Seducing the Highlander (8 page)

“I don’t know if I wish to go back to my father,” she said, her slender throat rippling as she swallowed, the glow of the lamp turning her hair the color of molten gold. “He sacrificed me once already, and though I will always love him, my trust in him has been shattered. While I was willing to do my duty to help my family, he must have known more about Frankton than he revealed to me. I feel I was betrayed. I have an aunt who lives in Wales. Perhaps I could go there.”

“It’s too far away,” Ian objected without thinking.

“All you have to do, Ian, is take me back to England. You owe me that much. But don’t worry; I do not expect you to escort me farther. I will work out the rest myself.”

Despite the scandal of her abduction and her lost virginity, Leanna would have no trouble finding a husband; of that he had little doubt. Her beauty was incomparable, and she was a lady in every sense of the word. Couple that with her innate sensuality, and a man would be a fool not to want her.

If she carried his child, which was a definite possibility after the past days and nights of sexual excess in his bed, he would not let her go; that he knew. Whether he could let her go
at all
was the question.

“I take it,” he asked quietly, “you wish to sleep alone? I will accept it, since I have never forced myself on you or any other woman, but what of our bargain? I upheld my part, my lady. You asked me to take you and I did so, trying to give as much pleasure as I received. You captivate me, lass, and I want you and will continue to want you as long as you are here.”

“I want you too,” she confessed with her typical honesty, “but it was so easy to excuse my wanton behavior when I felt I was spitefully foiling the baron.”

I want you too.
. . .

A tightness inside him eased.

“You are not wanton, but passionate, and I personally prefer the idea that you lie with me because you wish it, not because of Frankton,” Ian said persuasively. “Come to me, Leanna, and keep him out of our bed.”

Encouraged when she did not refuse, Ian crossed the room and lifted her gently into his arms. He kissed her soft mouth, then looked into her eyes and said with perfect truth, “I am as confused as you are over what lies ahead. Perhaps it would be best if we simply enjoyed what time we have together before he comes. When this matter is settled and my uncle freed, we will decide the future.”

Her slim arms went around his neck, and the smile she gave was both wistful and alluring. “Has any woman ever denied you, Ian?”

He grinned. “Not in my memory.”

“Then perhaps that’s what I’ll tell myself.” She touched his cheek and offered her mouth for another kiss. He obliged, pleasure and arousal flooding his body.

This need,
he thought, tasting and stroking her even as he carried her across the hall to his bed,
is almost frightening.

 

 

It was just before dawn, that dead hour between night and day. Leanna stirred and rolled over, seeking the solid warmth of Ian’s body. To her surprise, his arm came around her like a band of iron, and his hand covered her mouth. In her ear, he breathed, “Don’t move or make a sound, love.”

Startled, she came fully awake, obeying his terse order and blinking in the darkness. He let her go but was tense; she could feel the rock- hard bulge of his impressive muscles and hear the steady, increased thud of his heart. In a moment, she understood why. The door gave a small, almost inaudible creak as it inched open.

Lying on her side facing Ian with her eyes half-closed, she couldn’t quite see what was happening, but feigned sleep as he obviously wanted her to, trying to stay relaxed even though her pulse raced and throbbed in her throat. Sprawled next to her, Ian also gave the appearance of deep slumber, his dark hair disheveled on the pillows.

There was more than one man; she could tell that from the sound of their breathing. How many she wasn’t sure, but a scream built in her throat as Ian still didn’t move. When she saw the silhouette loom over the bed, she wasn’t sure she could keep still a moment longer.

Suddenly, the scene erupted as Ian flung himself upward, his fist connecting solidly with flesh, and a yelp of pain echoed out. Shrinking back against the bed, Leanna saw in terror there were at least three men in the bedroom, all dressed in black clothing, undoubtedly armed, for she caught a gleam of metal in the darkness. Ian too, she saw in the dim light coming through the window, held a wicked-looking knife, and as she watched, he swung it in a precise movement toward the closest of their assailants, cutting the man across the neck, the spurt of blood horrifying. The invader fell, clutching the gash, and hit the floor with a solid thud. Losing no time, fast as a dancer and as graceful, Ian slashed again and she heard the ripping of cloth and a bellow as another man stumbled backward to hit the wall. It happened so incredibly fast that the injured man looked astounded even as his knees buckled.

