Page 37 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Well, perhaps a little bit. But it was just as ye said it would be.”
He found himself stroking her back, the skin as soft there as it was on any other part of her body. Laying there, having made sweet love together, the thought of wanting to protect her for the rest of her days came into his mind. Just like before, when the thought of doing anything for her had come to him, he pushed it away.
The council had wanted her to be married into the clan, and Maxwell was determined that she should marry him. At the time, however, he had still not fully understood his feelings for her. But now, after sharing such an intimate experience together, their bodies entwined in a moment of time that had bonded them closer than ever before, Maxwell was beginning to sense that what he had at first thought was lust may well be something far more intense.
“Areyeall right?” Skylar asked.
Maybe she sensed something more, or perhaps she thought she ought to ask after he had asked her. In either case, he could not tell her the thoughts that currently ran through his mind. It simply was not fair to load her shoulders with such a burden. She was carrying enough as it was.
“Of course,” he replied, his voice still husky. “But there must be a rule now in this bedroom going forward.” He struggled to hide the smile from his voice, trying instead to sound abrasive and domineering.
Skylar turned to look up at him, her eyes wide once more. “What rule?” she asked worriedly.
“Nae more damn pieces o’ cloth,” Maxwell said before breaking into a grin.
Skylar laughed then and nodded her head. “Nae more damn pieces o’ cloth,” she repeated.
* * *
He was dreaming. There were cries, but in the mist beyond, he could not see who was making the sounds. Men were calling out, and then he heard what sounded like heavy footsteps.
A banging noise on the bedchamber door woke him, and Maxwell suddenly realized he had not been dreaming at all. The same sounds he had heard in his dream were there in his reality. Slipping his arm from beneath Skylar’s back, he swiftly pushed himself off the bed and donned his shirt.
“What the devil is going on?” he growled after pulling the door open and finding Caelan standing out in the hallway.
“You must dress, Maxwell. Hurry. I will tell ye on the way.”
Maxwell closed the door again and threw his clothes upon his body. Before turning back toward the door to leave, he looked upon Skylar’s face. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful and relaxed as she slept. They had lay there and talked for a long time before they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. But now, as much as it pained him to do so, he had to leave her.
“Laird Johnson’s army has been spotted approaching the castle,” and with that, Caelan burst the bubble Maxwell was enwrapped in.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
“They are still some way off, but it will nae take them too long tae close the distance.”
“How long do we have?” Maxwell demanded.
“Hard tae say, my laird. It’s still dark, and the rider only returned but moments before I came tae tell ye.”
“Ready a guard for my mother and for Lady Macleod,” Maxwell said, feeling strange calling Skylar that under these circumstances. “I want someone positioned outside both o’ their chambers.”
“Right away, my laird. The men are already gathering in the courtyard,” Caelan replied. As they reached the top of the large stairway, he continued. “I will leave ye now,” he nodded down a corridor to his right, “and will arrange the guards as ye request.”
Maxwell stopped and turned to him, a determined expression upon his face. “If they get tae the castle, Caelan, make sure ye’re well hid. These men dinnae take any prisoners. Do ye understand?”
“Aye, my laird,” his friend replied and hurried away.
Maxwell swiftly made his way down the stairway and determinedly moved through the castle corridors, heading to the courtyard. He hardly needed to tell Caelan the dangers of what was approaching. His advisor had seen the atrocities Johnson and his men were capable of, for he had been at the castle the last time the laird had attacked. Johnson’s army was as monstrous as their master and had little feeling to the pain they caused or the amount of blood they shed. If they breached the castle, which may well be a likelihood given the amount of them, Maxwell did not want to think what might happen.
“I kent they might be coming,” Bram said when Maxwell finally arrived at the outer stables, “but I didnae think they’d be here so soon.”
A great flurry of activity was happening around them. Stable hands hurriedly brought out the horses, and the large group of men of all shapes and sizes mounted them with speed. Swords clattered, and a sense of excitement danced in the air.
“Aye, well,” Maxwell replied, tightening the straps on his horse’s saddle, “nor did I, but I ought tae have been more ready.”
“There’s naething that could have made ye more ready, Maxwell,” Bram said, mounting his own horse beside him. “At least Skylar is safe, now ye’re both married.”
Maxwell looked at Bram with a strained expression. “Do ye really think that’ll stop Johnson?”
