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  “This way, love,” Gybbon said. “Ye ride me.”

  “I dinnae understand.”

  “Put me inside ye, lass.”

  Gybbon struggled for some control over the fierce desire gripping him. He was so desperate to be inside her that even the way she fumbled as she tried to unite their bodies excited him beyond words simply because her hand was wrapped around his shaft. After only a moment, however, he moved to show her what she needed to do, placing his hand over hers to help her aim him in the right direction. The moment he began to ease inside her, he yanked her hand away and pushed deep inside. He knew he should go slowly but the way her tight heat wrapped around him seared away the last of his control. A small part of him was aware of how she began to move on him, revealing the same greed infecting him, and he gave himself over to the passion ruling them both.

  Alice’s release came quickly. Gybbon felt her body clench around him as she cried out his name in an alluring mixture of delight and surprise. Then she fell against him and he growled with pleasure as she sank her teeth into his chest.

  Gybbon looked down at her feeding from him and shuddered from the force of the ecstasy pouring through his body. His dark hunger grew and his fangs ached for the taste of her. Since he could not reach her neck and did not want to stop her, he grabbed her arm and brought her wrist to his mouth, sinking his fangs into her soft flesh. As the taste of her entered his mouth, she shook with another release, her heat constricting around him. He held her writhing hips steady and thrust deep inside her, once, before joining her in rapture’s fall.

  Alice blinked as she realized she was still sprawled on top of Gybbon, her cheek pressed against his broad chest. As her mind cleared a little more and she recalled all that had just happened, she did not know whether to be embarrassed or to spring up and do a dance of joy. She started to lift her head and her gaze fell on his chest, upon the mark she recognized all too well even though it was already faint and growing fainter. All her joy over conquering her fear, over finding out what pleasure could be found in a man’s arms, faded away so quickly she felt chilled.

  “I bit ye,” she whispered in shock as she slowly sat up. “I fed from ye.”

  “Aye, that ye did.” Gybbon idly wondered when she would recall that she was as naked as he was as he savored the sight of her soft skin and full breasts. He hoped it would not be too soon. “I bit ye, too.”

  Alice frowned at him. “Why do ye sound so pleased by that?”

  “Because I am.” He lightly trailed his fingers over her taut stomach, enjoying the way her skin flushed beneath his touch, and thinking that even her belly hole was beautiful. He almost laughed at how besotted he was. “Lass, we may nay be Purebloods, but we are MacNachtons.”

  “But I didnae need to feed. I am nay wounded. I—” She ceased talking when he pressed a finger to her lips.

  “E’en people who arenae of our ilk give each other wee love bites whilst in the throes of passion. Alice, for a MacNachton who still feels the dark hunger of what we just did, the sharing of our blood only adds to the pleasure to be found in lovemaking. It can make it richer, wilder, fiercer. Aye?”

  She blushed. “Aye. I think it will take me a wee while to shake free of fearing all that has made me different.”

  When she felt his hand enclose her breast, she sighed with pleasure until she realized that they were both still naked. With a squeak of embarrassment, she tried to scramble off him and get her clothes, only to find herself on her back with a grinning Gybbon crouched over her. She could not stop herself from looking at him, at his big strong body. He was all lean muscles and smooth skin. Her hands itched to touch him.

  “We have at least another hour ere the sun sets, Alice Boyd,” he said and kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Ye want to do that again?” Even as she asked that question she felt him grow hard against her.

  “Shall we try it this way? Do ye think ye are ready for that?”

  “Do ye think I grew afraid because of ye being on top of me? It cannae be that simple, can it?”

  “Nay, but once passion clouded your wits, I think it became that way.” Gybbon brushed his lips over hers. “The moment ye feel that old fear nudging at ye, give me a wee push and I will turn us around.”

