Twenty-Nine
The climb up Ben Lui forced Laurel’s heart into her throat, and there it remained. Brodie barked orders that the Campbells would partner with Rosses and lead them toward different peaks, taking shelter where they could. Just before they’d reached the gritty path that began the ascent, Brodie shifted position to lead while Donnan and Monty bracketed her. She didn’t dare look back to see how their persecutors fared. She watched as the men broke off and nudged their horses off the trail and over the loose rocks and shale. It wasn’t long before Brodie signaled with his hand that they would veer left. Laurel set her heels back in her stirrups, gathered handfuls of Teine’s mane along with the reins, and kept her body parallel to her horse’s.
It was here that the difference in training for her gelding and the warhorses showed. He shook his head and neighed, but Laurel cooed and encouraged him. She even pointed to how the other horses progressed without complaint, playing to her horse’s masculine ego. It shocked her when it worked. She knew it was a coincidence, but a grin tugged at her mouth before she reminded herself of the gravity of their predicament. Their sudden shift in direction and the added height gave her a moment to spy the Lamonts. They were far closer than she realized, and panic finally threatened to get the better of her.
“Don’t look, Laurel,” Monty said. “They are where they are, and it can’t be helped. Focus on your own progress.”
“Watch Brodie’s elbows. Know how he steers his mount, so you can do the same as you cross over the same spot. Watch how he shifts his weight, so you can follow,” Donnan pointed out. Laurel never would have thought of such.
“Thank you,” she stated as she studied her husband’s movements, adopting them as her own, and finding it easier to handle Teine. She sensed her mount calm, and it added to her reassurance that they would weather this passage. As they rounded a hairpin, Laurel’s stomach lurched at the steep drop off into a corrie. There was no easy descent into the valley, only plummeting to one’s death. She looked back at Brodie and noticed the remaining men were disappearing into the surrounding crags. That left her with Brodie, Monty, and Donnan. She couldn’t think of any men she trusted more than the ones with her.
Brodie’s eyes swept the mountainside as he led Laurel and the two men over ground he’d explored as a child. He’d spent over three decades traversing these peaks and valleys. He and his men climbed the trails as conditioning. Shepherds came into the hills to gather their flocks twice a year for their shearing. Brodie and Dominic had hunted among the peaks since they were old enough to carrying their own bow and supplies. He’d slept beneath the stars and daydreamed under the sun as a young man. He hoped one day he could bring Laurel back under better circumstances, so she could enjoy the breathtaking vistas.
But his greatest concern that day was leading Laurel to a cave he was certain the Lamonts wouldn’t detect. He needed to put a greater distance between his party and those following them. He no longer dared speak, knowing his voice would echo and carry his instructions to their enemy. He’d heard Donnan’s advice to Laurel, and it eased some of his apprehension. He suspected the three riders following him wondered why he’d doubled back and descended several yards before climbing once more. His father had trained him and Dominic to use such tactics to lose anyone who tracked them into the hills. He watched the shadows the Lamonts cast over the lower ridges, knowing the sun worked in his favor.
The four riders summited the first peak after nearly two hours of riding. Brodie knew they all needed to rest, but he feared most for Laurel. Donnan and Monty would endure longer than Laurel, and he couldn’t risk having to take her onto Lann’s back or leaving Teine behind. He wouldn’t allow himself to consider anything worse. As they came over the crest, he turned them back in the direction they’d come on the other side. He found the sheep trail he wanted and reined Lann in. In silence, the four riders dismounted and led their horses along the path. Brodie feared Laurel wouldn’t manage with her horse and long skirts. He looked back and found Laurel had Teine’s reins in her mouth as she tucked her skirts into her belt making culottes. He couldn’t resist the grin that spread across his face. He should have known his wife would have a solution.
It was another half an hour of silently leading their horses before they entered one of the valleys among the mountains. It was narrow, but grass grew tall, and Laurel spotted ewes with their summer lambs. She startled when Brodie pushed aside a bush, stepping over it and disappearing. Lann followed his master, so Laurel followed too. She discovered she was in a cave that she never would have spotted. It was large enough for at least ten men and their mounts. There was plenty of space for the four of them and their horses. Brodie led them to the back of the cave. Laurel suddenly found herself engulfed in a plaid she hadn’t seen Brodie retrieve. She looked around and the few stray sunbeams that breached the bush illuminated the cave to show Laurel the stack of supplies against the wall.
