Page 58 of When a Warrior Woos a Lass
Without a thought, she turned and darted out the door. She didn’t get more than two steps away before Thomas grasped her by the hair and yanked her against his chest. She cried out sharply with her pain, her heart pounding so hard in her ears, it sounded like footsteps thumping.
“Let me go,” she screamed, hoping someone would hear her and come to her aid, though she knew it unlikely in this castle filled with her enemies.
Thomas’s hand came to her throat, encircling it and applying pressure. “Quit squirming,” he hissed. “I want ye willing.”
“Nae ever!” she choked out, digging her nails into his hand while trying to reach for her dagger with her free hand. She managed to lift her skirt and could feel the cool steel against her skin, but she could not grip it. It was just out of reach.
“This is making me want ye more,” Thomas growled, his words sending warm breath over her ear.
“I vow I’m going to kill ye!” she gasped.
Just then, Alex appeared at the top of the stairs with a murderous look on his face. He had his sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. A bloody rag was tied around his shoulder, and there were streaks of blood down his arm.
“Unhand my property,” he said in a razor-sharp tone. “I told ye nae to touch Lena or I’d kill ye.”
Thomas shoved her toward Alex, who caught her easily and pulled her to his side. She could feel the tautness of his muscle under her fingertips.
“Ye intend to kill me now, do ye?” Thomas snarled.
“Nae now,” Alex said, matter-of-fact. “But soon. So ready yerself.”
“I welcome ye to try,” he bit out, shoving past both of them and disappearing down the stairs.
Without a word, Alex took Lena by the hand and led her into her bedchamber. He shut the door and turned to her, excruciating pain and regret on his face. “Lena.”
She heard the torture of emotion in his voice, and tears filled her eyes. “Alex, I’m nae harmed, but ye are. What happened?”
“’Tis a small wound,” he said and closed the distance between them. He drew her near, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips to her head. “Lena, Lena.” He squeezed her tightly. His heart thumped against her cheek. “If he’d hurt ye—Christ…” He drew back slightly, his face a mixture of anger and worry. “Ye lied to me.” His accusatory tone took her by surprise. “Ye vowed to depart if it became dangerous.”
“I could nae leave ye to be killed by my brother,” she said, untangling herself the rest of the way from him and seeking distance. With him near, she could not think of anything but how much she desired him, loved him. Yet, all the desire and love in the world would not save them if he insisted on secrets between them. She had to make him understand. She swept her gaze around the room, stopping at the rope that Thomas must have dropped on the floor. Silently, she went to it and picked it up.
She could feel Alex’s gaze upon her as she turned back to him and held out the rope. Tears started to leak down her face before she even spoke. “Bind me. Lead me to the edge where pain meets pleasure. Show me this darkness ye crave that ye found in Euphemia’s arms. Control me,” she added, trembling, but trusting with all her heart that he’d never truly hurt her.
His eyes widened, and he stared at her openmouthed.
She had to forge on and pray she did not press so hard that she pushed him away. “Break me if ye must,” she said on a sob, “but dunnae hide yer past from me any longer. Dunnae keep yer secrets to yerself. Ye are killing me…killing us.”
His hands came to her face, hair, and neck, and his lips followed. He kissed her with a frantic need that stole her breath. When he pulled back from her, he said, “I dunnae have much time. Lachlan is here. He and three of his men are the Steward’s prisoners. He means to torture yer brother in the morning, and I still must obtain the name of the other laird who is supporting the Steward besides Fraser. Once I have it, I can free Lachlan and—”
She pressed a finger to his lips while thanking God her brother was alive. “I learned the name of the other laird. ’Tis Laird Grant.”
“How did ye discover that?” Alex asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.
He thought she’d attained the information from Thomas through seduction of some sort! “Alex, nae through Thomas as ye are imagining. He ordered Euphemia to drug me so I’d leave the great hall willingly.” She quickly told him the rest of what had happened.
When she finished, he said, “I must go to the dungeon and find a way to free yer brother and his men now that I have the names I need. Ye must away with Donald.”
“Nay,” she said, curling her hands into fists. “Tell me now the secrets ye keep from me, Alex, and be quick. We will free my brother and the other MacLeods together.” She knew he could simply throw her over his shoulder and hand her off to Donald, but she had to try to make this stand.
Emotions flickered across his face—hope, fear, shame, pain. “I kinnae,” he said. “I’ll lose ye.”
“Nay.” She cupped his face and kissed him gently. “Ye are losing me now by shutting me out. I am imagining the worst—that ye want Euphemia and nae me.”
Twenty
“Christ, nay!” Alex said, his wife’s hurt expression sending pain straight into his heart. He had to tell her. He was losing her, despite trying to protect her from his past.
He brushed by her to sit on the bed. He lowered his head between his hands, shamed to his core to tell her of all that had occurred. Memories that he had kept at bay in all but his sleep flooded in, and he started to speak. His words were halting at first but then began to flow. He told her of being an apprentice and how Gillis had killed Ginny in front of him and had threatened to kill Thomas unless Alex agreed to allow the man to do sick things to him. He told her how he’d been lucky because his father had happened to come to see him unannounced that particular day and had found him just as Gillis had started touching him. He’d had to invite Gillis to do so, had to tell the vile clot-heid that he enjoyed it, all to save Thomas’s life. So, yes, Alex had been spared, but he had been broken even still. His control had been stripped from him, and he’d spent years feeling shamed by what had happened and unable to accept tenderness or truly give it to a lass before Lena.
