The Highlander’s Promise by Mary Wine

Chapter Five

“Ye appear to have a personal interest in Terin Campbell.”

Jasper turned to see Davonna watching him from an opening in the wall that surrounded the training field. He reached up and tugged on the corner of his cap.

“I do,” he said. “Why does that displease ye? I have done much to prove meself to her.”

“Aye,” Davonna answered him. “I heard from Fallis that ye placed her in bed and lay across the doorway to safeguard her.”

Most of the inhabitants of Larks Point were well on their way toward the great hall and supper. Another day was gone, and Terin hadn’t appeared once.

“Have ye come to tell me to leave Terin be?”

“Larks Point is Chattan land. Many would tell me ye have the right to be here and to tell me to mind me tongue.”

“Whoever says that is a fool,” Jasper responded. “Since ye have allowed me to make my home here, this is a matter between us.”

“Ye have made this yer home by yer own sweat and blood. Ye are chief because ye train with the Retainers here. I did not raise ye to that position, yer men did,” Davonna answered. “I do not care to lose ye because of a woman. So I thought to discuss it directly.”

“Terin was intent on coming here,” Jasper said.

“Do nae avoid the issue.” Davonna pointed at him. “Whether or not the girl was coming here or not matters little. I see the way ye look at her.”

“I plan to wed her.”

The words crossed his lips easily. When it came to Terin, the need to claim her was too strong.

It was instinct.

Jasper looked at Davonna. “I will never hurt the lass. I swear it.”

Davonna held his gaze for a long moment. She was mistress of the tower through her own perseverance and strength. Jasper caught a hint of the determination which must have sustained her through those first few years when she had been just a girl caught in a net of powerful families.

“I know the rules,” Jasper continued. “There is no need for ye to be concerned. It’s a matter for Terin and I to deal with.”

*

“There is somuch to do. I will just eat here,” Terin told Meghan.

“No one expects ye to do such a thing,” Meghan replied.

Terin remained seated at the worktable. “I am not all that hungry this evening.”

Meghan clicked her tongue.

She disapproved of Terin’s request sure enough.

“I would nae be hiding after such a fine man carried me to bed,” Meghan muttered on her way out the door.

At least being left alone afforded Terin the opportunity to lower her head to the surface of the desk and groan.

She knew better than to drink more than one cup of French wine. It was a potent brew and one she had little tolerance for.

That is not what is festering in yer thoughts…

It wasn’t.

Although a better word was fermenting because, while she’d been seeped in wine when Jasper had carried her to bed, she maintained a clear memory of every moment. Every bit of it was just sitting there in her mind, becoming more and more intoxicating as the hours of the day passed.

He might have taken her.

Instead, he’d slept across the doorway.

Ye should be happy.

She was, and yet, Terin discovered she was more fearful now than she’d ever been on Duncan land. Goron had never entered her thoughts and made her want to seek him out.

She craved Jasper.

So go to him.

And hope he treats ye well? Terin was so torn.

But the back of her neck tingled. She lifted her head and gasped as she discovered herself looking at Jasper. He’d walked into the chamber on silent steps and stood in front of her.

He was more than fine looking.

He was strong and steady and drew her to him on so many different levels.

“Ye are avoiding me, Terin,” Jasper spoke softly.

Terin nodded. “And I plan to ignore ye completely, Jasper Chattan.”

It would have benefited her to keep her mouth shut. The words were out before she thought about them.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, and his chin tucked low. “Why? I have treated ye well, Terin.”

“Ye kissed me,” Terin exclaimed.

Her words struck her as a confession.

Terin gasped when she watched Jasper’s lips part, and he flashed his teeth at her.

“And ye enjoyed it, lass.”

Terin wanted to argue, but Jasper reached across the space between them and pressed a finger against her lips.

“Ye need supper,” he informed her. “Come with me.”

“To where?”

He straightened up. Jasper offered her his hand. “Are ye bold enough to find out?”

There was a half-smile on his lips that struck her pride. Terin was standing up at the same time as she laid her hand on top of his.

“I am not a coward,” Terin insisted.

Jasper took her hand and pulled her around the worktable. Terin expected him to turn toward the door while using their joined hands to keep her close behind him.

But Jasper stayed facing her so that she ran right into him. He clasped one arm around her waist as she gasped.

His body was hard.

And she liked being against it.

For a moment, she was lost, staring into his eyes as she contemplated reaching up to lock her hands behind his neck and pull him gently toward her.

She was on the boundary of making a choice when he suddenly turned her loose and headed toward the doorway. Jasper maintained his grip on her hand, though, tugging her behind him.

He proved how much Larks Point was his home by threading his way through the maze of half-lit passageways without a single hesitation. With the sky still cloudy, most of the window shutters were firmly closed. It meant that there were plenty of shadows to keep to as Jasper took her out of the main building.

They crossed the yard, and she heard the sound of a horse. Atlas was waiting, already wearing his bridle. But there was no saddle, just a thick blanket over the horse’s back.

“Up with ye, lass.” Jasper laced his fingers together and bent over to make a step for her. “Let’s go have a wee bit of fun.”

“Fun?”

She grabbed a handful of her skirt and lifted her foot up. The moment she placed it into his hands, he boosted her up. Terin swung her leg over the back of the horse as Jasper mounted behind her.

“Aye, lass,” Jasper muttered as he reached around her to get the reins. “I imagine it’s been a bit too long since ye have had the opportunity to misbehave.”

“Misbehave?” What did he have in mind? She was curious.

She heard Jasper chuckle in her hair. It was a husky sound that set off a flicker of heat in her belly. The sensation was becoming recognizable now, and it was linked solidly with Jasper.

Even with the last of the light on the horizon, he boldly sent Atlas toward the fount of Larks Point Tower. Jasper clasped her to him with one strong arm as they moved in unison to make the ride easier for the horse.

It also made her fully aware of just how much she enjoyed being in contact with him.

There was an enjoyment sweeping through her that she’d frankly not believed possible. Not so far as earthly flesh went. It was the sort of full-body delight that defied her ability to define.

Jasper headed around the outer wall.

“Are ye worried about ghosts and fae, lass?” Jasper asked her.

