Page 31 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds (Clans of Mull #3)

Eva

The door opened and two men carried a man inside, the chamber so dark that Eva had no idea who it was. But she recognized one of the villains as her abductor just by his odor. Fortunately, he ignored her this time.

Their captive’s hands and feet were bound, so they dropped him on the floor and left, locking the door on their way out.

Sloan!

Eva moved over next to him, grateful that she wasn’t bound as he was. “Sloan?” she whispered, hoping he would awaken. If anything happened to him, she would feel responsible. Surely, he’d come looking for her.

Sloan didn’t move, so she leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. “Sloan, please wake up. I’m sorry I brought you here.” She ran her fingertips down his strong jawline, surprised at how stubby his beard had grown already.

Sloan’s eyes fluttered open and his gaze searched the chamber, finally falling on her. The smile that emerged made her heart sing a wee bit. He would be fine.

“Eva, where are we?”

“I don’t know. In some cellar on Ulva.”

“You are hale?”

“Aye, they didn’t hurt me. They were too busy doing other things, though I’m unsure of what they have planned exactly. I did see piles of swords being moved about as if they were going to battle. That’s all I saw.”

“Have you seen the bairns anywhere?”

“Nay.”

“We were just on the isle about two hours ago, searched all the buildings, but found nothing. Do you know what building we are in?”

“Nay, but the entrance to the cellar is well hidden. It’s a wooden door under a chest. You probably walked right past it.”

“Where are the men? Or where did you come ashore? We saw no men at all.”

“I came on the south side. Found a fisherman to take me across for a coin and he dropped me into a cove on the south. Right after he left, another boat came along with the swords, and they saw me. That’s all I recall.”

“Did you recognize them from Duart?”

“Aye. They are the same ones. I could smell one man. He’s the one who attacked me. I’m sorry, Sloan. I thought I could get close enough to hide somewhere and throw my axe. A foolish lass. Now I see that.”

“A brave one who kisses verra sweetly.”

“You were awake enough?”

He nodded, then wiggled. “Can you help me lean against the wall? With my hands bound, it’s difficult. Have you anything to help me break my bindings?”

“Aye, my small axe. They took your sword, I’m sure.”

“Aye. If you release me, I’d be forever indebted to you.”

She pulled the axe from the bag hidden inside her tunic but dropped it to the floor because the door opened again.

Her attacker entered. “I’d like a few moments with you, my sweet.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” Sloan said.

The man chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll be hurting anyone all tied up like that.” He grabbed Eva by the arm and yanked her to her feet. “Let’s go. I’ll leave your boyfriend here so he can listen to us.”

“You touch her, and I will kill you. There will be men all over here on the morrow and we’ll be rescued.”

The man laughed as they headed down the passageway. Over his shoulder, he called out, “They already came and went.”

Eva struggled to follow along but stayed upright, her eyes taking in everything as they moved into a passageway and through a door at the end, then into a small area at the base of the stairs and through another door in the opposite direction.

There were two separate sections off the staircase. Perhaps the bairns were on this side. He stepped into the next passageway and shoved her into a cell with one pallet on the floor. “I’m here to finish what I started before, and let me give you a fair warning,” he said, pinching the underside of her upper arm. She refused to react, glaring at the ugly brute instead.

“If you ever tell anyone about me, I’ll come back and slice your face. You noble whores are all the same. Flaunt what you have but don’t allow anyone close enough to touch you. Well, I’m taking what you taunt men with before you give it to a fool like the man in your cell.”

He gripped her arms and attempted to tear her tunic, his tongue licking her cheek. “You are a sweet one. I felt your tits before. I’ll see them this time.”

She spit on him.

His hand swung out in a wide arc and slapped her hard just as a door slammed down the way.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, D?” a man asked.

“O, I was just getting a little taste. I’ll let you go first, if you wish.” The man backed away, though he kept his hand on her arm, pinching tightly.

She kicked him and he raised his clenched hand to punch her, but the man named O caught his fist. “You do not touch any of the merchandise. She will earn us a good price because of her beauty. I’ll cut off your sac if I catch you with her again. Understood?”

The man paled but nodded.

“I’ll take her back. You get to work. We don’t have much time. Dawn is upon us, and we leave at high sun.”

The man took off, not saying another word, while O marched Eva back down to her cell, unlocking it and tossing her inside before locking the door again quickly.

