Highland Vengeance (9 page)

Before he realized it, Camden watched
Olivia unroll a blanket and place it on the ground. She took her
plaid off and then wrapped the soft material around her as she lay
down on the blanket. He was amazed that this woman had not
complained once on their journey, especially now about sleeping on
the frozen earth. He saw his new wife start to shiver and Camden
knew she needed his body’s heat to warm her. The laird also
realized that he needed to be touching her for his own
sake.

“
I am sorry I do not have a
tent for you. I should have planned better for this journey,”
Camden said softly as he lay down next to her.

He pulled the plaid from her and then
held her close to his body and wrapped them tightly together.
Olivia almost stopped shivering instantly with her face pressed
against his bare chest. She loved the masculine way he smelled of
leather and pine. He began to run his fingers through her hair and
Olivia had chills run through her body. She suddenly wanted him to
touch her everywhere but she knew that was not possible.

She moved to face him and Olivia could
not help herself with their mouths so close. She pressed her lips
softly to his and kissed him gently. Camden smiled against her
mouth remembering how timid she had been at first but now he was
pleased with her boldness.

“
You must be careful when
you kiss me this way,” he whispered between their lips
touching.

“
Why?” She worried thinking
she had done something wrong.

“
If you continue to tease me
with your lips I will have no other choice than to strip you bare
and please you thoroughly.”

“
You wouldn’t.”

“
Aye, wife I would. Now go
to sleep.”

Olivia obeyed her husband for fear he
would be true to his word. His men were sleeping not more than five
feet away and she was sure they had just heard the conversation she
had with her husband. By early morning, the temperature had dropped
even lower but Olivia woke up sweating from the heat of the large
warrior that had her pinned in his arms. It did not take long for
the group to prepare their horses and be on their way
again.

As they reached the Highlands and rode
into Camden’s newly claimed land, the beauty that surrounded them
stunned Olivia. Being almost wintertime, there was stillness in the
air as the animals prepared to hibernate through the cold. She
slowly and carefully guided her steed behind Camden’s up the rocky
terrain as they climbed higher into the land.

“
This is the land that I
have received from our marriage,” he said plainly to his
wife.

“
All of this was my
inheritance?”

“
Yes.”

“
It is so beautiful. If I
had known I had all this incredible land I would have left the
convent years ago to live here,” she said breathlessly.

Camden was curious about her statement
and why she seemed so enchanted by the land. What English woman
would want to leave the comforts of royalty to live in the
mountains of the Highlands?

“
This land is much more
beautiful in the springtime. I am interested in knowing if you
truly think you could have survived your life here in the
Highlands. What about your castles and royal celebrations wife? I
am sure you would have missed them,” he insisted.

“
You do not know what I
would have missed. You just assume I am silly little English girl
that has everyone doting on her,” she said with heat. “Well Laird
Camden Sinclair of the Sinclairs, you are a damn fool!” She
spouted.

“
A damn fool you say? You
certainly have surprised me more than expected but if you think I
could believe for one minute that you would have survived in the
Highlands without my protection then you are the fool wife,” the
laird said.

“
Broderick?” She asked
loudly to the warrior behind her.

“
Yes m’lady?”

“
Do all the Scotland lairds
think their women are weak or is it just Laird Camden?” She said
furiously.

“
M’lady you have astonished
all of us with your strength thus far but my laird is right. A
woman could not survive in this land without a fierce man to battle
for her,” Broderick answered.

“
Aye m’lady, you are strong
but you haven’t seen what the highland men are capable of,” Liam
chimed in.

Camden was grateful he rode in front so
that his wife could not see the large smile on his face. The fury
that was clear in her voice was very amusing. Olivia certainly
thought of herself as brave and she was far more so than he
expected. He wondered how she would respond when she saw his men
training. Their skills and power made most grown men tremble in
fear.

Olivia was so mad she wanted to spit in
anger. She tried hard to compose herself and not shout all the
wicked things she was thinking in her mind.

“
I have only seen that the
Highland men seem to be pigheaded and dim-witted. You obviously
have only weak women here and you have never seen what a woman like
I can do,” she snapped.

Just as she had finished her ranting,
they reached the valley where Camden had declared his rule to the
ungoverned men and he watched as they all started gathering to
receive him. It was apparent that they had spread the word
throughout the land of the new laird because their numbers had
greatly increased in size. By Camden’s estimate there were at least
ten times the amount of men here than before. He was pleased and
anxious to train these men. The laird would create a powerful army
of warriors to defeat the McKay clan.

As Camden and Olivia dismounted their
horses, a young boy of about twelve years came running up to them.
He quickly fell to one knee and bowed his head.

“
I pledge my loyalty to ye
Laird Sinclair,” he said.

“
What is your name boy?”
Camden asked.

“
Tristan,
m’laird.”

“
Stand and meet my wife,
this is Lady Sinclair.”

Tristan immediately bowed again.
“M’lady.”

“
Take our horses and tie
them up. See to their needs and you shall be rewarded,” Camden said
firmly.

“
Yes m’laird,” Tristan said
with excitement.

Camden turned to the nomads that
watched him and the boy interacting.

“
I am pleased with this
boy’s devotion for his laird. I have said this before and I will
say this again. Everyone here shall swear their loyalty to me now
as their laird or you will prepare to fight me to the death and I
will not be the one that dies,” Camden ordered.

