Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

K aden made his way to Dara's cottage, finding the door already open when he arrived.

"This really isnae necessary," Elara was saying to Dara and Lydia, who stood before her. "It's just a little bee sting. It will pass."

"Ye squealed," Lydia said with a snort of laughter.

"It was shock! I'm fine, this isnae necessary. Ow, what on earth is that?" She shifted uncomfortably as Dara put a poultice on her hand. Lydia watched avidly, apparently learning from the mixtures that Dara was putting together.

"It will help ye heal quickly," Dara said, her wrinkled face stretching into a smile. "Trust me. Aye, yer sister daes."

Kaden continued to watch, rather enjoying the anonymity of the moment. In the doorway, none of the women had yet noticed his appearance.

"This place is amazing," Lydia said, looking around the room. "Ye have so many things."

"Aye, a lifetime's worth of collecting in healing. Ye are welcome tae look at it, lass. Any time ye like."

"Thank ye," Lydia said, eagerly moving toward the nearest dried herbs which were hanging from the ceiling. "Mugwort?"

"Aye, a rare thing, but it grows on the riverbanks here."

Kaden's eyes moved over Elara as she sat on a table, holding onto the poultice and muttering about how ridiculous it was she had to keep the thing on.

"Leave it there," Dara ordered when she saw Elara trying to shift it.

"Would ye show me?" Lydia asked with hope. It was the first spark of excitement Kaden had seen in Lydia's eyes since he had met her.

"Aye, get yer bag, lass, I'll take ye there now before the light fades completely." Dara clicked her fingers in the direction of the door.

"Take Marcus with ye." Kaden's words made all three women jump.

"Kaden," Dara snapped. "Ye dae have a habit of being too light of foot. Ye'll make an old woman jump and die."

"Never." He winked at her. "Ye once described yerself tae me as an old creaking gate. Ye'll go on creaking, but ye'll be here."

She laughed at him and waved her hand, walking toward the door.

"We dinnae need Marcus with us."

"Ye dae," Kaden pleaded, softening his voice. "War is coming and we dinnae ken how many of Annabella's spies are in these lands. Take Marcus. Please."

Dara nodded, though reluctantly, as she walked past. Lydia stalked after her, looking thoroughly put out indeed and mumbling under her breath.

"Damn mercenary. I cannae escape him," she grumbled.

Kaden waited until he was sure they were gone, then he stepped further into the cottage, hurrying to Elara's side.

"Ye all right?" he asked, picking up her hand.

"Of course, I am." She laughed, shaking her head. "Should I nae be asking ye that? Ye are the man who has just been in a fight."

"A fight that yer braither lost on purpose." Kaden watched as Elara's eyes widened.

"He did? Why?"

"He said I didnae deserve tae be made a fool fer being in love, because I was distracted by ye when ye were stung." He nodded down at the bee sting. "He's a good man, perhaps more so than I gave him credit fer."

"I'm glad ye think so." Elara sighed with relief, her hands moving up to embrace him. On instinct, Kaden moved toward her, his lips moving down to meet hers. "I'd rather like it if ye two could be friends."

"I dinnae want tae talk about Cassian now, Fire," he whispered, trailing his lips along her own. It was electric, the way that sparks flew between them, and how her hands, now running down his biceps, were making his length harden beneath his trews.

I need her before she leaves.

"What dae ye want tae talk about?" she murmured softly.

"This." He delved into his pocket and pulled out a key, slipping it into the palm of her hand. "Me chamber. Come tae me taenight."

She smiled so ridiculously that had they not been in Dara's cottage, he might have taken her there and then. He could just imagine it, the way she would moan his name as he entered her, how her back would arch in the most delectable way, and how she would feel wrapped around his length.

Aye, she's intoxicating…

"Come morning, I'll have tae leave ye," she whispered, her smile leaving her face.

"Fer now." He moved to kiss her forehead. "But when war is over, we can have time tae think of happier things. Maybe then, when I have fought at yer brother's side, he will trust me with his sister's life too."

She curled herself into her chest and he held on tight, doing his best to fight the hardening in his trews.

"I hope he says aye," she whispered.

"Have nay fear," Kaden murmured into her hair. "I'll wait fer ye at the end of that aisle fer as long as it takes." Judging by the way her hands gripped him tight, he wasn't convinced that she believed him. He would have to do something more to prove to her just how much he loved her.

Elara turned her head back and forth, but there were no guards traipsing up and down the corridors to see her, no errant maids wandering to their tasks at odd hours of the night. She was completely alone and free. She slipped the key into the lock of Kaden's door.

Slowly, she turned the handle and stepped into the chamber.

