Untamed Hearts (A Highland Hearts Novella) (Entangled Edge) (10 page)

“Really?” she asked, her eyes widening. “Ye’re just saying that.”

“Nay, you are…remarkable.”

Her smile grew slowly but surely until he knew she believed him. “Remarkable,” she repeated. “And we didn’t even get to do everything.”

“Not yet,” he finished. “I intend to be quite a task master.” He kissed her then and snaked a palm over her hips to cup her luscious arse. She pushed back into his hand until he deftly found her. She gasped into his mouth and kissed him harder.

Bam! Bam!
“Open up.” A man pounded from the other side of the door.

“Bloody, swiving hell,” Will cursed and stood up, grabbing his cutlass from the ground alongside the bed.

“It’s Donald,” Jonet said and sat up with the fur against her breasts.

“Jonet, I tried to stop him. He caught me sneaking in,” Ann called through the door and Jonet cursed, making Will grin.

“Come back later,” Jonet called.

“Is Will Wyatt in there with ye?” Donald asked.

Will looked at Jonet, and she nodded, her delicately arched brow raised over her laughing eyes. “Aye, Will Wyatt is definitely in here,” Will called and chuckled at Donald’s loud curse. The warrior was going to wake the keep.

“What goes on here?” another voice asked. Caden?

“Will has Jonet trapped in there,” Donald called.

“Actually,” Will called back, “I think it might be the other way around.” Jonet’s muffled laughter came from the hand she had slapped over her mouth.

“Open the door, Will,” Caden commanded.

“You might want to give me a second to cover up, else Ann may get an unwelcome education,” Will said and raised the bar.

He walked back to the bed to grab his trews from the floor but thought better of it. Instead, he crawled under the furs and hauled Jonet against his side, careful to completely cover her up to her chin. Her cheeks were red, but her eyes were sparkling like emeralds. He kissed her forehead and turned back to look at the door that crashed inward against the wall. Donald, Caden, and Ann barreled inside. Will’s hand lay along the hilt of his cutlass, though he doubted there was really much threat.

Donald’s eyes seemed to bulge from his red face. Ann held her hands to her cheeks though she smiled. Caden just shook his head, looking haggard. No doubt he wasn’t getting much sleep with a new babe in his room.

“As ye can see,” Jonet said from her fur shroud, “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Well, I can’t really see that,” Donald said.

“And you won’t,” Will interjected.

Caden looked at Will’s rope tied to the bed frame. He shook his head. “I won’t even ask.”

“’Tis probably a good thing,” Will said with a huge grin.

Ann choked.

“What the devil were ye doing to her?” Donald insisted. The man definitely had a sweet inclination toward Jonet. Will’s hand clasped the cutlass with ease.

“He was doing exactly what I wanted him to do,” Jonet said and sat up straighter in the bed. “Which is none of yer concern, Donald.”

Ann gasped, and Will looked to see where his love bites had left feathery bruises along one of Jonet’s shoulders. “He hurt ye,” Donald said.

She glanced at her shoulder and shrugged. “No more than I hurt him.”

Will couldn’t keep his chuckles in and kissed the top of her head. “Aye, Jonet is a lusty woman. She needs a pirate to keep her in bliss.”

“I’d say there’s nothing cold at all about ye, Jonet,” Ann said with a huge smile and nodded as if it was something she’d said before. Will wondered at the little message flying between the friends. Jonet was all fire and heat. How could she think herself cold?

“Well, I’m satisfied,” Caden started.

“As am I,” Will said and winked, making Ann snort.

Caden frowned. “Satisfied that no harm has been done here. Come, Donald, Ann, let’s leave them alone.” Caden glanced once more at the rope and shook his head as he heralded the other two out the door.

“I’ll be back after I break my fast,” Ann called through the door.

Jonet looked at him. “I wonder if Ruth and Lizzie will miss ye in the kitchens.”

“Who?”

“The two giggly fools that strip ye naked with their gazes every time ye walk by them.”

“Oh, that Ruth and Lizzie,” he teased.

She leaned in with a kiss. “I don’t want ye thinking about them at all,” she murmured on his lips and slanted against him. The only thing Will could think about was the heat that once again shot through his blood.

