Born in Sin (14 page)

“Lay on, Sin, and taste your first defeat.”

“’Tis your own feet you’ll be tasting, Draven-boy. There shall never come a day when you can best me.”

Draven paused at the door and looked back to the hearth. “Come, Simon, and watch your foster brother eat crow.”

The men slammed their helmets on, clanged their swords together, then headed outside.

“Simon?” Callie asked. “Should I be worried?”

They heard a scream from outside the door.

“I think we should be worried,” Emily said as she scrambled to her feet and rushed for the door.

Simon grabbed Hen and they followed Emily to see the men outside in the yard.

“Alys?” Emily asked an attractive, dark-haired maid who appeared to be around Emily’s age. The woman stood with her hand over her heart as if she’d suffered a horrendous fright. “Are you all right?”

“Aye,” Alys said, “but your husband is dangerous with that sword, milady.”

“You have no idea,” Simon muttered as he approached the men. He flashed a bright smile at the maid, who blushed prettily, then hastened off.

As soon as the men locked swords, a small crowd of servants and knights formed to watch them. Emily and Callie exchanged a frustrated, weary look, then went to try and break them up.

It didn’t work.

Hours went by as Sin and Draven attempted to pummel each other into the ground.

After a time, Jamie got up from his nap, played with Hen, then both were tucked into bed. Supper was served, eaten and then grew cold all the while they waited for the two combatants to grow up and join them.

Even the crowd outside dispersed as the watchers made their way to their own beds.

Finally, Emily had a brilliant idea. She and Callie made platters, then took them outside where their husbands were still fighting.

Someone, most likely Draven, had ordered rush-lights lit around the list so that they could see each other even in the darkness of night. In spite of the lunacy of their actions, Callie did have to admire them. They were both extraordinary fighters, especially given the fact they had been at this for many hours.

“Mmmm,” Emily said, taking a whiff of the roasted venison in cherry sauce. “Callie, you must take a bite of this. ’Tis the best venison our cook has ever prepared.”

The men slowed a bit as they craned their necks to see.

Callie took a bite and moaned in exaggerated bliss. “You are right. ’Tis marvelous. Delicious.” She cast a sideways glance to see the men stopping. “The best I have
ever
eaten.”

Sin’s stomach rumbled at the thought of the banquet the ladies held. He hadn’t eaten much of anything that day. But Satan’s throne would freeze before he ceded this battle to Draven.

“You’re looking a bit weak,” Draven taunted. “Methinks you need a bite to replenish your feeble strength.”

“My strength is nowhere near as feeble as your brain.”

They began hammering blows again.

Callie and Emily exchanged annoyed glares. Men!

They looked to Simon, whose platter was almost cleared of food. “What?” he asked innocently.

“What are we to do now?” Callie asked.

Simon shrugged and finished his food.

Emily set the platters aside and thought the matter through for several minutes. “My maid Alys once told me that if you flash a little ankle, a man will follow you anywhere.”

Simon snorted. “Trust me, ’twould take more than an ankle to dislodge those two.”

Emily loosened the top laces of her gown. Simon discreetly turned his back while she went closer to the men. “You know, Callie, ’tis rather warm out tonight. Perhaps I should dampen my kirtle until it’s sodden and hangs transparent against my skin.”

Draven stumbled at her words.

“Is that what you English do when you’re warm?” Callie asked as she joined her. “At home we merely remove our plaids and walk about…bare.”

Sin snapped his head toward her.

Callie fingered the pin on her shoulder. “It only takes unfastening one brooch to remove the entire thing.”

Draven growled and rushed Sin, catching him about the middle and knocking him back.

Sin roared and attacked full force.

Emily sighed as they continued their battle. “I think we only made it worse.”

They turned to look at Simon, who was now poking around the other two platters and eating the food from them.

“What?” he asked again as he realized he held their full attention.

Emily put her hands on her hips. “Is there truly nothing you can do?”

Simon dropped the food in his hand and straightened. “Should I do this, then I want both of you to promise me you will grab your husbands before I am gelded.”

