“I can imagine your mother had her hands full with three boys.”
He looked to the battlements near the gate house where his mother used to stand, waiting for her husband and sons to return. “She was an amazing woman.”
Lucan blinked and held out the sword hilt first. “Ready to begin your lessons?”
“I’m not sure,” she said as she slowly grasped the pommel of the sword.
The weapon was small, the blade several inches shorter than a man’s sword, but it was balanced and handled well. It was most likely made for a young lad, which would serve Cara flawlessly. She wouldn’t be able to swing a man’s sword, but she had a good chance with the one Lucan had found.
“You want to grip your weapon tight, but not too tight,” he said, and demonstrated. Once she held the sword properly he said, “Now swing it around you; learn the weight of it, how it moves through the air. You need to trust your sword, let it become an extension of your arm.”
She was a quick learner and readily did as he instructed. He saw her hesitation, though, as she was uncertain of her own abilities.
“Good,” he said with a nod. “Can you feel the difference in the sword at different angles?”
She nodded, gazing at the blade. “Aye, I do. The force of the sword when I swing down is immense.”
“Exactly. If you have the advantage over your opponent, a swing down will leave him cleaved in two. The only problem is that you can leave yourself vulnerable when you raise your sword over your head.”
“I understand wanting to arm me against mortal men, but it’s pointless against other Warriors like you and Deirdre’s wyrann.”
“It isn’t,” Lucan said. “Deirdre’s pets can be killed. They are small like a child and they are quick, but they can easily be outsmarted.”
“I can do that.”
He grinned at her words. “You willna be fighting Highlanders with swords. You’ll be fighting nasty wee creatures that have foul breath and a scream that can make your ears bleed. Keep them at a distance with your sword. Here, let me show you.”
Lucan moved behind her and grabbed each of her arms in his hands. His chest fit against her back, his throbbing rod into her soft backside. He wanted to caress down her arms and cup her breasts as he leaned against her, her soft sighs filling the air.
He battled against the hunger that roared to life at the contact of her body against his and tried to focus on the task at hand. Anything other than tossing her onto the ground and throwing up her skirts so he could see her body. Desire surged through him, centering in his cock that hardened to painful degrees. When she shifted her feet and rubbed against his arousal, he couldn’t stop the groan of need.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“You’re fine,” he said between clenched teeth. All he wanted to do was turn her around and pull her into his arms, to feel her breasts against him, to hear her soft moans of pleasure as he slid his tongue inside her mouth and sampled her once again. He could take an eternity learning her body and giving her the pleasure he could only dream about, only to do it all over again.
“Lucan?”
Her voice pulled him out of his daydream. He shook his head to clear it, but the lust refused to diminish. “You’re fine, Cara.”
She looked over her shoulder to him, her mouth breaths from his. Her eyes widened a fraction, her lips parting. It would be so easy, so simple, to lean down and run his mouth over hers.
“They will come at you from behind,” Fallon’s voice rang out in the bailey.
Lucan jerked his gaze to the castle steps to find his brother watching him. Fallon’s gaze held no censure, but Lucan knew what his brother thought of his uncontrollable hunger for Cara. He didn’t know whether to hit Fallon for interrupting or thank him.
Fallon walked down the steps toward them. “Deirdre’s pets like to sneak up on their prey.”
Cara licked her lips and looked from Lucan to Fallon. “So what do I do?”
Fallon raised his hands and curled his fingers. “The wyrran use their claws. Their arms are long but not long enough to reach you if you hold them at bay with your sword.”
“Their toenails are as long as their claws,” Lucan added. “They like to jump on their prey, using their feet to anchor them, then biting and clawing their victims to death.”
“Oh,” Cara mumbled.
“The trick is to put your back to a corner so they cannot sneak up behind you.”
Fallon nodded. “But be careful; they can climb walls.”
Cara wasn’t sure why the brothers were adamant about her learning to use a sword. By the sounds of it, she didn’t stand a chance against Deirdre’s “pets.”
“Relax against me,” Lucan said in her ear.
A shiver raced down her spine at his warm breath against her skin. She found it impossible to think with his hard, hot body against her. It made her recall his kiss, the way his hands had caressed her, and the delightful sensations that swam through her anytime he was near.
“Relax,” Fallon said. “Let Lucan teach you the movements.”
She gave her arms up to Lucan, watching as he moved them in deft circles, always keeping the blade of the sword in front of her.
When he nudged her legs wider with his knee, she blindly obeyed, too caught up in the emotions swirling within her, and the heat of her blood that centered between her legs.
She jerked when something was placed in her left hand. Fallon gave a nod of his head. That’s when she saw the dagger.
“You’ll need that as well,” he said. “Don’t ever lose your blades, Cara. Ever.”
For the first time since she had met Fallon, his dark green eyes seemed almost clear of the wine. Almost.
“Remember how I told you to hold the sword?” Lucan asked. “Treat any other weapon the same way. Firm, but loose.”
It made no sense to her, but these were men who grew up by the sword. If anyone knew what they spoke about, it was the MacLeod brothers.
She sucked in a breath when Lucan lifted her leg with his knee and lunged forward. At the same time, he thrust the sword out, the tip touching Fallon’s chest, just over his heart.
Lucan nodded, his chin scraping the side of her face. “Good. Let me show you more.”
Again and again Lucan would lunge her one way or the other, bringing her arms up to shield her from make- believe attacks from Fallon. Lucan pivoted her, he turned her, he backed her away, but always he had her weapons in front of her.
“Try it by yourself,” Lucan said as he moved to step in front of her.
Cara instantly missed his heat. The wind from the sea buffeted her, dragging into her eyes strands of her hair that had pulled free from her braid.
She widened her stance and bent her knees. The sword was lifted, waiting, as was the dagger. It was Lucan who came at her this time. She tried to lunge away from him, but he was quick and she ended up spinning away instead.
“A good first try,” Fallon said as he sat on the steps and lifted the wine to his lips. “Watch his eyes, not his arms.”
“How will I know how he’ll attack if I don’t watch his arms?” she asked.
Lucan grinned. “Watch my eyes.”
She thought the brothers were enjoying themselves entirely too much at her expense. She was a woman who had never held a weapon in her life. With skirts that hampered her movement. But she was determined to succeed. They were taking the time to teach her, and she would learn.
“Ready?” Lucan asked.
Cara stared into his eyes and nodded. For the longest time he simply stood there, watching her. There was the slightest movement of his gaze just before he stepped toward her. She spun away from him and lunged, the point of her dagger landing at his side between his ribs.
“I’m impressed.”
