Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

will bleed.”
    Finally feeling a little anger of her own, she twisted free of his hands, ignored her bare feet, and walked back to his horse. She waited for Kevin to mount, let Thomas lift her and decided to see to her own comfort. Her legs were over Kevin’s leg and the bruise on the side of her knee was touching it. So when she noticed Thomas folding the extra plaid, she said, “May I have that?”
    “Aye.” When she pointed to her knee, he folded the plaid smaller and slipped it under her leg.
    Next, she moved Kevin’s arm lower on her hip. Then she touched the piece of plaid over his shoulder and looked up at him. He realized it was not soft enough, pulled the cloth out of his belt, and tossed it over his shoulder. Then he opened his shirt so even it would not chafe her skin.
    The one thing she couldn’t do anything about was the inside of her mouth. The cut, apparently from her own teeth, went all the way from her lip to the back of her jaw. It was swollen on the inside too and each up and down movement of the horse made her teeth go into the cut again. The last thing she did was turn enough to put her head against his bare chest so she could hear his heart again. Then she grabbed hold of his arm, closed her eyes and relaxed.
    Kevin was surprised by her boldness. She was showing him how not to hurt her and he was grateful. She was also holding on tight so he could go faster and he couldn’t help himself. He softly laid his cheek against the top of her head. “Tell me if you need to stop again.” He felt her slight nod.
    He had ridden hard to get to her, but he wasn’t about to ride that hard getting her back and only urged the horse to gallop. It was still a long ride and Kevin noticed Thomas often looking at her face. She was still bleeding, but Thomas didn’t seem too concerned, so Kevin kept going. He knew she wasn’t sleeping; she still had a grip on his arm and he realized it was a good way to know she was still alive. The priest, he noticed, was praying and crossing himself often.
    He should have sent the guard all the way to her home instead of arranging to meet her half way. At the time, he felt it would keep her from having to spend a night in the forest alone with his men. He knew his men would honor her, but she didn’t know that.
    She moved.
    He quickly lowered his head. “Do you want to stop?” He felt her shake her head a little, but he slowed the horse anyway and his men slowed with him. She shifted her weight, adjusted her arms and relaxed again. “I am very sorry you are hurt,” he softly said.
    Anna ignored him. She was too tired to hold on any longer and needed to find a more comfortable position for her hand. She tried moving it to her lap, but his arm was in the way. He started to lift it so she could slip her arm under his, but she gently pushed it back down.
    It was then he noticed how cold her hand was and slowed the horse even more. “I won’t let you fall. Use my warmth, Anna.”
    She tried a couple of different positions before she finally turned her upper body a little more toward him and tucked her hand inside his shirt just above his belt. The warmth felt wonderful and she wanted to consume all of it. It seemed , as long as she could feel his warmth and hear his heart, she coul d stand the pain. Why was that?
    He started them moving faster again, although she had to be suffering, and he wasn ’ t convince d it was the right thing to do. She never made a sound and he greatly admired her for it. He wasn’t sure even he was that brave.
    At last, he slowed the horse to a walk and led the way back across the drawbridge. Almost every adult in the clan was gathered in the courtyard silently watching. It was supposed to be a celebration when he met his intended, but everything was different now. She was not covered, his followers couldn’t help but see the damage, and several lowered their eyes.
    Then he saw it. As he neared the steps, he noticed the women had left gifts for his wife, one on each step. There was a brush for her hair -- what was left of it, several soft cloths for her to wash with, new shirts and plaids, shoes, soap and soft leather belts. Each gift was adorned with flower petals and Kevin couldn’t have been more pleased.
    He glanced at the faces of the women and nodded his appreciation. “We are home,” he whispered. He waited until Anna sat up straight, got down and lifted her to the ground. Then he held on until he was sure she had her balance.