The Highlander's Lady Knight (Midsummer Knights #2) - Madeline Martin Page 0,50
ran his thumb gently over it. “Ye’re as stubborn as I am when it comes to what ye know ye have to see to. Isolde, I must do this.”
She nodded solemnly. She understood as he knew she would. He didn’t like it any more than she did, but he could not leave his brother to defend himself in the melee.
They kissed then, a hungry, desperate kiss that spoke of their concern for one another, for all the feelings words could never adequately convey. And later, when they joined together, they took their time loving each other. They learned each other’s bodies, pleasing one another until their skin was slick with sweat and their limbs trembled with exhaustion. They cherished the night before the next day’s fight, not stopping until they fell into a languid sleep.
For the following day would be another battle. Brodie’s visage flashed in Cormac’s mind just before sleep claimed him: the twisted mask of rage.
Cormac would do well to mind his enemy, for surely Brodie would come seeking vengeance.
16
The following morning, Isolde woke to Cormac sleeping next to her. No longer was this the day they journeyed to Sutherland. This would be the day of the melee, with Cormac once more placed in danger.
Only this time, she had a plan at the ready.
They took their time rousing; their bodies loathe to pull away from one another. Yet as he rose from the bed, the heat of his skin against hers was lost. Protests circled in her mind regardless of how many times she shoved them away.
“I wish you would not go.” Isolde settled her feet on the cool wooden floors and drew herself upright from the bed as well.
“I’d prefer to be leaving for Sutherland instead.” Cormac belted his hose and drew his tunic over his head. “And we will. On the morrow.”
He crossed the room to stand before her and opened his powerful arms. She allowed him to pull her against the heat of his strong chest, where the steady beat of his heart ticked its rhythm against her cheek. How she wished she could stay like that forever, locked in the comfort of his embrace.
“Be safe, husband.” She rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his mouth.
“With ye to come back to, wife, no’ even heaven itself could stop me from returning.” He smoothed a hand over her hair and cupped her face.
It wasn’t heaven she worried about. It was the Rosses. Particularly Brodie Ross, who had proven to be an adversary that did not readily admit defeat. “Who is it Graham seeks to fight against in the melee?” Isolde asked.
Cormac hesitated long enough for her to know the answer before he replied. “One of Brodie’s brothers.”
As she had anticipated. She nodded. “Do not underestimate him.”
“Dinna worry after me.” Cormac kissed her. The brush of their lips was quick but still intimate. It made her want to keep him there for all eternity.
“I can’t help it,” Isolde said in a pained voice.
“I’ll return posthaste.” With one final kiss, he was gone, leaving the castle for his tent where Alan would help dress him in his armor.
As soon as Cormac departed, Isolde found Matilda in the main room by the fire as she worked on the mending. “I require your assistance,” Isolde said.
Matilda practically threw her sewing to the floor and flew to her feet. “Of course, my lady. Anything.”
“Prepare me for the melee.” Isolde leveled her gaze at her maid. “As my brother.”
Matilda’s brows drew together with concern.
“I am going to ensure Cormac remains safe,” Isolde explained. “He sustained injuries yesterday. I only want to reassure myself no harm will come to him.”
Matilda’s shoulders relaxed from their tense perch, and she quickly rushed to do as Isolde bid. First, she bound Isolde’s hair back in a thick braid, then put on the gambeson and hose, followed by the chainmail and surcoat. Once done, Isolde dropped the helm over her head. She suppressed a shudder at her limited visibility and how vividly it reminded her of the fight with Brodie.
Cormac had been correct when he’d said she would have died against Edmund. After witnessing the blows Cormac had endured, Isolde knew she would have been incapacitated after the first one.
She would not have walked away from that fight. Cormac had kept her safe, as he’d promised he would the day he’d made the vow to protect her.