Chapter 13

Blood Is Thicker

Ragnall slowly opened his eyes and rolled his sore shoulders. He had not meant to fall asleep, but he must have. He looked at the bed, worried that Holly might have upped and left, but she was still there, and she was staring at him.

We’ll kill him together.

The last words she uttered before she fell asleep came rushing back to him. He had not known her before he married her, and now that he had, he still did not know her. He could not understand her desire to help him right the wrongs of his past. She did not need to, especially after the way he had treated her, but she was loyal to him.

“Good mornin’,” Holly said.

“Good mornin’,” he replied. “Did ye sleep well?”

“Aye, I did.” Holly smiled. “I woke up only a moment ago.”

“And how are ye feelin’?” Ragnall asked.

“Much better,” she said, relieved. “I’m still thirsty.”

Ragnall grabbed the cup from the bedside table and refilled it with water. He didn’t need to lift it to her lips this time. Holly sat up in bed, and he handed the cup to her. She downed it in one gulp.

“I wanted to apologize to ye,” Ragnall began.

“Ye have nothin’ to apologize for,” Holly assured him. “I understand everythin’ after what ye told me last night.”

“That doesnae excuse all of me actions. I returned after gettin’ a warnin’, and I was worried about ye. Ye baked me a pie, and it was a grand gesture. I didnae ken if ye had been pointed toward poisoned berries or not, but I shouldnae have reacted the way I did. I didnae mean to scare ye like that.”

“Ye shouldnae be the only one apologizin’,” Holly admitted. “I will admit I was shocked by yer appearance when I first saw ye, but only because I have never seen someone scarred by fire before. In truth, I’ve never seen anyone injured badly before. I want ye to ken that I dinnae think ye are a beast at all. I can see ye are a good man who has been hurt deeply. I wanted to apologize for how I acted in yer room the other night. I came here without kennin’ about Fraser, and that was me faither’s fault. I was scared, but not of ye. It’s just been a lot to come to terms with in such a short amount of time, and I still have some fear from the attack. I was scared to go out by meself and pick berries, but I wanted to do it for ye.”

“Perhaps ye can bake me another pie, but with the raspberries already checked in the kitchens,” Ragnall suggested.

“Aye, I can do that,” Holly agreed.

She held out her hand, and the Laird took it instinctively. She was warm and soft. He was a man who had walked through fire to avenge his family, but the simple touch of a woman after the way people in the village had looked at him the previous day soothed his soul. He dropped to his knees as if worshipping his wife.

“Thank ye,” Ragnall murmured.

“For what?”

“For bein’ here with me,” he said. “I’ve been alone for such a long time, not able to trust anyone, but I trust ye.”

He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. Holly did not shy away from him. It felt so good to touch a woman again.

He caressed her cheek. “I was worried about ye.”

“I ken,” Holly said, putting her hand over his. “I will be more careful.”

“I will protect ye,” he promised.

“I want us to have breakfast together,” Holly blurted out.

The words were so out of place that Ragnall could not help but laugh.

“I’m serious,” Holly insisted.

“I ken ye are.” Ragnall looked at the window. The light outside showed they were deep into the morning, but breakfast would not be a problem. “Mirren will have heard about yer pain, and she solves most problems with food. There will be a feast awaitin’ ye, no doubt. I’m starvin’, too. We can eat together.”

“I dinnae mean only this mornin’,” Holly stated, still gripping his hand. “I got to ken ye better through the night, and I want that to continue. I ken ye have to look after me and the clan and yerself, but we need to make time for each other if we are to live together. After ye told me what happened twelve years ago, I ken ye better, and I can understand ye. We need to keep that goin’.”

Ragnall withdrew his hand from her face and pulled his other hand from beneath hers. Not because he did not want her touch but because he didn’t want to have his hand on her cheek as he held a serious discussion. He rose to his feet and then sat back down on the chair after feeling he was taking up a position of power by towering over her.

“I will agree to that,” Ragnall conceded. “But I warn ye that I wake up early, and I ken what ye women are like when woken too early and when ye’re gettin’ ready.”

Holly’s lips twitched, and then she broke out into a smile. “Ye are a rogue, Ragnall. Ye just wait and see. I’ll be down afore ye for breakfast the next mornin’, and ye will be eatin’ yer words instead of yer breakfast.”

“Is that a fact?” Ragnall raised an eyebrow.

“Aye, it’s a fact,” Holly asserted.

“I cannae wait to see yer face when ye walk into the breakfast room tomorrow mornin’,” Ragnall said.

“Will that be for me second breakfast after eatin’ me first and then goin’ to look for me?”

Ragnall smiled again and shook his head. He got up from the chair.

“I’m glad to see ye are feelin’ better. We will settle this tomorrow mornin’, but for now, I will go and speak with Mirren.”

