Page 45 of Highland Spirit

“Ooooooh, Ethan!” she cooed, squirming beneath him, wanting to feel every bit of his manly beauty as he took her as his lover. They did the dance of love, and she instantly forgot about all her troubles. No longer was she living in hell, because this felt like heaven.

“Aaaah,” he moaned in pleasure, matching her. “This feels so guid.”

And then his seed of life filled her as he was brought to the precipice of delight and took a leap over the edge.

The idea of possibly getting pregnant with another child of Ethan’s was all Alana had been able to think about since Isobel was born. She pulled him to her, clinging to him, crying again, but this time because she was so happy.

“Losh me,” he said through rugged breaths, pulling out and lying next to her, holding her tightly in his arms. “Ye’re cryin’ again. I didna please ye. It’s goin’ to take me a few minutes to regain my composure, but mayhap I can do somethin’ else to make ye smile.”

“Nay, Ethan,” she said, burying her head against his chest. “I am pleased, believe me. I am only cryin’ because I am so happy. In yer arms is where I feel I belong.”

“Ye do belong here,” he told her, kissing her atop her head. “And I’ve decided that ye and Isobel will stay here at the MacKeefe camp from now on.”

“What?” she asked, her smile fading since she wasn’t expecting him to say this – especially not right now.

“We’ll tell Isobel in the mornin’ that I am her faither. And then we’ll get married right away.”

“But – but Ethan, I need to go back to the castle,” she told him, suddenly feeling very frightened again. Thoughts filled her head of Diarmad and how angry he’d be if she did not return. She pictured her pregnant sister being beaten and her brother possibly being flogged by the man. She could almost see her poor father still chained to the bed, trying to help but falling over dead since he was so ill and weak. One thought after another cascaded through her mind until all the joy and happiness she’d felt making love with Ethan had disappeared. “My siblin’s and my faither are still there on the isle.”

“It’s all right. We’ll bring them all here,” he told her nonchalantly as if it would be no problem at all. “I’m sure I can convince Storm to let them stay at the MacKeefe camp for as long as they want. If yer clan willna welcome ye back, mayhap the MacKeefes can take ye in instead.”

“I see,” she said, realizing Ethan was living in a dream world. No clan would ever welcome her father with open arms. The MacKeefes might not be as willing as he thought to take her back either. After all, she heard the comments from them when she’d first arrived. She was sure she was not welcome, no matter what Ethan thought.

She wondered now if telling him he was a father as well as lying with him was perhaps a big mistake. If she didn’t return to the isle, there would be trouble. As it was, she needed to hide the fact she was here at all. If Diarmad thought she told the MacKeefes about the smuggling ring, he was going to be furious. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but it wasn’t a risk she wanted to take. She had to sneak back before Diarmad even realized she and her daughter were missing. There was no other way.

Once again, Alana felt doomed, having to make a hard decision. She could no longer stay here, but she couldn’t very well take her daughter away from Ethan either. Sadly, she realized that mayhap she couldn’t protect her daughter after all.

There was only one thing she could do, and it was going to be even harder than leaving Ethan in the first place. She’d have to leave Isobel here in Ethan’s care, and go back to the castle without her. It was the only chance she had of Ethan not coming after her and getting killed by Diarmad and his men. He would never stay put now that he knew Isobel was his daughter. But if she left the girl here, at least Ethan and the MacKeefes would keep her safe until Alana decided how she was going to fix the mess she was in. Hopefully, she could figure out a way to escape Diarmad, bring Kirstine and Finn here, and also clear her father’s name. There didn’t seem to be much hope, but she believed in miracles.

Alana had one chance to do this, and she had to make it work. If not, and if she failed, she was going to lose someone she loved.

All she had to do now was wait for Ethan to fall asleep, and sneak back to Blackbriar Castle to try to make things right.

Chapter 11

Alana hadn’t meant to oversleep, but after her night of wonderful lovemaking with Ethan, she’d had the best night’s sleep she’d had in the past five years. The sun was starting to rise. She saw the lightening sky out the window. If she didn’t hurry, all the MacKeefes would be awake and she’d have no chance to go back to the isle without someone seeing her leave.

Glancing over at the spot next to her in the bed, she could see the lump of Ethan’s body under the covers. Sneaking out of bed, she looked for the dog, but it was still dark in the hut and she couldn’t see it without lighting a candle – which she wasn’t about to do.

Wishing for her own clothes, she had no idea where they were. So she had to don the MacKeefe plaid again that Ethan had stripped from her body last night and threw on the floor. Hopefully, Diarmad and the smugglers would all be gone with the shipment before she returned and she’d have time to change into some of her own clothes before anyone saw her.

That brought up another problem. She had no idea what she would tell them about Isobel when they discovered her missing. Well, at least she might have a little time to talk things over with Kirstine before they returned. Diarmad and his men always left before the sun rose. The weather seemed to be clear so she could only pray they were gone. Together with Kirstine and Finn, she hoped they could come up with some kind of plan.

After dressing, she noticed her necklace in the bed and went back to get it, putting it around her neck. Then she donned a cloak, pulling the hood over her head, looking back at the bed in the semi-darkness one more time. “I love ye, Ethan,” she whispered, feeling tears welling up in her eyes as her emotions almost choked her. She wanted more than anything to stay here and marry him like he’d planned, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not now anyway. She had too much of a mess to clean up first. She had to come up with a plan and was finding it very difficult to think straight right now.

Hurrying out the door, she headed for the boat as fast as she could, constantly looking over her shoulder, hoping not to be noticed. It didn’t feel right not saying goodbye to Isobel, but if she did, her daughter wouldn’t want her to leave. She had to stick to the plan.

Thankfully, it had stopped raining and it looked to be a promising day. But since there was no wind, it might create a problem trying to sail back to the isle. She’d have to row, and that would take twice as long. Her body ached in a good way from making love with Ethan, but it would hurt like hell after rowing all the way back to the castle.

She broke through the trees where she left her boat, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Ethan sitting in his own boat with his dog and also her daughter.

“Guid mornin’, sunshine,” Ethan called out. “We were startin’ to wonder if ye were goin’ to sleep all day.”

“Ethan!” she exclaimed, realizing now why she hadn’t seen the dog in the hut. And that bump under the blankets was naught but a means to trick her so she’d think he was still in bed.

“Hello, Mama,” said Isobel, holding up a new rag doll that Alana had never seen before. “Look what Da gave me.”

“What?” Her heart about stilled when Isobel called Ethan Da. “Ethan, how could ye have told her without even waitin’ for me?” She stormed up to the boat.