Brodie could wait no longer. He needed to feel Laurel in his arms. He needed the touch to believe she was unharmed. He’d worried the damp cavernous air would chill her, so he’d made it a priority to add another layer over her arisaid. He pulled her as much as she leaned into his embrace. They held each other, too relieved to do more. Laurel closed her eyes as she inhaled Brodie’s woodsy and musky scent. It was familiarity and security, reassuring and soothing.
“Laurie,” Brodie breathed against her hair. He knew Monty saw to Donnan’s wound, but he had no interest in anyone but the woman he clung to, whose arms squeezed around his waist. His need to taste superseded his need for touch. As Laurel’s head tilted back, Brodie knew their needs coincided. Their mouths fused together as they drank in the restorative powers of coming together. Brodie angled Laurel to press her backwards into the darkest corner of the cave, but he paused to look at Monty and Donnan. He knew Laurel did too. The men stared at one another, Donnan’s arm bandaged.
“I don’t care,” Brodie called out with a nod.
“You know?” Laurel gasped.
“I wasn’t certain until now.” Brodie looked back at the two men. “If you feel as I do aboot my wife, then do as you please. I’m more interested in her than either of you.” Monty and Donnan stared at Brodie as he and Laurel disappeared into the shadows. They found their own dark recess to share their reunion.
“Brodie, I don’t understand,” Laurel said, her voice tinged with fear.
“I noticed little things aboot them, and it struck me more like an auld married couple than friends or brothers. I thought it would bother me. I suppose it should. But I decided before we even left Stirling that if they protected you before they did themselves, I couldn’t care less what they do in private. You will always be more important. Let God and St. Peter decide their fate. That isn’t time I want wasted when it can be spent on you.”
Laurel swallowed as she nodded. “You’re very sage. It must be your auld age.”
“I shall show you just what an auld mon can do with a lively young lass.” Brodie swept in for another kiss, but this one was passionate and lusty rather than passionate and tender. Laurel moaned softly against his mouth as her hands roamed over his back and down to his buttocks. She pressed his hips to hers, glad he’d pushed his sporran out of the way. She felt her skirts fall loose from her belt, and a breeze soon brushed the back of her legs.
“I ken it’s only been a few days, bear. But it’s felt like a lifetime.”
“I ken, thistle. I would sink into you and remain there. It is the closest to heaven on Earth that I shall find.”
“Do we dare?”
“The Lamonts will not find us here. I noticed Monty and Donnan already found the healing supplies and the barrel of oats for the horses. If the horses remain quiet, and none of us are too loud, we remain safe. Can you keep from screaming my name this time?”
Laurel gasped and playfully slapped Brodie’s chest. “You shall have to test me to see.” She squeaked when Brodie’s hands slid along her bare legs before he lifted her off her feet. She snatched the front of his plaid and drew it up before wrapping her legs around Brodie’s waist.
“I ken there will be nay finesse.”
“I don’t need it. Just you. Now.” Laurel’s forehead fell against Brodie’s shoulder as he thrust into her. His cheek rested against her shoulder, and neither moved as the sensation of joining was their first wave of bliss. Soon desire took control as they moved together. Laurel pressed Brodie’s mouth to hers as she tipped over the precipice. He swallowed her silent scream before kissing along her jaw and throat, while his fingers bit into her backside. He wouldn’t have lasted any longer, even if they’d had true privacy and no unrelenting threat. His release crashed over him as he grunted with two more thrusts. He felt depleted as the euphoria waned, but despite the wave of fatigue, he wasn’t ready to release Laurel. He turned them so his back was to the wall and eased them to the ground. Laurel sat straddling his hips. She rested her head against the hard planes of his chest as his cheek rested on her crown.
“I could fall asleep as we are,” Brodie whispered.
“So could I,” Laurel admitted. Her eyes drooped closed, but a male throat clearing made her groan. “I don’t want to get up.”
“I know,mo ghràidh.” My dear. “Neither do I. But it would be better if we waited together.”
Laurel knew Brodie was right. If the enemy found their hiding place, which she supposed they could, the men needed to be prepared and alert. Clasping her hand, they stepped out of the shadows in time to see Monty and Donnan release theirs. Neither man looked in their direction, looking decidedly uneasy and regretful. Laurel lifted her skirts above her ankles and dashed to Monty. She threw herself into her brother’s outstretched arms, while she waved in Donnan’s direction. The men embraced her, and Brodie noticed how tiny she looked between the two towering Highlanders. She may have been tall, but she looked delicate in contrast. He noticed the care the men took as they returned her embrace, careful not to crush her. He witnessed the familial bond he shared with Dominic, and it gladdened him to see it between Laurel and Monty at last. They’d been at odds too many times over the past month.