The woods had a thousand different shadows. Still, Terin didn’t fear them. Jasper’s promise of entertainment held her attention too solidly.

“No,” she answered.

“Ye might have said yes,” he muttered. “So I could reassure ye a wee bit.”

“Ye do nae lack confidence, Jasper Chattan.”

He guided Atlas around trees and urged the horse forward. The storm had cleared up. Above them, the moon was breaking through. It illuminated the road.

A few more turns, and there were suddenly lights twinkling through the dense forest. Atlas picked up his feet faster. Jasper guided them through the last trees, and all the lights became a village.

“Is this Cannons Row?” Terin asked.

“Aye.”

He stopped just outside a barn. A young lad came hurrying out to take the bridle. From somewhere nearby, there was music.

Terin felt her heart rate increasing. The music beckoned to her. The idea of being able to flirt heated her cheeks because she realized she very much wanted to do so with Jasper.

And he’d brought her here for that purpose.

Jasper grasped Terin around her waist, helping her off Atlas. She turned her head toward the music.

“I promised ye some fun, did I not?” Jasper said.

Jasper gave a coin to the man managing the stable.

Terin suddenly looked around. “Are we alone?”

He sent her a grin. “I snuck away just to delight ye, lass. Are ye sure ye can live with the reputation of being an enchantress?”

“I’m nothing of the sort,” Terin protested.

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “I have never plotted to take a woman out of Larks Point.”

Terin discovered herself feeling shy. “Ye are a fine man, Jasper. And one with position. Of course, ye have plenty of women interested in ye. Especially at Larks Point, where there are so many widows.”

He slowly grinned at her. “I find ye pleasing as well, Terin. Very pleasing.”

She was blushing. Terin felt the heat flickering in her cheeks as Jasper closed the distance between them. She lifted her face, instinct taking over. Anticipation was nipping at her, encouraging her not to squander the chance to enjoy his kiss.

Jasper stopped just a pace from her. His attention was on her, his focus so intent, it made her breathing rapid.

“Ye have the oddest effect on me,” Terin confessed. Perhaps she shouldn’t have, but she wanted to know if he shared her affliction.

“Good,” Jasper answered in a husky whisper.

For a moment, Terin felt worried. Was she just a plaything to him? He tapped her cheek with his finger.

“For I’d hate to be the only one in this relationship, Terin.”

“Relationship?” She honestly didn’t quite understand his meaning.

“Aye, relationship, lass,” Jasper informed her. “Why do ye think I brought ye to dance under the moonlight with me?”

A moment later, he clasped her hand and began to tug her toward the music.

A huge fire was blazing in the center of the crossroads of the town. Unlike Larks Point, the inhabitants of Cannons Row weren’t huddling inside. The mood was cheery, and ale was flowing.

“What are they celebrating?” Terin asked.

Jasper stopped. “Things are a bit different here, Terin. They are enjoying the evening.”

“I know this is where the tradesmen live,” she said.

“Tradesmen and others who do nae mix well with the strict rules of Larks Point,” Jasper remarked. “Davonna is very clear about the level of decorum she expects inside her walls.”

“She is likely thinking of the number of children she provides for,” Terin responded.

Still, Terin admitted Larks Point had a very closeted feel to it. Cannons Row was a stark contrast to Larks Point. Here there were dozens and dozens of full-grown men. They were enjoying mugs of ale as the fire illuminated the evening. A few women made their way among them, flirting outrageously.

Jasper kept her close with the grip on her hand. “Do nae think poorly of them. Davonna offers people a choice. She shelters those who seek protection. But there are some women who enjoy the company of men.”

He looked over his shoulder at her. There was a gleam in his eyes which sparked off a flicker of heat in her belly.

Terin realized her lips had gone dry. Anticipation was nipping at her, like an appetite she’d have to satisfy at some point.

The music started up again. There was a whoop as people took to dancing around the fire. They joined hands and made a ring.

“Come and dance with me, Terin,” Jasper invited her in a husky tone.

She was following him without making any decision. Her decision came from the very fiber of her being. Instinct was in control of her as Jasper tugged her into the ring.

The other dancers allowed them to join, the music growing in volume and pace as Terin found herself breathing harder to keep up.

It was pagan.

And it fed a hunger inside her she’d never realized she possessed.

The air was crisp, and the fire was blazing hot. Between the two, she discovered an enjoyment of lifting her feet higher and twisting her waist from side to side with the rhythm of the tune being played.

Sweat trickled down the sides of her face, and yet, she didn’t want to stop.

No one else seemed to, either.

All the dancers were locked in a strange chain with the music and the flames. Above them, the moon was bright, and the stars shown down on them.

Terin danced until she felt her heart might burst. The music reached a crescendo before it suddenly stopped, and those watching cheered with delight.

Terin threw her arms up into the air with them as well, letting out a cry that felt like it was torn from the part of her soul which was wild.

As far as intoxication went, she preferred it to the French wine of the night before.

And Jasper…

It was the truth that Jasper was making her head spin as well. This was a new side of him.

Well, and of herself, too.

Terin discovered herself sneaking glances at him to see what he thought of her behavior.

It was all forbidden.

Dancing around fires under the moon. There was only one day she was allowed to do it. May Day, and that was done strictly by daylight.

Terin suddenly understood why. The darkness brought another element to the dancing. A deeper, more earthly feeling. All of her life was spent in pursuit of obedience to correctness. But the flicker of the flames made it impossible to hold back the side of her nature that didn’t conform.

Rules?The only thing that mattered was instinct.

She wanted to dance.

To twist.

To raise her voice and let it mix with the music.

Remaining still and poised was impossible. Her very heartbeat was driving her.

And then, there was Jasper.

He’d stripped his sleeves off. His skin glistened as perspiration coated him. He grinned, but it wasn’t the sort of expression she’d seen before. This was something that hinted at a carnal enjoyment. And knowing that didn’t make her recoil.

Quite the opposite.

Terin found herself smiling back at him, and without a doubt, she knew she was issuing an invitation with the look on her face.

Likely one of the most honest expressions she’d ever allowed to cross her face since she’d grown old enough to learn to temper her impulses.