The one man left standing seemed undeterred, but was smart enough to not let Ian close, and they faced off warily. Magnificently nude, his dark hair sleek around his shoulders, Ian was not only unafraid, but obviously furious. His eyes were narrowed and he resembled a menacing mythical warrior, perfectly proportioned and muscular, his dripping knife attesting to his deft skill. He kept between the attacker and the bed, protecting
her
, Leanna realized.

“I’ll spare you,” he said through his teeth, “despite the cowardly approach and the fact that you are a paid killer, if you put down your weapon.”

“Save your breath, Scotsman,” the man spat. He was huge, every bit as tall as Ian, and even heavier, with hulking shoulders.

“Very well. It was your choice. When you wake up in hell, remember it.”

Feinting a slash to the stomach, Ian charged and then dodged left, his movements a blur. All Leanna knew was that suddenly the large man went rigid, his face convulsing, his knife falling from lax fingers, never even having the opportunity to attack. He crumpled and Ian let him fall, his long knife buried to the hilt in the man’s back. Barely breathing hard, Ian stood there and surveyed the chaos with a cool gaze.

Huddled in the bed, shocked and suddenly shivering, Leanna could not believe she had just seen three men killed before her eyes, and that the tender lover who had brought her to the peak of ecstasy time and again had cut them down with such ruthless skill—it all seemed a dream. The sickening stench of coppery blood made her stomach lurch, and she fought the urge to scream hysterically at the sight of the sprawled bodies. It was a nightmare, she promised herself, and closed her eyes.

The commotion had roused others too. She could hear doors opening, and seconds later, a low whistle rang out. Reluctantly, her body trembling, she lifted her lashes. Robbie stood in the doorway as he took in the carnage. His sword hung in his hand and he was bare chested, clad in only a pair of doeskin breeches. “What do we have here, cousin? By God, Ian, couldn’t you have saved one for me?”

Ian shrugged, still naked and blood spattered. “I tried. He wouldn’t listen.”

“Oh, dear Lord in heaven,” Rossie cried, peeking out from behind Robbie’s tall form, her horrified gaze fastened on the fallen men. “What kind of madness is this?”

“Frankton’s work, no doubt,” Ian explained with a grim smile. “He has discovered where Leanna is and, in his usual way, tried the underhanded approach first. If I weren’t a light sleeper, I suspect I’d be dead and she would be on her way back to England as we speak.”

Belatedly, Leanna remembered she was nude and snatched the sheet up to cover herself, but not before Robbie noticed her state of undress, his smile holding a wicked glint. Shifting his gaze back to his cousin, Robbie said, “He’ll know now you are on your guard. That helps, because he won’t have a choice but to come himself.”

“And believe me”—Ian’s voice was chillingly cold—“I can’t wait.”

“I
ordered Harry to follow them and take two more well-armed men.” Ian stood high up on the castle walk and watched as, far below, Robbie led Leanna from the courtyard, the gleam of her bright hair unmistakable in the sunlight. “I am reasonably sure that no one else could slip through the guards I have posted, but then again, I certainly did not think three men could penetrate our defenses so easily and gain entrance to my own bedroom.”

“They murdered the sentries in cold blood,” Angus said bitterly. “Typical brutality for such a conscienceless Sassenach, damn his black soul straight to hell.”

“I should have doubled the watch. It is all my fault.”

“Don’t flay yourself any more over it, lad. You killed the English hireling bastards. That’s some justice for our fallen men.”

It was easier said than done to salve his conscience; Ian knew that. The men the baron had hired to murder him had been thorough and well trained, and they had killed four of his clansmen, loyal McCrays with families. He would provide for their wives and children, but that didn’t make up for the loss of a husband or a father. “Dammit,” Ian muttered, “I just want him to come and face me.”

“All of this over one woman.” Angus shook his head.

