Chapter 14
Fourteen
They traveled through the night, and well into the next day before they finally stopped for a rest.
While the men led the horses to the side of the makeshift camp to rub them down, Maggie prepared a light meal of what was left of their bread and cheese.
The entire morning had passed in silence, though whether from stress or fatigue she wasn’t sure. Braden had been strangely distant to her all day, which was odd given how gentle he’d been while she slept in his arms.
Several times in the night, she had jerked awake to find his arms surrounding her with warmth, and one time in particular, she had felt him leaning his cheek against the top of her head while he cupped her face gently with one hand. She’d felt so safe then, so strangely wanted.
But from the moment she had awakened completely and he had stopped to let her ride her own horse, she had sensed a wall between them. Almost as if he had shut himself completely off from her.
Maggie didn’t like that feeling. Not one little bit.
What does it matter? By tomorrow, one way or the other, all this will be over.
Suddenly, pain struck her dead in the chest. Aye, this journey would end on the morrow.
Tomorrow they could all be dead.
Her, Sin and Braden.
Maggie went cold as the reality of it came crashing down on her, and she set her food aside. Robby MacDouglas was every bit as likely to kill her as he was to listen to her. More so in fact.
It was a sobering thought, and for the first time since she had started this journey, the full reality of it hit her. This could very well be her last day on earth.
Struggling to breathe, she looked around as if seeing the world for the very first time.
She saw the beauty of the pines and oaks, of all the trees, surrounding her.
The way their grey and brown barks contrasted with the lush, green forest. She felt the crispness of the grass beneath her as she sat cross-legged on the ground.
Heard the gentle lullaby of the birds and insects as they moved around her.
She smelled the bright sunshine that warmed her skin, the dew on the heather.
The world was a truly beautiful place.
Dear Lord, she didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not while she had so much left to do!
Unbidden, a thousand wishes whirled through her mind simultaneously.
All the things she had wanted to do in her life but never had the chance.
She’d wanted to see Ireland just once, to go south and visit Hadrian’s Wall.
She’d wanted to watch her children and grandchildren frolic across her yard as they hunted for dragon treasure and teased each other.
She’d looked forward to watching Anghus’s infant son grow to manhood, teaching him to ride and pick berries. She’d even wanted to see Ian find a good lass and marry.
So many things she’d wanted to do, had always looked forward to doing.
Now, her time for doing it might very well be up.
And then her gaze fell to Braden as he freed her horse to graze and started rubbing down his own. He lifted one strong hand up to brush a dark lock of hair from his damp brow.
Maggie froze. Of all the things she had wanted in her life, he was the one thing she regretted most not having. All the dreams she had dreamed of him, all the pretend kisses she had given her pillow—all that came rushing back to her.
And then, she made a decision.
After all these years of living her life for others, there was one selfish act that she wanted.
If she did die on the morrow, there was one last thing she wanted to do. One regret she didn’t want to have.
Braden left the horses to graze. He had started back toward Maggie when he noticed Sin sitting propped against a tree. He took two steps toward his brother before he realized Sin was sound asleep.
Smiling at the unusual event, Braden shook his head. So, his brother was human after all. There were times when even he had doubts.
Unwilling to disturb Sin, Braden tiptoed backward until he knew he wouldn’t wake him.
As he drew closer to the camp, Braden forced himself not to look at Maggie. But it was difficult. He knew he had to keep distance between them, and yet it was the hardest thing he had ever tried to do in his life.
“While Sin is sleeping, I’m going to bathe,” he said to her, retrieving his pack from the ground.
He had to give Sin credit. His brother had done a remarkable job gathering most of their supplies before getting them out of Tara and her sisters’ clutches. But then, speed of action and quick thinking under pressure were Sin’s specialties.
When Maggie didn’t speak to him, he glanced at her. She sat quietly alone, not even paying him heed.
No doubt, I hurt her by ignoring her this morning. The pain of the thought sliced through him and inwardly, he cursed.
He should never have come on this trip. Never have volunteered to get the women out. If he hadn’t spent so much time with Maggie the last two days, then he would never have known how much she meant to him. He could have lived out the whole of his life in blissful ignorance.