Tonight, there was no control.

They stopped for a moment to quench their thirst with a mug of cider. It was sweet and crisp, with notes of autumn apple.

“Jasper Chattan.” A woman materialized out of the darkness.

Terin stared at the stranger.

There was an ease with which she moved through the company of so many men. She didn’t shy away from their gazes. In fact, she appeared to enjoy knowing most of them were contemplating just how to get her to favor them.

Her walk was sultry, and her smock low enough to offer a good look at her cleavage. Terin could see the passion she felt for those men.

Not shy and clumsy as Terin felt.

“Rhona,” Jasper greeted her.

Rhona came closer until she was alongside Jasper. She laid a hand on his upper arm, the touch clearly familiar.

“I have nae seen ye for a long time,” Rhona said in a husky voice. “I have missed ye.”

Rhona fluttered her eyelashes. She didn’t ignore Terin. Instead, she looked straight at Terin, and they studied each other.

“Is this someone important?” Rhona asked.

For a moment, Terin realized Rhona knew Jasper far better than she did. Jealousy nipped at Terin as Rhona’s fingers moved on Jasper’s arm.

“Very important,” Jasper informed Rhona.

His tone wasn’t harsh. Terin looked at his face because he sounded like he was gently bidding the other woman farewell.

“Very?” Rhona questioned his response.

“Aye.” Jasper lifted Terin’s hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

Rhona turned her gaze toward Terin. There was a smile on her lips as she offered Terin a nod. “Ye’re a lucky one.” The woman moved away, but she stopped and spun back around. “If ye are too timid and turn him down, I will be waiting to take advantage of yer foolishness.”

Terin jumped toward Jasper. Rhona laughed in response but surprised Terin by blowing her a kiss in way of encouragement.

Terin felt something shift between herself and Jasper. Left with one another, there was no taking back the way she’d claimed him in front of his friend.

And Terin realized, she didn’t want to take it back.

But she honestly didn’t know what to do next.

Timid?Well, it seemed so.

She looked at Jasper. He seemed to have been waiting for her to gather her courage. She watched his expression change, tightening as hunger appeared in his eyes.

“Come with me, lass.” Jasper clamped his fingers around her wrist.

It was a hard grip.

And it drew a gasp from her.

Not because he hurt her, but because she approved of his strength. Terin wanted to be female at that moment. Craved knowing she was his counterpart. Neither was weaker, instead, they were two sides of a single thing.

So she followed him without thinking.

Tonight, she wanted to react.

Jasper pulled her behind him through a maze of spaces between buildings. The darkness closed around them like a cloak, providing a sense of security and privacy.

“Up here, lass.”

They’d reached a set of steps that went up the outside of a building. Terin pulled on her hand. Jasper turned to look at her.

Her belly twisted.

Terin froze for a moment, unable to actually think about what it was she was feeling. Her emotions were all jumbled, making it impossible to identify one from another.

Jasper’s eyes were glittering.

She let out a little gasp, suddenly feeling more attractive than she ever had. Flowery words meant nothing compared to the way Jasper was looking at her right then.

Jasper extended his hand toward her. “Come, lass.”

Terin started to place her hand into his again but stopped halfway. His eyes narrowed.

“My…skirts, I need to lift them,” Terin explained. She reached down to grasp a handful of her skirts as understanding brightened Jasper’s face.

A moment later, he was grinning. The mischievous side of his nature was in full view as he jumped down the two steps he’d climbed. Jasper scooped her up, swinging her high as she let out a breathless sound.

But the steps were on the outside of the building with no railing. Terin grasped at Jasper when he started to climb them because it looked like they might fall right off the edge.

“I will nae drop ye, Terin,” he assured her.

Her blood was still speeding through her veins from the dancing and the moment Jasper set her on her feet inside the loft of the building. She felt like being parted from him was worse than anything she’d ever endured.

They were in the top of the building, both sides of the roof sloping down. Jasper could only stand in the center of the loft. Behind him, there was a bed built into the side of the loft.

Jasper caught her chin with his fingers, gently raising her face so their gazes met. Terin heard a little sound escape her lips. It was part wonder and part shock. His eyes were dark, full of a promise that she recognized.

He wanted to bed her.

Perhaps she should have been shocked.

Or apprehensive.

But the truth was, she was mesmerized.

“Are ye worried ye will kiss me back, lass?”

“I know I will,” Terin whispered sweetly.

She turned and took a half step away from him. If she’d needed to explain why her words and actions were opposites, Terin doubted she’d be able to do so. There was something about the way he watched her. She wanted to feel the intensity of his pursuit.

“Do ye now?” Jasper asked as he closed the gap between them.

Terin turned and smiled at him. She was able to stand up but watched the way he looked at the sloped ceiling.

“That’s unkind of ye, lass.” Jasper pointed at the ceiling.

“And bringing me here was bold of ye,” Terin countered.

He unfolded his arms, his expression tightening. The look that flashed in his eyes was one of pure determination. It froze the breath in her chest as she stared straight at a side of his nature she’d never seen before.

He was hunting her.

“I meant to have ye, Terin,” he admitted.

A moment later, he reached and grabbed a handful of her skirt, tugging her forward.

Terin tumbled into his embrace. Jasper closed his arms around her.

“To bring ye here and make ye mine,” Jasper continued as he threaded his fingers into her hair and cupped the back of her head.

“And to make very sure that ye want it so,” Jasper finished as he lowered his head.

Terin gasped as he pressed his mouth to hers.

How had she never realized how incredible a kiss might be?

All of the warning to remain chaste suddenly struck her as good advice, for it allowed her to realize that she had been waiting for the man fate intended to be hers.

Jasper’s kiss stole her breath.

She shifted, too full of responses to settle upon just one. Jasper held her, shifting his body, moving with her so that she never really broke away from him.

His mouth was warm.

Terin sucked in a deep breath because she’d forgotten to breathe. Jasper pressed a deeper kiss against her lips, keeping them separated as he taught her the motions.

The heat that had been kindled in her during the dancing returned in a fierce flare of intensity. Terin reached for him, gripping his shirt to pull him closer.

