists ye are the father of that bairn. What else can he do?”

“Nothing,” Payton whispered, then he added more firmly, “Nothing at all, and I do understand that. Of course, that understanding is often smothered by my horror of taking that woman as my wife.”

Avery hugged him again “When will he make ye wed her?”

“In a week, mayhap two. Now why has that made ye look so verra happy?”

“Because it is proof that he doubts her,” Avery said as she clasped her hands together and pressed them against her breast. “Oh, Payton, he doubts her, and nay just a little. He has given ye time, time in which to prove her the liar she is. Aye, and he has given himself time to do the same. In truth, he has given ye the chance to get free of her.”

“I thought much the same, but I suspect I will be held close within Cairnmoor, so finding the truth could be verra difficult.”

She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “Ye will get the truth out of her. I have no doubt about that.”

“I wish I shared your confidence in me.”

“Ye will. Just make sure that ye are nay the only one to hear it or get a name from her. I believe that Cameron will now at least try to bring the other mon before him, to question him. And, what Gillyanne and I have learned will help.”

Payton grinned. “I was sure the two of you would be working hard to ferret out the truth. ’Tis why ye asked for this visit?”

“Aye, that and wanting to be sure ye understood why Cameron and I became lovers. ’Tis no secret at Cairnmoor, so ye were sure to discover the truth. In fact, Katherine will nay doubt fill your ears with it, wishing to shame me and giving nary a thought to the trouble she could cause her brother. I love the mon. I went to his bed willingly. I just wanted to be sure ye understood that.”

“Do ye think that, when matters settle some, Cameron will try to get ye back, to marry you?”

“I dinnae ken,” she replied softly, taking a moment to swallow the urge to cry. “Everyone else seems to think I will return, but I have had no words of hope from him. No words of love. He desires me and I think he cares for me in his way. He is a mon with scars upon his heart, Payton, and I ken enough of his past to ken why they are there and sympathize. I am just nay sure I got past them. But that cannae matter now. Yours is the most pressing problem.”