As the warriors in Camden’s guard stood
behind their laird, all of the lawless men took to one knee and
bowed their heads.

“
Do you vow to be loyal and
learn to fight as true Highland warriors?” Camden
yelled.

The crowd quickly screamed “aye” to
their new laird.

“
Do you swear to fight for
me and my guard in life and in death?” He yelled.

More cheers and “ayes” came among the
men.

“
We shall unite as one and
if any decide to cause grievance among us they shall answer to me,”
Camden demanded.

Olivia watched in awe as her husband
commanded respect and received it from the newly formed clan. How
easy it must be, she thought, for a man to gain leadership. Not
minutes earlier, Olivia was trying hard to make the men believe she
was an equal and they clearly were not going to give in. Camden
just rode in here with his guard and took power over these men. Of
course, they looked as if they needed a fierce leader for not one
of them had the size and strength that the Sinclair warriors had.
The clan members barely reached their laird’s shoulders and Olivia
noticed that even she was taller than some of the men.

The new clan began introducing
themselves to their laird and his guard. Olivia stood to the side
as she watched her husband interact with the people and she could
not help but grin when he smiled. Some of the new men openly gaped
at Olivia as her beaming smile captivated those who saw
her.

“
Stop drooling over your
laird’s wife,” Liam snarled at the men.

Suddenly, a seven-foot wall of warriors
surrounded Olivia as the Sinclair men blocked her from everyone’s
view. Camden could immediately tell there was going to be a problem
if he did not calm the matter quickly. Olivia thought they were
being ridiculous for certainly nobody was drooling over her. She
thought that was an absurd notion and she was going to tell them so
after she pushed through the men to face the crowd.

“
Excuse me, but I believe
Liam has accused someone of drooling. Is there anyone here who has
drooled?” She argued.

No one moved and everyone stared at the
stunning beauty before them.

“
I didn’t think so. Liam, I
believe the men were simply looking at their new laird’s wife. I am
sure they would not dare drool over a woman or else their new laird
would think them weak. Am I right?” She asked the new
clan.

Several men nodded as they agreed to
show their laird they were not feeble. Olivia smiled softly and
turned to Camden.

“
Also Liam, if someone dares
to look at your laird’s wife then I believe he himself is extremely
capable of handling the matter. In fact, I think he would like to
crush any man who dares look at his wife in the wrong manner,” she
said with a wink.

God she was a lovely lass, Camden
thought and she was right too. He would like to crush any man who
looked at his wife. He was truly grateful as he watched this
exquisite woman defuse the tense situation.

“
Now shall we continue
getting to know one another?” She said.

The men began to laugh and quickly
everyone started talking again. The clan prepared what was a feast
to them but a very meager meal for Camden and his men. The laird
immediately felt guilty for the insufficient means of his new clan.
The laird needed to provide them with plenty of food to build their
strength. He would have to think of a way to bring more food here
until they could work the land in the spring.

One of the older men of the clan showed
the laird a small cottage they had built for him and his wife while
they had been gone. Camden was overwhelmed with gratitude and the
show of respect the clan had given them. He would still have to
watch his back with the new men but now he could at least offer his
wife some comfort tonight. They would have a roof over their heads
and the warmth of a small hearth.

There were only a few women in the clan
and the countess made quick friends with them. She was extremely
grateful to have them for company. The day went by quickly and as
evening approached, Olivia joined the women when they went to the
stream to rinse off in the chilly water.

After her trip to the stream, Olivia
stepped inside the small cozy cottage and was surprised to see
Camden already lying on the small padded mat on the floor. It
looked hardly big enough for him and she could not imagine sleeping
there with him. Olivia sat on the floor by the hearth and started
drying her hair when she heard Camden move behind her.

“
Come to bed wife,” he said
gruffly.

“
I don’t know where I shall
sleep. There certainly isn’t enough room for me to lie next to
you,” she said turning to face him.

He pulled back the plaid blanket
revealing his powerful muscular bare body and used the crook of one
finger to motion her to come to him.

“
I wasn’t planning on
sleeping wife,” he grinned wickedly.

Chapter Five

Olivia felt the burn of his gaze flood
through her body. She wanted to jump into his arms but never would
she let a man control her like that. Olivia worried he would
believe her to be obedient to his every word and she surely was not
going to do that. The young countess decided to turn the
conversation to other matters and distract him from his apparent
intentions.

“
My laird, may I ask why you
want to turn all these men into warriors. Is there a need for them
to be? I would assume it is for protecting our land but is that the
only reason?” She asked as she moved to lie next to him.

“
That is not your matter
wife,” he said while he started kissing her neck.

“
Well of course it is my
matter my laird. These are my people too. I only asked a small
question but you are evading it as if you are hiding
something.”

He began using his tongue to tease her
softly. She was exactly right. He was avoiding her question because
the reason would take a great deal of time to explain and right
now, the laird could not wait much longer before he needed to feel
her silky body under his.

Olivia was trying hard to control
herself but his hands started to lightly touch her breasts and she
could not think when he was near her like this. It was not just
that Camden was a distraction but he made her senses so enhanced
that her mind could not seem to function. What was she even talking
about anyway?

“
Camden, what was I saying?
Damn it, you make me look like a dense fool when I can’t keep my
thoughts together,” she said feeling flustered.