Page 12 of Forbidden Desire
“The sea doesn’t scare me.” My confidence soared, the look of the rolling waves centering me. “I’ve been sailing for years. It’s in my blood.”
I saw him turn in my peripheral vision, his black buggy eyes boring into me.
“You... a sailor?” he balked. “Lasses ain’t made for a sailor’s life. They’re too soft.”
“Not this one.”
My tone was hard as I stared out to sea. The troublesome little man irked me. I’d been told he could help, but he’d done nothing but show up late and present another dead end. I knew he was lying. Hell, he wasn’t even trying to hide his duplicity, his crooked smile conveying his true intent, but there was little I could do. I wouldn’t beg the moron to take pity on me. Pleading wasn’t my style, and as he turned, a new plan was already forming in my head.
Waiting for him to arrive had allowed me time to explore this tiny landmass, and I’d already spotted an alternative mode of getting where I needed to be. The boat I’d seen moored was much newer than the rickety vessel he sported. Its hull was sturdy, and upon initial assessment, the engine was in good condition. With the map and compass I’d brought with me and my seven years of nautical experience, I knew I could get to the next island with little trouble. Screw Conrad and his forked tongue.
As soon as the twisted little fraud was gone, I’d double back and take what I wanted. I was getting to the next island, and neither the sea, Conrad, nor any other man, were going to stop me.
Jeemie
THE ENORMOUS STAG FELL with a thunderous thud, its body crashing onto the earth, eliciting a rapturous cheer from my men. We’d been stalking the animal for some hours, tracking its path as it drew closer to our northern shore. This moment was the reward for our patience and hard work—that and the epic meals the beast would produce when we carried him back to the village.
“Good shot, Mawnsie!” I congratulated as my man rose and offered a palm to the swelling praise.
“Aye, taing do.” He grinned. “Taing do.”
I smiled as two others advanced, using another strategically placed arrow to put the stag out of its misery. We had no desire to inflict pain on the creature, only to use its body for our purposes, and an animal as huge as this would suffice for some time.
“We could call our hunt short for this stag?” I proffered. “A male as big as this will easily provide what we need.”
“Aye, Jeemie, but what of the sport?” Aidan met my eyes with a smirk. “We were hoping for some time away to play!”
I chuckled as the others cheered at his assertion.
“We would have to take this beastie with us wherever we went.” I gestured at the dead stag sprawled on the heather. “And his body won’t last long. I suggest we take him home and ask our maighstir for leave to return another time.”
A rumble of disappointment reverberated from all around, but my men knew I was right. We all knew the consequence of hunting such a powerful creature, and now all our effort had to concentrate on transporting him back to our people.
“Aye,” Aidan replied with a sigh. “Bu mhath leam a bhith a ‘sealg. I would like to hunt, but I understand.”
“Taing do, Aidan.” I nodded in his direction. “I feel sure my brother will oblige us.”
The chief of the island and my elder brother, Rasmie, was a good man. He understood the need for pleasure, but he never let it consume his duty. Even when his first wife, Vaila, had gone missing, he had remained stoic, though it was clear his spirit had been broken. Only recently, when the stranger with the fawn eyes had arrived, had I seen him smile again, and now that lady was our mathair—the woman who would give us an heir.
I blew out a satisfied breath, aware of my lips curling. Unlike some younger siblings who might have resented Rasmie’s power and charisma, there was no envy between us. I had never yearned for the privilege of leadership, preferring the simpler way of life, and had little desire to rear the next generation of chiefs. Rasmie had indicated I should marry, and when the time came, I would choose some pretty little thing from the village and make a family with her. The idea filled me with a sense of contentment. I didn’t seek struggle and glory, only a life of peace and quiet.
“Come on then.” Mawnsie clapped his palms together. “Let us get this beastie ready to go.”
The five other men lurched to life and I was warmed by the show of coordinated collaboration. It was what our people did best—work together for the common good, knowing every man, woman, and child in the village would benefit from their labor.
Striding toward the fallen animal, I waited as Aidan and Boyd produced lengths of rope for trussing its body. I lifted my face to the sun and caught sight of something odd on the horizon. Heart pounding, I stepped aside and walked closer to the brow of the hill. Staring out at the endless water, I was certain I was mistaken, sure I would look again and discover nothing more than the raging tides. My insides clenched as my surety dissolved, my eyes not fooling me, no matter how many times I blinked the sun’s mirage away.
There in the distance, a tiny speck confirmed my suspicion. Something was out there on the ocean—a boat I did not recognize. I knew the vessel old Conrad used to transfer essentials to our shores, had seen him make the journey many times in the past, but even he had not dared to return since Eric had chastised him for bringing Desiree to our shores. It was only Rasmie’s staunch belief the gods had directed her here that had saved the ferryman’s skin, but this—whoever this was who approached—was indeed an unknown foreigner.
“Jeemie!” Mawnsie roared my name. “Do not think because you are our maighstir’s brother, you can avoid all the hard work. That is usually the purview of your sibling, Alban!”
A raucous roar rose from those assembled, but my concentration never shifted from the vessel riding the waves, my focus fixed on the way it steered its course, evading the fiercest surf as it headed toward the island.
“Silence!” My tone was terser than intended, but the tension gripping my stomach commanded it so. “A stranger approaches, and I do not know the ship on which they sail.”
The sound of boots pounding the hard earth echoed behind me as my men rose and ran to my side. Flanked by Mawnsie and Aidan, I watched as the vessel drew closer.
“Someone should give warning to our maighstir.” I acted on autopilot as the others stared, enthralled by the incoming vessel. “We do not know if this is friend or foe, but this foreigner does not ride with Conrad.”