They simply weren’t close enough.

And she wanted to kiss him.

Terin slipped her hands up and around his neck, holding him to her as she moved her mouth against his. Somehow, she’d never realized how good she might feel, never even suspected that her flesh was capable of such intense sensation.

Like being suspended inside a flame, every inch of her skin was alive.

But her clothing frustrated her.

And Jasper’s shirt was something she wasn’t willing to tolerate. Terin broke away from the kiss to open her eyes and find the buttons on his shirt. The need to strip the garment off him was all-consuming.

“Aye, lass,” Jasper muttered. “I could not agree with ye more.”

He stepped back for a moment. Terin let out a little sound of frustration. His lips curved into a very satisfied smile before he ripped the garment up and over his head. It fluttered to the floor somewhere behind them as Terin drank in the sight of his bare chest.

He was perfection.

She reached for him, craving his embrace.

“Ye as well, lass,” Jasper rasped. “I need to see ye, too.”

Terin had been looking at his body. The need edging his words mirrored her own, and she lifted her attention to his face.

His eyes were full of hunger.

Even if she was still a maiden, Terin recognized what glittered in Jasper’s eyes. The heat inside her twisted in response as he gently stroked one of her breasts.

So simple a touch.

And yet, she shivered in response.

Sensation rippled down her body as he pulled the tie which held her bodice closed.

Jasper popped the knot open and pulled the lace free of the eyelets that ran down the front of her bodice. Terin leaned her head back, drawing in a deep breath. His scent was intoxicating. It touched off another sensation, only this one was deeper, going all the way to her core.

“Trust me, lass.”

His words weren’t necessary.

And Terin wasn’t sure she really understood them. He cupped her shoulders, smoothing his hands down her arms. She straightened her arms out behind her so that her bodice and sleeves fell behind her.

Her skirt and hip roll didn’t last very long either.

The air in the room was much cooler. It was a relief, really, because she was so warm. Her skin was far more sensitive than she had ever felt before.

Jasper seemed to agree. He scooped her off her feet, cradling her as he turned and placed her on the edge of the bed. He caught the back of her head, holding her in place as he pressed a kiss against her mouth.

This time, he kissed her harder, giving her a taste of his passion. She let out a little sound of delight as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

He broke away, hovering just above her as he contemplated her.

“I like seeing ye like this, lass,” he muttered darkly. “With yer lips wet from my kiss.”

It was a shameless thing to say.

Yet, she enjoyed hearing it.

Jasper made quick work of her boots, yanking them off her feet before he even reached up and undid her garters and stripped her stockings down her legs.

She’d been put to bed in her smock on her wedding night.

Terin suddenly giggled.

Jasper looked up at her, one eyebrow arched.

“I suddenly see why brides are stripped on their wedding nights,” she muttered. “This does rather take some doing.”

“Aye, that it does,” Jasper replied.

He was pulling off his boots. He stood up as Terin suddenly became shy. She turned, crawling up and onto the center of the bed as he unbuckled his kilt. She heard the fabric make a soft sound as it hit the floor.

She looked back over her shoulder, her teeth set into her lower lip as she tried to decide what to do.

“Ye are not afraid of me, Terin.” Jasper had his hands braced on the edge of the bed. Poised on her knees, Terin had never felt so much like prey.

His prey…

Yet, he was correct. She didn’t fear him. But laying down to wait for him was impossible for her to do. She suddenly grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

Surprise flashed across his face before he was raising an arm to shield himself from the pillow. A second later, the bed shook as he bounded up and onto it. Terin let out a shriek as he clamped his arms around her middle and rolled over with her.

Jasper kept going until Terin was on her back. He settled alongside her, holding his weight on one arm.

“Ye are perfection, Terin.” He smoothed the hair back from her face.

“It’s too dark to see anything,” Terin objected.

It really was. The loft had a single window. The shutters were closed, allowing only a sliver of light through at the bottom. Jasper was a shadow. She lifted her hands, flattening them on his chest.

“I believe it’s perfect like this,” she said.

The darkness granted her permission. Or perhaps it removed the restrictions she had always had to adhere to. There, in the bed, she was alone with her cravings.

“Aye, lass,” Jasper growled as he lowered his mouth to hers once more. “The rest of the world may go on without us.”

He kissed her again. Terin smoothed her hands up his torso, delighting in the feel of their bare skin touching. The ability to think became irrelevant as Jasper’s kiss deepened.

She wanted to feel.

And Jasper didn’t disappoint her.

He shifted, brushing her smock down to bare one breast. She gasped as he cupped it, arching up because it wasn’t enough just to be held. She wanted more.

Jasper fed her cravings.

He grasped her breast and stroked the nipple with his thumb. The little point drew into a hard knot as he kissed her. Terin was twisting against him. She just couldn’t remain still. She didn’t want to be obedient.

Didn’t want to be taken.

Lovers…

The word burst into her mind as she realized that was precisely what she craved. Terin wanted to drive Jasper to the same level of intoxication that he was pushing her into. She wanted to dance with him until they both had sweat running down their sides.

So, she reached for him, stroking her hands along his chest. Delighted by the hard ridges of muscles her fingertips discovered. He had nipples, too. Flat and hard, she toyed with them as he pulled his head up and sucked in a hard breath.

“Harder lass,” Jasper encouraged her. “Show me yer claws.”

Claws?

Terin curled her fingers and drew her fingernails down his chest.

His breath rasped between his teeth.

“That’s the way…” Jasper said.

He leaned over and captured her exposed nipple between his lips.

Terin gasped, shocked by how hot his mouth was. Searing hot.

And she adored it.

Heat shot straight down her body to her cleft, where her clitoris was throbbing. Her thighs were spreading as Jasper pressed a knee between them.

It felt so natural.

She might have spared a thought for how correct it all seemed if she could have managed to get her mind to function.

Instead, she was drawing her nails down his arms as he nursed upon her nipple. He was like a flame in her embrace. His strength was pleasing her as much as the heat he seemed able to kindle inside her. Terin shifted, her thigh brushing against his cock.

It was hard and ready, and she suddenly realized she was too needy to wait any longer.

