“Douglas went to Tam,” he said after a while, then frowned. “I wish I could teach your men to come to me,” he said in disgust. “I seem to hear everything second-hand.”
Bronwyn had her mouth and both hands full of food. “Douglas was merely being an obedient son.”
“Son? What are you talking about?”
She blinked at him. “Douglas is Tam’s son.”
“But I thought Tam’s son was killed.”
She gave him a look of disgust as she buttered a piece of black bread. “A man may have more than one son. My father said Tam was trying to make his own clan. He has an even dozen sons, or did have until you English killed one.”
Stephen put his hand up in defense. “Who are they?”
“Douglas, Alex, Jarl, Francis, are the oldest. Then he has some boys who are too young to fight, and his new wife is about to bear him a new one any day.”
Stephen chuckled. It was always the quiet ones you needed to watch.
“You haven’t answered my questions,” Bronwyn said, not anywhere near to slowing down her eating. “And why did you bring me here?”
“I thought the ride might cool my temper, and I didn’t want your men interfering,” he said before answering her other questions.
“Tam tried to wake me but he couldn’t.” He gave Bronwyn a chastising look, but she ignored him. “Morag made me drink some disgusting concoction that nearly killed me. Before I could recover, I was on a horse and we were running along the cliff path. We got there just as Alex was being pulled up.”
He put down the chicken leg he was eating and gave her a searching look. “Why did you have to go over the side? Why the hell did those men of yours allow you to do that?”
She set down the scone she was eating. “Can’t you ever understand? I am the MacArran. It is I who allows or disallows. My men follow my orders, not the other way around.”
Stephen rose to put more peat on the fire. His English upbringing warred within him. “But you’re not strong. What if Alex had been unconscious and couldn’t have helped you? You haven’t the muscle to lift the dead weight of a man.”
She was patient with him, realizing that he was trying to understand. “I went myself because I’m small. There was very little room on the ledge, and I felt I could move about more easily than a large man. As for lifting Alex, I can’t lift his entire body but I knew I could get a rope under enough parts of him so that he could be pulled up. If I thought there’d been a better chance for Alex by sending someone else, I wouldn’t have hesitated. I always try to do what is best for my people.”
“Damn!” Stephen said fiercely, then jerked her to her feet. “I don’t like hearing words of wisdom from a woman.”
She blinked, then smiled at his honesty. “Don’t you know some good leaders who use their heads instead of their muscles?”
He stared at her, then pulled her into his arms, his hand buried in her hair. “I was so angry,” he whispered, “I didn’t at first believe the men when they told me where you were. I don’t think I breathed until I saw that you were all right.”
She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes searching his face. “If I had been killed, I’m sure Tam would have given some of my estates to you.”
“Estates!” he gasped, then pushed her head back to his shoulder. “Sometimes you are a stupid woman. I should punish you for that insult.” He wouldn’t let her move when she tried to. “I think maybe I will delay your eating,” he said huskily. He lifted her face and kissed her greedily, laughing at the grease on her lips. “You’re an earthy thing,” he said, then said no more as she slipped her arms around his neck.
It took only moments to renew his passion. Recalling the events of the morning, his fear for her while she’d been suspended against a sheer rock wall, made him kiss her almost in desperation. He held her face in his hands, his tongue sweetly drawing on her nectar.
He put his arms beneath her knees and carefully laid her by the fire. He took his time undressing her, unbuckling her belt, then kissing her stomach. He slid her plaid away from her hips, then kissed her legs, the whole golden length of them.
“Come to me,” she whispered.
But it was his turn to be the torturer. He pushed her pleading hands away, then began unbuttoning her blouse. He kissed each patch of skin at it was bared and smiled when she arched toward him.
He only laughed when she pulled on his hair, demanding that he come to her. He shook his head vigorously, his face buried in her breasts, and her hands fell away. He sat back on his heels and looked at her. Her body was so beautiful.
She opened her eyes to stare up at him and wondered what he was thinking. She watched as he threw off his clothes and came to lay beside her. She gasped as his skin touched hers.
It was warm in the room, but their hot skin touching made it an inferno. “Stephen,” she whispered, the word sounding almost like an endearment.
“Yes,” he murmured before pulling her under him.
In spite of their passion their lovemaking was slow. They took their time with each other. Bronwyn pushed Stephen to his back once and controlled their movements. Then, as their desire rose, faster and higher, Stephen shoved Bronwyn to the floor for the last few deep, hard thrusts.