Page 12 of Alec

A little shiver of delight went through Ava as it did every time she looked at her husband. He was hers, and she was his. Nothing else mattered but that.

Beside him, his younger full-blood brother Darro stood frowning at a scrap of parchment in his hand. The second largest man at Dun Talamh, the senior chieftain dwarfed the laird and nearly everyone else in the clan. He also served as Tasgall’s second in command and had nearly as many responsibilities as his older brother. Thankfully Darro possessed a peacemaker’s calm, thoughtful personality, and spent much of his time mediating the squabbles among the clan, their vassals and the outsiders.

“My lady,” both men said as they looked up and smiled at her.

Ava saw the warmth of love bloom in her husband’s cool blue eyes, which still amazed her. She had never expected to open her heart to another man again after losing Chris, but somehow she and Tasgall had become two halves of the same whole. Even if they found a way to return the outsiders to their time, she had no intention of leaving him. Her life wouldn’t mean anything without him in any time.

“Fair morning, healer.” Tasgall stood and regarded Ben. “How proves our latest addition to the clan?"

“She’s healed of her injuries, but Alec won’t let go of her,” the healer said, and then added quickly, “He’s looking after her himself. They seem to have instantly bonded.”

“That doesnae sound like my war master,” the laird said. “Mayhap you should tell us more about the lady.”

“She claims to be an expert on repairs and restoration of historical structures. Evidently Renard Beaumont had her come to the castle in my time to survey storm damages,” Ava said, and related what details she had about the attacker responsible for Olivia Gibson’s abrupt arrival. “Has anything like that happened in the past?”

Tasgall shook his head. “All outsiders came here without any manner of coercion. None that I ken fell through pits in the passages.”

“From the way she described her assailant he seemed determined to assure she would cross over to us,” Ben put in. “Enough to break her fingers and perhaps her jaw as well. It was a cowardly and vicious thing to do.”

Ava nodded her agreement. “I went through the pockets of her jacket, and found her wallet, but nothing else. Alec will probably know more about her.”

“In the morning we’ll speak to our war master,” the laird said, and glanced at his senior chieftain. “Mayhap we should place more guards on the trap’s entry for now.”

“I shall warn them about the pit,” Darro said. “Do you reckon ’twill remain open until dawn, when the spell trap resets?”

“’Tisnae part of our Dun Talamh,” Tasgall said, at the same time Ava muttered, “If it’s still there, could we try to go out through the pit?”

“Maybe the guards should check.” Ben chuckled as the three of them ran from the laird’s chamber. “Or you could go and see,” he called after them.

Ava had the advantage of the longest legs, and reached the entry passage a few moments before her husband and brother-in-law. The large hole in the floor looked as if it had been burned through the stone, with dried blood from Olivia’s injured hands darkening the edge on one side.

“Still here,” she said as Tasgall and Darro joined her, and took hold of her husband’s hand. “Come on. If I can go back, you’re going with me.”

Yet before either of them could take a step, the red crystals in the stone surrounding the pit took on a white glimmer, and the hole abruptly filled itself in and vanished.

“’Tis sunrise,” Darro said, sighing the words. “The castle’s just reset, thanks to the curse.”

Ava went to the spot where the hole had been, but when she crouched down to inspect the floor she caught a whiff of something unpleasant.

“The rotten smell is back.” She sat back on her haunches. “That’s the same stench I picked up from Renard Beaumont, the owner of the property in my time. Olivia said that the man who attacked her smelled bad, too.”

“Could they be the same man?” Tasgall asked.

“If he’s human, no, but I suspect he may be something else. They may be related, too. Beaumont is young and attractive, and looks mortal, while Miz Gibson described her attacker as elderly with scarlet-red eyes.” She noticed Darro’s flinch. “Is that significant, chieftain?”

“Only ’tis the same color as the crystals that reset the trap in the night,” he said. “And the pit as it closed turned red, no’ white as all else does during the reset.”

Tasgall gave his brother a narrow look. “Until we’ve something more than a color to connect the two, we shall continue our investigation. Ask Ben to look in on Mistress Gibson later today and assure all’s well with her.” He offered his hand to Ava. “Come, Wife. I’d break my fast with you in peace before word of the new arrival spreads.”

Oddly the laird didn’t guide her to the great hall, where the clan gathered to dine, but instead took her to their bed chamber.

“I don’t see any food in here, lover,” Ava mentioned. “Are we breaking that old fast later?”

“I’ll send for a meal once we’ve rested,” Tasgall said, putting his arms around her and walking her backward until the backs of her thighs touched the edge of their bed. “Och, you didnae make the bed, Wife.”

“The last time I did, you told me I was taking work away from Elspeth,” she reminded him as he eased her down onto her back. “Speaking of our chambermaid, she will be coming in here any minute to do that.”

“I dropped the bolt bar after we came in.” He came down on top of her, his mouth finding hers for a long, slow, hungry kiss.

Nothing could ever be as good as this, Ava thought dreamily. She knew he wanted her too much to wait until tonight to make love. As she gripped his shoulders the soft scent of their lovemaking from last night rose around them now like a whispered, unnecessary suggestion.

“You wear too many clothes,” Tasgall said as he lifted his head and brought up his hand to tug at the laces of her bodice.

“You lied to Ben and your brother,” she countered. “You could have just said we were going to nap.”

“A laird doesnae nap, my lady.” Tasgall tugged down the sides of her gown until he revealed her bare breasts. “I’ve no intention of sleeping again until I’ve loved you twice more.” He bent his head to kiss her beading nipples.

In that moment her husband looked more like Alec than he ever had. The way he watched her face as he suckled her was just as intense as the way the war master had regarded Olivia Gibson while holding her in his arms.

Alec isn’t going to be celibate much longer.