“Easy, Terin,” Jasper muttered against her lips. “We have the entire night.”

“I feel in a hurry,” Terin confessed.

He lifted his mouth off hers, his breath hitting the delicate surface of her lips.

“I will nae fall upon ye, Terin.”

He smoothed his hand along her thigh and into the curls which covered her mons. Her clitoris was throbbing, begging for a touch.

Jasper didn’t leave her wanting.

He sent his fingers into her cleft. Her folds had become wet, allowing him to slip easily inside. He found the spot which throbbed, teasing it with a single touch.

Terin cried out.

Jasper held her still. He teased her little pearl, toying with it as he kept her in place on her back.

She was burning alive…

Terin withered, twisting and straining toward something that she had no idea just what it was. There was only the need tearing at her insides and the way his fingers made her feel so very good.

She was arching up toward his hand, seeking more of the pleasure. Her heart was thumping so hard, it was possible she wouldn’t survive, and yet, Terin didn’t care. The craving for more was pounding through her. It was the only thing she cared about, and Jasper appeared to understand. He pressed her down, gripping her hard enough to prove his strength to her.

And then there was the hand he had in her cleft. His fingers were rubbing faster and harder as she lifted her hips up, seeking even more from him.

The end came without warning.

One moment she was withering in the grip of need, and the next, a burst of pleasure seared through her.

“That’s the way, lass,” Jasper muttered against her head. “Now ye know what can be between us.”

Terin was gasping.

She opened her eyes, realizing that he’d taken her to the pinnacle while maintaining his control.

“I don’t…want a master,” she growled at him.

Her body was trying to go lax, but she rolled over, her frustration taking the place of passion. Jasper gave way, allowing her to push him onto his back.

He let her do it, of course, and that knowledge only infuriated her further.

“Ye wanted what I gave ye, Terin,” Jasper said as he looked up at her.

She’d sat up, her breathing still coming in little bursts.

“I wanted ye to be my lover,” Terin corrected him.

“Lover?” Jasper inquired softly.

“Yes.”

He tucked one of his hands behind his head, appearing completely relaxed.

“A lover sees to his partner’s pleasure, lass,” Jasper told her. “As I just did.”

“Well…” Terin paused, trying to think of what it was she was frustrated by.

“Did ye enjoy it?”

Terin felt her cheeks heat. She looked away, but the bed moved as Jasper sat up and cupped her chin.

“Tell me, lass,” Jasper insisted as he brought their faces back together. “Tell me ye enjoyed it.”

“I did,” she admitted.

His lips parted with a satisfied grin.

“But I wanted ye to enjoy it, too,” she admitted what was bothering her.

“I did enjoy it.”

Terin realized there was more than one facet to the face of passion.

There was the hunger she’d felt gnawing at her insides, and then, there was also the need to drive him toward that peak of pleasure. Perhaps that was the true meaning of the word lover. Understanding that there was more than one sort of satisfaction to gain in bed.

She leaned down to kiss him.

It took more confidence than Terin had realized. She hesitated as she closed the final few inches between their lips, suddenly doubting whether or not he found her skills lacking.

A coward never achieves their goal.

Jasper was waiting for her. Terin pressed her hands onto his chest and stroked up to his face. The sides of his neck were corded as he held himself in check, allowing her to take the lead.

Most men wouldn’t have done such a thing.

“Why are ye letting me take control?” she asked.

There in the dark, Terin realized she might ask the question she never would have voiced otherwise. Goron would have slapped her for even suggesting he was at her beck and call.

Jasper threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her still when she began to sit back up.

“Can I not be enticed by the idea of ye wanting to see to my desires?” Jasper asked.

“A wife is meant to satisfy her husband.”

“Which accounts for why so many men prefer their mistresses,” he offered with a chuckle.

“Jasper Chattan,” Terin admonished him.

He was suddenly rising up and rolling her onto her back once more.

“Should I not be honest, Terin?”

“Of course,” she replied.

He had his hands flattened on either side of her face. His arms were straight as he held himself above her.

“I would like ye to strip away yer smock and let me see yer bare breasts.”

Terin felt her eyes go wide. Her face heated as Jasper rolled onto his back and settled his hands behind his head.

“I was very honest just now,” Jasper informed her with a chuckle.

“Ye are being shameless.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, but his expression was pensive. “How can ye be my lover, Terin, if I do nae allow ye to take the lead from time to time?”

“Oh.” She found herself worrying her lower lip once more as she thought through what he’d said. Her mind offered up a perfect recollection of him nursing upon her breast. Behind the soft fabric of her smock, her nipples drew into taunt little points once more.

It wasn’t the first time the thought of Jasper had lit a flicker of need inside her.

So would it be the same for him as well?

She wanted to know.

Her confidence suddenly bloomed. Maybe it was due to the fact that Jasper was waiting for her to decide what to do.

Back at Larks Point, there was a bed for her in a chamber where she might sleep shrouded in dignity and correctness.

So why did she feel as if what she was doing here was more honest?

“What are ye thinking, Terin?”

He was watching her.

“I’m thinking I am acting more naturally now than I have ever done in my entire life.”

It was a bold thing to voice.

“I understand what ye mean, Terin,” Jasper answered. “My mother says fate brought us together. It’s the truth that I agree with her more and more on the matter.”

Fate.

“I’ve heard that word used a great deal,” Terin said. “And all of those times that word was meant to chain me to the duty others planned for me.”

“Yet ye survived,” he remarked.

“I did.” She smiled at him.

And now?Well, now she was free to do as she pleased.

It was a potent idea.

Terin was poised on her knees. She found the hem of her smock and drew it upward. It was an action she’d performed countless times, yet today it was new. Her mind offered up a recollection of the way Rhona had been so at ease as she flirted.

Terin wanted to be that way as well.

She wanted to be Jasper’s lover.

As she drew the garment over her head, she heard Jasper’s breath rasp between his teeth. As she tossed it aside, he was rising up, his attention on her breasts.

“I am going to wed ye, Terin,” he declared as he cupped her breasts.

Terin might have argued, but the feeling of having her breasts handled was too extraordinary.

Why had she never noticed how sensitive her breasts were?

