Highland Warrior Woman (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (16 page)

“I am sorry, Gerty. I meant not to frighten ye. Lilith is the one who shot the arrow at Maeghan. She has been banished from Campbell land.”

“Did ye arrange for her to be escorted from our land?” Calum queried as he took the cake of lye soap from Gerty.

“Aye. Aedan and Ailig have instructions to see her to the edge of Campbell land.”

“Good.” Calum and Gerty thoroughly cleaned Maeghan’s arm and then doused it in whiskey. Once done, they wrapped it in clean linens.

“Best ye put her to bed now, Ewan. She needs rest to heal.”

Hamish pulled the covers back on the bed as Ewan rose to his feet. His brother gently placed Maeghan on the bed. They both removed her clothes so she would be comfortable and covered her up. He got on the bed and rested beside her, too worried over her condition to leave her side.

Over the next few hours, Maeghan slept peacefully, but when she awakened her cheeks were flushed. Hamish touched the skin of her forehead and sighed with relief when he realized she was just reddened from sleep.

“Hamish? Where have ye been?” Maeghan tried to push herself up the bed but gasped with pain.

“Hush, sweetling. Donnae move, just rest.” He brushed the hair back from her face. The door slammed open against the opposite wall, admitting Ewan and Calum.

“How are ye feeling, dearling?”

“Is yer arm too sore, sweetness?”

“I’ll be fine in a day or two,” Maeghan replied. “Where did ye all go this morn?”

“We went to see Laird MacLeod,” Hamish answered.

“What did ye want to see him for?” she asked cantankerously.

“Ye dinnae honestly think we would let that cowardly bastard get away with hurting our wife, did ye?” Ewan queried gruffly.

“Hamish unleashed his ire on MacLeod and gave him the beating he deserved for hurting ye,” Calum explained. “He will take many a sennight to heal, as our brother broke MacLeod’s nose, jaw, and ribs. He willnae be looking from his swollen eyes for a long time either.”

“Calum downed the MacLeod’s commander with one punch to the face,” Ewan added with disgust.

“I wasn’t thy wife then.” She was glad her husbands hadn’t killed MacLeod and his commander, but she was thankful that they had avenged her. Hopefully after such a beating the man and warrior would think twice about hurting someone weaker than them.

“Nay, ye weren’t, but as far as we were concerned, the soonest we saw ye, ye were ours,” Calum said, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

“What do ye mean?”

“What my insensitive brothers are trying to say is that as soon as we saw ye, we were drawn to thee, wife. Ye were beautiful even when ye were bruised. Do ye not realize how much we care for ye, Maeghan?” Hamish inquired.

“Ye do?”

“Och, ye are as bad as those two.” Hamish pointed at Ewan and Calum. “We love thee, woman. Ye mean more to us than all the Campbell land.”

“Oh my,” Maeghan whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

“Aye,” Ewan said, agreeing with Hamish’s declaration.

“Are ye sure?”

“Aye,” Calum said moodily.

Hamish watched as a smile formed on Maeghan’s lips. The light that filled her eyes made her shine from within. She virtually glowed.

“I love ye all so much. Calum, ye are so commanding and stubborn, but I love ye just the way ye are,” she said and took hold of his hand when he walked over and sat on the other side of her.

“Ewan, ye are a combination of yer brothers. Ye are demanding at times, but ye also speak soft words when ye have the desire. Ye are more gentle than yer brothers and more diplomatic.”

She looked to him. “Hamish, ye have the face of an angel and the words of a poet, but ye also have the temper of the devil. But I wouldn’t want to change ye. I think I was meant to be taken by the MacLeod Laird, for if I hadnae, I would never have met ye three. God had a hand in our meeting.”

“Ye may be right, wife,” Calum said in a husky voice and cleared his throat before speaking again. “Now close yer eyes and rest.”

“See? Just as I said, ye are commanding.” Maeghan laughed.