Sighing, he headed through the trees to the stream they had been following.
He doffed his clothes, and waded in, but not even the coldness of the water could squelch the fiery need he had for her. Any more than it could take her from his mind.
Braden dove under the water and did his best to not think of red-headed nymphs who were capable of stealing men’s souls.
Maggie stared into the trees in the direction Braden had vanished. Her hands shook as she debated what she should do.
Go on, her mind urged. You already made the decision.
Aye, she had made it, but she had yet to act upon it. It was the acting that gave her trouble. She knew Braden wouldn’t turn her away.
But how would it change their relationship? Once she had carnal knowledge of him, they would never be able to go back to the way they had been before.
Of course, she really didn’t want to go back to being invisible around him.
What do you want?
“I want a miracle,” she whispered.
A full-blown, walk on water miracle. She wanted Braden to be hers. And if she survived the meeting with the MacDouglas, she didn’t want to kiss him good-bye and watch him wander off with another woman.
And if you die?
She trembled even more.
Closing her eyes, she tried to decide what to do. As she concentrated, an image of Braden holding her drifted through her mind. She could feel him, smell him.
Taste him.
All her life, she had wanted him, and him alone.
And it was then that she realized the full depth of her love for Braden. Nay, she couldn’t go to her grave or even another day without knowing the man who had stolen her heart.
Even if it ultimately meant letting him go, she wanted to know what it truly felt like to love him completely as a woman.
Her entire body shaking, Maggie rose slowly to her feet, then headed off through the trees in search of the only man she would ever love.
Braden grunted as he ran his hands through his sleek, wet hair. It felt good to be clean again. He bent at the waist to rinse his face. And as he straightened, he heard a slight splash behind him.
Before he could move, two shapely, wet arms encircled his waist and pulled him back against two perfectly round breasts that caressed the hollow of his back.
“Braden?”
He froze at the sound of Maggie’s voice in his ear as her moist, bare breasts burned a hole in his spine. He wanted to say something to her, but his throat was so tight, he could barely breathe.
“Would you let me make love to you?” she asked.
Oh this is a dream! It had to be a dream.
Surely, his little blossom wouldn’t...
His thoughts scattered as she loosened her hold on his waist and stepped around him.
Good Lord, she was beautiful. More so than she’d ever been before.
His gaze darted over her glistening body taking her in all at once. Her damp, russet hair curled around her impish, freckled face. Her creamy, bare shoulders sparkled from the droplets of water that caught the rays of the sun.
But most of all, he gazed at her bare breasts, at the tight, taut peaks that begged for a lover’s kiss. A lover’s touch.
And at that moment, he wished the water wasn’t so deep, for it cut her right at her navel and he wanted to see more of her.
“Maggie,” he breathed. “What—”
“Shh…” She placed a finger to his lips. “Don’t say anything lest I change my mind.” Her gaze raked his body with a hungry, almost desperate look. “And I don’t want to change my mind.”
Braden knew he should turn her away. It would be the noble, decent thing to do. But then, he had never been noble or decent.
And before he could decide anything, she reached out and ran her hand over his chest, across his own taut nipple, dragging her nails ever so gently over his flesh. A thousand chills erupted through him as his body burned from the inside out.
Why was she doing this?
Why would she want a man like him? It made no sense to him whatsoever.
She moved her hand from his lips, then dipped her head to where she could draw his nipple into her mouth and suckle it ever so tenderly.
Braden moaned from the pleasure her tongue and lips gave him.
And then she did the most unbelievable thing of all, she dipped her hand beneath the water and cupped him in her hand.
That gentle, hesitant touch of her fingers against his shaft went deeper than the physical.
It touched him all the way to his unrepentant soul.
Dizzy and on fire, he was past the point of rational thought. All he could think of was finally sating the deep hunger that had incessantly gnawed at him since the moment he’d seen her defying him at the kirk’s door.
How he wanted her. It was beyond his understanding and it was a desperation so profound that it shook him all the way to his heart.
Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head up to where he could claim her lips with his own.
She sighed into his mouth as she continued to stroke his swollen shaft with her hand.