  The sun had fully set by the time Alice opened her eyes again. She blinked a few times before she could see clearly and then studied the man snoring softly with his head pillowed on her breasts. He was so handsome it made her heart ache. So, too, did the knowledge that he was not for her. Gybbon MacNachton was too fine for a shepherd’s daughter. Her mother had been from a better-bred, more prosperous family, but that mattered little to people. All the finer things her mother had brought to the family were gone, anyway. There was no land or coin or even linen Alice could bring to a marriage, even if Gybbon had any inclination to offer her such a thing. All she had to offer was her heart, and a man like Gybbon MacNachton looked for more than that when he sought out a wife.

  She pushed away those thoughts, for they made her eyes sting with tears she knew she could not shed. Instead she thought on the passion she and Gybbon had shared, and would share again if only for a little while. No matter what else happened between her and Gybbon, Alice knew she would always be grateful for the healing he had brought her. She knew he had not slain all her dragons, but he had cut the chains fear had wrapped around her.

  When the man she had thought was asleep suddenly pushed himself up onto his forearms and gave her a quick hard kiss, she heard herself squeak in surprise. “I thought ye were asleep.”

  “I was,” he said as he forced himself to leave her arms and reached for his clothes. “But I fear we cannae rest and enjoy each other any longer. I think ’tis also time we make straight for Cambrun.”

  Alice hurriedly dressed, regretting the abrupt end to her time in his arms but knowing it was necessary. “There are only two Hunters left. I didnae kill those other two men but I cannae see them continuing on with the wounds I gave them. Dinnae ye think Callum will give up now?” As she laced up her gown she turned to look at him and could tell by the expression on his face that she was not going to like his answer.

  “The wounded men may weel give up but I am nay sure Callum will e’er stop.” He pulled her into his arms and lightly kissed her frowning mouth. “I think ’tis more than some crusade to rid the land of perceived demons that keeps that mon on your trail, sweet Alice.”

  “He wants me and Donn dead, aye? We are living proof of what he sees as his sin and his shame.”

  Gybbon nodded as he rolled up the blankets. “In his mind, ’tis all your fault that he fell from grace and ye must pay. What troubles me most is that he spoke of capturing ye and taking ye back to the mon who sent these Hunters out. I wish I had had the chance to kill him for that thought alone.”

  “I would still be alive, though.”

  “Ye would soon wish that ye were dead.” He put his arm around her shoulder when she paled a little at the hard fury in his voice. “Trust me in that, loving. My cousins Heming and Tearlach suffered mightily when they were held captive. Naked, caged, and chained, they were beaten, cut, and bled. Our enemies search for our weaknesses. The ones who held my cousins had a plan that, if they shared it with others, could cause the MacNachtons far more trouble than they have now.”

  “What could be worse than being treated as if we are evil demons, like we are naught but beasts?”

  “They decided that the secret to the MacNachtons’ strength and long lives is in their blood.” He nodded when she paled again. “Aye. Just before Heming was freed, his rescuers heard his captors talk of making a potion from his blood and, if it made them stronger, to keep him alive so that they could keep dosing themselves.”

  “And they think we are evil?”

  Gybbon almost grinned at her use of the word “we.” She was already thinking of herself as a MacNachton. It would make settling her at Cambrun a lot easier. He glanced at the mark on her neck, one she had not noticed yet,
and felt his chest swell with pride and possession. She was his and that mark would let every MacNachton male know it. When they had the time, were no longer eluding an enemy, he would let her know it, too.

  Chapter Eight

  “Cowards!”

  Callum stood staring at the empty campsite, his hands clenched into fists at his side. His men had deserted him. That would not make him turn back, he swore. He could not. He had to clean away the sin on his soul. As long as Alice Boyd and her bastard lived, his weakness and his shame were there for anyone to see. He could never redeem himself as long as she and her son drew breath.

  He looked at the place where the MacNachton beast had been tethered, at the remains of the ropes that had held the man in place. He should have killed the demon the moment he had brought him down. Callum cursed and kicked at the dirt. Now he was one against two, but he would not run with his tail tucked between his legs like the others had.

  There was no going home for him until Alice Boyd and her bastard child were dead. He could not allow that proof of his weakness, of his succumbing to temptation and breeding evil, to walk around. The stain on his honor, on his soul, had to be cleansed with the blood of the ones who had put it there.

