Chapter 13

In the hallway, Kira collared a passing maid and gave orders for hot water to be bought up for the laird at once for bathing. As soon as they entered their chambers and the door was firmly shut behind them, Kira dropped his battle-stained clothing on the floor and wordlessly pushed Alec into a straight-backed chair at the main table. She took off his sword belt and laid it aside. His wound was throbbing and he had no strength nor will to resist.

“Dinnae move,” she instructed him, pulling the various medical supplies Sofia had given her from her pockets. She dumped them on the table next to him, selecting the small package containing the willow bark tea. As she crossed to the hearth, with one hand she undid the leather strings to her helmet and took it off, tossing it onto a chair. Next, holding the packet of teas carefully between her teeth, she tore off her bloody jerkin and threw it alongside the helmet.

She hurried to the hearth and bent to fill a kettle from a nearby pitcher of water. Through pain-slitted eyes, Alec could not help but admire the soft curves of her body as she bent down to hang the kettle on a hook over the fire to boil. He secretly watched her every move, distracting himself from the pain by admiring his wife, in her formfitting, bloody leather trews, moving with graceful purpose about her business.

“We need tae get that wound clean tae make sure nae infection sets in,” she added, straightening up and looking over at him. She unbuckled her weapons belt and laid it over a chair back. “But first, the tea. Ye must be in a lot of pain.”

“Aye, ’tis a wee bit sore,” he admitted with gross understatement, fascinated by the way she deftly unlaced the leather vambraces protecting her wrists and lower arms and added them to the pile in the chair.

For the next few minutes, he watched her intently as she prepared the painkilling tea.

“There ye go, drink that down as soon as it cools,” she instructed, placing the beaker on the table at his elbow. “Let’s get these off ye as well,” she added, beginning to undo his vambraces, one of which was soaked in his own blood.

“Thank ye, nurse,” he jested when she had finished and cast them to the floor. It was a relief to be rid of them. Eager for the tea to ease the pain, he picked up the beaker and blew across the hot, brackish liquid before sipping it. “Ugh, that’s foul.”

“Hmm, that means it’ll dae ye good,” Kira replied matter of factly as she rolled up her sleeves and looked around the room. “Ah, that’ll dae perfectly,” she murmured, stepping away from him and seizing hold of the large china bowl full of fruit that was standing on a nearby console table. She emptied the fruit onto the table.

Returning to the hearth with the bowl, she swilled it out with some of the boiling water from the kettle. She poured that off into a large pitcher kept nearby for wastewater, took the kettle off the flame, and refilled the bowl with fresh water.

She brought it over to the table and put it down next to Alec. “Right, shirt off,” she commanded. Alec tried to lift the arm next to the wound, but hot pain stabbed at him.

“I cannae dae it,” he muttered, annoyed at being so helpless.

“Come, let me help ye,” Kira said gently before taking him completely by surprise when she suddenly seized his shirt front in both hands and ripped it straight down the middle. Despite the discomfort he was in, Alec could not help the flicker of arousal her bold move sent through his belly. Having a wife who was also a warrior was proving to be much more enticing than he could ever have guessed.

“Nae need tae faff about. That shirt’s ruined anyway,” Kira added, carefully pulling the two halves of the torn garment off him and letting them drop to the floor next to the bloody vambraces. “Now, let me see.” She came and stood between his thighs and bent to examine the slit-like knife wound on his upper chest. Her face was inches from Alec’s, and he gazed deeply into her dark blue eyes. Her warm breath tickled his cheek, sending small shivers up his spine. He had no clue how he could be feeling such desire for her in his current state, but it was undeniable.

“Ugh, that certainly looks very nasty,” she said, making a face as she looked at the wound. “And ’tis a shame, but I think ye’ll have a scar on yer tattoo just there.” She sounded sincerely sorry.

“D’ye ken yer face is still spattered with blood?” he murmured, studying every feature beneath the crimson dappling.

“Aye, and so’s yers, but this is more important. We can wash the blood away in the bath after I’ve cleaned the wound.”