Eva fell onto a pallet next to where Sloan leaned against the outside wall. The man had touched her, licked her cheek, nearly attacked her worse. She was so disgusted that she couldn’t speak.

“Eva, you are hale? That wasn’t the same man who took you. What happened?”

Eva shook so hard that her teeth chattered. She closed her eyes to rid the view of the evil bastard from her mind but failed.

Sloan rubbed his wrists. “I managed to get free of my bindings, thanks to you, so here is your axe back.” He set it near her, but she shied away.

“Sloan, don’t touch me. Ever again. I’m so soiled.” Tears slid down her cheeks, the shame overpowering her because of all that had happened. Grateful that O had come in, it didn’t stop the feeling of being sullied by the malodorous brute who took her away.

“Eva, what can I do to help you?” Sloan moved over and sat on the pallet next to her, his soft tone beginning to make its way through the cobwebs that possessed her mind, tangled webs of the past fighting with the present, seeming to tie up tighter and tighter.

“Eva, I know you can hear me, so I wish for you to listen. I don’t know where this fear of my touch comes from, but you need to try to rid yourself of it.”

She shook her head, her tremors continuing, not abating at all. If he only knew what she’d gone through back in the stable, and in the other cell, perhaps he would understand, but she would not tell him. She couldn’t. Her embarrassment, the shame, wasn’t something she wanted to deal with now. She could still smell the man, and the pain in her face from the brutal slap ached more than she would admit.

“Eva …” Sloan moved closer. “Whatever happened, I’ll help you deal with it. This has naught to do with my offer of a betrothal, this is an offer from one person who cares for you as a friend, who wishes to help you get past whatever is tormenting you. I believe you can. You are a strong woman, and you can deal with it.”

Eva opened her eyes at what she’d heard. Had Sloan called her strong? No one had ever said she was strong. Lennox was. Meg was. Eli, Tamsin, Dyna, and Marta all were strong, but not her.

Never Eva. She was invisible.

But Sloan saw her.

“Why?” she whimpered, wishing anyone would help her to get past her fears. Could Sloan do it?

He moved a touch closer to her on the pallet. “Because our captor knows your weakness now. He’ll continue to taunt you every chance he gets. Until you can show him touch doesn’t bother you, he’ll continue. He has one of those sick minds that loves to torture people, in any way they can. They enjoy it.”

“What do I do, Sloan? I hate him. He hits and pinches me, and I can’t forget how awful I feel when he’s close.” Her voice came out in the lowest whisper as cold began to course through her. The cold of the cell, of their situation, reaching its tendrils into her deepest parts until she shivered from the inside out. A new form of torture she’d never experienced before.

“Help me, Sloan. What do I do?”

“I’ll tell you, and I’m going to do it, but you have to trust me.”

“Anything but touch.”

“I have to touch you.”

Her head shook involuntarily as she thought of all the touches she hated. “Nay, nay, nay.”

He set his hand next to her, not touching her, but close.

“Don’t touch me. Please. I’m disgusting.”

“Nay, you are not disgusting. He is. Do not allow him to get into that beautiful mind of yours. Allow me to hold you so we can get through this together. Can you promise me you won’t scream, lass?”

She didn’t know if she could contain it, but she had the odd feeling that if she didn’t stop, she would shake herself to death. Her continued trembling brought on a cold shivering that frightened her. It was Sloan Rankin or die.

Sloan said, “You’re shivering with cold. I promise not to hurt you, but I’m going to lift you up, settle you on my lap, and wrap my arms around you. Please don’t scream or they’ll return and that won’t be good for either of us.”

The cold inside her gripped deep, something she’d never felt. Oh, she’d shivered and trembled and shaken before, but this shuddering? This could kill her. There was a time when she would have allowed it, back on that day in the stables, but no more.

Eva made a new vow. Thinking of the bairns who’d been stolen away, of Magni who’d told her how frightened he’d been, her resolve changed to a commitment to herself. She had to trust Sloan.

She nodded. “I’ll agree.” If there was one thing she knew about Sloan Rankin, it was that he gave off heat like a giant hearth. She had to fight, or her captor would win. Never.

Sloan lifted her up and set her on his lap, and without thinking, she began to shove at him, but the blessed man didn’t stop her or drop her. Her hands held little force behind them, so she inflicted no pain. It was reactive because, in her heart, she couldn’t hurt Sloan.