  “I will see her dead,” he vowed. “And then I will search for that bastard she bred and see it in the ground. On this I swear.”

  Alice cautiously eased away from a sleeping Gybbon’s warm body and ignored the immediate chill of loss that swept over her. She was getting far too accustomed to the feel of him at her side, of sleeping wrapped in his arms. Worse, she was becoming too bewitched by the pleasure she could find there. Alice hated to think of how much it was going to hurt when he left her, when their love affair ended as such things too often did. She just hoped she had the strength and dignity not to make a fool of herself when his ardor began to cool and he looked elsewhere for his pleasure.

  She sat up and looked around her, then grimaced. They slept surrounded by the dead. She was not one given to fears about ghosts but she reluctantly admitted to herself that bedding down in a crypt caused her a shiver or two. It had actually taken Gybbon a moment or two to kiss and caress away her unease and turn her full attention to the passion that burned so hot between them. Now looking at the stone coffins and effigies carved on the lids made her feel embarrassed. It seemed disrespectful to make love in such a place. She also prayed that there really were no such things as ghosts or they would have gotten an eyeful during the hours she and Gybbon had sheltered here.

  She stood up and dressed. Alice suspected the sun was still up, still too much of a danger to Gybbon, but that it was probably safe enough for her to go outside. They needed food. Their supplies were almost gone and she doubted there would be much chance to stop anywhere and gain more before they got to Cambrun. A meal of rabbit or fowl would give them some strength for the rest of their journey.

  As she collected her bow and arrow, she pushed aside the small voice that told her to stay where she was. They had seen no sign of the Hunters for three days. It was obvious that the men she had wounded had needed care and she was sure they would have needed at least one of the last two hale men to help them get it. Alice did not think even Callum would hunt her and Gybbon all on his own. She ignored the little whisper of caution in her mind, the one trying to remind her that Callum was not completely sane when it came to her.

  Slipping out of the little church the crypt lay beneath, she looked around to be sure no one was near before hurrying into the shelter of the wood. It was yet another sunny day and she was beginning to think some mean spirit was keeping the weather so fine just to make matters more difficult for her and Gybbon. Smiling at such a foolish thought, she set her mind to getting her and Gybbon some meat.

  The sun was nearly finished setting by the time Alice had caught a rabbit and prepared it for the spit. Her hunt had been quickly successful but not as quick as she had thought. She cursed herself for becoming too intent upon the hunt and not paying attention to how much time had passed. Gybbon would awaken soon, if he had not already, and he would wonder where she was. She might not be certain of the depth of what he felt for her, but she knew he would worry about her if he found her gone. Wrapping the carcass of the rabbit in a scrap of cloth, she shoved it into her quiver and hurried back toward the church, a little surprised at how far she had gone.

  A faint rustle of leaves was her only warning and it came too late for her to save herself. She was just drawing her dagger from its sheath when a body slammed into her back. Alice hit the ground hard, the fall and the heavy weight on her back robbing her of the ability to breathe. She could only flail weakly as her weapons were torn from her and tossed out of her reach.

  “Finally, ye demon bitch,” rasped a voice that sent chills down her spine. “Finally, I have ye. Where are your wee bastard and that devil ye have taken as your lover?”

  Still struggling to regain her breath, Alice replied, “I dinnae ken who ye are talking about.”

  Callum turned her onto her back, straddling her and pinning her wrists to the ground with his knees. He had obviously learned a thing or two from the last time he had captured her, she thought a little wildly. Alice felt the old fear he had bred in her start to stir, but fought it. She needed to keep her wits about her if she had any chance of surviving this confrontation. A quick glance around revealed that Callum was alone and she cursed herself for not heeding the instinct that had tried to make her stay inside the crypt with Gybbon, the one that had tried to argue her assumption that Callum would not continue the hunt on his own.

  He slapped her. “Lying bitch. Ye will tell me where they are.”

  “So ye can kill them? Nay, Callum. Ye will nay beat or frighten me into giving ye more innocents to slaughter as ye slaughtered my family. Even if I was fool enough to believe ye would let me live, I willnae buy my life with the blood of others.”