“We will,” they promised in unison.

“You had better.”

Straightening his tunic with a tug, Simon moved closer until he stood just a little way from the other two men. “Draven,” he said, his voice falsetto. “What a big, strong warrior you are. Why, it makes my heart pound the way you move. You’re such a great hero.”

Sin laughed out loud.

Draven merely growled again.

Simon turned his attention away from his brother. “And Sin, such a great big, tough knight you are. Why, I just don’t know if I can stand here and watch you. It makes me all jittery.”

Sin laughed no longer.

Simon turned to look at Callie and Emily. “Ladies, while the men play with each other’s swords, what say you we adjourn inside and Emily can show me all about damp kirtles and Cal—”

Before he could finish the sentence, Draven and Sin charged him.

Sin caught him about the neck at the same time Draven caught his waist. Together they lifted him from his feet and tossed him into a water trough.

No doubt they would have done more damage had Callie and Emily not run forward to grab them.

Callie pulled Sin’s helm from his head and kissed him quickly before he could get away.

Sin froze at the taste of his wife’s cool lips against his hot mouth.

He was weary beyond simple endurance, and sweating, yet she didn’t seem to notice the stench of him.

She pulled back and gave him a smile. “Tell me honestly, are you not famished, my lord?”

Aye, he was. He starved for her in a way that was truly terrifying.

Draven made a disgusted noise, distracting him. “I’ll go in when Sin cedes defeat.”

“You’ll go inside right now,” his wife said, “or you’ll be sleeping in the stable this night.”

Sin opened his mouth to taunt Draven but was
stopped by Callie’s hand on his lips. “One word from you and you shall join him.”

Simon’s laughter rang out as he dripped his way toward them. “Who would have ever thought the two greatest knights in England could be laid low by simple maids?”

Both men growled and would have seized Simon had their wives not taken their arms.

“Boys,” Emily said, her voice stern. “Would you please behave and go inside to eat? You’ve done quite enough damage to poor Simon and to each other for one night.”

“Yea,” Simon said, wringing his shirt. “Besides, I know not why you’re angry at me. You two get to go to bed with these two beautiful ladies, while I get to cuddle my pillow.”

Emily patted his wet arm. “Poor Simon, ever abused. We shall have to find a wife for you, isn’t that right, Callie?”

“Aye, we shall.”

Callie could swear she saw a look of panic cross Simon’s face.

They went inside to eat while Simon headed up to his room to dry off.

After the men had finished eating, Callie took Sin to their room, where she could help him remove his armor.

“You must be terribly sore,” she said, noting the bruises and red marks on his flesh. Luckily, there were no wounds.

Sin scoffed. “’Twas friendly exercise. I am fine.”

“Friendly? Well then, I pray I never see you fight in earnest.” She meant that, too. Though it had irritated
her, his skill had been beyond measure. She’d never seen two men fight better than they had.

“Here,” she said, urging him to sit on a stool so that she could rub his shoulders and arms.

Sin sat down. He couldn’t fathom what she wanted until her soft, gentle hands began kneading his shoulders and neck. He moaned at the pleasure of it. No one had ever done such a thing for him before.

Chills exploded across his flesh as she ran her hands over his biceps, squeezing them as she went. His groin tightened and burned, stretching against his chausses, aching for possession of her.

Her touch was heaven, and more chills spread over his skin as he felt her breath against his flesh. Saints above, how he wanted her. Just one taste of her succulent flesh. One precious moment in her arms.

Callie swallowed at the hard feel of Sin’s muscles under her hands. She’d done this countless times for her father, uncle and brother, and yet, with Sin, touching his skin made her mouth dry. Made her legs weak and her breasts tingle. A hot stab of desire sliced her middle as she throbbed for him.

The feel of his strength, of his hardness, was more than she could stand.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Enter.”

A maid came in leading a brigade of servants with a tub and buckets of steaming water. “Lady Emily said his lordship would be needing a bath.”

Callie smiled at the thoughtfulness.