…

Jonet braced her hands against the moss-covered boulder as she glanced over her shoulder at Will. Her skirts rolled up, a cool breeze whispered against her bare legs as he moved within her. He leaned over her back, nuzzling the hollow of her neck and shoulder.

“Ah, Jonet, I can’t get enough of you.”

“There’s always more,” she said.

He reached around her to palm her breasts that hung out of the top of her gown. She answered with a moan and strained to back into him, following the natural rhythm growing between them.

She panted as he increased the pace, his fingers moving down her torso to find the crux of her legs in front. The deep forest around them only allowed in splashes of sunshine. She focused on her fingers before her, digging into the rock. Would she crush it with her passionate strength?

Gripping and sliding, fiery dampness, Jonet hung her head as the world completely melted away into pure sensation. Will held her to him and loved her nape as he pumped harder, stroking with blissful pressure until she peaked.

“Will!” she called out, and he followed her with a deep growl at her ear. Her legs shook, but he held them until the tremors slowly subsided. She laughed when he gallantly ran to the gurgling stream to fetch a wet rag to wash her.

She turned to him, her face flushed and full of joy. “I think that’s one of my favorite so far.” She slowly loaded her breasts back into the tight confines of her gown and laughed at the look of longing that furrowed Will’s face. “They need some time out of the wind.”

He caught her to him and kissed her gently as the breeze tugged at the curls around her face. Jonet’s heart soared. He cared for her. He must. The way he touched her made her feel as if her happiness was all that mattered.

Will grabbed her hand and the sack they’d packed with food for their private meal by the stream. They walked back toward Munro Castle, fingers intertwined.

“Jonet?”

“Mmmm?”

“Have you thought about children?” he asked, and she nearly stumbled.

“I think about children all the time,” she said. “I’m surrounded by them and love them dearly.” She laughed softly. What did he mean?

“With all our loving over this fortnight,” he squeezed her hand, “are you worried at all that you’ll conceive?”

Lord, how long had she prayed for a child? The entire time Machar had been alive and then in her dreams. “I…I don’t know if I can,” she answered truthfully. “I didn’t conceive when I was married.”

Meg had told Jonet that she thought she felt healthy, but Jonet hadn’t asked her specifics about her bairn-making capabilities. There had been no need since she was already a widow when Meg came to Druim.

“You were so young then,” Will said. “But if you…had my babe within you—”

“I would be completely happy,” she answered truthfully.

Will smiled broadly at her and nodded. He opened his mouth as if to continue, but then looked forward again, remaining silent. They walked for several quiet minutes. Jonet inhaled the sweet, spring air and listened to the birds overhead. Life was lovely and so full of potential. Perhaps she could conceive Will’s child. The thought fluttered in her stomach. She’d love it with all her heart. Would it be enough, though, when he left for the sea? The thought doused some of her joy, and she pushed it aside.

“Stephen has seemed troubled,” Will said as the village came into view.

“More than usual?” Jonet asked of the frown-wearing lad that had come with Will from the sea. The lad doted on Charissa but didn’t try to make friends with any others.

Will nodded. “I think he’s had trouble with some of the Munro boys. They tease him for not knowing how to ride.”

“Neither did ye,” she pointed out.

“Aye, but I have other talents.” He winked at her but grew serious again. “He wants desperately to return to the
Queen Siren
.”

“Ye will go soon then?” she asked, trying to keep the sadness from her voice.

Will shrugged. “As far as I know, there is still a huge bounty on my head, but Stephen could possibly return if I found a way to get him to Captain Bart.”

Jonet nodded, a little bit relieved. Her happiness wouldn’t end this day. “I want to check on the girls. Margery and Jane have been working so well together. The little ones barely need me.”

He kissed her head. “Oh, they need you.” It was such a sweet gesture that she felt tears burn at the back of her eyes. Or was that from the nagging thought that he wouldn’t be there forever? Lord, help her. She was falling in love.

