Niall woke before dawn, reaching over to the other side of the mattress to pull his wife against him only to find the bed empty. His eyes popped open. “Bella!” He was frantic as he tore from bed and searched the room, confirming he was indeed alone.

Bloody hell! He’d lost her. Again. In the night, she’d been stolen while he’d slept soundly beside her, so sated from their lovemaking that he’d allowed her to be taken. Even now, she could be halfway across Scotland with that jackal.

Niall ripped open the chamber door, prepared to storm through the castle half-naked, rousing everyone and anyone to help him get his wife back, when he startled to see his wife in the corridor carrying a tray of food and a pleasant smile.

Bella laughed. “Get back inside the room, ye rascal, else everyone see what ye’ve got hanging below your shirt.”

Niall jumped back into the room, seeing that his unmentionables were indeed hanging beneath his shirt, as he’d not fully tugged the fabric down when he’d leapt out of bed in his panic.

“Ye nearly gave me a heart attack,” Niall admonished. “Dinna leave me alone like that. Not after what happened with MacGregor.”

How the hell had he slept so soundly that he’d not woken when she slipped from the room? Hell and damnation, he was losing it. Marriage was softening him. He was losing his edge, his ability to sense movement in a room.

Bella’s face turned serious as she took note of his wide, no doubt crazed eyes.

“I’m sorry, husband. I thought to fetch us breakfast. Ye slept so soundly, I’d not the heart to wake ye. I was starving.” She set the tray down on a table and came to stand before him, pressing her hand over his heart where it thudded a little too fast. “Dinna worry, we are safe here. I’d not have left the chamber if I thought there was any possibility of me being in danger.”

He clenched his jaw and pressed his hand to hers, not wanting to upset her further. “Thank ye for getting us the morning meal, but please, dinna let your guard down, lass, wherever ye are. We’re never fully safe. Please, dinna walk about alone.”

Bella tugged her hand away and ran it through her hair. “I dinna want to be made a victim for life, Niall. A woman should be allowed to walk from her bedchamber to the kitchens alone.”

He nodded grimly, knowing this and wanting that for her. “Aye, but maybe not just yet?” He took her hand back in his and brought it to his lips. “I promise, as soon as we’re back at Dupplin, I’ll not be as…overbearing.”

Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him, a smile on her lips. “Ye’re not overbearing. Your concern for me is endearing actually.”

“Is it?” He raised a questioning brow, certain that if he had to deal with himself, he’d be more than annoyed.

“Aye. But if ye’re going to lay such ground rules for me, I’ll have to do the same for ye. Ye’re not to be alone.”

Niall chuckled softly. “How about I have ye with me always?”

“That is all well and good until one of us wishes to do something alone and not have company.”

Niall frowned. “And what would that be?”

“I’m a lady, I dinna discuss such bodily expulsions.” Her skin pinkened.

“Ah.” Niall laughed. “All right, the both of us can be alone for that.”

“Good.” She wiped her brow in an exaggerated manner and then kissed him again. “Do ye want to eat?”

“Aye. I’m starved.”

Bella took the cloth napkin from overtop the food she’d scrounged in the kitchen. “Some cold mutton, I think, though I canna be certain without tasting, and some oatcakes that are a day or two past their prime, but beggars canna be choosers. And this, I do know, is ale, and it tastes decent enough.”

“I see the cook here has his priorities straight.” Niall laughed as he sipped the cool ale.

“Aye, ale before food, and everything will be good.” She snickered at her little rhyme, and Niall felt a twinge in his chest.

She was truly enchanting. Playful in a way he’d not been in longer than he could remember.

“I’m sorry, Bella,” he murmured, tucking an errant golden curl behind her ear.

Big blues eyes looked up at him questioning.

“About what?”

“Yesterday. I should have protected ye.”

“Och, Niall, ye did. I’m here now am I not?”

“I know it. And I know I apologized for it already, but ye have to let me do so again. I should never have allowed him to take ye away to begin with.”

Bella sighed. “It couldna be helped, Niall. Ye had half a dozen men trying to chop ye to pieces, and only one way in which to defend yourself. ’Tis a wonder ye were able to come to me at all. Ye’re a wonder.” She touched his cheek as she spoke the words softly and then tucked a piece of meat between his lips. “Ye need not be sorry for it. I am grateful ye came for me.”

Grateful was not how he wanted her to feel. It was his duty to protect her, and he’d failed.

“Stop,” she said, as though she could read his thoughts. “Let us eat. Let us be happy. We are safe. We are together.”