Once the tub was filled, she stepped back for her husband to rise.

Sin didn’t move. He stared at the tub as images
whirled through his mind. Callie wet and dripping, straddling his hips as he eased his aching loins.

Aye, he could just imagine her breasts shining in the light, her lips smiling at him as he pleasured her.

“Are you not going to bathe?” she asked.

It wasn’t until he removed his chausses that Callie realized she hadn’t really seen him naked on her wedding night. Or if she had, she had no memory of it.

She swallowed at the bare beauty of him. Of his body, so lithe and powerful. He was magnificent.

Sin made himself sit in the tub, but what he really wanted to do was take his wife into his arms and make love to her for the rest of the night.

And it was the one thing he couldn’t do.

He had no intention of staying in Scotland. Ever. And he refused to take a chance on getting her with child. He would never be his father. Never take his pleasure, then leave a woman to tend a child of his.

To hate and despise his child.

To his dismay, she took the cloth from his hands and lathered it. Sin ground his teeth as he hardened even more. “I can do that myself.”

“I know you
can
. But I wish to do this for you.”

He would never understand her kindness, but then she thought them to be married. Only he knew the truth of their wedding night.

“Why are you so accepting of me as your husband?”

She set her soap aside. “My grandmother was Irish and she had a saying:
Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I canna change
.”

She placed one hand against his shoulder as she started washing his back. “For whatever reason, you and I have been joined. I could fight you and hate you,
but in the end it would change nothing. It would only make both our lives miserable. From what I have seen, you are a good man. So, I prefer to make peace for both our sakes, and to hope that maybe you can make my clan understand that the English settlers are inevitable. And that we can live harmoniously with one another.”

Her words brought an unexpected pain to his heart. “So, you have no real care for me.” The words were out before he could stop them.

She stilled her hand and moved forward so that she could meet his gaze. “I barely know you, Sin.” Her earnest gaze bored into him until a light of humor lightened it. “Still, I like what I have seen.” She returned to washing his back. “Except for tonight. I think you let your pride get the better of your common sense.”

He smiled at that. Indeed he had.

“And I do care for you.”

Her words startled him, and yet he understood her meaning. “As you would any stranger.”

“Yea and nay. I daresay, I wouldn’t scrub the back of a man I didn’t know.”

He grinned at that. “I should hope not.”

She picked up a bucket to rinse his back. He sighed as the warm water slid over his flesh.

Callie set the bucket aside and returned to sit beside him. “I want to get to know you, Sin. I think knowing you would be a most wondrous thing.”

He looked away as he took the cloth and started bathing his leg. “Truly, there is nothing about me worth knowing.”

She caught his face in her hand and turned him un
til her gaze held his. “What did they do to you, to make you withdraw so far into yourself?”

Sin didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He’d spent the whole of his life trying to bury those memories. Trying never to look to the past for anything. He just existed. It was all he knew.

She heaved a weary breath. “You’ve left me again, haven’t you? I can always tell. Your eyes turn dull, cold.”

She rose to her feet. “Very well, I shall leave you in peace. But know this: One day I am going to find the heart you have buried away from the world.”

“And what would you do with it if you found it?”

“I would hold it safe and keep it from the hurt that has shriveled it.”

Said heart pounded at her words. “My lady, that organ knows nothing of love. It knows nothing of kindness. Even if you did find it, I assure you, it would be quite worthless to you.”

“Perhaps or perhaps not. Either way, I intend to find out.”

Her strength never ceased to amaze him.

She moved toward the bed and pulled her gown over her head. Sin’s entire body burned at the sight of her naked form. Worse, she gifted him with a lush view of her backside as she climbed into bed.

In that moment, ’twas all he could do not to join her. All he could do not to run to the bed, roll her to her back and partake of the feast that was her body.

His tongue burned from want of her lips, her breasts. It would be pure bliss to have her wrap her body around his. Pure bliss to be her husband this night.

But he couldn’t do it. She was accepting of him now, but things would change when he got her home. Her Highland brethren would never tolerate an English knight in their midst.