Page 17 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 17

D ru wiped her hands on a cloth after applying a salve Mave had left to help the bruising on her jaw. Mave’s prediction had struck them silent, not a word being exchanged between them since hearing it and entering the cottage. And it continued between them stretching, thick and unyielding, like the weight of the night pressing in around them. Knox stood near the hearth, one hand braced against the mantle, his jaw tight, his shoulders rigid. The flickering light cast sharp shadows across his face, making his expression unreadable.

Dru swallowed against the knot forming in her throat. She had expected anger, questions, some demand that she explain, but he had said nothing. And somehow, that was worse.

She set the cloth aside.“Knox,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He didn’t turn, but she saw the slight twitch in his hand, the only sign he’d heard her. Still, he remained quiet.

She hesitated, then stepped forward, closing some of the space between them. “This isn’t fair to you,” she admitted. “I—I never thought something like this could happen.”

Knox turned slowly toward her. His gaze locked onto hers, intense, searching. “And what is it, exactly, that has happened, Dru?” His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it, a restrained force barely held in check. “Because all I know is that Mave spoke in riddles, and now you look at me as though I’m the one who’s cursed.”

Dru flinched, guilt twisting inside her. You didn’t know the half of it. If he did—if he knew the truth—he would never forgive her.

She clasped her hands together, suddenly cold despite the fire. “We can’t stay married,” she forced out, the words tasting like ash on her tongue.

A muscle ticked in Knox’s jaw. “Can’t or won’t?”

She looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. “Does it matter?”

“Aye, it matters.” His voice was rough now, sharp like the steel of a blade. “You think I’d let you walk away after what Mave said? That I’d stand by while you—” He stopped himself as he raked his fingers through his hair. “You mean to tell me you’d rather die than be my wife?”

She stiffened, her breath catching. If only it were that simple.

It wasn’t just her life at stake. It was his. If he knew who she was, remaining his wife would put him in danger. And she could not—would not—be the cause of his possible death.

She forced the defiant, sharp-tongued Dru to speak for her. “And are you telling me you care enough to remain wed to me?”

“Too fearful to answer me,” Knox accused, glaring at her as he waited for an answer.

“I told you I never planned on getting myself a husband.”

“Plans change,” he snapped. “Now tell me why you would rather die than remain wed to me.”

Dru’s throat tightened. She opened her mouth, but no words came.

Because I love you too much to let you suffer. Because if I stay, you will die. Because I am not the woman you think I am.

But none of that could pass her lips.

She turned the onus on him once again. “I am not what you want in a wife. Why sacrifice your life for me?”

The air between them went utterly still.

Then, Knox’s voice came, low and unyielding. “I have come to care for you.”

His remark shocked them both.

He hadn’t expected to say that and didn’t know why he did. Maybe it was the twisting ache in his heart that wouldn’t leave him after hearing Dru could die and be gone from his life forever.

“I have no idea why I have come to care for you since you can be annoying at times, but I do care for you—to my astonishment—and I would do anything to keep you safe… including staying married to you.”

But would he stay wed to her if he knew who she truly was, or would he surrender her to Lord Torrance and have their marriage voided? Remaining wed to her would lose him the dream of owning his own land, not that Torrance would allow that. It could cost him even more if Torrance decided it would be easier to see Knox dead so he could wed her to another.

Living on the road as she did, she never expected to live a long life and when she learned Torrance had sent Knox searching for her, she feared what might happen if he caught her. She never expected to come to care for Knox, to love him, something she was still having difficulty accepting. Perhaps because loving him might be the worst thing she could ever do to him.

Her heart would allow her to say only one thing. “I have come to care for you as well.”

A quick catch to his heart, as if it missed a beat, caught him unaware. He never expected her to feel that way about him or say it aloud. No one had ever spoken those words to him. That she truly cared for him sent an overwhelming surge of what had to be joy through him. He couldn’t recall ever feeling this happy, and he would do anything to shield it and never lose it.

“We can make this work, Dru. We could share a good life together. We will find Autumn and we will have land to settle on and grow a family together.”

How could a heart soar with joy and break at the same time? If only it could be so. But she couldn’t do this to him. It wasn’t fair. She loved him too much to put him in harm’s way.

“What do you say, wife?” Knox asked, as if referring to her that way sealed his proposal.

Dru remained where she was as he walked slowly toward her. There was a part of her that screamed, RUN! And another part that waited for him to take her in his arms and never let go.

She grinned when he stopped in front of her. “How will I ever tolerate you?”

He ran his finger faintly over her lips. “We have tolerated each other well so far. It can only improve from here on.”

Don’t let him kiss you. Don’t… But I want him to. I so badly want him to kiss me .

And Knox did.

One arm was enough to circle her slim waist and lift her off her feet and bring her lips to meet his. He refused to allow himself to admit how badly he’d been wanting to kiss her. Her lips had tempted him time and time again. He didn’t know how long he could go without kissing her again, yet he had refused to acknowledge it, until now.

That he would spend the rest of his life being able to kiss her, couple with her, brought even more joy to him. The thought of having his own land had filled him with purpose. Now having Dru by his side to share it, her having feelings for him, and he for her, was a dream come true. That was something he never thought he’d ever find with a woman.

His kiss was so much more than a kiss. It committed them to each other, sealing their future together. He loved how firmly and eagerly she returned his kiss, how her slim arms wrapped tight around his neck as though she would never let him go. And he tightened his arm around her waist to let her know the same.

Dru felt the tug of his arm around her, tasted the desire in his kiss, and the strength of his aroused manhood pressed against her. She wanted this, a chance to know the intimacies of marriage, but she couldn’t. She simply could not do it to him or to herself.

