“No, but there’s a man coming back for me soon… he said…”
“Dinna worry. I’ll have ye out of there in just a moment.” He spoke lightly, but even now, even here where they were both in grave danger, he wanted her. Not just for one night, or a week, and not just her body. He wanted all of her, body, heart and soul. And forever. He just had to convince her that he was good enough for her. Hell, he had tobegood enough for her.
“Eian Mac Coinnach”, she whispered urgently, “if you get me out of this mess with both of us alive I’ll… I’ll kiss you.”
A slow grin spread across his face and damned if his knees didn’t feel a little weak. Strange… he’d kissed women from time to time, and taken each kiss for granted. Not one could he remember in particular. Not one stood out as special, or as better than all the others. And now, the promise of just one kiss from this woman felt like the greatest gift he had ever been given. And he knew for certain, that should he receive a kiss from Allia, it would be the first and the last that he remembered every detail of.
“Aye, I will hold ye to that, lass. A kiss for yer freedom. A fair trade, I think.”
Voices rose and fell from somewhere out in the darkness as a group of men walked by, and Allia panicked. Oh hell! What was she thinking? She couldn’t let Eian risk his life to save her! If he was killed… if she had to see his body lying still without the spark of life that lit him from within… she would never be the same. She had the sinking feeling that her own spark would die as well. She reached up and grabbed the metal bars on the window, desperate that he listen to her.
“Eian, you have to leave. They’ll see you. Go to my uncle for help…”
“No lass”, he said firmly. “I’ll no’ be leaving ye. And no one will see me, I’ve cloaked myself well.” A trick he had perfected upon years of hiding from angry fathers and the occasional irate husband. Not that he bedded married women on purpose, but they weren’t always forthcoming about being wed, either.
“Oh.” Her head turned at the sound of footsteps in the hall. Someone had come into the hall. She held her breath for a moment to listen. “Someone’s coming.” She moved away from the window, turning to glance back at where Eian had been just a moment before. He was gone, thank god.Be safe, Eian.
She knew who it would be before the door even opened. Murdo shut it firmly behind him and came towards her with a look of anticipation on his face that made her want to vomit. He was about to rape her, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. Apparently, he wasn’t going to be wasting time with formalities, either. As he reached for the buckle of the belt around the short pants he wore, Allia began to mentally prepare herself, trying to recall everything she had ever learned about self-defense, even though it wouldn’t do much good against someone who could wield magic as well as she suspected Murdo could. At least she knew he wasn’t planning to kill her, not if she was supposed to be bearing a child.
He came closer, and she backed away. He followed, lunging to catch her by the arms and push her down onto the cot. She landed hard, but even though her heart was racing and shivers of fear ran down her spine, Allia felt remarkably calm. Maybe her most primitive survival instincts had kicked in or something, because the whole world seemed to slow down around her as she watched Murdo reach for the hem of her skirt.
“Don’t do this”, she said, stalling for time, trying to think, looking for an opening...
Murdo slowly shook his head as his hand slid up the length of her leg. “Too late now, lass. Ye came back. That was a mistake.” A dark smile twisted his lips. “The pull was too strong, was it no’? Ye couldna stay away. Fate can be like that sometimes, or so I’ve heard.”
Allia tried desperately to keep him talking… anything to buy herself a few more moments. “Who are you? At least tell me that much… who do you work for?”
He laughed, and the sound grated on her every nerve. Whatever she had just said, he seemed to find it genuinely amusing. He flipped her skirts up, exposing her bare legs to the tops of her thighs. He loomed over her, looking down at her with an ironic smile. “I work for yer own father, lass. And pleasant work it is, I should say. At least tonight.”
“My father?” she scoffed. How dare he tell such lies? “My father is dead. He died before I was even born.”Didn’t he?
“Och, poor lass, what stories have they told ye, then? Yer father is verra much alive and well, and he’s ready to welcome ye back into the fold. Ye and our son, of course. Mored chose me to be the father of his grandson, because he kens my line is a powerful one. Our son will be the strongest Dark sorcerer ever to walk this earth.”
