Page 21 of Highlander the Conqueror

A sudden chill sent a shiver through her, and she hurried to finish tucking the blanket around her a few moments before he turned to face her. He walked toward her with ease and with no regard for his nakedness as though it was a common thing for him to walk naked in front of a woman. The brief view of his wide, muscled back and taut backside had been compelling enough to see, but the front of him assaulted the senses and sent a pleasurable sensation racing through her. He was an exceptional figure of a man and far too easy to gaze upon.

He stopped in front of her. Her two different colored eyes intrigued him but what intrigued him even more was how easy it was for him to see in her eyes what she was feeling. And he did not like the fright and vulnerability he saw there, though he understood it. He had spoken the truth to her and told her that his father had chosen her as a wife for Warrand because he believed his son would not love her and now, she believed the same of him. That love would never exist between them. That he would tolerate her.

Sky forced herself not to flinch when he raised his hand toward her and with his finger gently wiped the rivulet of rainwater that she felt dripping from her hair down along her cheek.

“I am a man of honor, Sky, on that you can count. I cannot promise you that I will ever grow to love you, for I am not sure I can love or even know how to love a wife. What I can promise you is that I will honor our marriage vows, be faithful to you, do my duties as a husband and treat you well. I can offer no more than that, but it is more than most arranged marriages offer.”

That he was truthful with her touched her heart and had her admitting, “I sometimes fear you.”

“You are not alone in that. Many fear me, but you have nothing to fear from me. I will never harm you. Will I never be angry with you? I imagine not. We will probably anger each other at times but you will come to know I command and grow accustomed to obeying my word. And again, I will never harm you.”

He had told her that often enough and with how he had protected her so far, she was beginning to trust his word, though she voiced another concern. “I barely know you.”

“We will grow to know each other. In the meantime, we will be friends.”

He commanded more than offered friendship, but that mattered little. He was offering her something no one ever had… to be her friend.

She responded quickly. “I would like that.”

“Then it is settled,” he said, and as if needing to seal the agreement, he kissed her lips gently, then turned away from her and went to the chest at the bottom of the bed.

Sky touched her lips faintly as she watched him rummage through the chest. His kiss had surprised her and what surprised her even more was that it had been pleasant. She saw that he pulled out a plaid and quickly wrapped it around himself. When done, he pulled another garment out of the chest and walked over to her.

“A shirt for you to wear until your garments dry.”

She took it from him and went to thank him, but different words fell from her lips. “That was my first kiss, and it was nice.” She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She was a fool for saying that?

He had not expected to hear that from her, and he definitely did not expect to be pleased to hear it and annoyed at the same time. Though his response offered a sound reason for it. “Aye, your first kiss from me and the last kiss you will ever know will be from me since your lips will touch no others but mine.”

His edict confirmed it. They were wed and would remain wed until their dying day. Slayer was her fate whether she wanted him to be or not. So, how did she accept such a fate?

She slipped the shirt over her head, hurrying her arms through the long sleeves and when the shirt fell past her knees, she wiggled out of the blanket and let it fall to the ground. She snatched it up and folded it to place on the bed, then moved the small bench in front of the fire pit and sat. She combed her hair with her fingers, easing the wet strands loose so they would dry, giving her heart time to stop pounding and her mind from reeling. She could not believe all that had happened in the last few days, and she did not want to continue to think about it. She focused on her hair to ease her mind. At least the rainwater had chased away some of the dirt that had accumulated there while she was locked in the cell. She would give her hair a good scrubbing in the stream tomorrow along with her garments, eager to wear clean garments again. And she hoped the squirrel would visit with her and bring more friends with him.

Friends.Slayer offered friendship. She made friends easily with the animals and came to know them well. She could do the same with Slayer… be his friend and come to know him well. Maybe, just maybe, she would not fear him anymore.

That fear burst into a burning flame when he joined her in bed later.

“You may as well get used to me beside you since we will share a bed each night from this night on,” he said and discarded his plaid and got in bed with her.

The bed was a decent size for two people of normal size, but Slayer was not normal size. He was larger than most men, so the fit was snug. Sky tried to keep tucked close to the wall, but his weight, from use, had caused the stuffed mattress to sink some in the middle, and she found herself slipping toward him when she moved.

After a few times of brushing up against him, Slayer grabbed hold of her and rested her against his side. “I gave you my word. I will not touch you yet. You can rest against me without worry or fear. That way you can remain still and allow both of us to get some sleep.”

“I have only ever slept alone,” she said softly as if trying to explain her restlessness.

“And now, you will sleep alone no more,” he said, and his arm tightened around her, reminding her that was where she would stay… beside him. “Now go to sleep.”

His tone held annoyance and she laid still and stiff in his arms, too worried to move. Needing to calm that worry, she asked, “You are my friend, Slayer, right?”

“Aye, Sky, I am your friend and always will be. Now sleep. You are safe with me.”

For some reason, his words reassured her, and her body relaxed against him, and it was not long before she fell asleep.

Not so, Slayer. He laid awake thinking… about Sky. She was not what he expected, though it was more that he had not expected to find her appealing, not only in appearance, but her nature as well. And it disturbed him that he actually had looked forward to simply sleeping with her, holding her as he did, confirming that she belonged to him and always would.

He would think she had worked a spell on him if he believed her evil as some did. But he had seen true evil through the years and Sky did not come close to being evil. He did not think evil could even survive around her since she had such a kind soul. Not once had she gotten angry at him, fought with him, yelled at him, complained to him, or cried over her misfortune. Her words to him were soft and her smiles gentle. Even with the bruises under her eyes she was still beautiful, and she had suffered her hurt nose in silence, not offering one complaint about it.

It was his mission in their marriage to keep her safe and he had failed her that day even though his warriors had prevented the man from killing her. That culprit never should have gotten close to her. He still had not discovered how the man had gotten past his warriors, a worry that had caused him to double the sentinels around the cottage. Even though it sat in the middle of the Gallowglass practice area, it was not likely anyone would get this far. However, he would take no chance.

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