Jasper was massaging them, teasing the nipples with his thumbs. The passion he’d sated roared back to life like fresh tinder being touched to a bed of coals. One moment hunger was merely gnawing at her insides, and the next, she was so needy, she let out a gasp when he rolled her onto her back.

His weight satisfied her in a way she’d never realized possible. She shifted, her thighs spreading as he settled between them. He caught her mouth in a kiss as Terin tried to mimic his motions and kiss him back.

The last motion wasn’t awkward at all. Terin felt his member against her inner thigh. Hard and hot, it seemed so natural for him to adjust position, so the head of it nudged against the open folds of her body.

Jasper kissed her again. This time it was slow and deep. He teased her tongue with his own, making her unconsciously aware of how much she wanted to have him fill her.

“Easy, lass,” Jasper rasped against her hair. “I would nae hurt ye.”

“And ye must,” Terin lifted her hips, so the head of his cock sunk inside her. “I am not a girl anymore, Jasper.”

He lifted his head, and their gazes locked. In the semi-darkness, he was a creature of shadow and lore.

Yet, he was hot against her, and she burned to have him complete the moment.

“Aye,” Jasper rasped out, his tone edged with need. “Ye are a woman, Terin…my woman.”

He thrust forward. His cock gliding smoothly into her passage. She gasped, pain burning along her insides as she was stretched. For a moment, it didn’t feel like her body would accept him. Terin gulped at the air, determined to manage.

In the next instant, everything eased.

Jasper pulled out of her, leaving her begging for his return. When he thrust back into her, his length penetrated easily.

And now, there was nothing but delight.

Terin left out a breathless sound.

Jasper echoed it.

The unity she seemed to seek in him gained new depths as he began to move back and forth. She lifted her hips, needing him deeper. Her body responded to his as pleasure began to mount inside her. The release he’d given her with his fingers paled as he thrust harder and deeper into her. Now, she danced in the very center of the flame, straining toward completion that she knew without a doubt would wring her.

Terin hurled herself toward it.

Jasper growled as he kept pace with her.

He seemed to have been waiting for her to reach the zenith. As she cried out, he ground himself deeper into her and let out a hoarse cry. Terin felt his seed pumping into her.

And then they both dropped to the surface of the bed.

Spent.

Satisfied.

Terin couldn’t think beyond single words.

So she didn’t even try to. She let her eyes close as she drifted off into a blissful slumber.

*

“Ye’ve proven yerworth sure enough.”

Cannons Row had many dark shadows. Lonn looked at the scrap of a boy who had earned his next meal by watching Jasper Chattan and reporting his location. The boy was young and newly arrived, so he didn’t yet know most people refused Lonn because they’d didn’t dare risk angering the chief of Larks Point Tower.

The lad was precisely what Lonn needed to claim his revenge against Jasper Chattan.

“Ye will eat,” Lonn informed him.

“I work for me sister’s meals,” Arth insisted.

Lonn looked at the boy. “I have a use for yer sister.”

Lonn dropped a bundle at Arth’s feet. The boy shifted from side to side. He wanted the food, but his dedication to his sister was admirable, for he tightened his fingers into fists and didn’t reach for the food.

“Eat what ye have earned,” Lonn ordered the boy. “Do nae argue with my arrangements. Yer sister will eat so long as she minds me orders and serves me well. As ye have done.”

Arth needed no further urging. The boy dropped to his haunches and tore open the bundle. Lonn looked back up at the loft room where Jasper was.

At last.

Patience was often the key for dealing with everything in life.

I’ll take revenge for ye at long last, Owen…

Lonn felt his rage boiling. His brother’s name always brought a bitter taste to his mouth as he recalled how Jasper Chattan and the Bitch of Larks Point Tower had strung Owen up on their execution platform.

So what if his brother had tossed a maid’s skirts?

A maid should know better than to think she had the right to refuse.

The kitchens and passageways of Larks Point Tower were brimming full of females and their whelps. What difference did it make if a man who manned the walls of the tower took a little ease between the thighs of one of the hens he safeguarded?

Jasper Chattan had turned a deaf ear to his brother’s plight and had even stood by as Owen was hanged.

Owen was his only true brother in the world.

And Lonn was going to see Jasper swinging from the same rope. The Bitch of Larks Point enjoyed her rules so very much, it was going to be Lonn’s pleasure to see those same mandates used to force Davonna to hang her chief.

*

“Just do itthe way Lonn told ye to,” Arth advised his sister.

Aife looked at her brother.

“Arth has a full belly,” Lonn explained as the girl remained undecided. “There is only one way for ye to take care of him, isn’t that so, Aife?”

Lonn tapped the tabletop. The siblings were standing in front of him as he sat with a full plate of food in front of him.

“I am not a whore,” Aife declared in a low voice.

“Not yet ye are not,” Lonn agreed. “But how long could ye hold out? Yer kin are dead. And Larks Point Tower will nae take yer brother with that brand on his hand.”

Arth shoved his hand into the pleats of his kilt to conceal the T branded onto the top of it.

“No one in Cannons Row will give him a crust of bread without my say so,” Lonn continued. “Ye will do my bidding, or I will make sure yer brother has seen his last meal. If ye want yer future at the expense of yer brother, be on yer way to Larks Point, for they will take ye in. Yer brother, though, he is a thief.”

Aife didn’t move. Her eyes shimmered with tears. “He stole to feed me.”

“Davonna will nae listen to why he turned thief.” Lonn turned the plate around so Aife could get a good look at how much food was on it. She licked her lips as she spied a hunk of cheese. “With the snow here, Arth has no choice but to work for me.”

“He fed me well, Aife,” Arth spoke up. “And I can sleep in the stable with the other lads, too. There is a blanket for me that is all me own.”

“I’m only asking ye to tend to the lady.” Lonn picked up a chicken leg. He rotated it in his fingers as Aife looked at it with longing on her face. “I would think ye would be grateful to have something other than whoring to do. No one else will make ye such an offer.”

Lonn leaned forward and opened his mouth to take a bite of the chicken.

“I’m grateful,” Aife said.