“It isn’t about Leanna. It’s about Frankton’s greed.” Ian was quick to defend her, surprised that Angus would dare voice such a thought out loud.

“Aye, yes, but there’s more trouble ahead, the dastardly baron aside.”

Ian glanced over with a low sigh. From their high perch, Angus watched the young couple as they left the protective courtyard walls, Robbie courteously taking Leanna’s arm to aid her over the rough patches in the path. “You mean Robbie, of course.”

“That I do, lad. He fancies himself in love with your woman, Ian; make no mistake about it. You are not there to see his face when you follow her so eagerly upstairs. His tortured expression tells me he goes to sleep imagining you between those pale legs, taking your pleasure.”

“He has more lasses than he knows what to do with,” Ian protested in open disgust.

“Yet he yearns for yours.” Angus chuckled suddenly, stroking his beard. “It’s retribution, I am guessing, for all those years you so easily bedded any woman who caught your eye. Here you are now, having to defend your claim to none other than your own cousin.”

“I am defending nothing,” Ian snapped. “She’s mine. Robbie knows that. He won’t challenge me. If I thought he would, I would hardly let them go off and picnic or fish or God knows what particular ridiculous outing he has planned today, the besotted fool. Leanna enjoys being out of the castle, so I allow it. Nothing will happen.”

Mildly, his friend remarked, “You seem testy for someone so sure of young Robbie.”

“He would give his life for her,” Ian said with conviction. Then he added on a breath, “But I don’t want to have to ask that of him. Therefore the extra guard. And you are right as usual, Angus; I am growing peeved with him. He does nothing to conceal the way he looks at her, as if he is imagining her naked and willing in his arms. By the fires of hell, what does he expect I will do in the end?”

“His eager cock is thinking, not his mind. Last eve, I thought you were going to tear his young head off.”

Remembering the way his cousin had stared at Leanna’s admittedly lovely full breasts, the creamy upper curves bared by a low-cut gown that flattered her entrancing figure, still made Ian’s mouth tighten in irritation. “He annoyed the devil out of me,” he admitted, thrusting his fingers through his hair. “Will I have to endure this for a lifetime, every man who sees her wanting her?”

“A lifetime? Ah, I see, you’ve decided then to wed her? I guess I am not surprised.”

Had he? The question set him off balance. To avoid answering it, he said quickly, “I want no part of a quarrel with Robbie, quite the contrary. He is like a brother to me, closer than anyone else in my family. I am fond of him, and I also see how he is with
me
now these past days: jealous and angry as well. Tension like this between us is the last thing we need, especially considering the threat from Frankton. However, I cannot see how to fix it. I suppose I could forbid Leanna to be near him, but I haven’t seen that she encourages him in any way, so it would seem as if I were punishing her and regarded him with mistrust. It might make things worse.”

Putting his hands on the wall in front of him, Angus looked thoughtful. “Perhaps the best thing to do would be to let him consummate his passion for her. Give him permission to bed her for one night.”

For a split second, Ian could not even speak. Then he exploded in uncharacteristic fury. “Are you insane? One second, you tell me you aren’t surprised I want to marry her; the next, you tell me to let her fuck someone else.”

“Just to get a reaction from you, lad.” Angus chuckled, but then his smile faded and he said gruffly, “I saw how it was from the beginning between you and Lady Leanna. So did Rossie. Not much slips past her keen eye, and she is fond of the girl. For an Englishwoman, the lass is acceptable for the wife of our laird. When a woman is truly in love with a man, it is hard to miss.”

Pushing aside the unpalatable vision of his cousin and Leanna in bed together, Ian asked tersely, “You think she is in love with me?”

“By the gods, it’s obvious, boy, to someone not so involved. And since she told Rossie plainly so, I am guessing it is true.”

Leanna in love with me
—the idea was not new, if he admitted it. He
wanted
her to be in love with him.

As he was with her. And apparently his cousin was as well.

Damn, this was a complication he didn’t need.

“What should I do about Robbie?” he asked. Though he was used to making decisions affecting the lives of his clan with calm, cool logic, clearheaded thinking escaped him when it came to Leanna.

“Perhaps you should let her handle it.”