Page 45 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

Sucking on that bottom lip, she moved and lowered on him, excruciatingly slow, her face mirroring his pleasure. “Theo,” she whispered as she clutched at her shoulders. “I feel, oh...this feels wonderful.”

He was deeper, and she was clenching around him tighter than ever before. As she moved, slowly at first to adjust to the new position, he leaned back again the bed, enjoying the view as she rose over him. She claimed her power over him instantly, taking control and teasing him, driving them both higher and higher. When she finally burst around him in a beautiful display of pleasure and love, he could think of only one thing as he buried himself inside of her.

I belong to her.

19

Gemma felt like she was floating the next day. Theo had spent half the night loving her, and she knew that things were different between them now. Maybe now he would have more faith in their future together.

She tackled the next step with gusto. After giving Theo a kiss on the cheek in the morning and telling him to enjoy his last few minutes with his brother, she snagged a biscuit and an apple and hurried out. She could feel Theo’s gaze on her back, but she didn’t dare tell him her plan. He’d tell her that she was wasting her time.

She was determined to prove to him that his people were worth more than just protecting. He also needed to fight for their respect.

At first, no one would even look at her, and she stayed quiet as she walked and watched. For the adults, their spirits were broken. They kept their eyes down, and there was no joy in their faces, but it was different with the children. They didn’t know enough about their surroundings to feel anything other than the green grass beneath their feet and the wind in their hair.

Spying some children frolicking with the sheep in a pen, Gemma leaned against the fence and smiled as she watched. In London, being outside her home was insufferable. The streets were dirty and crowded with people, and she was always being watching and judged. Here, in the open air, it was just her and people who didn’t care if she wore the latest fashion or only spoke to the right people. Here, there was freedom.

And she was determined that the rest would feel the same.

“Who are ye to be watching my lad?” a voice thundered from behind her. Gemma turned to find the largest man she’d ever laid eyes on running toward her. The children’s laughter died down, and the man stopped right in front of her, anger blazing in his eyes. “My child wilnae be a pawn in yer game, Mistress MacDougal.”

Her heart hammered in her chest, but she remained calm. He was not the first man to bully her, and he would not be the last. “I am glad that you know who I am, but I am not here to use the children. They seem to be the only joy in this land, and I would not do anything to harm that.”

The fires died, but the anger remained. “Aye, well, ye can blame yer husband for that.”

“Could I?” Gemma cocked her head. “I learned just the other day that the open areas near the river, where the children used to play, were blocked off by the previous laird in an attempt to tap down on the amount of time you get together and relax and enjoy yourselves. One of the first things Theo did was give you access.”

“Aye, but he has a reason for it. Sending out spies to watch and listen for us, no doubt. Well, ye can tell that husband of yers that he wilnae take my thoughts or my speech. I will damn well say that he is a terrible laird!”

He all but roared the last words, and the others nearby looked up sharply with fear in their eyes. Gemma nodded. “Good. You should speak your mind, but you should also be able to prove why. This is my first trip to my new home, and I would like to learn how to help.”

There was a tug on her skirt, and Gemma looked down to see a darling freckled little girl gripping a wooden doll. “I like the laird,” she whispered. “He saved me dolly from the river.”

Bending down, she kissed the girl on the head. “He will do more than save your dolly if you let him.” Straightening, she looked the man directly in the eye. “He has spent the last week at Loch Moran, risking his life to protect it to use the resources to share with you.”

“And a year ago, when he murdered my brother in cold blood?” the man hissed. “Was that for the good of the people?”

“Theo would never—”

“The laird gave the order, and Theo carried it out like the dutiful son he always was. Even now, I am certain that he is carrying out his father’s orders. A strong man stands on his own, but Theo was never a strong man. And there is nothing that his English wife is going to say to convince me otherwise, nor anyone else in this clan.”

Snatching up his son, he marched away, and the other kids hung their heads as they followed. Gemma turned and she saw that they had attracted a following, and none were stepping forward to defend Theo. Her heart sank.

“You all feel the same?” she asked softly, refusing to give up. “None of you believe in the man who is risking his life to undo the work that his father has done?”

No one said a word. They just stared at her with strange, blank looks. “Please...Theo is not like his father. If there is something you need or if you have an opinion, he will listen.”

“He isnae here,” one of the women pointed out. “He hasnae visited the villages. He is too busy with someone else’s people.”

Anger blazed in her. “The people of Loch Moran have sworn their loyalty to Theo. They are his people just as you are! He is protecting them for you.”

“They doonae know what he is capable of. We do, so he runs to them!” another man spat. “We are MacDougals, but perhaps we should be Hamiltons. It seems at least one of Patrick’s sons know how to be a leader.”

The group murmured to themselves as they broke apart.

Gemma stayed long after the group had dispersed, and when she finally turned, she noticed that she wasn’t alone. Standing behind one of the buildings, leaning against the side, was Theo, and she could tell that he’d heard every word.

“Theo,” she started, but the blank look on his face stopped her in her tracks. She wanted anger or defiance, but not this. No one thought he deserved the hatred more than him, and she feared he would never learn to fight back.