"Kaden?" she whispered into the darkness. There was no answer as she closed the door behind her. Gradually, as she crept into the room, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Just a single taper was lit in the corner of the room. It had now burnt down so far, that it gave off the dimmest of dark amber glows. It was barely enough light for her to find him in the darkness.

He was laid out on the bed, fast asleep, his head turned to the side and his eyes closed tightly.

Elara had to cover her mouth not to laugh. He had clearly been waiting for her. He was laid there in nothing but his trews, but he had been waiting so long that he had fallen asleep in his exhaustion after all that had happened over the last few days.

Elara smiled and reached for her gown, untying the laces. Threading the gown over her head, she laid it across a coffer nearby, then placed her stays and stockings on top. When she was wearing nothing but her chemise, with her pale blonde hair loose around her shoulders, she climbed onto the bed with him and laid down at his side, cuddling into him. She hoped not to wake him, to sleep by his side, but the moment she laid a hand on the center of his chest, his eyes shot open.

"Did ye really think ye could sneak intae me bed without waking me up?" his deep voice asked humorously.

"Well, I thought it was worth a go. Ye looked so peaceful." She ran her hand down the center of his exposed chest again, marking the curves of the muscles with her fingers as she curled into his side. The muscles stiffened beneath her touch. To discover she had such power over him made her smile into his side.

"Dinnae stop, Fire," he whispered.

She grew bolder, letting her hand explore more and more. She started high then worked her way down the middle of his chest, toying with the opening flap of his trews. When the palm of her hand brushed his trews, he inhaled sharply. She could feel his hardness beneath the material.

"I dae this tae ye?" she asked in amazement.

"All ye," he said, his voice deep.

At his words, she grew more confident still. She shifted to sitting up, then moved over him, undoing the flap of his trews as she straddled his thighs. His eyes could have been black in this dim light, the way they stared up at her was an overpowering thing. As she released him from the confines of the trews, her fingers clasped around him. Those eyes closed and he tipped his head back, indulging in her touch.

She became experimental, moving her hands in different ways, marveling at the feel of him in her hand, and the way he reacted to her touch.

"Only ye, Fire," he muttered. "Only ye from now on." Then he groaned again as she moved faster. "Say it," he pleaded.

She sank forward a little, rocking her hips just beneath his own, teasing him with how close she was to taking him with more than just her hand.

"Say it," he ordered in a playful way, his eyes darting open.

"That I am yers?" she teased him, releasing him with her hand and moving over him, her chemise gathering around her hips. She felt him at her entrance and teased him a little, lining herself up but not quite sinking down onto him.

"Aye," he grunted, apparently holding himself back with great difficulty from entering her, the muscles in his neck and chest now taut. "Ye're mine, Fire."

She bent down over him, her hair like a curtain around their heads as she kissed him, then she sank down onto him a little, taking his length inside of her. That rush of wetness escaping her now enveloped the two of them completely. She gasped into the kiss, the thrilling sensation overwhelming.

"I'm yers," she whispered against his lips.

With those words, it was like a sudden torrent had been released. He gripped her hips and flipped the two of them over, so that they were still connected. She laughed joyously as he moved over her, setting up a rhythm at once. Elara widened her legs around his hips, allowing him the best access to her he could have as he braced himself on his hands and looked down at her.

"Nay other now," he grunted between their gasping moans. "Only ye, Elara."

She cried out in the pleasure, not just from what he was doing to her, but also his words.

He moved faster and faster, bending over her, bracing his whole weigh on the palms of his hands.

"Ah, Kaden."

"Say it," he begged again.

She knew what he wanted. He loved to hear it, loved to hear her say she was his, but instead, she found other words on her lips.

"I love ye."

He froze, his movements halting. Their bodies were still connected, the thrill still emanating between them.

"Ye dae?" he said, breathing fast.

"I dae." She nodded, reaching a hand up and trailing it down his chest.

Abruptly, he took hold of her chemise and pulled it over her head, kicking off the rest of his trews so soon, there wasn't a stitch between them, then the rhythm he set up was faster still. Elara found herself shifted in position. No longer were her legs raised high, wrapped around his hips, he moved them together and shifted her body aside, so both legs were wrapped around just one of his hips, then he entered her again. It somehow felt deeper, even more intimate, because though her rear was now turned a little more toward him, she could still look him in the eye, still mark the pleasure on his face, the way he moaned, and how the sweat was dappling his chest.

She explored him with her fingers constantly, being careful of the wound on his shoulders, touching his whole chest and his biceps, gripping hard to the muscles there as he moved faster and faster.