She was grateful to her stomach for grumbling when he placed her on her feet. An excuse to delay their coupling and give her time to make an escape.

“I forgot you only had broth since this morning. You must be hungry.”

“I am,” she lied, her stomach twisting in knots for what she was about to do.

“I will go hunting and then we’ll eat. Afterwards, we’ll seal our vows,” he said as if preparing her and smiled faintly. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure we fit perfectly.”

Soon after he left her tears started and her heart felt as if it shattered.

She loved him. She truly loved him. But even if she did couple with him, she wouldn’t want it to be here in the bed where her mum had thought she found love only to find herself stuck with a man who had no heart.

Brushing her tears over her cheeks, she hurried to find her mum’s herbs. The ones she kept hidden and used on Lord Randall when he arrived in a foul mood that would always end up with her mum suffering.

A little of the leaves sprinkled over Knox’s food would put him to sleep until morning and by then she would be well on her way to where he couldn’t find her.

Rain turned hard when Knox returned with two fish that Dru set to cooking while he slipped his wet shirt off to dry by the fire. His muscular body was rare to see, most men having gone soft from too much ale and food. But then he had trained from when he was young to be a fearless warrior, and it showed with every movement of his taut muscles that glistened from the dampness his wet shirt had left behind. He had the finest of looks, many women boldly admired him, letting him know they were interested. But he never returned their smiles or nods. He had remained focused on her.

He was a good man for a mercenary and that got her wondering over a question she never got to ask him.

“Why are the mercenaries so frightened of you?” she asked, watching him fill a tankard with wine from a jug on the table and he filled one for her as well.

Mave.

She had left it, thinking Dru would need it to see the deed done.

Knox pulled out a bench from beneath the table and sat. Then he took a swallow of wine before responding. “I beat Phelan senseless and a few of his men who tried to stop me, then I demanded that he release me of all obligation to him.”

“What made you beat him?” she asked, drifting away from the hearth toward him.

“I was angry.”

“At Phelan?”

He shrugged. “At life.”

Dru shook her finger at him. “The truth.”

Knox reached out quickly and hooked his arm around her, spreading his legs apart to draw her in between them. “Truth and trust. I want both in our marriage.”

She nodded, knowing there was no way she could give her word. “So, what is the truth?”

“I found a young lad he had purchased a few months prior beaten badly. Phelan did that to all the young ones he got, to break them, make them fearful of him so they would obey without question. That day I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t stand to see another young lad broken, left without hope.”

He eased her down on his leg to sit, running his hand gently along her hip and across her stomach to rest there. It sparked a pleasurable sensation, sending tingles racing throughout her and she quite enjoyed it.

“So, you went after Phelan?” she asked, needing to get her mind off how she was feeling.

“I did,” he admitted. “And when I found him, I didn’t say a word, I swung, and I didn’t stop swinging even when others tried to stop me. My hatred for him overwhelmed me and that I did nothing while he continued to do what he did to me to others… enraged me. I needed revenge for myself as well as other innocent lives he had ruined.”

He paused and Dru handed him his tankard of wine and he drank before he continued.

“Phelan was covered in blood when I finished, his nose and one arm broken. Five of his men lay scattered around him. I hadn’t even realized how many I fought. I told him I was leaving and taking the young lads with me and if I ever heard that he abducted or purchased another young lad again I would finish what I started and see him dead. He hasn’t taken a lad since then.”

“What happened to the lads,” Dru asked. “Did they go home?”

“None wanted to. They were too fearful their parents would sell them again. I knew some good people. Farmers who needed help with endless chores and who would treat the lads decently. I stop now and again to see how they are doing, and I’ve been pleased to see how happy they are in their new homes and how pleased the farmers are to have such hard-working lads.”

“Of course they would work hard,” Dru said. “They’re probably still fearful of being returned to Phelan.”

“Aye, they are, no matter how much I tell them that will not happen.”

“You are a good man, Knox,” Dru said and ran her hand slowly down the side of his face and his eyes drifted closed as he turned his face into her palm.

She caught her breath at the way his lips grazed her palm before he kissed it, and it sent an unexpected but pleasurable shiver racing through her.

“I like your touch, wife. It excites me and I look forward to properly making you my wife.”

She rested her brow to his, for the first time realizing what her mum meant about how dangerous it could be to love a man. She could easily surrender to her desires, to him, but she couldn’t, not if she truly loved him.

“I apologize ahead of time for disappointing you,” she whispered, hoping he would recall her words when he discovered her gone.

He eased his brow off hers to look bewildered at her. “You can never disappoint me, Dru. I do not know love—how it feels—but if what I feel for you is love then it is the most wonderful feeling I have ever known, and I never want to lose it—lose you.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I know love and I know that I love you more than anything in this world. And I will do anything to keep that love safe.”

He smiled softly as he brushed the tears off her cheek. “We will keep our love safe together.”

She kissed him with lingering strength, knowing it would be the last time she ever kissed him. Then she hurried off his lap, leaving him smiling while her heart continued to break.

It wasn’t long after they ate that Knox started yawning.

“Go and lie down. I will be right with you,” she encouraged. “I just wish to freshen myself a bit.”

“Don’t be long,” he said and went to kiss her, but a yawn interfered.

“Go,” she urged with a playful shove. “I won’t be long.”

She waited and when after some time had passed and he didn’t call out to her, she entered the room. He was naked, the blanket half covering him. She went and tucked it around him, then added more logs to the hearth so he would stay warm.

She didn’t dare glance his way one last time, for she feared she might not have the courage to leave him. Then she slipped on her cloak and walked out the door, the pain of leaving him so unbearable that she feared she might not survive it.