“What is that?” Lonn asked. “I could nae quite hear ye, mistress.”

Aife drew in a deep breath. She fluttered her eyelashes to dispel the unshed tears and smiled sweetly at him.

“I’m very grateful, sir.”

Lonn studied her for a moment. Arth was sending him a bright smile as well. Lonn dropped the chicken leg back onto the plate and slid it across the table toward Aife.

She grabbed at the food. Lonn watched her eat. As starved as she was, it took almost no time at all for her to consume the plate of food.

Like a bitch on the side of the road. There really was little difference.

Lonn snapped his fingers. “Get her cleaned up. Make sure she has no lice, or Jasper Chattan will dismiss her.”

A woman had stepped out of the darkness in the back of the office.

“But keep her clothing,” Lonn added. “That mess she is wearing is pitiful. The sight of it should hook Terin Campbell’s heart.”

The woman waved at Aife to follow her.

“And tell the boys Aife is to remain a virgin,” Lonn warned the woman. “Jasper will nae have a slut tending to his woman.”

Arth followed his sister out of the room.

“See Aife? Did I not tell ye he would be a good master?”

A man behind Lonn snorted in response.

Lonn raised an eyebrow. “Come now, Dorot, am I not a good master?”

Dorot had a bonnet pulled down over his shaved head. He preferred not having anything to be grabbed in a fight. His face was marked with several scars, and when he grinned, only half of his teeth were there. Two other men were hidden in the shadows because a businessman such as Lonn often needed to persuade those who didn’t understand that he was the master.

Dorot was a fighter. One Lonn kept in his employ because Dorot liked cruelty almost as much as winning.

Such a man was useful for a man like Lonn. There was money to make in shady deals. Cannon Row had its dark secrets, many of them belonged to Lonn, and he had Dorot to help him make sure mouths stayed shut.

But the business with Jasper was personal.

Lonn sat back and nodded with satisfaction.

Aye, at long last, he was going to gain his revenge. He’d have to move on from Cannons Row after it was done or risk giving Davonna the chance to retaliate.

Lonn didn’t let that fact bother him. What mattered was taking the pound of flesh he was owed for his brother’s death. A quick tumble wasn’t worth a man’s life. But condemning Owen to hang was worth Jasper Chattan’s life.

And Lonn was going to make sure Jasper Chattan paid the debt.

*

Terin had fallenasleep.

Jasper kept his eyes open. Without his men along, safeguarding her was his duty. Cannons Row had many good men in it, but it was also a place where Jasper and Davonna didn’t make the rules.

Every village had its unsavory elements.

Especially when that village was a thriving one.

Larks Point provided plenty of opportunities for commerce. Prosperity attracted many men interested in gaining profit, and not all of them were honorable.

Still, Cannons Row was a place where Jasper could be private.

That was not something to be underestimated. He’d fought hard to establish his life at Larks Point, yet he was the chief there, and what he wanted with Terin was something he needed to pursue without everyone watching.

He’d lay everything he had at her feet.

She’d be the wife of the chief.

He hoped it would be enough.

He reached out and adjusted the bedding around Terin. In the darkness, he grinned. It was a strange twist of fate that saw him needing to take a lass like Terin away from Larks Point to seduce her into agreeing to wed him.

Most men in Cannons Row didn’t have marriage on their minds as they went about their carousing.

“Did ye bring me here to seduce me?” Terin asked softly.

Jasper watched her look at him.

“I did, lass,” he admitted.

Terin smiled at him. She sat up, holding the blanket to her chest. She winced, drawing a frown from Jasper.

He rolled out of bed and grabbed his shirt. “Stay here. I’ll fetch us some cider.”

“I do nae need anything.”

She started to get out of bed, but Jasper cupped her shoulders to keep her in it.

He sat down beside her, suddenly tongue-tied.

He truly should have paid a wee bit more attention to learning about how to deal with women.

“Forgive me, Terin,” Jasper began. “I do nae have much experience with thinking about how a chamber should be prepared.”

“For more than bedding?” she asked him.

Jasper ducked his chin. Terin reached out and laid her hand against his cheek.

“I have had a fine wedding, Jasper.” Terin drew in a deep breath and released it. “With wine and rosemary-scented sheets. Maids standing throughout the night to see to my comforts.”

She looked around the loft. “I prefer this.”

She started to get up again. “I will go and get us some cider.”

“Stay,” Jasper instructed her firmly. “The dark hours of the night are nae a time for a decent lass to be walking around Cannons Row.”

Terin settled, but she tilted her head to the side and contemplated him. “Yet, ye brought me to such a place…”

“Well, now, lass.” Jasper stood. “Since ye have had a proper wedding and marriage, I thought to prove myself through showing ye that I can give ye a life with a bit of fun mixed into it.”

Terin laughed. It was a soft sound that delighted him in a way Jasper had never realized was possible.

Jasper had to pleat his kilt. Terin watched him as he lay down and buckled his belt around his waist. Once he stood up, she sent him a smile.

Jasper chuckled at himself on his way out of the door. The loft was a place he kept for himself, and yet, had never used before.

Terin had distracted him.

Aye, well, he didn’t lament that part. Not even a wee bit.

But he did chastise himself on the way down the steps for not thinking to have at least a pitcher of water in the loft so he might offer it to her.

What did he know of courting?

Naught.

But there was no help for that now. In a way, perhaps it was better because Terin wouldn’t likely give him a chance to break through her defenses if he followed the rules set down at Larks Point.

Not that he blamed her.

Jasper felt something shift inside him. It was his temper. Only the burn was deeper and far more personal than he was used to encountering.

It was a good thing Goron Duncan was dead.

A very good thing.

Except that Jasper realized he would have enjoyed sending the man to Satan himself.

It was a shocking admission. Jasper was the first to admit he liked a good fight more than he should. But killing, well, that was something to be avoided if possible. Becoming the chief of Larks Point had forced him to take up the position of overseeing the few executions which had been deemed necessary.

He had no taste for it, even when the crimes demanded it.

“Chief.”

Jasper jerked to a stop. The girl in front of him was startled by the way he snapped his attention to her. But she swallowed roughly and offered him a shaky curtsey.

