The Highlander's Runaway Bride (21 page)

Her heart hurt at the thought of it, but she'd run out of choices in this. Do her father's bidding and be woven into his web of deceit forever. Confess her sins and lose the man she loved even while she suffered the possibility of her daughter's death.

* * *

By the time the nursemaid returned, Eva knew what she must do. She handed Joanna to her and walked out of the chamber before Arabella would be summoned to feed her. She'd nearly made it to the stairs when the lady whispered her name.

‘Eva? Are you well?'

‘I am, Arabella. Just tired. I seek my chambers now,' she said, easing away a step at a time.

‘Eva? What did your father say?' This was the only person to know her truth, but she knew only part of it.

‘May we speak of this in the morn?' There was a long pause before an answer came, and she was saved from further scrutiny only by the cry of the bairn.

‘Aye. In the morning, then.'

Eva would leave. She would disappear. This time, without her father to leave clues to be followed. No one would find her. No one would care.

Without her to do his bidding, her father would have to make his own agreement with the Mackintoshes. Even if he exposed her past, she would be gone before Rob knew the truth. She would not have to see his face when he learned it. And the sick feeling in the pit of her gut told her that Mairead was gone forever.

But first, she wanted one more night with him. One night to remember for the rest of her days. One night that no one could take from her in the empty months and years that stretched out before her.

One more night of love before the hatred began and her life descended into hell.

One more night.

Chapter Twenty-Two

R
ob sat in the dark and waited for her. The keep had quieted for the night some time ago, so he listened to the stillness and waited.

She would want to run, he knew that. The impulse to escape was something within her that nothing and no one could change. Facing down her father was not something she could do well—a lifetime of punishment for just such behaviour would have beaten it out of her.

So, he waited here, knowing that she would have to pack some of her things before leaving. To help her pick up the pieces. To help her see her own worth. To love her.

To beg her to stay.

He heard her footsteps coming down the corridor and listened as she paused there outside the door. He'd seen her do what she was doing there now—gathering herself back inside. The latch lifted and the door eased open. Eva stood there, her body outlined by the torch behind her in the wall.

Once, she'd stood before the fire here, not knowing that her shape was revealed to him. Now, he needed no light to know that body. He had touched and tasted every curve and crevice, every inch of the skin, every bit of her.

More than that though, he now knew her heart and her soul.

And he knew that she held his heart and soul.

Eva turned then and noticed him. He would wait on her, for he recognised that fragile expression in her gaze as it fell upon him. She walked across the chamber to him and knelt before him. Without a word, she undressed him, easing his belt and plaid out of her way and pulling the shirt over his head.

Then, she loved him the way he had her—with her mouth and hands and every part of her body, even her hair. He never took his eyes from her as she went about the task of giving him pleasure and bringing him to release.

She was relentless in her attentions, and his good intentions of allowing her to have her way without saying a word failed when she slid her mouth over his flesh and suckled it. He shouted her name, and it echoed off the walls as she cupped his bollocks and sucked him until he spilled his seed.

When he finished and would have pulled her into his arms and shown her the same consideration, she shook her head and laid it on his chest, as though listening to his heart. They remained there, in silence, touching and yet not, for some time. When his flesh responded once more to her nearness, she began to stroke it.

‘Nay,' he said, moving her hand away. He held her shoulders and helped her to stand before him, between his legs.

And he undressed her, kissing every inch as he uncovered her to his gaze. She was panting by the time he finished, and he guided her forward, to kneel over his hips. Entering her a scant inch at a time, he slowly filled her until she could take no more. But then she seated herself the rest of the way on his shaft. Her head fell back, her now-loosened hair swung around her hips and the sigh she released heated his blood.

Rob reached out and stroked her body, sliding his hands over her breasts and teasing the tips with his thumbs. She arched against him, rocking her hips and gasping with each movement. He traced a path down over her belly and into the curls, seeking the spot that drove her to madness. Filled by this flesh, she could not move much, but her body reacted when he slipped one finger and then two into the folds and found the bud there.

‘Come for me, Eva. Let me watch you as you do,' he urged.

His fingers moved faster and harder on that engorged flesh, and she rocked more and more on his shaft and against his fingers, seeking the release she knew she could find. When he felt the first tremors of it, he pushed them free of the chair and walked them to the bed. Without leaving her body, he laid her down and thrust deeply inside her to touch her core.

