Twenty
The meeting with Callum and Iain went better than Callum had hoped. Iain proved to be a generous man, offering an alliance before Callum could even broach the subject. Having the weight of that worry off his shoulders allowed him to concentrate fully on Brody, Marsaili, and her family at supper. As he watched Marsaili’s half brothers with their wives and children, anticipation for his future built for the first time in a long time. Soon he and Marsaili would be wed, and he would sit at the dais in his own great hall with her by his side, along with Brody, until he likely wiggled away to wander around the great hall as children were prone to do. Royce, Iain and Marion’s son, had sat at the dais for a time between his parents, as had Lachlan and Bridgette’s son, Magnus, but both children were already squirming and trying to get down.
Marsaili was bouncing Brody on her knee when Iain asked her to attend him in the solar. She rose and started to hand Brody to Marion, but Callum stopped her. “I’ll take the lad,” he said, holding out his hands. Marion smiled at him, but Marsaili gave him a questioning look.
“Are ye certain?” she asked. “What if he cries?”
Her new motherly worry pleased him. His own mother had been rather cold all his life and had shown more concern for how much coin was in the chests than for her two sons. He’d thought most women were like that, but in his short time at Dunvegan, he’d seen that his mother was not like most other mothers. “If he cries, I will soothe him.”
“What if he wets himself?”
“Then I’ll clean him,” Callum assured her. “And if he’s hungry, I’ll feed him. If he falls, I’ll pick him up. Dunnae fash yerself, lass. I am his father, and I will care for him always.”
“Ye are proving to be a good father,” she said, her voice hitching.
He grinned as she left the dais with Iain. Lachlan leaned around Cameron and said, “Dunnae make the rest of us look bad, ye ken?”
Everyone on the dais laughed, and not long later, Callum found himself on the dance floor, swinging Brody around while Royce clapped and shouted, “Me too!” Then Lachlan’s son tugged at Callum’s arm for a turn. He was having such a good time that he did not notice Marsaili had returned until she tapped him on the shoulder and then held her arms out for Brody.
“’Tis his bedtime.” She gave Callum a smile and look that heated him. “And mine and yers, if ye are intelligent.”
Desire thickened in his blood. “Do ye mean to say ye wish me to come to yer bedchamber?”
“Ye are intelligent,” she teased, turned, and sashayed out of the great hall, provocatively swaying her hips.
He immediately started to follow her, but when he exited the great hall, he found himself face-to-face with her four brothers and Alex MacLean. The men all had their arms crossed and Iain spoke. “Ye will marry immediately upon breaking the other vow, aye?”
Their concern amused rather than irritated him. “Aye. The verra next day.”
“Why nae that day?” Lachlan demanded.
“I thought to give the earl and his daughter time to depart.”
“Likely wise,” Alex agreed.
“We will all come to witness the wedding,” Graham said.
Cameron nodded. “And our wives.”
“And bairns,” Iain added. “So ready chambers.”
“Gladly,” Callum assured them. “Now if ye dunnae mind, I wish to see my son to bed. I’ve nae ever gotten to do that.”
“By all means,” Iain replied, sweeping his hand toward the stairs that led to the bedchambers.
“But after that,” Lachlan said, “find yer own chamber, aye? Marsaili is our sister, and we give ye liberties for we ken a wedding is to come and—”
“And well, ye already made a wee bairn,” Graham said, which elicited chuckles.
“But it kinnae seem we condone ye being in her chamber before the marriage,” Iain finished.
“Certainly nae!” Lachlan exclaimed with a wink. “We did nae ever do such things.”
“At least,” Alex added, “nae that anyone kenned. So be quiet.”
All the men nodded, grins on their faces.
With a shake of his head, Callum made his way to Marsaili’s bedchamber, and when he pushed open the door, he found her curled around their son, both mother and child fast asleep. Such strong emotion filled him that he rubbed his chest as he made his way into the room, crept carefully onto the bed, and fit himself behind Marsaili, one hand resting on Brody. Soon, he too fell asleep.
Callum awoke to a touch as light as a feather trailing down his chest. He opened his eyes to find the room in complete darkness, except for the moonlight that streamed in through the window. Marsaili sat atop his hips, her thighs on either side of his.
“Will we nae wake Brody?” he asked.
Marsaili chuckled. “He awoke crying nae long ago. I took him out so as nae to wake ye, and Marion was in the passage doing the same with Royce. She said the two of them like to sleep side by side, and I wished to have a bit of time alone with ye, so…”
“So Brody is sleeping with his cousin?”
Marsaili grinned. “I hope so. Callum, I had a dream,” Marsaili whispered, running her fingertips down to his braies, hooking her nails under them, and then touching the tip of his staff, which had become painfully hard.
