Chapter Six
The couple crept back into camp, and everyone studiously ignored them.
Lachlan, Angus, Alex, Henry, and the younger noblemen kept their backs to the loch, and the guardsmen cooked and patrolled.
They’d rushed to finish their ablutions, knowing they’d been away far too long for anyone to think they were just washing.
As long as no one spoke of it, Callen refused to feel guilty about sharing any intimacy with his bride.
Once he was certain she had all she needed, he rushed to a spot beyond the firelight and pleated his plaid properly. He knew he had to join the other men.
“Did she mention aught aboot the men?” Angus’s gruff voice signaled his discomfort with talking to his new son-by-marriage after Callen disappeared with Elspeth for far too long.
Callen had asked a few questions as they walked back to the camp, and she’d answered as fully as she could.
“She kens little aboot the men who took her beyond they’re English.
They were careful nae to use their names most of the time, though a few slipped.
She said they were wary of her since she was as uncooperative as she could be for as long as she dared.
Between trying to bite several, vomiting on one, and hitting and kicking a few others, none wanted to get too close.
She believes it’s Strathbogie who wants to marry her.
He hired the men to kidnap her and bring her back to Yorkshire. ”
“He won’t give up when he realizes we rescued her.
He won’t accept that she isn’t the easy target he believed.
Instead, he’ll just push harder to get what he wants.
He’s always been that way. Aught he sees, he thinks he can have.
It matters not if it belongs to someone else.
” Angus knew the man from the royal court before they each inherited their titles.
“Then we give him reason nae to come near yer land, yer people, or Elsie.” Callen looked at his father and grinned. “Did ye hear those men who thought I’d lost ma head?”
“Aye. Daft sods.”
“True, but they still feared it. Mayhap we can scare more of his men. Even if Strathbogie doesnae believe in the Dullahan, we might convince his men of it. If they refuse to give chase, then Strathbogie canna pursue us. He willna attack all of us on his own.”
“What’s a Dullahan?” Henry assumed it was one of the Highlanders’ many strange creatures. He didn’t entirely believe in them, but he was wary enough not to anger any if they were real.
“It’s a mon without a head who rides an enormous black steed.” Callen twisted to look toward his ebony horse as he ran his hand through hair as dark as his steed’s coat. “He carries his head that smells like molding cheese with eyes that glow red.”
“And I suppose he’s a harbinger of death,” Alex grimaced.
“Aye,” Lachlan responded. “He’s said to carry a whip made of human bones.”
“Do you think any of the English would have heard of this demon?” Henry wondered.
“Mayhap nae,” Callen answered. “But the Earldom of Atholl is in the Highlands. If Strathbogie has any of his clansmen with him, they’d ken what it is.
He would too. If I do it properly, it willna matter whether those men have heard of the headless horseman.
I’ll be enough to scare them. It’s nearly Samhain, so that helps.
” All Hallow’s Eve was less than a sennight away.
“And how will you have a head to carry since I didn’t take off yours?” Angus grumbled, but his gaze wasn’t as antagonistic as it had been.
“I use ma plaid to cover ma shoulders and head. There’s enough material to disguise the shape. Gavin and Alasdair love minger, and I ken they brought some with them. I smelled it earlier. Mama must have sneaked it to them in one of those baskets.”
Minger was a potent soft cheese. Callen loathed it because he believed it smelled like sodden boots and sweaty feet.
While he wanted it nowhere near him, he could carry it if he needed it to convince their enemies.
He swept his gaze around the camp and noticed the bodies that once littered the area had disappeared.
He was glad Elspeth didn’t have to see any of it.
“Where did they go? There’s bound to be a head I can use.” He tried not to recoil from his own revolting thought, but it was necessary. The other men stared at him for a moment before collectively grimacing.
“They’re just past the tree line.” Lachlan pointed across the fire. “We planned to set them afire before we rode out in the morning.”
“Then I will find something in the morning. Most of ye ride back toward the border. Take Elsie with ye. I’ll stay behind with a few guards and scout farther south. If I find Strathbogie or Eustace Maxwell, then I’ll ride tomorrow night.”
“I’m nae leaving ye behind, Cal.” Lachlan hooked his thumbs into his belt, asserting himself as a father for the first time. He drew the line at abandoning his son in England.
“And I dinna want to spare even one mon from guarding Elsie, but I’m offering a compromise.
” Callen stood as his father did, a stance they’d both innately inherited from Lachlan’s father, Hamish.
“She’s been through enough. If aught happens to me, I dinna want her witnessing it.
I dinna want her anywhere near these men since they’ve taken her once.
And I’m likely to say things nay lady should hear and certainly nae ma wife. ”
“And you believe you can keep my daughter away from you?” Angus scoffed. “She’s more likely to find a way to chase you, then we’d be chasing her all over again.”
“I dinna want her to see or hear what happens, Laird Elliot.”
“I know, lad.” The older man felt sorry for the younger one, seeing how upset he was that Elspeth might witness his fighting or hear his crude insults. “We won’t abandon you, but we’ll keep her as far from you as we can.”
“Thank ye.” Callen knew Angus was right, and he appreciated the man understanding why this bothered him so much.