“I thought yer lady might be wanting some wash water,” the girl said.

She was dressed in rags. But her face seemed clean, and her hair was brushed and braided. She had a basin in her hands and a kettle at her feet that she’d settled over a bead of coals that had burned down. In the darkness, they glowed red and orange. The girl had been waiting there for some time.

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “And ye just thought to stand here and wait for me?”

The girl blinked rapidly, rolling her lip in. “I do nae want to be a whore…and ye have no one with ye to tend to yer lady…so I thought…I would make myself useful. Prove meself.”

The girl was shaking. But she made an effort to gather her courage and look straight at him. Jasper contemplated her for a long moment, but she appeared to be telling the truth.

Jasper felt a twinge of guilt. It was growing as he faced the fact that he’d planned to seduce Terin, made arrangements for a private place and bed but never thought beyond that. He knew precious little about how to see to a wife’s needs.

“What is yer name?” Jasper asked.

“Aife.”

“Come along,” Jasper said. “But I warn ye, if ye cause harm to me lady by reporting personal information back to someone, I will nae forgive ye.”

Aife’s eyes widened. Jasper took it as proof that she was taking his warning to heart. He turned and led the way back up the steps.

“Terin, this is Aife.”

*

She didn’t feelguilty.

Terin sat fully dressed as Aife drew a comb through her hair and tried to decide if there was something wrong with her for not being beset by shame.

She was no longer a maiden.

All Terin seemed to feel was relief. Honestly, the matter of her maidenhead had been such a constant source of discussion and warnings, it was really rather nice to be done with the matter at last.

Yer mother would have scolded ye for thinking such…

Well, her mother had died while Terin was on Duncan land.

She’s watching ye from Heaven.

Perhaps, but was it so wrong for Terin to hope that her mother might be happy to see her daughter enjoying life?

There was a rap on the door. Jasper opened it after a moment.

“I brought ye some food, lass,” he said.

Terin saw Jasper looking at Aife. The girl was silent, even her steps didn’t seem to raise any sound. She was pitifully thin, and the fear in her eyes tugged at Terin’s heart.

“Thank ye for bringing Aife to tend me,” Terin said.

Jasper shifted his attention to Terin. “She had the fore thought to make ready a few things for ye.”

Jasper looked back at Aife. “How long have ye been at Cannons Row?”

“Not long,” Aife answered.

The girl finished with Terin’s hair before she stepped back and folded her hands in front of her.

“By the look of ye,” Jasper continued, “yer life has been difficult for some time.”

“Me parents died of fever last year,” Aife spoke quietly. “I found work through the spring and summer at the fleece fairs.”

Such work would have been back-breaking. Terin sent a look toward Jasper.

“Ye should come up to Larks Point,” Jasper suggested. “My lady has no personal staff just yet.”

Aife’s face brightened. She smiled at Jasper before dropping them a quick reverence.

“I will tell the gate to expect ye tomorrow afternoon, Aife,” Jasper continued. “Ye may go now.”

Aife didn’t waste any time. She likely thought to impress Jasper with her immediate obedience. A moment later, Terin was alone with him.

“I have no means of providing for staff,” Terin said.

Jasper brought the plate with the food on it closer. It was a fine offering, with cheese and bread and nuts. He poured a measure of cider into a mug and sat it next to her hand.

“I will see to yer needs, Terin.”

His tone made it clear Jasper wasn’t open to any discussion.

Terin discovered herself torn as she lifted the goblet up and drew off a long sip of the brew.

Part of her wanted to refuse.

But there was something else inside her that enjoyed the way he was seeing to her comforts.

After all, he’d had her.

And outside the bonds of matrimony.

She had known what she was about. Understood completely the fact that Jasper was not making her any promises.

Maybe ye wanted to test him…

If so, he was passing the test very well.

“Stop overthinking the matter, Terin,” Jasper popped a chunk of cheese into his mouth. “Unless ye want to be here at sunrise,” he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, “I have no argument with that at all.”

Which would mean they’d be missed at Larks Point.

“Let’s return to Larks Point,” Terin rose from the bench she was sitting on. Jasper’s expression tightened.

“I just don’t want to discuss our private matters with others,” Terin added.

Jasper nodded, his expression easing. “I’ll accept that for the moment. Keep Aife as yer attendant then, for she has no friends at Larks Point to gossip with.”

Jasper turned and pushed the door open. Terin stood in place, caught between the need to argue with him about providing for her and the desire to return to Larks Point in time to go undiscovered.

In the end, she followed him out of the door. Beating the sunrise would grant her the time to think through her feelings and decide what she wanted to do.

*

Lonn grinned.

Aife shifted back.

Good.She knew to be afraid of him.

“Ye’ll keep yer mouth shut,” Lonn warned Aife. “Jasper did nae become chief by being a fool. He’ll have ye watched. Ye can be sure of that.”

Aife nodded.

“Are ye a virgin?” Lonn demanded.

Aife’s eye widened.

“Me sister is nae a lightskirt,” Arth defended her.

Lonn sent a look toward one of the men in the room. There was a sharp sound as he stepped forward and slapped Arth. The boy staggered under the blow.

“Ye will mind yer place,” Lonn instructed the boy. “Ye speak only when I ask ye to. And ye both work for me. If I want to know if yer sister still has her maidenhead, she will answer me.” Lonn looked at Aife. “I warned ye once that yer brother has no one but me. Best for ye to understand that ye should mind me, or he will suffer for yer disobedience.”

“I am a maiden,” Aife answered.

Lonn tapped the tabletop for a moment. He came to a decision and pointed at Aife.

“Ye’ll walk up to Larks Point and take the position,” Lonn instructed her. “Keep yer mouth and yer thighs shut but yer eyes open. I’ll have someone come to ye when I am ready for information.”

Lonn pointed them both toward the door.

Aife made sure her brother left the room first.

“Oh, and Aife?” Lonn called after her.

She turned in the doorway to look back at him.

“Turn on me, and I will send ye yer brother one bit at a time.”

Lonn enjoyed the horror which took control of her face. Her jaw mouth dropped open before she shut it with a click of her teeth and scurried out of the room.