Her body rippled inside that place and he felt as though fingers tightened around his manhood. He was not ready yet, so he plunged into her and pulled out, over and over as she screamed out her pleasure. And when his body readied to pour his seed into her, he said the words he needed her to hear and to believe.

‘I love you, Eva MacKay,' he said, thrusting in and hearing her gasp. ‘You are mine.'

He was close, damn it, so he moved harder and harder into her, whispering those words over and over and hoping she heard them and accepted them. His bollocks tightened then, his flesh swelled and one more thrust brought on his release.

They lay on the bed in silence, the air heavy between them. Rob knew she needed this, and he would give her whatever she needed. The night moved slowly, and they loved several more times before she was spent. As she nestled closer to him, pulling his arm across her waist and holding it near her heart, Rob could feel her body finally seeking rest.

‘Do not run away from this,' he said quietly. Her body startled. ‘Stay here. Stay with me, Eva.' He waited for her to say something, any words at all, but none came. ‘I beg you, do not run this time.'

* * *

He had ruined her plans completely.

Her body and soul sated with this night of pleasure and love, she'd planned to leave in the morning when the gates opened and the keep and village were caught up in the activities of welcoming so many guests. Once Brodie called Rob to his side, her path and opportunity would be open and she would leave Glenlui and the Mackintoshes...and Rob...forever.

He did not understand yet that it was his best protection. He thought he knew and could stand against her father. He thought right would win out in this situation.

But she knew better. Eva had lived her life trying to stand against Ramsey MacKay and learned the lesson after paying the most terrible and steep price for her resistance. Leaving would protect him best.

But now, how could she? How could she walk away when Rob knew what she planned to do and asked, nay begged, her not to? Damn her own weakness in this!

One more day, she decided. She would stay one more day and see if she could find a solution to this dilemma. One more day to lull his suspicions, too. 'Twould make her escape easier if she did not rush it.

His breathing slowed against her ear. He slept, never loosening his hold on her, as though he feared she would slip away in the night.

One more day.

* * *

Rob and Magnus were training in the yard when the knock came on his door. Brodie had expected her sooner, but she waited until they would not be interrupted by her husband's attentions. He opened the door and bade her enter.

He'd seen many sides of Ramsey MacKay's daughter, but this was a new one for him. The ill woman, the insecure and fearful one, the one who fell in love with his best friend, the friend to his own wife. There were many facets to this woman, but now she was confident and purposeful as she entered the chamber and faced him.

‘You are here to collect your debt then, Eva?'

‘Aye.'

A simple answer, and yet one that could and would cause many consequences. His offer of a favour was not something simply uttered in an uncontrolled emotional outburst to be denied later when cooler heads prevailed. He stood by it and would honour her request, no matter the cost of it. Brodie poured some wine in his cup and offered her some. She declined with a curt shake of her head. Business, then.

‘What will you have?' he asked.

‘My father wishes to have better terms in the coming negotiations. He asks for the right to accept or reject what you offer first, before you offer them to the others who are coming.'

It all fit what he was beginning to recognise as the man and the pattern of behaviour of the head of the Clan MacKay. But Eva speaking on his behalf did surprise him.

‘And this is what you ask from me as payment of what I owe you?' he asked.

He watched her carefully as she considered his words. Her blue eyes flashed with anger, and she shook her head.

‘Nay,' she said, meeting his eyes. ‘I would not plead his case to you. I but thought you should know what he wants and what he will press for.'

She took the cup he'd offered before and drank it down in a long swallow. Brodie thought he saw her resolve softening, but the look of determination in her gaze told him otherwise when she placed the empty cup down and faced him directly.

‘Your debt to me will be paid if you find Rob a way out of this marriage.'

Of everything the woman could ask him for, this had never entered his mind. Brodie thought himself well versed in strategy and negotiations, but this, this was a surprise.

‘I thought that both of you were finding the marriage to be satisfactory,' he said. Though neither realised it, they both were walking around in a constant state of bliss for the last month. Satisfactory? Hell, they were happy in their marriage, which Brodie knew was a huge step since their unhappy beginnings. When she did not answer his implied question, he asked it aloud. ‘Why would Rob want a way out?'

‘The truth will out soon,' she said in a toneless voice. ‘When he knows, he will not wish to be married to me.'