“Well done. Don’t scream, Eva. I’ll not leave you alone.” His voice came out in such a warm tone that it wrapped around her and soothed her like a blanket. “Hush, and you’ll be warmed. I’m reaching around to pull you in close, so you’ll take my heat. I’ve got too much.”

She tensed, every piece of his body touching her so painful that she wished to shove him away. But in between the stabs of pain were sensations of heat, sudden gushes sweeping through her, flowing from his hands to every part of her.

An amazing thing happened—her tremors slowed.

Sloan spoke in her ear. “I’ll not walk away from you, Eva. I vow never to hurt you. Never to touch you without permission, without letting you know I’m near. You’re doing great and your tremors are slowing. I’ll get you there. I’m going to lower my head next to yours so my breath will warm you too. That’s all I’ll do.”

His warm breath brushed her ear, and she jerked away.

“Nay, trust me. You must trust me so we can escape. Once we’re gone, you can slap me all you like. Just not now. Come back, lass. You’re too far away in your mind.”

And for some odd reason, she finally gave in to all of Sloan’s ministrations. Leaning back against him, she sighed and sank into his warmth. Gave control to him, let hers go, soaked up his heat, his tenderness, the calmness of his soul overpowering her until her shaking slowed.

“Why did you follow me, Sloan? How did you know?” What would have happened to her if he hadn’t come along?

He chuckled, his hand rubbing her back lightly. “You don’t recall all the times I followed you when you were just a wee lass? The time you thought to follow us to Loch na Keal to swim and fish? I knew you were coming. I told Lennox and Taskill I forgot something, and sure enough, there you were on your pony trying to sneak out the back.”

She laughed. “I do remember. My pony wouldn’t fit through the door.”

His hand rubbed her neck. “Or the time you chased us back to Rankin land, running down the hill so fast that you were headed straight into the frigid water?”

“But you caught me. You’ve always been there for me, Sloan. Why?”

She felt his shrug against her shoulder. “I always knew what you were thinking, I guess. Your brother was too old, and Taskill was busy flirting with anything in a skirt.”

“I’m sorry I insulted you.”

“Nay, you did not insult me.”

“I didn’t like my brother telling me what to do.”

“Strong women have that tendency. You’re forgiven for any hurt you thought you caused me.”

“If we ever get out of here, could you court me secretly? Not tell my overbearing brother?” She had a sudden warmth inside just for Sloan Rankin. When she thought about how much he’d done for her, how much that meant to her, how he’d followed her here, putting himself at such risk for her.

And now, the tenderness he showed was something she wished to have in her life forever.

Forever and ever. She’d made a huge mistake rejecting this man, and she prayed he would forgive her folly.

“I would like that.” His hand reached up and cupped her cheek. “And I wish to tell you something else. I would never force you to do anything. And I will wait for you forever, if that’s what it takes.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments until her tremors stopped.

Completely.

“Good job, lass. Now we need to focus on getting free. Tell me what you learned. Did you find out where the bairns are?”

“Nay,” she said, forcing herself to recall the trek she took. “But there’s another set of locked chambers in the other direction from the staircase. I would wager the bairns are over there.”

“Good. Do you recall enough that you could lead us there?”

“Aye.”

“Not yet. You need to warm up. Just soak up my heat, then we’ll talk.”

She sat there as if she were in her own private heaven, no one to bother her. Closing her eyes, she willed her body to stay that way, absorbing Sloan’s quiet tones and warm embrace, his relaxing voice taking her to another place. A place where men didn’t hurt her, where she had friends she could trust, a place where she was loved for who she was. Never threatened and not hated for her noble blood, for being the chieftain’s sister.

Where people didn’t hate her for who she was, for her name, or for where she was born.

A place of hope.

“Eva,” he whispered a few moments later. “You’re doing much better, but now I can tell you that I’ve seen him twice and I’ll never forget him. I will make you a promise, lass.”

She turned her head a touch, just enough to gaze into Sloan’s eyes, her lower lip the only part of her still trembling.

“I will make him pay, whatever his name is.”

The tightness in her chest seemed to lighten. The cold, hard covering she kept it in broke just a wee bit.

Sloan Rankin had fractured the ice encasing her heart.