He nodded, though he didn’t agree. They weren’t completely safe. They would soon leave this castle to continue their journey, and MacGregor was likely lying in wait. Aye, they’d taken a different path, but once MacGregor realized he wasn’t on their trail, he’d likely think of Dornoch Castle and circle back until he found them.

There wasn’t any way in hell Niall was going to let MacGregor win that battle. But it didn’t mean that Bella wasn’t going to get hurt in the meantime.

Niall ate mostly quiet, listening to Bella chatter away about a summer visit to Dornoch when she was little. Mentally, he made a list of every potential place of ambush from here to Dupplin, and then another list of ways in which he and his men could hide their trail as they made their way south.

Luckily, he responded at the appropriate moments, letting Bella believe he was in the jovial mood she wished him to be. He didn’t want her to worry. He’d already said too much. What good did it do for her to have to worry over him being worried over her? Besides, mayhap if she were oblivious to the danger, she’d be better off. Aye, he would simply let her be oblivious—and ignore the voice inside that told him that was complete rubbish.

After they ate, they washed in the basin and dressed, separating in the great hall as Niall went to speak with his brother, his men and the guards at Dornoch. Bella went with Mary to the kitchen to talk with the cook about preparing supper for the men.

“Any signs of the MacGregors last night?” Niall asked.

“None,” the Master of the Gate said. “All was quiet. But we’ve not let our guard down. We’ve doubled the men on the wall and everyone has been informed that there could be an attack. Those in the village were warned and are prepared to light the warning fire if need be. I’ve sent several men to the village as well to keep them safe.”

“Good. Precautions dinna hurt. It is my fervent hope they dinna come. And we’ll be gone at first light tomorrow, so the threat to Dornoch will come to an end.”

“Are ye certain ye dinna want me to send a messenger to Dunrobin asking for more men to escort ye?” the warrior asked.

Waiting for more men would take time they didn’t have. “Nay. If ye can spare a half-dozen, I’d feel better. We dispatched at least half the men MacGregor sent to ambush us. Their numbers are down, and I’m certain we can take them on ourselves, but bolstering our numbers where theirs are lower will be an added protection.”

“Aye. We can do that.”

“Good. My thanks. Mind if I stand watch?” He was eager to look out over the moors himself and see where they stood.

“Nay, sir, by all means.” The Master of the Gate led Niall up the stairs to the top of the ramparts where he could see the firth, the surrounding moors and the mountains in the distance. All was quiet as the sun rose, lighting the nighttime shadows in a pinkened haze that reflected off the ice and snow. The air was crisp—colder than the day before, so perhaps it was a good thing they would remain here for another day. The frigid temperatures meant anything that might have melted the day before was now likely iced over.

He stood there for perhaps two hours, until his fingers and the tip of his nose were numb, then he felt the slight heat of a body at his side and turned to see Bella standing with a steaming mug.

“I thought ye might be able to make use of this,” she said, handing him the mug.

“What is it?” Niall wrapped his fingers around the mug, his skin immediately prickled with pain at the heat, but it passed quickly and soon felt only pleasant. It looked like ale with herbs floating on top.

“Warmed cider. Does a warrior’s body good.”

Niall chuckled. He breathed deep of the spicy drink, his nose feeling similar tingles from the warmth, and then he took a long sip. It warmed him almost instantly.

“A wee bit of whisky in it, too?”

Bella nodded. “Aye. What’s a warmed cider without it?”

“Not as good.” He winked.

She giggled, and the sound warmed him more than the cider. “I thought ye’d say as much. Are ye hungry? Can I get ye anything? An extra plaid?”

“I’m fine, sweetling. Thank ye.”

Bella leaned against the stone and looked out over the moors. “I used to stand up here with my Da. He’d ask me all the things I could see. Made a game of it.”

“Did ye ever see anything out of place?”

Bella shook her head and glanced up at him before flicking her gaze back to the moors. The cool air had reddened her nose, and she looked excited and happy. “Once. A lad was running across the field with a white ball of fur chasing after him.”

“A wolf?”

“Nay. A sheep.” She let out a burst of laughter. “’Twas bleating and bucking, and when it caught up to him, it knocked him clear six feet into the air. He tumbled down and landed on his back, and the sheep walked away as though it were an ordinary occurrence.”

“Was the lad all right?”

“Oh, aye.” She waved her hand. “But he begged my da to give him a position in the stables or with the chickens. Said he wasna much good with the sheep and feared for his life.”

Niall grinned into his mug. “Did your da allow it?”

“For a time, until the chickens started pecking at him, and the horses all kicked and nipped him.” Bella shook her head. “A mystery really.”