Good Christ! What the hell had happened between them that could make Rob forsake the woman he so clearly loved? ‘And you? Do you wish a way out? Do you not want some consideration if your marriage ends?'

‘There is no way out for me, Laird,' she said plainly. She stared off into the corner of the chamber for a few seconds before clearing her throat. ‘So, will you do this service for me or not?'

‘Mayhap you should speak to...'

‘Will you do this for me or not, Brodie?'

She let out a breath then and walked to the door, not waiting for his answer. It was an inevitable one, for his honour demanded he accede to her request. Much as he'd like to argue and convince her otherwise, it was what she asked in return for his promise.

‘Aye, Eva. I will find a way to dissolve your marriage. For Rob.' She nodded and left without another word or glance at him.

Brodie gave her a few seconds and then followed her as she left him and sought out Arabella. Was Eva MacKay collecting all the debts owed to her? Later, from his wife's unhappy face and refusal to speak of it, Brodie knew she was tying up all the loose strands of some thread.

But not for a minute did he think she had some nefarious plot planned against them. Nay, her methods seemed more like a woman trying to protect those she loved. Using his favour for Rob rather than to appease her father was another sign of it.

* * *

Hours later as they gathered in the hall for supper, Brodie knew he must honour his promise. He just prayed he could find the right way to do it.

* * *

Rob made his way through the crowded hall towards the dais. The day of training proved a good diversion for him from the fear she would leave without a word. She'd been at Arabella's side most of the day, or so Margaret had reported to him. Still, until he could discover the reason behind it, he would keep a close watch on her.

He was passing some of the MacKay warriors when he first heard the whispers. Drunken ramblings they might be and too furtive to be heard, so he tried to ignore them. But, like good gossip, the words grew louder and clearer.

‘Her father said she would spread her legs for any man.'

‘She brought shame to his name.'

‘She whelped one bastard before returning to seek her father's favour.'

‘And she found it, did she not? Her father needed the Mackintosh's man, and so she did what she does best.' Rob tried to ignore the gesture that followed those words.

‘The MacKay gets what and who he wants!' The one saying that raised his cup in a mock salute to his laird.

‘The Mackintosh's man fell for her act.' A laugh and then, ‘He went sniffing after her like she was a bitch in heat!'

The last one broke Rob's control, and he stopped behind the man who'd spoken the words. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Rob pulled the man off the bench to face him.

‘What say you?' he demanded of the man. Even the stench of too much ale did not ease his anger. ‘Of whom do you speak?'

His words caused much amusement, for the whole group of men from Tongue burst out laughing. They nudged each other with elbows and nodded at him. A sick feeling spread from his gut to his head. Not waiting for an explanation, he punched the man and threw him to the floor.

It took little time before the whole of the hall noticed the beginnings of a brawl. Mackintoshes gathered behind him, ready to fight, when Brodie's voice rang out.

‘The training yard is outside. If any man feels he needs more time there, he can leave now.' Rob stood and faced his laird. ‘Cousin, your counsel is needed here. Join me...now.'

It was not an invitation no matter how the words were phrased. Rob shook out his fist and made his way to the front of the hall. Anyone in his path moved aside, trying to both get a better look at him and trying not to appear so eager. Well, he was not the only one to hear the words spoken, the claims made, so he had little doubt that it would be known throughout the keep and the village by nightfall.

He reached the dais and climbed up the steps, bowing in front of Brodie and Arabella before seeking his seat. Eva sat there stone-faced and silent as he took his place next to her. Brodie did not speak to him through the rest of the meal.

He could not look at her. If only half of what he'd heard was true, her deceit and lies were of the worst kind. Her lack of reaction spoke louder than any admissions or objections could.

She had not been running away—she'd been leading him along a merry chase. Though she had not feigned the fever, the rest of it was set up to make certain he could not refuse the marriage.

Every word she'd spoken to him now flooded through his mind, and he heard the other meanings in them. He heard her deception. At that moment, her father leaned forward and winked at her, confirming his worst doubts.

But the reason eluded him. He thought on it through the meal, barely touching his food or his cup. Only at the end, when Brodie rose and spoke did it make sense.

‘Laird MacKay and I have come to terms on an agreement that will enhance both of our clans. Raise your cups now!
Loch Moigh!
' He called out the Mackintosh battle cry, which everyone in the hall repeated.
‘Loch Moigh!'