Black Heart (Cursed Hearts 1)

“Aye.” Liam nodded in agreement, because he understood how he felt. “And ye know that where we’re going we might have to hurt someone so I don’t think that’s the real reason that ye want to go.”

Tadgh shrugged his tiny shoulders. “It’s not.”

“Then what’s the reason?”

Tadgh felt his chin quiver and tried to stop it before it gave him away, but he couldn’t. “I’m going to miss ye,” he shamefully admitted as he hurried to wipe away the tears on the back of his dirty arm before his brothers could see them.

With a kind smile, Liam gently wiped away his tears. “And we’ll miss ye, lad, but we have to go.”

“Do ye promise to come back for me?”

“Always, lad, always.”

*-*-*-*

“Ye shouldn’t have talked back to me Da’,” Macha said in way of greeting as she finished crawling in beneath the tent’s flaps.

“Aye, I’ll try to remember that the next time he’s pulling ye through the camp by ye hair,” Tadgh said dryly, shifting slightly on his sleeping fur and immediately wishing that he hadn’t when the small action caused agonizing pain to shoot through the slices on his back.

“I had it handled,” Macha argued, opening her small satchel. “Besides,” she rushed to continue before he could call her on her lie, “I don’t remember asking ye for yer help.”

He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. “Ye never have to ask fer it, mo shonuachar.”

“Ye shouldn’t be calling me that. If me father hears-“

“Then he’ll know that much sooner that ye belong with me,” Tadgh said firmly, loving the way that she nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to hide a pleased smile from him.

She didn’t say anything else while she laid out her herbs and cleaning cloths and he didn’t care. He was more than happy to lie there and watch her. She was his heart, his soul and he’d known that since the moment that he’d laid eyes on her when they were nothing more than children.

“Ye need to stop pushing me father,” she said, sounding sad as she set to work to clean his cuts.

“Then he needs to keep his hands off ye, lass,” Tadgh said, trying not to cringe as the herbs stung him.

“He could have killed ye when ye threatened to kill him if he ever touched me again.”

“It was a promise, lass, and believe me, if I ever see him hurt ye like that again I will kill him,” he swore, meaning every word, because he would kill the bastard. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

*-*-*-*

“Please,” Macha said, panting heavily as she shifted beneath him in an attempt to tempt him to take her.

“Please what, mo shonuachar?” he asked, teasing her with the head of his c**k and loving the way she growled in frustration as he pulled away when she tried to roll her h*ps and take the choice away from him.

“Don’t make me kill ye,” she growled, making him chuckle as he returned his c**k back to her core.

“Who knew that my wife was such a violent little thing,” he teased her as he leaned down and stole a kiss.

“Ye did! Now take me before I’m forced to kill ye!” she snapped, rolling her h*ps up and this time he let her catch his cock.

“We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” he groaned as he slid inside her hot sheath, amazed at how wet she could get with a few simple touches and kisses.

Knowing that they didn’t have much time and that they needed to be quiet, he leaned down and took her mouth as he picked up his pace. He swallowed her moans as she did the same for his groans, both aware that any noise could draw the wrong kind of attention and cost them their lives. They shouldn’t be doing this, but he couldn’t help himself.

She was everything to him and he needed to be with her and touch her. He hated that they were forced to sneak around, but until his service to his king was over or he figured out another way to get her out of her marital contract, this was the only way that they could be together. One day the king would pay for forcing him to sneak around with his wife like she was one of the whores that followed after their camp.

That day couldn’t come fast enough for him.

*-*-*-*

“I can’t ask ye to do this!”

“Ye don’t have to, lad,” Liam said unconcerned as he grabbed his sword and headed for the door of their small hut.

The rest of his brothers grabbed their swords and satchels without a word and followed after Liam, but this wasn’t over. Tadgh grabbed his own sword and the satchel that held his and Macha’s things and headed after his brothers.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her, hoping that for once she’d do as she was asked and wait here for him, but she didn’t and probably never would.

“Ye know that yer not going to be able to talk them out of this,” she said as she caught up to him.

“Aye, I know,” he bit out, taking her hand into his. “Stubborn bastards.”

She chuckled as they hurried to catch up to his brothers who were already a good distance ahead of them.

“They’re gonna get themselves killed!”

*-*-*-*

“Get yer hands off her!”

“Make a choice!” the bastard said, giving Macha’s hair a violent twist that had her crying out. “Yer life or hers?”

“Mine!” he shouted without hesitation.

“So be it,” the king snarled as he shoved his daughter aside, pulled out his sword and swiftly slid it through Tadgh’s stomach, his men tightened their hold on Tadgh as he calmly accepted his fate. He’d do anything to keep her safe.

“Ye bastard!” Shayne roared. “I’ll kill ye!”

“Yer dead! Dead!” Liam shouted as the rest of his brothers fought and screamed, desperate to get to him and kill every man in sight, but Tadgh could barely hear them over his wife’s cries. She was in pain, so much pain and there’s nothing that he could do to stop it. He only prayed the baby waited just a little while longer until his brothers could get free and protect it.

Clenching his jaw tightly, he forced himself not to cry out in pain as the king slowly, so goddamn slowly, pulled the sword out, making sure that Tadgh felt every ounce of pain. He wouldn’t make a sound of pain, too afraid that he’d use up the last of his energy when he needed to save it to beg for his wife and brothers to be spared.

He could accept his fate as long as Macha was left unharmed, able to raise their child and that his brothers could be there to protect them. It was the only thing that kept him from fighting back and taking as many of the king’s men with him as he could. The only thing that he wanted above vengeance was the knowledge that his family would survive this.