  “Your family were demons! A foul affront to God’s eyes.”

  “They were just trying to live, to raise a family. They ne’er hurt anyone.” Alice knew that trying to reason with this man was a waste of words, but it might buy her enough time to think of a way to escape. It might even buy enough time for Gybbon to come looking for her.

  “Ye cannae say that about your braw lover, can ye? He has killed four of my men and he drank their blood. We found one of the bodies and ye could see the marks in the neck where he sank those fangs in and sucked out the mon’s soul along with his blood. And ye tried to kill the rest of my men.”

  “Did ye expect me to stand still and let ye kill me? I fight because ye willnae leave me alone. Ye mean to kill me and my bairn. Aye, I fight as would anyone. Wanting to live hardly makes me a demon. Or Gybbon evil. And there is no soul sucking, ye great fool. Someone is telling ye a lot of lies and ye are getting your hands bloodied for naught.”

  He pressed the blade of his knife against her throat. “Ye are the creations of the devil and he always makes his minions take souls. Ye have to hide in the shadows and ye feed on people like wild beasts do. There is naught ye can say to change that or what it makes ye. Now tell me where he is.”

  “Nay.”

  She bit back a cry of pain when he coldly thrust his knife into her shoulder. Breathing deeply to try and push aside the agony as he pulled the knife free, she looked up into his cold eyes. Too many wounds like that and she would never regain enough strength to fight him.

  “I ken ye and your ilk have a lot of strength,” he said as he tore the shoulder of her gown aside to stare at the wound he had delivered. “And ye heal fast, dinnae ye. But ye still bleed and, with enough wounds, with enough of your blood spilled into the dirt, ye will die. Then what will happen to your wee bastard?”

  “He will live, for he is where ye will never reach him.”

  “Nay, he is close. Ye would ne’er let him leave ye, nay after dragging him about with ye for years. And e’en if ye have tucked him somewhere ye wouldnae leave your braw lover, would ye. Nay, a whore cannae last long without a m
on between her thighs. Weel, I willnae weaken this time. I willnae let ye take my seed and corrupt it into the devil’s weapon.”

  “Oh, ’tis all my fault ye are a raping, brutish swine, is it? Is that how ye free yourself of any guilt for what ye did?”

  “Ye were bred by the devil to tempt a mon but I am wiser now.”

  “Ye are certainly madder now,” she muttered and she tried to buck him off her, furious at her failure to move him even a little.

  “Where is your lover?”

  “Here, ye mad bastard.”

  Callum was yanked off her and seemed to fly through the air. Alice stared up at Gybbon, but he gave her just one furious glare before turning his attention to Callum. The fury in Gybbon was so strong and fierce, Alice was surprised it was not lighting up the woods with its heat. She scrambled up on her knees and, afraid that she would faint if she stood up, crawled backward until she was out of the way of the fight she knew was to come.

  It surprised her when Callum got to his feet with no sign that being tossed through the air had injured him. She had to wonder if madness gave him strength. The man drew his sword and faced Gybbon looking as if he actually thought he had a chance to win this fight. Gybbon had also drawn his sword and just stood there, obviously wanting for Callum to make the first move.

  “Ye willnae take my soul, demon,” Callum said.

  “I wouldnae want the foul thing,” replied Gybbon.

  “Ye and your ilk are doomed, ye ken. We will hunt ye down and slaughter ye until there isnae a one of ye left, mon, woman, or bairn.”

  “I ken it. ’Tis why I will feel no sorrow over killing ye, e’en if ye are a pitiful fool. Of course, after what ye did to Alice, I do feel a wee bit inclined to make your death as slow and painful as I can.”

  “She is a whore, a tool of the devil sent to tempt a righteous mon into sin,” Callum yelled.

  “It isnae wise to anger me, Callum. Ye make that wee inclination I just mentioned become stronger. Now, do ye fight or do ye mean to keep trying to talk me to death? Ah, but wait, mayhap I should offer ye the same chance to survive as ye offered me. Tell me the name of the laird who sent ye after Alice and I will give ye a chance to flee.”