Page 49 of Kidnapped By her Highland Enemy
Instantly, she feared they were under attack until Lucas grabbed a sword from Oliver and another man lifted his. Spellbound, she watched as Lucas unleashed a barrage of blows that had the man unable to keep up. With a spin and kick, Lucas’s opponent was flung to the ground and another took his place.
Moving at speeds she could barely follow, Maisie watched with growing appreciation the powerful collision of their swords. Locked in epic battle, she realized that, first, she had never seen Lucas fight before and moreover, why he and his men had won all the battles against her clansmen—they were unbeatable.
The speed and grace with which Lucas moved was a stark contrast to the raw power in his blows. The other man, a proven aggressor, was fast but was thwarted at every attempt as he hacked at Lucas. Lucas, on the other hand, seemed to be toying with him and when the man stumbled backward, Lucas sent him sailing through the air.
Lucas paused to remove his tunic and shirt beneath the morning sun, his flesh glowed a healthy bronze, stretched taut over thick, rangy, well-fed muscle. Viewing the sprinkling of dark hair over the battle-honed muscles of his chest and abdomen was a wicked indulgence for Maisie and she gazed liberally.
Moving away, she looked around the room for her clothes and noted her packs sitting atop some trunks. Taking out a simple gray dress, she donned it and went to wash before combing her hair. Heading downstairs, she aimed to find her father or even Lucas’s, because she needed to tell them about Lucas’s fear—that was, if they did not already know.
Halfway down the corridor, she drew to a stop—she had no inkling where to find the man. Perhaps the great hall? As she moved off, the strange man that had sat with her father at the high table came around the corner. His eyes took on an odd gleam when he saw her but a smile broadened his lips.
“Lady Maisie,” he bowed. “Or should I say, soon-to-be, Lady Barclay?”
She blushed, “Nay yet, Sir…?”
“Laird McKenna, milady,” he nodded. “I’ve been a fast friend of yer sire and Laird Barclay for years while hopin’ their war would cease. Now that it has, I am more than overjoyed.”
“Ah,” Maisie nodded. “It’s been a long while in coming. would ye mind showing me where I can find Lucas’s father?”
“He might be in his meeting room,” Laird McKenna nodded down the hall. “May I ken why ye want to meet with him?”
Maisie hesitated in telling him, but if the man was a friend of both clans—what was the harm? “Before Lucas met me, well, kidnapped me truly, he had gotten a letter saying that a person from me clan was plannin’ to kill him. Unknown to me, me faither had gotten a similar letter that he was under threat from someone in the Barclay clan. Now that we are getting married, Lucas is afraid that the blackguard is still going to act on his word.”
“I see,” the man nodded. “I wasnae aware of the threats against ye, but ye two are strong clans and ye have some of the best warriors I have ever seen. I’m assured ye will be all right.”
“Thank ye,” Maisie said as they came to a broad door.
Larid McKenna bowed away as she knocked on the slab.
“Enter!”
Pushing in, she saw Cinead standing by a window, gazing out. He did not turn, but he addressed her, “How may I help ye, lass?”
“Sir, I ken ye might have some doubt that the connection between Lucas and me is fleeting. I want to assure ye, it’s nae,” Maisie said respectfully.
Cinead met her gaze with a long, searching look that ended with him nodding. “Listen lass, I may be Lucas’s father and I have a strong hold on many affairs, but I havenae any with what Lucas does with sections of his life. Aye, I tried to match him with other ladies but that splintered apart like ice under a heavy man’s boot. Besides, Lucas is a smart man and he has the keenest judge of character I have ever beheld. If he has chosen to be with ye, I am the last one to object.”
Relief washed through Maisie like Loch Ness breaking its banks. “Thank ye, sir. The next thing I came about is that Lucas fears that the man who sent ye and me faither similar threats will act again, now that he kens our clans will be aligned. We need to plan against that.”
Cinead looked duly impressed and gestured to a set of chairs. “Aye, we should. What do ye have in mind?”
Lucas’s limbs were humming with power as he took the stairs to his father’s rooms. After an invigorating training exercise with his men, and a long swim on the loch beyond the hills of his house, he headed to his rooms to dress in better clothes.
Maisie was lounging at the window with a cup of warm milk and she turned with a smile. “I saw ye and yer men training.”
Closing the door behind him, he grinned, “And?”
“If that is how ye are training,” she rested the cup, came to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’d hate to see ye in true battle.”
One of his hands dropped to her hips and he curved the other over her backside. “God forbid ye will.”
Maisie stood on her toes and kissed him and he gave her the chance to lead before he took it from her. When she pulled away, he sought reentrance with his tongue, and with a whimper, she welcomed him. A low groan bubbled in her throat and she kissed like a wanton woman. He could feel her need, her desire—one he shared—but he gladly quenched her hunger, slowing the heated embrace to a simple one, his kiss expressing more love than he ever could with words.
Maisie, his Maisie. She belonged to him--only him. Cupping her face, he leaned into her ear, “I have something planned for us tonight, lass.”
Her eyes glimmered. “And what is that?”
“Ye’ll have to wait and see,” he laughed, going to his trunks and pulling a fresh set of clothes. Dressed, he crouched and slid his customary dagger into his boot. “Were ye up here all morning?”