Allia shrank back, confused, her mind refusing to accept what he had just told her, even though for all she knew itcouldbe true. Her family had sent her away… to protect her from her own father? And then despite their best efforts, she had stupidly walked right into his trap. But damn, they could have told her! Of course, this man could be lying to her, just to be cruel. Yes, that was much more likely. She had absolutely no reason to believe a man who had just had her kidnapped and was now intent on raping her. He fumbled with the laces of his fly, and she could see the erection straining there, ready to violate her in the worst possible way.
She was quickly running out of time, and options. “No”, she said weakly, glancing around for a weapon,anyweapon. But he paid no attention.
Murdo bent over her, his movements becoming more and more agitated. Allia tensed, preparing to struggle for all she was worth, to kick and to bite and to scratch. If she ended up dead, so be it. She wouldnotbe bearing anyone a son that would be raised to bring harm to the world.No way. She took a deep breath, ready to scream even though she knew it would do no good. But just as Murdo reached for her, there was a dull thump and the door swung open. Her eyes flew to it, and her heart started thudding hopefully in her chest.Eian!
He had his sword drawn, and to her horror she saw that it was already bloodied. There was also blood spattered on his shirt and across his face, and she knew he had fought and probably killed to get to her. His eyes were burning with a soul deep rage as he took in the scene before him like some sort of gorgeous avenging angel.
As Murdo turned around with a curse on his lips to see who had dared interrupt, Allia took advantage and kicked out with all her might. The man stumbled backwards, but he rolled to his feet and managed to land standing face to face with Eian. She scooted back towards the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, terrified that Eian would get hurt. But then she remembered the deadly look in his eyes, and she was no longer afraid of anything.
Eian was focused with lethal intent on the man who had been about to rape his woman, and the instinct to kill rose up so strong and so hard, he almost trembled with it. Rage washed over him until everything around him seemed to be a shade of blood red. He gritted his teeth. “Do ye intend to fight, or shall I just slice ye from ballocks to throat and be done with it?”
Murdo narrowed his eyes at the challenge, and drew his sword. As soon as the weapon was out of its sheath and the fight was fair, Eian lunged with a primal growl. Let it never be said he hadn’t fought with honor. Metal struck metal with a sickening clash and screech, echoing off the stone walls of the small room. Murdo was quickly forced back one step, and then two by Eian’s nearly inhuman onslaught. He regained his balance and swung his sword in a mighty arc that would have found its mark if Eian hadn’t met the blow with such force that it seemed to Allia his sword should have shattered. His strength was simply astounding.
She wanted to close her eyes until it was over, but something kept her from looking away, as if her will alone could keep Eian from the sharp edge of the other man’s weapon. So instead she held her breath as the battle continued for what seemed like much longer than the minute or two it had actually been. A part of her mind couldn’t help but wonder just how many men Eian had killed, that no one was coming to investigate the noise.
Then Murdo made a fatal mistake. “Mac Coinnach”, he taunted as he swung again, “I want ye to ken that when ye are dead I’m going to take yer woman hard and fast until she screams, and…” He didn’t get to finish because there was suddenly a dagger thrust though his heart. Eian dropped his sword to twist the knife a bit farther.
“I dinna think so”, he said in a voice as cold as ice. When Eian pulled the dagger free, the other man dropped like a stone, and for a long moment he stared at the body at his feet, rage still coursing through his veins and his breath coming in gasps. When at last he turned his gaze to Allia, his eyes were still dark, and his face was that of a man intent on violence and death. But as he looked at her, his eyes slowly warmed, and his features softened, until at last the murderous haze left him and he smiled, his breath still coming hard.
“I think ye promised me a kiss, lass.”
“That I did.” She smiled back at him shakily, afraid that at any moment she might burst into embarrassing tears of relief. And pride. Eian Mac Coinnach had not only come for her, but he had protected her with his sword and his strength. To see him in action like that had made her want to swoon with feminine desire, or some such thing she had never done before. Not that she could blame herself, after all it was a natural biological response to such an incredible show of male virility.
He sheathed his sword and then went to her, pulling her up gently from the bed. The touch of his hands on hers made her tingle all over, but they weren’t safe yet.
