Chapter 8
Why did she hesitate for so long? As the minutes passed, different scenarios entered Adrina’s head until her mind became seized with many fears.
Still she crashed through the hazel bushes and hart’s tongue ferns, running as if a dark fae creature was chasing after her.
But by now she was convinced that it wasn’t the sprite that she dreaded.
It was Fingal. Instinctively, she knew that her father’s advisor was somehow behind the disturbance.
He had learned to conjure black magic, and there was a very real chance that he would use his newfound powers to harm Duncan.
She didn’t know exactly what she would do when she got to her highlander, but if she ran fast enough perhaps she could warn him of the danger.
It didn’t matter that the branches whipped and scraped against her flesh as she raced through the underbrush.
If something happened to Duncan, she would forever blame herself.
Adrina broke through the line of standing trees, and saw him at the side of the river bank, folding the pleats of his kilt.
He seemed unaware that he was in jeopardy.
With urgency driving her, she ran to him even though her lungs burned and were ready to explode.
But before she could call out his name, he had already reached for his claymore, which rested beside him.
He brought the blade over his right shoulder, and started to swing it down at her.
Adrina shrieked and raised her arms over her head, even knowing that her protective gesture did little to protect her from the blade.
But the fiery rage in his eyes dissipated instantly when he recognized her.
“Get behind me,” he barked.
“I —”
He shook his head, and grabbing her wrist, he yanked her behind him.
She wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to catch her breath. Her body shook with the realization of how close she had come to dying.
“Who’s after ye?” he demanded, his head moving slowly back and forth, scanning the thicket as if searching for the assailant. All the while he stood with his legs in a fighting stance, his body rigid with predatory strength.
“Nay one is after me,” she said, still struggling to catch her breath.
“Nay one…?” He lowered his sword and pivoted to face her. His green eyes swept across her countenance. “Explain yourself.”
She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling foolish. “I was preparing the fire, and I — I had a belief that ye were in danger.”
“Ye had a belief that I was in danger?” he said, irritation entering into his voice.
He lifted a finger as if to scold her, but he dropped his hand, and let out a sound of disgust. Throwing one more glance at the direction in which she emerged, he shook his head.
He twisted his lips to the side. Appearing convinced that there was no threat, he thrust the tip of his sword into the ground.
With his hand on the pommel, he looked at her, his gaze narrowed. “I thought that ye were an English knight. If I lacked mastery over my claymore, I would’ve run ye through with the blade.”
“I wasnae thinking,” she said, swallowing.
“Nay, ye werenae.”
Duncan finished pleating his plaid, and went to lie down on the material when her soft voice stopped him.
“I should thank ye for saving me from those men earlier.” It appeared that she wanted to make amends for her foolishness. But when he glanced at her, he found her staring down at her feet. “And I suppose that I should also thank ye for nae killing me just now,” she continued.
He grunted. In the short time that he had known her, he was used to her outspoken ways, and it surprised him that she seemed so contrite.
“’Twas nae hardship,” he said, his temper starting to pass.
He settled on the plaid, and extended his hand to fold the material over his body.
But he hesitated when he felt heat grazing upon his crotch.
When he looked up, he found her staring at him.
Unable to control his response, his cock twitched.
Her eyes flew to his, her expression becoming a mixture of fascination and horror, as if she realized that she ogled him.
“If ye wanted tae see me naked, ye need only ask,” he said, amused.
She let out a startled gasp, and immediately turned her back on him.
“Forgive me,” Duncan said, noticing her tense back as he finished belting his kilt. “It appears that my comment was inappropriate.”
Her embarrassment was evident, and he felt guilty for causing her discomfort.
But he wasn’t certain about what confounded him more — the fact that he apologized for something that needed no apology, or the fact that he cared about how she felt.
These sentiments were foreign to him, and he didn’t like them one bit.
He preferred his logical, analytical view of the world, a world where emotions held little sway.
What he needed was to return to his safe and comfortable state.
And he needed to harden his heart toward Adrina, and stick to his assignment.
Still, his resolve did little to hinder the urge to shock her.
He wanted to turn her around, and have her watch him stroke his shaft until it became even more engorged.
The prudent course of action however was to stay quiet, and spare her from seeing his cockstand.
But a part of him wanted her to observe him in all his glory.
Obviously he hadn’t bedded a woman in a while, a voice inside him mocked.
Adrina was not the kind of lass that he normally preferred.
He liked tall, light-haired, curvy women who were definitely not virgins.
Yet despite his preferences, and his resolve not to become entangled with her, he could easily imagine that anyone who married Adrina would be a fortunate man.
Within a few years, she would likely have a brood of bairns hanging at her skirts…
But women were the pawns of political and strategic marriages, his mind insisted, jerking him out of his reverie.
They also functioned as vessels for furthering the bloodlines.
For the time being, he wasn’t prepared to be shackled to anyone.
Despite what his sisters told him about love, and regardless of the fact that he felt attracted to Adrina, there was no rational reason for matrimony — unless the match proved politically advantageous.
He shook his head. It was time to change the direction of his thoughts before they reached dangerous territory.
“Why did ye feel that I was in trouble?” he asked.
“As I said, I thought that something had happened tae ye. And I felt that I needed tae save ye,” she said, shrugging.
“Save me?” he said, finding the humor in her words. “I was only washing the hare’s blood from my body. There was nay point when I was in danger.”