…

Will left her with a quick kiss and a whispered promise that he’d think on their next adventure. The woman was insatiable. She seemed determined to try every erotic position and wheedle out every pleasurable possibility either of them could think of. He grinned and shook his head. She nearly tired him out. But that wasn’t what kept those emerald eyes and lush smile forefront in his mind. It was everything that made up Jonet Montgomery. The way she cared and loved those children and jumped in to help her people. Aye, his Highland lass had a full heart and a full dose of energy. And bravery…he chuckled. Brave enough to try anything he whispered and trusting enough to surrender herself to his every caress. Will inhaled the cool, fresh air free of the taint he usually ignored in port. The mountains in the distance presented a fabulous backdrop to this secluded world. God’s teeth, he could hide out here forever. He frowned suddenly over the thought.

“There ye are,” Searc called from the bailey.

“Have you seen Stephen?” Will asked as he came up to him and Caden. Caden held his newborn son over one shoulder and gently patted his back. The Macbain leader’s hair was sticking up in patches, and there was a milky stain of spit up down one of his sleeves. “You look like a new papa, Caden,” Will said and laughed. Searc grinned.

Caden frowned at them but kissed his son’s tiny head as he cupped it and changed shoulders. “Meg is catching up on her sleep for a few hours. Kincaid is quite active at night.”

“Sounds like the lad has promise,” Will teased, and Searc choked.

“Speaking of promise with the ladies,” Caden said. “Where is Jonet?” Searc sobered, and they both stared at Will. Was he in trouble?

He nodded back toward the village. “She went to check on the children with Margery and Jane. Have you seen Stephen? I wanted to talk with him.”

“Haven’t seen him since early this morning,” Searc said. “So are ye planning to wed Jonet?”

Will looked between the two Highlanders. “Well now, I don’t believe that is your concern.”

“Actually,” Caden said. “It is. I am her chief, and she is without husband or family to care for her. Therefore, she falls under my concern.” Searc nodded, his lips tight.

“Is marriage a consequence of swiving with a woman here?”

Caden stared at him. If he didn’t have a babe attached lovingly to his shoulder, he’d look downright murderous. “Jonet could get her heart broken when ye leave. Lasses get attached. She’s not a whore ye can just leave in port.”

Fury poured through Will. “Of course she isn’t. She’s nothing like a whore.”

“I’m glad we’re all agreed,” Searc said. “We just want ye to remember that.”

Will ran his hand through his hair. Of course he knew that. The thought of leaving Jonet sickened his stomach, but what could he do? Stop touching her? Impossible. Wed her and take her to the
Queen Siren
? Impossible. Captain Bart would never allow a woman not raised at sea to live on ship, and neither would Will. It was dangerous and difficult, even for salty seamen, let alone a flower like his Highland lass. But he couldn’t remain here in this foreign land. His life was at sea. There was no way around it. Eventually, he’d have to surrender Jonet.

“I promised Cook I’d come up with something for supper,” Will grumbled and walked past them. Maybe Stephen was hiding out in the kitchens with Ruth and Lizzie. The girls had begun to flirt with the boy a bit. He frowned over that, too. He’d have to warn the young lad away from that pair of trouble. They seemed every bit as diabolical as some of Adela’s girls.

Will spent the rest of the afternoon helping Cook come up with an interesting way to season venison and cook some wild onions to complement it. The large woman was full of good humor and kept him working hard, yet his mind kept straying to Jonet. And even though Caden and Searc had deftly pointed out a tangled problem, just the thought of her sweet face was a balm to the aching head the two Highlanders had given him. As he lifted the pot of boiled onions from the hearth, Ruth came up to him.

“Will,” she whispered near his ear. “Eric says he wants to talk with ye about Jonet.”

“Oh?”

She nodded and glanced around. “He wants ye to meet him in the back cellar after the meal to talk. Just men. No swords.”

What was the clodpoll up to? “Very well,” Will answered, and Ruth smiled.

Will didn’t mention the meeting to Jonet as they ate together in the great hall with Meg and Ann, Caden, Searc, and the rest. Everyone seemed to like the seasoning on the meat and onions. Will wondered how the crew was getting on with Pete’s routine fare. Maybe they would appreciate his creative cooking after eating the same fish stew for months.