“Where is he now?”

“I dinna know, but after the chickens, me da sent him to work in the fields. He might still be there, unless the wheat roots decided to give him a good whipping.”

“Why do ye think he was no good with the animals?”

“Well, he was a wee thing, maybe seven or eight. Turns out he was a might bit too curious, poking their eyes, looking too deep in their ears, trying to see their hooves. He was always muttering about trying to find the toes.” Bella shrugged. “He might not have been the brightest candle in the chamber.”

Niall chuckled. “Poor lad.”

“Aye.” She sighed wistfully as though reliving the moments of her childhood right then and there. “What about ye? Have ye seen anything while standing here freezing your arse off?”

Niall was momentarily taken aback by her language, but judging by the way she was flashing him a mischievous smile, she’d expected as much and had done so on purpose to get a rise out of him.

“Just the beauty that surrounds me.” He caught her side-eyed glance. “And the beauty beside me.”

At that, she turned full around, tapped him in the chest with the tip of her finger and giggled. “Ye’re a terrible flirt.”

“A fact I well know.” He took the last sip of his cider, feeling warm from both the drink and his wife’s joviality.

“But I like ye anyway, Sir Niall Oliphant, savior of my person.”

“And I like ye too, Lady Bella Oliphant, savior of my sanity.”

She checked his cup and seeing it empty, took it from him. “Another?”

“In a little while, aye, thank ye.”

“Mind the chill. Come inside soon. At least for the nooning?”

“Aye.” Niall brushed his lips over hers, marveling at how they remained warm despite the chill. As much as he longed to pull her into his embrace for a deeper kiss, he had to let her go, else the men on the wall might mock him once she was gone. What was it about her that made him behave like a lovesick lad? Everything about her made him want to be a better man. To behave differently. To be different. He liked the way she made him feel—happy.

He watched her retreat, the gentle sway of her hips. The way the light of the sun shone on her golden hair, and he caught himself when a sigh was ready to escape his lips.

Ballocks. Married for two days and he was already turning soft.

Turning soft would only be dangerous for Bella—case in point not hearing her wake that morning—and he vowed never to let anything else happen to her. Which meant he had to pull back some.

Niall decided to skip the nooning inside and keep watch with the men until night fell, and then he slept a few hours in the barracks beneath the wall before coming back to the watch stand again. Bella did come looking for him, but he ducked away before she spotted him and felt instantly guilty. But avoiding her was the only way he was certain not to be distracted.

When dawn broke on the horizon, he went and woke his wife with a warm tisane, apologized for not coming to bed. He explained he’d wanted to remain with the men in case anything happened, which she easily understood. She smiled up at him with the face of kindness that made him grit his teeth. The woman had some sort of hold on him. One smile, and he was melting despite having been away from her for hours. How was it possible? Wasn’t being away from her and denying himself the pleasure of sleeping beside her and making love to her supposed to cure him of the soft spot he felt for her? Clearly not.

Niall cleared his throat and frowned. Luckily, she’d turned away and didn’t witness it, because he didn’t want to hurt her.

“Come now. Dress. We must be away. Your brother’s Master of the Gate is giving us six extra men. The skies look clear, and I’d like to get ahead of any weather. We’ve still nearly a sennight’s ride before we reach Dupplin.”

“All right, husband.”

All right, husband. So agreeable. He raised a brow at her, thinking there must be something up her sleeve for her to react in such a way. Bella was amiable, friendly, loving, but she was also a schemer and a fighter, he knew that firsthand.

“What are ye up to?” He eyed her as she sipped her tisane, the picture of innocence.

She gave a dainty shrug of her shoulder. “Nothing. Why do ye ask?”

She stood from bed, set her cup aside and turned to face him. The violet of her eyes darkened, her pupils dilating slightly. Then she opened her dressing robe and let it fall to the floor, leaving her naked in the center of the room. She coiled a tendril of hair around one finger. And when he slid his gaze toward her breasts, she seemed to toy with him, absently brushing a trail between the two soft globes.

Niall cleared his throat, feeling all the blood rush from his limbs and straight to his groin. This was a cruel joke, presenting him with her body when he just wanted to escape her spell. How could he resist her? Good God, he was in trouble. Bella was a temptress. And he had not the power to resist her.

“Bella—”

She cut him off with a shake of her head as she sauntered forward, her breasts swaying in rhythm with her hips. “Dinna say anything.”