He hissed in an effort to hold in a groan of pleasure at her touch. “What did ye dream?” he asked.
“Of the time we joined our bodies. I have dreamed of that night many times. I dunnae wish to wait until we wed to feel ye within me again. And tomorrow we will be traveling and nae be alone, so…”
“So we have but this night,” he finished for her, sliding his hands up the silken skin of her thighs, under her thin léine, and to her perfectly rounded bottom, which he squeezed. Need rushed through him hot and fierce. It was the need of three long years without her. His pulse spiked as he rolled her over to her back and climbed atop of her. “I dunnae think I can be slow, lass. I have longed for this too much. But the next time—”
“The next time?” she asked with a giggle as she slid her palms up his bare stomach to his chest.
Lust strummed through him, making him tremble. “Aye, the next. Tonight, after the frenzy, there will be calm, slow, pleasurable torment.”
“I look forward to it,” she promised, wrapping her arms about his neck and tugging him toward her.
He did not need to be asked in any other way. He crushed his mouth to hers, as he pulled her léine up to her hips and slid the undergarment off. She parted his lips with her tongue, and the reckless abandon he tasted in her mouth, the feverish need he felt from her hands, and her thudding heart that matched his own took the little control he had.
He trailed his hands to her breasts as he kissed her and ran his fingers over her hardened buds. When she moaned her pleasure, he teased her there with pinches, but he needed more, and he sensed that she did, too. Breaking their kiss, he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked and pulled, spiking his desire with each luscious stroke. Her gyrating hips and the way she tossed her head back and forth told him her need was as great as his.
She clutched his arms and whispered fiercely, “I’ll take tenderness later, aye. Come in me now, I beg ye.”
He quickly kicked off his braies, braced her thighs, and slid into her with a groan. She fit him perfectly, just as he remembered, and the moment he started to move, so did she. They found a rhythm that made everything fade away but the two of them, and all the moments that they had lost, they reclaimed with each kiss, each touch, each whispered word of love. They found their climax together, covering each other’s mouths to silence their screams of release, and when their wild joining was over, they lay panting side by side.
Once their breathing had calmed, Callum felt his need for her rising once again, but he hesitated. They had been through much, and he did not want to tire her, or if she was sore, he did not want her to feel she must acquiesce, but she turned into him suddenly and placed her hand on his hard staff.
“And now the slow,” she whispered, nipping his ear, kissing his neck, and trailing her lips down his abdomen to between his thighs. And then she gave to him, and in return, he gave all of himself to her well into the night, then longer still until dawn, when they both fell into a weary sleep.
Hours later, they were awoken by Marion knocking on the door. Marsaili answered it, and a moment later, Brody waddled into the room to announce that he was hungry. They dressed and made their way to the great hall to break their fast before traveling on to his home. The great hall was mostly empty, as they had risen late, but as they finished eating, Broch and Maria entered. They approached the table, hand in hand.
Callum was pleased, and he could see that Marsaili was, too, by the way she grinned. He cocked his eyebrows at Broch, who shrugged as if to say he was not quite sure where things would lead with Maria but that he was pleased. “We wish to travel with ye to yer home so Maria can see her sister.”
“Yer sister?” Callum asked, startled.
“Aye,” Maria said. “She is married to a Grant, and when Marsaili and I escaped Innis Chonnell, I was traveling to Urquhart to ask to become part of yer clan.”
Callum smiled. “We would welcome ye as an addition, if—” he glanced at Broch “—that is what ye wish.”
“We shall see,” Maria said, her gaze sliding toward Broch, a blush tingeing her cheeks.
Later that day, they departed for Callum’s home with full bags of food and a contingency of MacLeod warriors. The journey was peaceful, and it gave Callum time to truly contemplate what he had known for years. He had wanted a marriage born of affection, and now he would have one. He had given his love to Marsaili three years prior, as she had given him his, and once that had occurred, their love would not be denied for anything—not alliances, nor treachery, nor promises offered to another. He would do his best to fix the situation with Coira, but in the end, his most important task in life was to love Marsaili and Brody, and protect them with his life.
They rode into the inner courtyard of his castle at nightfall. His brother was there, along with at least a hundred of Callum’s warriors. Cheers went up when he dismounted his horse. He glanced around the courtyard, noting his mother’s absence, as well as those of Coira and her father. He wanted to draw Marsaili to his side, but he did not want to shame Coira and make things worse. He turned to Marsaili, and when he saw her looking so unsure, so anxious while she clutched their son, he thought he would lose his mind.