She wet a cloth and began to gently clean the surrounding area, her legs resting warm against his thighs as she worked, which took his mind off the ache of his wound. The heat of her body so near to his was permeating his skin, warming his insides. It was hard to resist the compulsion to encircle her waist with his hands and ravage her with kisses.

“Why did ye take that blade when it was clearly meant fer me?” she suddenly asked, dabbing at the wound, her voice soft.

“Instinct, I suppose. I couldnae let ye get hurt,” he confessed, remembering the powerful urge to protect her that had overwhelmed him when she had been in danger during the fight. It had been like nothing he had ever felt before, and he wondered at himself.

She chuckled. “Ye ken, Alec, in spite of yer cold demeanor and the emotionless fa?ade ye like tae put on, I believe ye have the warmest heart of any person I’ve ever met.”

“Well, keep it tae yerself,” he told her jokingly, nevertheless touched by her words. “If it gets out, I’ll be finished as laird.”

She laughed. “It’ll have tae be another of our secrets, like me scar, eh?” She paused and stood back a little to survey her handwork before nodding decisively. “I think that’s as clean as it’s gonnae get. Now, it might hurt when I apply the salve, so grit yer teeth,” she advised. She put aside the bloody cloths and bowl and selected a clean cloth before opening the pot of salve and dipping in a corner.

She carefully applied the salve to the open wound and the surrounding skin. Alec hissed from the shock more than the pain.

“Sorry, I’m tryin’ tae be gentle.” She worked in silence for a few moments. Then, she suddenly said, “I just want ye tae ken that I dinnae believe any longer that ye and yer clan killed me faither. I apologize fer fuelin’ me braither’s hate towards the Mackintoshes. I regret it now.”

Alec was surprised and unexpectedly moved to see a few tears slip down her cheeks just then, carving small trails through the blood spatter. She appeared more beautiful than ever to him at that moment, as she brushed them away with the back of her hand.

“’Tis strange tae say it, but ye’re the only person in the world tae have seen me cry in the last few years, twice in just a few days in fact. I’m sorry about that,” she whispered.

That was too much for Alec. An overwhelming swell of emotion engulfed him once again, eclipsing his pain as he reached for her hand and kissed away the light moisture her tears had left behind.

“Cry as much as ye need tae, me bonny lass,” he told her hoarsely, meaning every word, “because with each tear that falls, ye’re showin’ me that I dinnae need tae fear me emotions, that emotions make a person beautiful, as ye are tae me. ’Tis the reason why I’m fallin’ more in love with ye with every single day that passes.”

His tender words were rewarded by Kira’s cheeks flushing a deep pink. She looked at him almost shyly from beneath her lashes, making his groin tingle. The very air between them seemed to crackle with tension.

“D’ye really mean it, Alec? I mean… that ye’re fallin’ in love with me?” she asked, her voice a breathy whisper, her eyes full of wonder.

Mesmerized by her gaze and her half-open mouth, he let go of her hand and instead gently cupped her chin, slowly guiding her lips to his until they were almost brushing.

“I’ve never been surer about anythin’ in me life,” he whispered back, knowing he would die fer her.

He loves me, he loves me!

Alec’s declaration as much as the touch of his lips when their mouths softly collided set Kira’s insides alight. She felt hot and dizzy, as if she had been drinking. But she had not, although Alec was like a rich red wine that went straight to her head. She opened her mouth willingly to his, welcoming him in, eager to feel his warm breath and his questing tongue twining lingeringly with hers as they embarked upon a gentle, teasing exploration of each other’s lips and mouths.

The kiss was growing in intensity when someone knocked at the door. They instantly broke apart.

“What now?!” Alec cursed, releasing her chin. “Why is it that someone always comes along and interrupts us?”

“I think ’tis likely just the bathwater I ordered,” Kira said with a sigh, putting down the cloth and salve she was still holding, wiping her palms on her trews, and crossing to open the door.