Dropping to her knees in front of him, her eyes locked on his as she ran her hands along his calves, to the backs of his knees. There was a teasing smile on her lips, and every time he opened his mouth to say something, he found himself speechless. And then she ducked beneath his kilt. She pressed her lips to the tip of his cock, and from beneath the fabric, he heard her say, “I want to make ye feel as good as ye make me feel.”

Niall groaned, reached for her, threading his hand into her hair. He wanted to tug her away and push her forward all at once. And then her tongue, hot and sweet, was on him, and he lost the last shred of his will to fight when she took him fully into her mouth.

For the remainder of their journey, Niall barely spoke to his wife. Not because he was angry with her, but because he was disappointed in himself for having been talked into marrying her. She was the best wife a man could want, there could be no doubt. She was everything. And he was certain there was no other woman like her in all of Scotland, perhaps the world.

And he didn’t deserve her.

He barked orders at his men, was hyper-aware during their daily rides of any outside noise. He stood guard while his wife and her maid made use of the bushes, and hovered over her like a brooding nursemaid the rest of the time. He did not allow her to ride her own horse, even after they borrowed two more from Dornoch. She didn’t seem to mind all of this, and at night, when they were lying beside each other, he let all of his emotions out on her body as he made love to her over and over.

For Bella’s part, he could tell she knew something was wrong. But she let him be, perhaps understanding how he might be feeling, or even expecting that when he was ready, he’d share with her. She seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to him. It was just as well, because he wasn’t certain he’d be any good at sharing his feelings with her anyway.

Fortunately, they seemed to stay ahead of MacGregor. Scouts did not see any signs of them being followed.

They arrived at Dupplin in the dead of night, with Bella snoring softly against his chest. He asked Walter to carry her up the stairs to what would be their shared chamber. Niall tucked her in and made sure the hearth was lit before he went back down to the bailey to inform his men what had transpired on the road, and that they’d not seen any MacGregor men since.

“’Haps they will not come,” Walter said. “Mayhap he just wanted to scare ye. To get even after the tourney.”

“Mayhap,” Niall acknowledged, but he didn’t think so. The man held a deeper grudge than just being bested on the field, and he’d said as much when he’d kicked Niall in the back. Soon enough, he’d have to go after MacGregor himself.

If anything, Walter might also be in danger, since he was going to wed into the royal family.

“He has a vendetta,” Niall said. “Against us both. He wanted to marry Princess Elizabeth—and now that ye’ve taken my place, we’re both in danger.”

Walter’s jawline hardened. “I see.”

“Watch your back, brother. If he’s willing to attack us on the road and attempt to steal my wife, there is a chance he’s willing to do more. He’s reckless. Dangerous.”

“I’ll send a messenger to the Bruce. He’ll want to keep the princess extra guarded as well.”

“Aye. ’Tis a good idea.”

“How is Bella?” Walter asked.

Niall glanced toward the stairs. “Well. She doesna seem overly disturbed by what happened. I dinna know how to take that. The lass is daughter to one of the most powerful earls in Scotland. She’s likely seen a battle or two before, but I still want her to be cautious.”

“Take it as a good thing.”

“Is it?”

“Aye, she’s not a whimpering mess.” Walter laughed. “The princess would be up in arms.”

“This is true.” Niall chuckled.

“Get some rest. I’ll take first watch with the men.”

Niall patted his brother on the shoulder. “Ye know me well.”

“I do. Ye’d be up all night and day keeping an eye on everything, but ye canna be everywhere at once. Allow me to help where I can. I’ll be here until spring, and then the castle will return to your command once more.”

“Ye’ve been such a huge help to me for so long already, Walter. I couldna have done it without ye.” Niall did something he rarely did—he hugged his brother. “I canna thank ye enough. And I will be loathe to see ye go.”

“I’d be lying if I didna say I was going to miss ye and everyone else. But pretend I didna say it, else the men will have my ballocks.” He squeezed Niall’s shoulder. “And we are family, Niall. Blood. Ye needna thank me for doing my duty. I couldna have lived with myself, nor forgiven myself if I didna help ye through the darkest days of your life. I only hope when I’m gone that Bella can do the same.”

Again, Niall glanced toward the stairs, thinking of his lovely wife and all the ways she’d attempted to care for him so far. “I dinna think ye have need to worry over it. Bella is…verra capable.”

“I’m glad. Now go and sleep beside your wife. I’ll wake ye for next shift.”

“Thank ye.”

Niall climbed the stairs and snuck quietly into the room. He tossed off his plaid, leaving his shirt on as he always did, and then crawled into bed beside Bella. She murmured something in her sleep and rolled over, tucking herself around him as she did most nights.

And he sighed, thinking there was nowhere else he’d rather be.