Page 4 of When a Highlander Vows (Enemies to Lovers #1)
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L ucas was suffering. He had bedded women before, given into his lust and allowed desire to take hold. A bit of pleasure here and there with a willing woman had been enough for him over the years. He’d wanted nothing more from anyone. But they’d always been brief encounters, and he never had to see the woman again if he hadn’t wanted to.
But this was entirely and unfortunately different. This woman was creating a lust in him he’d not felt in years or perhaps ever.
And she is comin’ to live with me now and act as companion to me grandmaither. I will never be able to touch her.
Not that he should anyway. When he’d first glimpsed Caitlin in the light streaming through her window, he could tell she’d radiated goodness and purity. As for himself, he was everything dark and wicked and broken. His parents had seen to that. The scars on his back were evidence enough. He wouldn’t dare taint her or any woman with that darkness, and so he’d decided many years ago never to marry. Lust, however, was a different story. While Caitlin lived with them, he would have to find another outlet for it, or else he knew he’d go mad with this fresh desire.
Unconsciously, Lucas had slowed the horse’s gait, as he battled with his lust, and he didn’t notice until Archie called out to him.
“Ye’ve slowed too much, Laird. We need to keep movin’. The sun is near to settin’.” Archie pointed up to the sky, and Lucas nodded, noting the orangey orb as it made its slow descent.
“Aye, true enough.”
Before Lucas whipped the reins to start the horses into a new speed, Archie turned his broad smile to Caitlin. “I am Archie McCann, Miss. The Laird’s man-at-arms. Me condolences for your loss. Yer brother was a good and kind man.” He put a hand to his chest and bowed his head a little, the red curls bouncing as he did.
Caitlin shifted again to face Archie, and this time Lucas bit back his groan, wrapping his arms more tightly around her to keep her steady.
“Thank ye, Mr. McCann. That is kind of you.”
Lucas looked away when he got another whiff of rosewater. The ride was going to be torture. So why was he not speeding up to get it over with as soon as possible?
Archie put a hand to his chest. “Ye must call me Archie, Lass. Me wife, Sarah, will be glad to meet ye. She is lookin’ forward to yer arrival.”
“Och, how kind of ye, Archie. I would be pleased to meet her as well. Ye will call me Caitlin, I hope.”
They had kept their pace steady, riding side by side, until Lucas cleared his throat. “Well, as ye said, Archie, we should be movin’ on. Are we finished now?” he added sharply for which he received a smirk from Archie.
“Aye, Me Laird. Let us ride.”
For an hour or so, they rode hard and fast, Lucas gripping Caitlin between his arms so hard, they became sore. The sun was setting fast, but they were still about another hour from the castle. He hoped the residual sunlight would guide their way enough until they reached the torchlights of the castle and the castle’s guard on the outskirts. He could feel Caitlin shiver against him.
“Cold, Lass?” he asked, speaking for the first time in an hour.
“Nay. ‘Tis only that I daenae care much for the darkness. It is hard enough to see during the day, but at night, there is simply nothin’ before me, and I confess, I daenae like it. It will be here soon. I am usually nae out of doors when it comes.”
Lucas breathed in, surprised at how sad he felt for her. He leaned down close to her ear, now uncovered for the plaid had fallen to her neck, and said, “Ye daenae have to worry on that score, Lass. I can see very well in the darkness and will keep ye safe nay matter what.”
Caitlin made a little humming sound with her mouth as a sign of agreement, and Lucas smiled to himself, glad to feel her lean against him again with confidence.
“And ye should keep quiet, Lass,” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to her ear, they nearly brushed against the soft skin there. “There are dangers out on the dark road that ye willnae be able to see.”
She nodded, and they rode on, only slowing a bit to make sure the horse was not in any danger of breaking an ankle. But after a few minutes, he frowned when he spotted two horses on the side of the path. The men atop them were covered in shadows, wearing what looked like thick, dark cloaks. Lucas whistled to Archie, who responded in turn with a coded sound. Lucas started to speed up on the horse, but then he saw the men riding after him, charging at him.
“Shite,” he whispered under his breath, and he turned toward the two of them, Archie slowing to join him. “Trust me, Lass,” he whispered in Caitlin’s ear, picking her up quickly and dropping her down from the horse into a soft thicket.