He reached out for Brody, eager to tell his brother about him, but at that moment, his mother came into the courtyard with Coira trailing behind her. Shock swept over his mother’s face when she saw Marsaili, and Marsaili stepped away from him, holding Brody to her chest. Behind her, the MacLeod guards, led by Broch, closed in toward her. Callum clenched his teeth in frustration that Broch thought he needed to protect Marsaili in Callum’s home. This had to be settled at once.
“Mother, take Marsaili and—”
“My son,” she interrupted. “This is my son, Brody.” She gave Callum a beseeching look. Knowing Marsaili and her kind heart as he did, he suspected she was considering Coira and how learning everything here and now in public would embarrass the lass. He nodded his acquiescence, though he despised not telling everyone of Marsaili and Brody directly.
His mother puckered her lips. “I dunnae ken why she is here, but I’ll nae—”
“If ye dunnae do as I tell ye,” Callum said, pitching his voice low so his clansmen would not overhear, “I will set ye out of my home and forget ye exist.”
“Callum!”
“Now, Mother,” he said. “Show Marsaili to a bedchamber and see that she has anything she requires.”
After a long tense pause, his mother jerked her head in agreement, and with a huff, she motioned for Marsaili to follow her. Callum watched as Marsaili disappeared into his castle with their son in her arms, and then he turned to face his brother and Coira.
“How fares the castle?” he asked Brice.
“Well, Brother,” Brice answered. “We have been attacked twice, but the men fought well and we were nae breached.”
Callum nodded, having much to talk with Brice about but needing to settle matters with Coira first. “See me in the great hall before supper,” he said to Brice. He expected his brother to depart, but when Brice stood there looking uneasy, Callum frowned. “Was there something else?” He noted that Brice exchanged a quick look with Coira before he answered.
“Aye,” his brother said. “I—” Coira nudged Brice, surprising Callum. “That is, we”—he motioned between himself and Coira—“wish to speak with ye alone.”
“Verra well,” Callum said. He could only imagine what sort of things his brother might have done in an attempt to aid Callum. He prayed to God it was nothing that would further complicate matters.
They went directly to the solar, and once the door was shut and Callum turned to Brice and Coira, Brice blurted, “We are in love.”
Callum could only gape at them.
Coira twisted her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry, Callum. I could not resist. You don’t love me,” she said softly, “and I don’t love you. I have spoken with my father. He had to return home, for my mother took ill, but he has agreed to my wedding Brice, if you will allow it. And he wishes to remain allies, if you will have us. I beg you—”
Callum waved a hand, recovering from being shocked by the news, but then suspicion set in. “Brice, what is this?”
“It is nae as ye think. I admit I tried to seduce her to disembroil ye from yer promise to wed her, but I fell in love with her. Ye dunnae love her, Brother, but I do. And ye brought Marsaili back with ye, so surely…”
“I know about the lass,” Coira said. “Brice—” she gave him an adoring look “—told me everything. I wish you all the happiness.”
“As do I,” Brice added. “Did ye ken she had a bairn, though? Whose boy is it?”
“Mine,” Callum announced with so much pride he thought his chest would burst. “The boy, Brody, is mine. She thought he had died at birth. ’Tis a long story.”
Brice grabbed Callum by the arm and hugged him. “Sit and tell us. There is time. Give Mother and Marsaili a chance to come to ken each other.”
A thought struck him. “Does Mother ken about ye and Coira?”
“Nay!” Brice answered.
“We have kept it secret to all but my father,” Coira said in an assuring tone that amused him given his own situation.
“I thank ye, lass,” he replied.
“Do we have yer blessing?” Brice asked, clearly anxious.
“Aye, aye,” he assured them both. The look they gave each other eased the last of Callum’s concern. It seemed all had somehow resolved itself.
“Tell us of the boy,” Brice encouraged.
“I will,” Callum said, “but let me tell Marsaili about this first. It will ease her greatly.”
Brice and Coira smiled. “We’ll await yer return here,” Brice said.
Callum nodded, departed the solar, and went to find Marsaili. He found her in one of the guest bedchambers with Brody. The door was open, and for a moment, he stood there watching her with his son. His heart was full. When she finally glanced up, he walked wordlessly to her, dropped to his knees in front of her, and told her of Brice and Coira. She was so relieved that tears filled her eyes. He cupped her face in his hands, and with their son between them, he kissed her tenderly.
When he pulled back, he started to sit beside her, but she shook her head. “Nay. Leave me time with yer mother so we can learn each other.”
“Ye’re certain?”
Marsaili nodded. “Ye can speak with her later and tell her everything, but nae here with me looking on.”
“As ye wish, mo chridhe. Brice and Coira did want to hear about Brody…”
Marsaili laughed. “Away with ye, then. I will see ye soon.”