“Just wait until ye are well again, wife, and we’ll show ye commanding and demanding.” Ewan smiled and moved toward the door after Calum. “Rest, wife.”

“Ye should do as yer laird commands, sweetling.” Hamish kissed her on the head. “I can see how hard ye are trying to keep yer eyes open.”

Hamish moved down the bed and, being careful of Maeghan’s injury, pulled her into his arms. He let her sweet lavender scent fill his nostrils and savored her warm body cuddling up against him. He would never let another harm her, even if it meant breathing his last breath. Maeghan meant more to him than all the coins and whiskey in the highlands, and nothing was more important to a highlander than his whiskey, except the love of his life.

* * * *

Standing on the crest of the hillock, Maeghan watched the young warriors practicing their aim with bow and arrow once more. Two weeks had passed since her injury, during which she had been once again confined to her bedchamber. She had been secretly exercising the muscles, strengthening and loosening her stiff arm. Not only did she want her strength back for archery, she wanted her husbands back.

Though they slept with her in the same bed, they did not touch her except to kiss and cuddle her. She longed to feel their hands and mouths caressing her and giving her pleasure, but they had vowed they would not make any physical demands on her until she had the full use of her arm.

She was more than ready for some love and attention from her men. All she needed to do now was convince them, too.

Aedan and Ailig saw her watching them and beckoned her to them.

Once she was standing next to them, Ailig offered her the use of his weapon. “Do ye care to give us a few pointers, my lady?”

She took the bow and notched an arrow. “I donnae know how to teach, Ailig, but maybe by watching ye can see what I do.”

“Ye have a new dirk, my lady. It’s a beauty,” Aedan observed.

“Aye, my husbands presented it to me this very morn.” Her men had told her the knife was a gift to replace the one she had left in the MacLeod Laird. They wanted her to be able to protect herself if the need arose and they weren’t at hand. But Calum, being who he was, had told her he and his brothers would make sure she was kept safe, therefore the only time she would need the dirk was to cut up her food.

“Well, that is as it should be, my lady. No warrior should be without one,” Ailig declared.

Tears filled Maeghan’s eyes, and she lowered the bow. “Thank ye for such a magnificent compliment.”

Ailig blushed and lowered his head, mumbling, “Ye are welcome.”

“Come on, Lady Maeghan, show us yer aim,” called another young man.

Taking a deep breath, she raised the bow and took aim as she pulled back the string. Just as she released the arrow, she caught movement in the trees close by.

Lilith.

She drew her dirk from its sheath. As she turned her head, she spied Lilith aiming an arrow right for her heart.

Maeghan didn’t stop to think. She raised her arm and, with a flick of her wrist, let the dirk fly. Her aim was true. The dirk caught Lilith in the chest and pierced her heart.

The woman swayed on her feet, looking down with stupefaction. She lifted her head once more, looked at Maeghan with confusion, and then her eyes rolled back in her head. She fell to the ground facedown.

Cheers rent the air and the young men crowded around her in awe of her skills. Even though Maeghan hated that she had taken a life, Lilith was one woman who had needed to be killed. She had never been more thankful of the way her father raised her. If she hadn’t been brought up as a lad, she would probably be dead.

Someone must have gone to fetch her husbands from the training ground, because moments later they were running down the incline toward her. Hamish reached her first, his face red and a mask of fury. He didn’t stop until he swept her off her feet and into his arms.

Maeghan stroked the side of his face, trying to convey a calm she was far from feeling herself.

“Are ye all right, lass? Did she hurt ye?”

“Nay, Hamish. She dinnae get near me.”

Aedan and Ailig began telling the tale of how she had killed Lilith. Maeghan hid her face in Hamish’s neck, not wanting the young men’s adulation for taking a life.

“How did Lilith get inside the bailey?” Hamish questioned the warriors surrounding them. “Summon the gatekeeper.”

Calum posed the question in a near roar this time. “Why did ye let Lilith in the gate when ye knew she had been banished for attempting to kill my wife?”

