After another full day of riding hard Lacey was thoroughly irritable and exhausted. Muscles she didn't even know she had ached down to the bone, and deep dark circles curled under her eyes from lack of sleep. By the time they stopped to set up camp, about an hour after dusk, she was frankly done.
Jamie helped her out of the saddle and settled her on a fallen trunk next to the pit others dug for the fire that night. "Wait here, lass. I'll be back soon with supper."
She grunted indelicately as she settled on the trunk and pulled her plaid around her tighter. Jamie tried to hide his smile as he leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her cheek, chuckling as she softly sighed. "It'll be over soon, lass. I promise ye," he whispered.
She nodded and smiled gratefully up at him, and Jamie felt the butterflies take flight in his chest at the warmth in her eyes.
He returned a short while later to a sight that both bewildered and amused him in equal measure. Lacey was still sitting on the trunk, with one of the other men beside her, while Angus was standing in front of them animatedly throwing his arms and moving about. As he neared the fire, Lacey's tinkling laughter drifted into his ears and settled around his stirring heart. Until he heard why it was she was laughing, that is.
"So ye see," Angus drawled in his deep brogue, "Young Jamie was hidden up in the loft of the stables, torn between wanting to watch his Uncle and the woman below and wanting to escape down the hay. A'fore he could decide for himself, however, as fate would 'ave it, the poor lad stepped through the hatch in the hay, tumbling down from the loft to land clear on top of his Uncle's bare arse!"
Lacey was laughing so loudly tears were falling down her face, and as Jamie's red face emerged from the forest with a string of rabbits she collapsed into another fit of giggles while the others roared with laughter.
Angus had the decency to appear sheepish as Jamie through his catch at him, trying to fight the grin threatening to spread over his face. "I was only a bairn, Angus, I didna know what was happening!" He exclaimed, the smile spreading in spite of his best efforts as Lacey's dancing eyes met his. He shook his head with a snorting laugh as he settled down on the trunk on the other side of her.
To his surprise, she wound her arm through his, resting her palm on his forearm as she tucked her head against his shoulder. She smiled up at him, eyes sparkling as she continued to giggle at his expense. "You should have told me you were such a Peeping Tom before we married, I might have changed my mind!" She teased him, smirking up over his shoulder.
He wiggled an eyebrow at her before dropping his voice to a whisper as he leaned down into her ear. "Where do ye think I learned what to do on our wedding night that had ye writhing and moaning in me arms, lass?"
A squeal of laughter left her as she slapped his arm playfully and blushed. He chuckled as he brought his hand up to cover hers on his arm while he leaned down to steal a kiss. "It's good to see ye smile, Sassenach. Even if it as my expense."
She giggled again before leaning up to wiggle her nose against his, pulling back to press a soft kiss at the tip. The clearing of a throat across the fire brought them back to their surroundings, and Angus drawled playfully across the flames. "If'n ye're done over there, would ye lovebirds care to share a rabbit for ye meal?"
As the group ate and shared stories from their raucous childhood, Lacey relaxed further against Jamie. The men had started to get up and resettle themselves around the fire, and Angus shared a look with Jamie as he started in on another tale of lost love and adventure from their youth. Jamie leaned down and whispered into Lacey's ear while his hand came up to clasp the side of her face, holding her into the crook of his neck. "Something's affecting the horses again, lass, and it isna tha weather. Now, when I give ye the signal, I want ye to run quick as ye can into the woods behind ye and hide in the brush until I come for ye."
Lacey's heart raced and her breath became halted as she closed her eyes and sank tighter into his arms. "Promise me, Jamie," she whispered.
"Promise ye what, lass?" He kissed her cheek before pulling back and tipping her chin up gently to meet his eyes.
"Promise me you will come for me," she whispered softly, hating the fear she knew he saw in her eyes.
A small smile teased at the corners of his mouth as he leaned in to press a lingering kiss to her lips. "I will come for ye, lass, I promise. I will always come for ye," he said quietly.
As she closed her eyes and nodded at him, she heard a bird call off just a few feet to her right. Before she could open her eyes she felt Jamie yank her hard across him, pushing her in the back towards the woods as the world erupted around them with roars and war cries in the night. "Run, Sassenach," he yelled, knives coming up in his hands as he turned to defend her escape.
Lacey ran as fast as she could, an opening in the tree line calling to her as she scanned for a place to hide. Just as she broke through the trees she felt a hand grip her roughly at her shoulder and slam her hard into the dirt and leaves. Her face connected with the ground with a thump, and as she turned to face her attacker a large man rose up over her, face lit with the moonlight.
The Scotsman was enormous, nearly blocking out the sky as he hovered over her. Thick calloused hands clamped down on her shoulders as he yanked her up to stand, fingers tight enough to bruise her delicate skin. He shook her roughly as he pressed her up against him. The stench of his breath made her gag as he leaned down to sneer in her face. "And where might you be runnin' off to?" He exhaled with a leer as his eyes raked over her. They were cold, hard, and calculating, and Lacey felt shivers of fear race down her spine.
He threw her roughly back down to the ground and as she struggled and squirmed tossed her skirts clear up to her thighs. She bucked and kicked, trying to scramble backwards, and as she let out a scream he slapped her hard across the face. She felt his thick hands clumsily slide up her thigh while his legs held hers firmly in place. She pled with him with her eyes as she tried to bite down on the palm of his hand, but it was no use. He was too strong for her, and she was being overpowered. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and turned her head away, praying it would be over quickly.
And then, just as his hand had climbed nearly to the top of her thigh, it stopped. She whipped her head back up and was met with the sight of steel glinting in the moonlight not more than inches from her face, the Scotsman skewered over top of her, blood trickling out of his mouth down to stain her plaid. As the body fell back away from her, Jamie's strong arms came down to gently pull her skirts back down and pull her into his arms.
She collapsed against him with a sob while he pulled her close to his chest. "Did he hurt ye, Sassenach?" He asked as his hands swept over her in a panic.
She shook her head as she pulled back to look up at him, tears streaming down her face. "No, just slapped me. But—But he was—was going to…"
"Shhh, lass, shh," Jamie whispered, pulling her in close as he soothingly stroked her back. As her sobs slowed and she sniffled into his chest, Jamie tenderly reached up to gently stroke her face. "Does it hurt much?"
She pulled back from him, shaking her head. "No, it isn't too bad," she whispered softly.
His mouth pulled into a grim line as he pulled her up to stand. "It'll hurt somethin' fierce in the morning, Sassenach," he warned her.
As he started to lead her back to the fire she tugged hard against the hand he held. He turned back to her with a questioning gaze. "Please, Jamie," she whispered, starting to shake. "I'm not ready to go back yet."
He nodded, pulling her off to the edge of the clearing and settling down with his back against the trunk of the tree, tugging her gently to sit across his lap. "The fear that gripped me heart when I heard ye screaming, Lacey," he whispered, gently holding her head between his large hands.
She squeezed her eyes shut as tears threatened to fall once again. "I know," she whispered.
He brought his head up to rest his forehead against hers. "Tomorrow we begin yer training," he said fiercely, face hard as his eyes scanned hers. "Ye willna be defenseless again, and I canna always be around."
She nodded, before softly wiggling her nose against his. "I'd like that, Jamie," she whispered back, before tilting her head to capture his lips in a soft kiss.