The group agreed that Callen, Gavin, and a Sutherland guardsman would scout in the morning.
Gavin, the youngest Sutherland brother, was the best scout after Callen.
They’d leave at daybreak and ride until midday.
If they found nothing, they would turn back.
If they did, Gavin would ride back alone.
Callen explained this to Elspeth as he drew her back against his chest, wrapping them in his spare plaid.
He’d already unfastened the extra length over his shoulder and used that as the first layer of warmth.
Lachlan offered them his spare, and the couple appreciated his thoughtfulness.
With three plaids tucked around them and the heat Callen naturally generated, Elspeth had never been more comfortable.
He nudged his leg between hers as the hand on the arm beneath her neck kneaded her breast. He kissed along the top of her shoulder as she guided his other hand to cup her mons.
When his hand was where she needed it, she eased her skirts up her legs beneath their covers.
Callen let go of her long enough to slide his hand beneath her gown.
His length rubbed against her bottom. She reached back and lifted his plaid.
He helped her shove the clothes out of the way until his rod nestled between her bottom cheeks.
“I want to make love to ye, wife,” Callen whispered. “But the first time is likely to be painful. And if I wouldnae couple with ye in a loch, then I willna do it on the ground with a score of men surrounding us. But I can bring ye pleasure again.”
“Canna we say I need a moment’s privacy? That mayhap my belly didn’t care for the rabbit.” Elspeth twisted to look over her shoulder as best she could. She could tell Callen considered her suggestion. She feared he’d say no. “It’s our wedding night.”
“I ken, wee one.” He kissed her temple. “Aye. But we must be silent because we canna wander far from camp.”
They smoothed their clothes between them before Callen drew back the covers.
When they rose, Elspeth wrapped her arms around her middle and rounded her shoulders.
It wasn’t difficult to pretend how she’d felt while hiding behind the boulder during the fight.
He guided Elspeth away from the camp until her back was against a tree.
“I want naught more than to strip ye bare and worship every inch of ye. I swear to ye I will the moment we can find a bed.”
“I bet I can undress faster than you,” Elspeth teased before they kissed.
They clung to each other, even more careful not to make a sound than they were at the loch.
Callen loosened her laces enough for the gown to sag across her chest. He reached beneath her chemise and filled his hand with her bare breast for the first time.
He kissed across the top and laved her nipple while she tunneled her fingers into his hair. She arched her back as he sucked.
“I wish I wore breeks, so there wouldn’t be so much material in our way.”
“But then I couldnae do this.” With Callen’s plaid flipped over his shoulder and Elspeth’s gown bunched around her waist, he lifted her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as the tip of his rod sought her entrance.
He gritted his teeth not to make a sound as her dew coated his tip.
“I dinna want to hurt ye, wife. Are ye sure ye dinna wish to wait?”
“Would it hurt any less on a bed?”
“Mayhap.”
“I doubt it.”
“I feel guilty that we’re sneaking around to do this. That ye arenae getting the wedding night ye deserve. That I willna hear ye scream ma name as I ravish ye.”
She heard the teasing note in his voice just as she worried he’d back out. She pinched his ribs since she couldn’t reach his backside. She squeezed her thigh and rubbed against his cock.
“Merciful saints, Elsie.”
“Don’t make us wait.”
Callen understood enough of the mechanics from the conversation he had with his father when he was five-and-ten.
He could feel she was ready for him even if he hadn’t touched her nearly as much as he had at the loch.
He inched the tip inside her before putting his hand on the back of her head, guiding her forehead to his shoulder.
Then he wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing down as his hips thrust up.
He entered her, her barrier giving way easier than he feared.
But from how she clung to him, he knew he’d caused her pain.
“I’m so sorry, mo ghràidh. Should I stop?”
“Don’t you dare. It was shocking, and it’s taking a moment to get used to. But I want to be your wife in truth.”
“Any midwife would say ye are. We can stop if it hurts too much.”
“Give me a moment.” She shifted, allowing Callen to sink farther into her sheath.
His toes curled in his boots as he fought to remain silent.
He desperately wanted to thrust, his cock thinking independently from the rest of him.
When she moved again, it was with a sigh.
Her body relaxed, and Callen no longer feared her inner muscles would squeeze the seed from him.
Instead, they eased into moving together, finding a rhythm that suited them both.
It was only a few minutes before their kisses grew frenzied, and Elspeth rode him with abandon.
He fought not to be too rough, stepping away from the tree to keep from abrading her back against the bark.
“Don’t stop, Cal,” Elspeth whispered against his ear before nipping and tugging on his earlobe with her teeth.
He knew he was drawing too close to his release too quickly.
He adjusted Elspeth, hoping he could create the friction she needed against her pearl.
From the way she bucked against him, he was certain he had.
They moved together until they both tensed, staring at each other.
Pleasure engulfed them as they clung together.
They shared gentle kisses while they floated back down to Earth.
All too soon, they pulled apart and put their clothes back in place.
Callen glanced around, realizing they hadn’t been away from their bedroll nearly as long as he feared.
That alone embarrassed him, but from the way Elspeth beamed, he figured he hadn’t disappointed her.
“Come, wee one. We need sleep. I ride at dawn.”