“I ken that now,” she said, looking uncomfortable. However she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Still, ye intervened when that man accosted me at the tavern. I simply needed tae return the favor, and help ye.”
Her frank words hit him at the center of his heart, softening it.
Suddenly his earlier resolve to steer away from dangerous grounds fell to the wayside.
He was a virtual stranger to this lass, yet she would put herself at risk simply because she thought he was in need.
Aside from his female relations, not many women would champion him.
If anything, they expected him to care for them.
Duncan got up from the ground, and went to stand in front of her.
Glancing down at the exotic beauty, he wasn’t able to discern exactly what he felt.
He didn’t understand lassies to begin with, nor did he want to understand them.
But this lass brought about odd feelings that he preferred buried.
In the past, he had kept an emotional distance from women.
Yet Adrina warmed his blood, and try as he might, he couldn’t ignore the tenderness, frustration and want that she stirred within his soul.
He took a step closer, suddenly desiring to be near her, to have her soft, luscious body wrapped around his rigid length.
His movements were quick, but it was the sheer heat of his closeness that made her take an involuntary step back. In the next moment, her back became flushed against a large boulder. He leaned both of his brawny arms on the rock, effectively trapping her in between them, and preventing her escape.
“What are ye doing tae me, lass?”
Before Adrina could question him in return, or even move, he seized her chin with one hand, forcing her to meet his gaze.
And when she stared into his depths, she discovered passion simmering there.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as if he knew what she was thinking.
Dropping her regard, her eyes fell onto his chiseled lips, which stretched into a lazy, appreciative smile.
Unable to help it, her breath came out fast and unsteady.
But in the next moment he was no longer smiling.
His countenance became taut with desire. Her heart began to pound as his intent became obvious. Before she knew what was happening, a coal fire sensation shot across her lips as his mouth sealed firmly over hers.
An intense surge of heat swirled in her belly and settled in her core, causing her knees to buckle.
Her fingers gripped his forearms for support since her legs had somehow forgotten how to function.
What was happening to her? Her breasts felt full and heavy while her nipples became stiff, aching nubs.
Some innate yearning began to grow inside of her until it felt overwhelming, and she wanted him to touch her.
“Please, Duncan,” she said, her breathing coming out in quick, desperate spurts.
But even if she couldn’t fully voice her desire, he understood what she wanted.
With one callused hand, he moved to cup a swollen breast. She gasped at the unexpected contact.
Even through the fabric of her gown, she could feel the exquisite heat of his hand.
But just when she became used to the touch, his fingers began to roam over her straining nipple, rolling the hardened peak between his thumb and forefinger. Her head fell back and she groaned.
Adrina shifted her body, overcome with an urgency to do her own exploring. Her palm skimmed along his taut forearm, feeling the ropes of muscle that formed there. At her touch, his grip on her tightened even more.
She could feel something warm and wonderful moving between them, and she instinctively craved more of it.
She wanted to press her body as close as possible, to feel his bare skin against her own.
His large hand moved to curve around her nape, while his other hand pulled her away from the boulder, and skimmed up and down her back.
Curving one arm under her buttocks, he lifted her until she could feel his male hardness cradled against her hips. Her arms went around his strong neck, and she clung to him. But she needn’t have worried about falling, because his grip on her was sure and strong.
Bending over, he settled his searing lips along her shoulder. “Ah, lass,” he murmured, taking a deep breath through his nose, savoring her scent. He tilted his hips forward, making her more aware of the rigidity of his shaft.
Then as if he had enough of playing, and was beginning to lose his patience, his hand gripped her skirt and tugged it up.
She vaguely felt the cool breeze against her buttocks, although she was all but lost in the abyss of pleasure and bliss.
She couldn’t comprehend exactly what was happening to her until she felt something hard, hot and throbbing brushing over her sex.
The electric contact caused her to gasp.
But her surprise receded as a wave of pleasure cascaded over her, softening her body, and flooding her core with the startling sensation.
She arched her head back, reveling in the wonderful feeling.
Soon a strange throbbing began to grow inside of her.
And as if he sensed her growing need, he began to move until she felt the unmistakable length of his erection rubbing along the slickness between her thighs.
Bending his head, he dragged his hot tongue along the side of her neck.
A haze of passion folded over her, and she moaned.
“Ye are sae wet,” he rasped, his eyes closed in pure rapture.
He grasped his member, and guided it until it poised at her center.
This was what her servant spoke of when she tried to explain about intercourse to Adrina.
At the time the maid’s explanations were wholly inadequate.
But now she would gain a full understanding of what occurred between a man and a woman.
And her insides quivered in anticipation of acquiring the carnal knowledge.
But then a sudden blood-stirring bellow echoed loudly through the alder trees.
Duncan’s eyes flew open, and he looked down at her, a shocked expression frozen on his face.
“A stag in heat,” he said, a strangled laugh of disbelief bursting from his lips.
He broke away from her. “I’m sorry, lass.
That wasnae supposed tae happen.” His hand went down to cover his erection with his kilt.
However his plaid did little to hide the force of his desire.
When there was nothing to be done about his condition, he glanced up at her, a sheepish expression on his rugged features. “I hope ye will forgive me.”
Adrina nodded, the reality of what had almost happened robbing her of her speech. In all respects she had every right to be angry about the near seduction, yet she wasn’t. Instead she was left feeling disappointed and wanting more.