The soft thump without a sharp cry encouraged him, and he raced forward toward the men, pulling his sword from its scabbard. Metal rang in the air with his first swing, and he grit his teeth as he took the weight of a hit from the other man.
His thought, however, as he fought was only of Caitlin, wondering if she was all right.
Caitlin had fallen, and nearly screamed, but she’d hit the thicket gently, and she realized that Lucas had dropped her in just the right place. But her cloak fell over her face, and she adjusted herself to see what she could when the first clang of metal cut through the glade.
“Dear God,” she whispered, pulling herself back so that she was a little bit more hidden behind a thick tree trunk.
Her hands resting on the rough bark, she looked to the side of the tree to see what was going on. Her teeth on her lip, she squinted her eyes, hoping to see in the growing dusk.
Lucas stayed atop his horse, as did the other men, and she could see all the men swinging swords, but she couldn’t see how the battle was going. Waiting breathlessly, all she could listen to were the sound of swords and the grunts of pain. After a few minutes, she heard a shriek, and then it was silent.
Her lips moved in silent prayer as she thought of the laird dying, and all because he’d come to get her and bring her back to his home. And that they were still riding out in the darkness because she’d fought him on returning when he’d hoped.
This is all me fault if he is hurt or dead.
She also shook with fear about being left alone out in the wilderness if both her protectors died. What was she to do? What mercy would those strange men have on her if they found her? She swallowed, trying to remind herself to be calm and strong.
Footsteps approached, breaking the silence. Caitlin’s heart pounded against her chest, and sweat rose up on the back of her neck. When a man reached down and picked her up, she screamed.
“‘Tis me, Lass,” Lucas soothed, and she quieted instantly when she caught his eyes.
She did not look away from his gaze. “Are ye hurt?” she asked quietly, and he shook his head.
“Concerned for me, are ye?” he asked, his mouth curling up into what could be called a smile.
Without thinking, Caitlin smiled back. The laird almost smiling made him look even more handsome, and it shocked her, her heart now beating wildly for a different reason.
“Aye, but only for a moment,” she teased. “I wouldnae ken how to get out of here on me own if somethin’ happened to ye.”
He laughed then, soft and low, and she could feel the rumble in his chest. “I am certain ye would figure it out.”
Caitlin looked in the direction of the men. “Those other men? Are they—?”
“Daenae worry yerself over that. They were here to cause harm. We need to get to the Castle and quickly in case there are more waitin’ for us.” He helped her up on the horse again and jumped up behind her.
This time when he pulled her close, she could smell sweat as well as a hint of blood coming from him.
They rode on, bringing them closer to the gray shape in the distance lit by pricks of light. It was fully dark by the time they arrived, and Caitlin had drifted in and out of sleep before the horse finally slowed, and the laird whispered in her ear as the sound of hooves dimmed.
“Here, Lass.” It felt like the voice from a dream, low and whispered, and she breathed out as she woke with something like relief.
He jumped down, and she blinked to wake up even more as he reached up for her. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she watched as he lifted her from the horse and slowly helped her to her feet. When she made it to the ground, she had to crane her head to look up at him.
“Are ye all right? I am sorry I had to throw ye in that bush.” He frowned, and the lines of concern were etched on his face again, made even starker in the torchlight.
He looked like a man who did not understand happiness. She had the strangest desire to reach up a finger and smooth the lines away, but her hands remained at her sides.
“Aye. I am well. It was a comfortable fall, if falls can be comfortable.”
“Good, then.” His hands remained on her waist for a few more seconds, and he frowned as he looked at her. “I will take ye inside. Ye must be exhausted, and me grandmaither will want to help ye get settled.”
Quickly, he pulled away and turned away toward the castle. Caitlin, feeling oddly disappointed, had to remind herself of her brokenness. She was only feeling fluttery because she’d never been touched by a man.
Or rescued by a man. Or held in a man’s arms like that as he carried ye off and smiled at ye as if ye were everythin’ he’d been lookin’ for.
She shook her head, trying to remember her own vow of never hoping for affection from a man. Marriage, love, and a normal life would never come for her. No one would want her, and so she had to make her own way. Pushing aside foolish, girlish thoughts about the laird who’d only hours earlier threatened to take her to his castle by force, Caitlin looked up at the strange, ominous building which would now be her home.