Page 93 of The Highlander's Accidental Wife
He tottered to the side of the ship, dropping his blades, and staring at the two swords skewering his chest. He gurgled and tried to pull them out, shaking his head.
“I told ye that ye’d suffer for hurtin’ me Hel,” Damien said.
“Nay,” Lachlan whined, and blood trickled from his mouth. “I am the Laird. I am?—”
Damien had heard enough. One moment Lachlan was dying and sinking to his knees, and the next he was tumbling off the deck, into a dark and heaving sea.
His cousin was gone.
Relief swept over Damien, and he spun, running to Helena, yanking out a dirk to cut her free. Not giving a damn that he was bloody and soaked, he pulled her against him, his lips at her temple.
“There are easier ways to get me attention, lass,” he murmured.
Helena let out a choked sob and held on to him tighter. “I knew you would come, but I didn’t know how…” She pulled back. “And where are your boots? Are you trying to catch your death?”
A laugh escaped him, and he caught her face. “I love ye.”
Helena sucked in a breath, but before she could say a word, he scooped her up in his arms and turned to face the rest of the pirates. More seemed to creep out of the shadows or the hold, thin and weary.
For a moment, Damien and Lachlan’s men stared at each other, and Damien—despite his blades sinking in the sea with Lachlan—felt that he could kill every one of them with his bare hands.
Then, Helena blurted out, “You all havenotbeen eating properly.”
A rough chuckle rippled through the pirates, and the tension eased.
“Aye, we could use a few good meals,” a pirate admitted and stepped forward. He was tan and rangy, with a keen gaze, yet he seemed too young for this life.
“I ask that ye leave these shores to find ‘em,” Damien said in a dangerous tone. Even Helena seemed to shrink, and his grip tightened. “If ye want to try and avenge yer leader, ye’re more than welcome to join him in the sea.”
More than one man paled, and one even crossed himself.
“Nay,” said another, grizzled and wearing an eyepatch. “Our late captain thought to throw in with him, for gold and adventure, but he was badly led astray.” His expression became wry. “We warned him.”
“This isnae our fight,” said the first pirate. “We’ll sail far away, back to the seas we ken.”
“Safe voyage,” Helena said, while Damien rolled his eyes.
“Get me a goddamn boat,” he said.
The storm had rolled off, but the rain continued, strangely warm and scented with summer. Damien’s horse was still sheltering in the woods, still dry. Damien helped Helena up, then swung up behind her. She immediately leaned against him, and a long sigh escaped her.
“Could we… go somewhere and be together? Just the two of us?” she whispered.
Damien stilled. He was soaking wet from dipping into the ocean to wash off the blood, but he was still filthy. They needed to get somewhere where they could rinse off this foul night. He’d thought to go back to Morighe, but he also understood that Helena anticipated that his attention would be diverted, and they’d both be swarmed.
At least they had a bit of luck when they ran into a young lad and instructed him to run back to the castle and let everyone know that all was well, but…
“The waterfalls?”
“Too far, me love, and far too cold,” Damien murmured. “We are to the north, but…” An idea came to his mind, and he turned his horse around. “Ye might enjoy this.”
“As long as I’m with you,” Helena said.
Spurred by that, Damien urged his horse to ride fast, not wanting Helena to be out in this cold and damp any longer than she had to be. They rode through the woods, weaving through trees, and then the rain began to lighten. As they approached their destination, the moon broke through the clouds and illuminated the clearing ahead.
A sharp hill rose, filled with dense pine trees, and then split in the middle by a burst of stone, over which water fell into a deep river. The river sparkled in the moonlight as it wove through the trees. And tucked just beyond, at the base of the cliff, between the water and the woods, was a hunting lodge.
Helena stirred but did not speak until Damien brought the horse to a halt and swung down, then grasped her waist to lift her and embrace her for a moment. As he set her on her feet, she caught his forearms.