“Aye, come in,” she told the two manservants who were lugging the cans of water. “Ye can set up the bath by the fire as usual.” The servants greeted them both with respectful nods and proceeded to do as Kira directed.

While they worked, Kira returned to Alec’s side to complete the task she had been distracted from by their kiss. She applied a little more salve to his wound, and then began preparing a dressing to keep it clean.

“Ye’ve done this afore,” he remarked as he drank the willow bark tea, watching her every move as she neatly bandaged the injury.

She smiled as she tied off the bandages and neatly tucked in the ends. “Well, I’ve been on a battlefield a few times, so I’ve got some experience with this sort of thing. There, that should hold it,” she announced, pleased with her handiwork. “Now all ye have tae dae is make sure nae tae get it wet in the bath.”

The tub was soon ready, more logs were piled onto the fire, and the servants took their leave not a second too soon for Kira’s liking. With the taste of Alec on her lips, she could hardly wait to be alone with him again, to repeat the experience and recapture the dizzying intensity that drew her to him.

“Is the tea starting tae work? I made it strong like Sofia told me tae,” she said, kneeling before him and pulling off his boots, then his stockings.

“Aye, I think it is,” he replied, not taking his eyes off her. “The pain is gradually dulling.”

“That’s good,” she murmured, taking him by the hand and pulling him up gently from his seat and towards the tub. The desire to feel his nakedness next to hers once more was becoming almost impossible to resist, but she did not want to hurt him. “So, ’tis time tae get in the tub and wash away the battle,” she murmured, halting them next to it. “But remember, try nae tae get yer bandages wet.”

“I’ll try,” Alec replied, with his good hand reaching for the buttons of his trews.

“Let me help ye with those,” Kira told him softly, looking up into his eyes as she pushed his hand away and stepped closer. Alec’s manly scent, a mixture of bergamot and fresh sweat enveloped her, setting fresh flames of desire flickering inside her.

Craving the sight and feel of him, she lightly ran her fingertips lightly across his tattooed skin, down the wall of packed muscle that was his chest, and all the way down across his hard, flat belly, to the snaking trail of golden hair that disappeared enticingly into the waistband of his trews. The small gasp that escaped his lips when she touched him there made her smile; she greatly enjoyed having the power to entice him, sensing his growing excitement.

He stood perfectly still as she slowly undid the buttons, and his trews slipped from his hips to pool around his feet.

“Och, Alec, would ye look at that,” she murmured as his already erect manhood sprang out at her, the evidence of his excitement stirring lustful desires that heated her to her core. She knelt and helped him step out of the trews, driven by the compelling urge to explore him, to taste him at her leisure.

“I cannae help it, Kira, ’tis what ye dae tae me,” he whispered, his hands stroking her hair as she knelt before his naked form.

“Aye, I ken, is it nae wonderful?” she asked, utterly entranced by his rough masculine beauty and the knowledge that it was hers to enjoy.

Glancing up at him quickly, she was spurred on by the hungry intensity of his green-eyed gaze fixed upon her. Daringly, she cupped him gently in her palm and encompassed his length with her free hand. Her touch wrested a deep groan of satisfaction from his throat, and his hands tightened in her hair.

The sound fanned the flames of her desire, and she gripped him firmly and began to stroke him rhythmically in the way she had learned excited him. As he grew in her hand, she could not resist the urge to taste him and pressed her lips to the hardening spear of flesh she desired so wantonly, licking and nibbling at him teasingly, intent on using all her powers to give him pleasure.

“Jesus, Kira,” he groaned, his whole length engorged in her quickening grip.

“What is it,” she asked, pausing reluctantly, “is it yer wound painin’ ye?”

“Nay, ’tis just that I’m getting’ too excited, and if ye keep on doin’ that, I’ll nae be able tae hang on much longer. I wantae taste ye too. Come, stand up, and take off yer things. This bath’s a wastin’.” He pulled her up to her feet.

“All right,” she said. “Get in, and I’ll join ye in a moment. I forgot the soap and a sponge tae wash ye with.”