Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

a horse again and when she looked around, Threcher was nowhere in sight. She wrinkled her brow and wondered if she dreamed the whole thing.

    It took longer to get to the Cameron hold than it normally would have. Rachel was so sore from riding the day before, she was having a hard time sitting. “Can we walk for a while?”
    “We can do anything you like.”
    “Anything?”
    Connor wasn’t quite sure what he might be agreeing to so he didn’t answer. He got off his horse, walked around to hers and lifted her down. He didn’t let go of her waist and waited to see what she would do about it. It was possible she didn’t remember a lot about what happened the night before. He wanted to hold her and kiss her again, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel about it.
    She looked up into his eyes, “I dreamed you kissed me.”
    “It was not a dream.”
    She slipped her hands around his neck. “Do you plan to kiss me again anytime soon?”
    “Very soon.” The moment she touched him, he felt like his heart would beat out of his chest. “Is now soon enough?”
    Rachel wanted him to kiss her very much, but she wanted to tell him something first. With her fingertips, she brushed a lock of hair off his forehead and took a deep breath. “I was so alone and all I could think about was you. I wanted you to put another flower on my head and I wanted you to hold me and never let me go. I was frightened I would never see you again.”
    He gently kissed her lips. “I thought of nothing but you too. I am so happy you are alive. You scared the hell out of us.”
    “I promise I will never do that again. I thought I could protect myself as good as any man...I was daft.”
    It made him laugh. “Aye, you were. Are you more sensible now?”
    “Nay.”
    “Why not?”
    “You hav e not yet kissed me.”
    He looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, Rachel. I will love only you until the day I die.” Then he kissed her, softly at first until he felt her tighten her hold, and then he kissed her the way he dreamed of kissing her from the first time he noticed her.
    They held each other for a very long time and kissed again. Then he remembered there was a war and he needed to get back.
    But Rachel spotted a pond and wanted to bathe. She didn’t want her mother to see her all dirty. “But you will not look, will you?”
    “I will not look until our wedding night.”
    “Good.”
    When he turned his back, he smiled and wondered if she realized she had just agreed to marry him.
    She realized. Her smile was even wider than his and she could hardly contain her excitement. She hurried to strip down, walk into the water neck deep, wash her face , then her hair and get out. She shook the dirt out of her clothes and dressed again.
    Her hair was wet, but he didn’t mind when she came around and went back into his arms.
    She laid her head on his chest and suddenly got serious. “Do not die in this war, Connor. I do not want to live without you.”
    “I will not die.”

    It was another hour before they turned up the road to the Cameron hold and saw Catherin and Anna sitting with Kevin’s sons in the grass outside. Rachel moved her horse close to Connor’s and let him lift her into his lap. She kissed him passionately, held him tight for a long moment, and then slid down. Then she started to run and didn’t stop until she was in her mother’s arms. When she looked back, her eyes were glued to Connor’s until he turned and rode away, taking her horse with him.

    CHAPTER VII

    It was five long days before the Fergusons decided to take their chances and fight. They hid behind the darkness of night and slid down ropes on the outside of the wall to the moat. On the other side of the moat, the MacGreagor and Cameron warriors were waiting. When Kevin gave the order, men began to run around the moat lighting torches , and soon the air was filled with the sounds of clashing swords, shouts and the screams o f men as they met their deaths.
    The MacGreagors were so filled with rage over the slain family and the attack on their home, that half the Fergusons didn’t even make it out of the water. The other half was so poorly trained, cutting them down seemed like child’s play. There was little honor in a battle against helpless men and Kevin soon called a halt to the slaughter. He told Justin and Connor to ride around the village and estimate the number of Fergusons now outside. Most were, so he sent several men back through the hidden doors