"It willnae be the last time, will it?" she begged, that pleasure reaching new heights. Her whole body was beginning to tighten now, that thrill coiling in her stomach, warning her that her release was very soon.

"Nay. It willnae be the last time," he promised, reaching up and gripping onto the edge of the bed as he took hold of a better position to enter her. The pleasure was now so great, she arched her back, her fingers digging into the covers beneath her as he rocked her over her edge.

Elara tried to tell him she loved him again, but the words were lost in her moans of pleasure. She was still basking in the glory of that feeling, the way his length slid along all her pleasure spots when he had to pull out, his groans overwhelming. He spilled himself over the tops of her thighs, and she loved it, reaching up to plant her hand firmly in the middle of his chest, smiling up at him.

He groaned, sinking back onto his haunches as he smiled down at her, clearly as overwhelmed as she was.

"Nae the last time. I promise," he whispered, bending back down over her and kissing her. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding on tight. "Just a little while longer, then we willnae have tae sneak around so much. We can dae this as a married couple, husband and wife."

His words made her writhe with happiness. She wrapped her legs around him again, kissing him, as she felt him chuckle into their kiss, laughing at the eagerness of her reaction.

"Fer the lord almighty's sake, Elara, would ye smile already?" Cassian's question fell on deaf ears.

Elara had no intention of smiling. Last night had been a wonderful thing. She had spent the whole night in Kaden's arms. After they had made love, they had talked fer hours, wrapped up in one another's bodies. They had even had their private goodbye that morning in the bedchamber, saying how much they were going to miss one another, before she crept back to her own chamber. She was now very glad indeed she had taken that opportunity for a private goodbye. When it came to them taking their leave that morning, Cassian had rushed her and Lydia out of there so fast, there hadn't been chance to say goodbye to Kaden again.

"She's upset," Lydia said from where she rode beside Cassian. Elara kept to her place behind them, with the soldiers that traveled with them flanking the three of them. "Ye took her away from the love of her life."

"Madness tae have a love of yer life after just a couple of weeks," Cassian huffed.

As Lydia fell into argument with him, defending the situation, Elara looked away. She could have sworn she'd heard stones being kicked about in the nearest clump of trees to them. One of the soldiers looked that way with her, but when nothing more happened, they both just shrugged.

"Probably an animal," he reassured her. She nodded, then looked forward again.

They'd been riding for hours on the mountain pass between the Stuart clan and the Lamonts. Soon, they would be home, and once they did arrive, she knew true preparations for battle with the MacNaughtons and Campbells would begin.

"I dinnae want tae talk about this anymore," Cassian said, raising a hand to beg for silence from Lydia. "Good god, Lydia. The way ye talk, ye'd think ye want tae go back tae the Stuart castle."

"Nay chance of that. Believe me, I am very glad tae be away from there."

Elara heard that sound again. She pulled her mare to a halt, as did the soldier beside her. They both scoured the tree line.

When there was the sound of metal scraping metal, the soldier reached for a crossbow hooked onto the back of his saddle.

"That was nay animal," Elara whispered.

"We're being watched," the soldier hissed, raising the crossbow. "Me laird! We are being watched."

Cassian stopped his horse, turning around, but what happened next was so quick, Elara didn't even have chance to see his expression before she was knocked from her horse.

A bolt shot through the air, and it didn't come from the soldier beside her, but from the trees. One of the guards grabbed hold of Elara and pulled her off the saddle, out of harms way. She crouched down with the guard on the other side of the mare as the bolt landed in the dirt track beneath them.

"We're being attacked," Cassian hollered. "Take up yer arms."

Elara was thrust behind a rock, with Lydia soon pushed into her side. In danger of falling over, Elara barely caught her in time.

Then men started to fall. A shower of arrows was fired from the woods. Two soldiers who had been guarding them fell to the ground, groaning in their injuries. Cassian moved to guard Elara and Lydia, though little good it did when he was fighting alone.

A swathe of soldiers stepped out of the woods. At the front was the MacNaughton's war leader. Elara recognized him from the tavern where she had spent the evening with tavern. Judging by the way his eyes flicked toward her, he recognized her too, only now, he understood exactly who she was.

"Take another step, and I fire," Cassian warned with his crossbow raised. The war leader acted fast. With one strike of his sword, the crossbow was knocked out of his hands, blood escaping from his knuckles.

"Cassian!" Elara pulled him out of harms way as they were surrounded by soldiers.

"Ye." The war leader pointed at the least injured of their men. "Return tae clan Stuart. Tell the laird there that if he wants Elara and the rest of the Lamonts safe, he should go tae the MacNaughton castle with a ransom of five hundred pounds. Nay soldier is tae accompany him."