“One more thing,” Holly added, reaching out again.

Ragnall stopped in his tracks and looked down at his wife. He couldn’t resist retaking her hand after feeling how soft it was. It blew his mind again that she wanted to touch him despite his monstrous looks.

He crouched down by the bed and moved closer to her.

“I want to go to the village with ye, the one just outside the castle walls. I’m the Lady of Clan MacPherson, and I want people to ken that. I want to meet the people so that I can ken the clan better. I cannae be a member of the clan if I dinnae even ken what the clan is like.”

“I can have someone accompany ye,” Ragnall offered.

“I dinnae want someone else, I want ye,” Holly insisted. “I’m worried they willnae take to me if ye arenae there with me. And, from what little I ken, it would also do ye good to get out of the castle.”

Ragnall knew that was the truth, even if he did not want to admit it.

As if sensing that he didn’t want to have the conversation, Holly tightened her grip on his hand. He could break free easily, but he did not want to.

“I shall talk to Eric about it,” he said as a compromise. “He deals with the security of the castle.”

And he can say nay to ye on me behalf.

Even though he knew he should be out in the village, Ragnall did not have the inclination. He did not want to be stared at constantly.

“This is important to me,” Holly persisted. “The breakfast and visitin’ the village. I’m here to give ye an heir, but I want to be more than that.”

“Ye will be,” Ragnall said. He tried to stand up, but she tugged on his hand. “I do need to go, Holly.”

“I ken,” she replied.

Ragnall smiled. “So, ye have to let go of me hand.”

Holly held his gaze, and the challenging look in her eyes stirred something within him.

“Or what?” she challenged.

Ragnall thought back to their ride to MacPherson Castle, when he had almost kissed her for the first time. The emotion came back, too. He had wanted to kiss her back then, and he wanted to kiss her now. He had kissed her in his bedroom, but he did not count that. It had been a forced kiss before they knew each other. It was different now.

Holly’s eyes said, Do it!

Ragnall didn’t need the challenge in her eyes to kiss her. He hoped she was pain-free because he couldn’t stop what coursed through him. He knelt on the bed, still keeping hold of her hand, and swung his other knee to the other side of her so he straddled her. He leaned down and kissed her before she could say anything else.

As soon as his lips met hers, Holly kissed him back. When her hand went to his face, the side with the scars, his immediate reaction would have been to recoil from her touch. But he did not. He refocused on the kiss and pulled his hand from hers, cupping both her cheeks.

He did not force the kiss on her for fear of aggravating her pain. Their tongues did not dance together, but their lips did. He held her head delicately and tilted his head to the side, biting gently on her bottom lip before pressing his lips to hers again.

He pulled back, still straddling her, and she dropped her hand from his cheek. He had never wanted anyone to touch his scars, but his body ached for her to touch him like that again.

Holly moaned a little, and he took that as his cue to get off her.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “It’s not bad, but I feel a little pain.”

“I’m goin’ to take care of ye,” Ragnall said. “Stay right here, and I will go and speak with Mirren. I’ll have them bring breakfast up here, and we can eat together in yer room. How does that sound?”

“That sounds braw,” Holly agreed.

Ragnall leaned down over her and kissed her forehead. His lips lingered on her skin momentarily before he drew back.

“The pain is already goin’ away,” Holly admitted.

“I’ll be back soon,” Ragnall told her.

He finally pulled himself away from her and left the room. His stomach rumbled—he needed food, but he needed something else to satisfy him after that kiss. He would get it in due course, especially after Holly had shown her true colors. She was not scared of him and was willing to stand side by side with him.

She was exactly what he wanted in a wife, and he had not known it until that morning.

The Laird headed toward the kitchens, both to assure Mirren that Holly was well and to get food for him and his wife.

“Come with me,” Eric said, suddenly appearing at his side.

“What’s goin’ on?” Ragnall asked, immediately thinking of Holly. “Is he here? We need to go to Holly’s room.”

“He’s nae here,” Eric assured him. “I dinnae think the coward would come himself, but I think he sent one of his loyal men.”

Eric led him into the hall and took him to the large table, where maps were spread. To the side of the maps was a ragged piece of paper with red handwriting.

“We found it nailed to a tree out front. He might have liked it nailed to the door, but his man must have thought better of it so he could escape. No one saw it except for one of the stablehands, who brought it to me, kenning that it should not remain on display.

Ragnall read the message scrawled on the paper.

One MacPherson by blood and one by marriage. To end the bloodline, ye must spill the blood.

“He’s comin’ for me,” Ragnall noted. “He thinks he can scare me, but he cannae. I’ll be ready for him.”

“The warnin’ is written in blood,” Eric pointed out.