“Um, I’m sorry, Laird Campbell. I dinnae realize it was Lilith. The only person asking for entrance was a young priest, wrapped up in a hooded cloak.”

“Dinnae ye see the priest’s face?” Ewan bellowed.

“Nay,” the gatekeeper nearly whispered and lowered his head.

“From now on no one is to be let in without mine or my brothers’ permission. Is that understood?”

“Aye. Please forgive me, Laird, Ewan, Hamish. My lady, my apologies.”

Maeghan nodded her acceptance and then snuggled up to Hamish.

“Hamish,” she whispered in his ear.

“Aye?”

“I need to feel yer touch. I want my husbands touching me and taking away the feeling of treachery.”

He adjusted his hold on her by placing an arm beneath her knees and began striding toward the keep at a rapid pace.

“Ewan, Calum, ye are needed in the bedchamber now.”

Maeghan giggled when she realized he had virtually roared the command. Cheers and jests followed them as he carried her inside.

Ewan ran after Hamish and Maeghan. Calum was at his side. He was scared that maybe his wife had been hurt after all, but from what he could see, there was no blood on her body. He had been sure the young warriors had been jesting when they had told of Maeghan killing Lilith with her dirk, but when he had rolled the dead woman over, he had seen the hilt of Maeghan’s dagger protruding from her chest. He and his brothers had only presented the dirk to her that morn.

The young warriors had proclaimed his wife a warrior, and he could do naught but agree. She was far more skilled at taking care of herself than he had believed. Ewan was going to send a messenger to the MacTavish holding and make sure Maeghan’s sword was brought to the keep. He hadn’t even known she could use one until Blane had said so.

Ewan was looking forward to learning how his wife handled a sword, but now he needed to concentrate on her well-being. Taking the steps two at a time, he and Calum bumped shoulders as they tried to get through the doorway together. Calum pushed him aside and burst through a step before him.

“Take off yer clothes, lass,” Hamish commanded.

“Hamish, what are ye…?”

Hamish held up a hand, halting his question. “Maeghan needs our love and touch,” he explained. “I am only helping her be ready.”

Ewan watched as Maeghan unclasped the brooch holding her plaid over her shoulder and then wiggled out of it. She lifted the yellow shirt over her head and was left standing before them in her thin chemise.

“Are ye sure this is what ye want, dearling?” he asked as he moved toward her.

“Aye. Please, I need ye all to touch me. Love me.”

“Och, we do that, sweetness,” Calum said gruffly and moved to stand behind her, placing his hand on her shoulders.

Ewan took another couple of steps until he was standing before her. Grasping the neckline of her chemise, he tugged, ripping the material down the front. “Ye are so beautiful, Maeghan. Ye steal my breath.”

He pushed the material from her shoulders, where it fell to the floor and pooled around her feet. Then he gently lifted his wife in his arms and took her over to the bed. Covering her body with his own, he kissed her, letting her feel all the love and emotion he held for his warrior wife.

He lost himself to sensation as the kiss turned carnally hungry.

* * * *

Maeghan tangled her tongue with Ewan’s, savoring his spicy flavor on her tongue. She whimpered when his hand palmed her naked breast and his thumb swept back and forth over the sensitive tip. She ran her hands up and down his back, growling with frustration when she encountered his shirt. Withdrawing her mouth from his, she gulped in air and panted with need.

“Shh, dearling, we will ease yer ache,” he crooned to her.

Ewan pushed back with his hands and then moved off the bed. She watched as he began removing his plaid, shirt, and boots with haste. Hamish crawled onto the bed beside her, and it was then she realized that while she had been kissing Ewan, Hamish and Calum had divested themselves of their clothes.

“Do ye want us together,
muirnin
?” asked Calum.

She loved it when they called her “sweetheart.” “Aye,” she gasped.

Calum lay down between her thighs and gently parted her legs. He licked and sucked on her pussy, and more cream leaked from her body. His tongue flicked over the button at the top of her slit, and when she thought she would reach ecstasy, he stopped.