Healing the Highlander

by Melissa Mayhue

  Guest, she censored her thoughts. Like a good little guest.

  Halfway down the hall, one of the doors opened and Moreland peered out, pulling back into his room as they passed with a silent nod their direction.

  So much for the theory he’d been put in another part of the castle.

  “There’s just no getting away from him, is there?”

  “Put him from yer mind, dearling. Think instead on yer surprise.”

  “And how am I supposed to do that when you won’t tell me what it is?” she grumbled.

  He only laughed, saying nothing as he led her down the stairs and through the kitchens, out into the night. The moonlight showed her they were in a garden, one she’d want to come back and investigate tomorrow in the daylight.

  “Down this way,” he said, pulling her along behind him.

  Ahead she could make out a building, the light of fires inside glowing through the doorway.

  Not even if she had thought about his “surprise” for a week would she have been prepared for what lay inside the little building.

  “Wow.” She stopped at the doorway, words failing her.

  Massive iron kettles steamed in one of the largest fireplaces she’d ever seen outside a castle, their moist heat radiating out and embracing her.

  “It’s a bathhouse. My brother Caden built it himself,” he told her, pride brimming in his voice as he led her farther in.

  “And the surprise part?”

  He chuckled as he directed her behind one of the half walls to where a large wooden tub brimmed with steaming water. A stool sitting next to the tub held a bar she could only assume was soap.

  “I thought you might like a proper bath. Here.” He handed her the bundle in his arms, which turned out to be a large drying cloth and a clean shift.

  Oh, would she ever!

  “The water’s fresh and hot. I filled the tub myself just before I came to get you. You take as much time as you like and I’ll wait over here on the other side of the wall, to make sure yer no disturbed while you bathe.”

  If she hadn’t thought him superior among men before, she did now. Clasping the bundle to her chest, she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before hurrying to the tub.

  This was going to be a little slice of heaven.

  This had turned out to be a large helping of sheer hell.

  Drew leaned his head back against the wall, listening to the woman on the other side. Her sigh of contentment when she’d stepped into the water had been almost more than he could stand, especially with the touch of her lips still tingling on his cheek.

  The little splashing sounds she made fired his imagination with visions of her settling into the tub. Her hair flowing down her back, her skin wet and glistening in the firelight, her head thrown back, lips parted in her way.

  This was not a path for his mind to be wandering down. Not yet. Better he should concentrate on how to respond to Blane’s impending decision concerning Leah’s dilemma.

  He’d told his laird all that he knew after she’d left the room. Her running away from MacQuarrie Keep to find the MacKiernans, his suspicion she’d been sent by the Fae, everything.

  Almost everything.

  His laird had kept his own counsel but his brother had freely shared his concerns, not the least of which had to do with the impending marriage.

  “You canna wed the woman for no other reason than to keep her safe from this Moreland,” Caden had insisted. “You canna sacrifice yer own happiness for her safety. Neither of you will be happy. Think on it, Drew. What you do is forever. How will you feel when yer true Soulmate appears?”

  Easy for Caden to say. He’d found the one he was destined to share his life with.

  “If, brother, not when,” he’d responded. “I willna live my life on if any longer. I sacrifice nothing. I freely choose marriage to Leah.” He’d meant it.

  That was what he hadn’t shared.

  For reasons beyond his understanding, he not only chose to wed Leah, he wanted to do it.

  Another deep sigh from beyond the wall brought him back to the present and set him to grinding his teeth.

  He rose to his feet, slowly, allowing his needy body the time to adjust before he began to pace. Time. His whole life was about time.

  Two days’ time and Leah would officially be his wife.

  Two days’ time and he’d not need to wait impatiently on the opposite side of the wall.

  Two days’ time and his pain would be relieved—both in his leg and in his loins.

  “I’m almost done,” she called.

  “No hurry,” he answered.

  Two days’ time.

  More splashing on the other side of the wall. As if he could see through the stone, he imagined her stepping from the tub. Imagined her wrapping the drying cloth around her lovely curves. Imagined her walking around the wall and dropping the cloth before wrapping herself in his arms.

  Two days’ time.

  Unlike in his imagination, when she actually did step around the wall, she wore her shift, not the drying cloth.

  Even that was enough to set his heart pounding in his chest.

  Her hair fell over one shoulder, its length encased in the cloth he’d imagined covering her body.

  “I guess I’m ready.” Her smile dazzled when she looked up at him. “That felt wonderful. Thank you for thinking of it.”

  He nodded his acknowledgment as he reached for her hand, not even aware of the words he mumbled.

  They walked back to the keep in silence, her with her thoughts, him wondering if there was any possibility those thoughts might include him.

  A torch burned at either end of the long hallway, casting their shadows dancing over the stone walls as they made their way toward their room.

  A small noise, the sound of wood against stone, as they passed down the hall alerted him that Moreland watched them once again.

  The knight was not an easy one to convince, but Drew was willing to give it another try. More than willing, as it turned out.

  At their room he paused, his hand on the knob. When Leah looked up, a question filling her eyes, he braced an arm on either side of her, backing her up against the heavy wooden door as he did so. Ducking his head, he brushed his lips over her cheek, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his face.

  “He watches.”

  She acknowledged his warning by wrapping her arm up and around his neck. Her fingers playfully circled his ear as she turned her head to touch her lips to his.

  He pulled her close, one arm at her back. His other hand cradled her head, as much to keep her near as anything else.

  When her tongue traced his lower lip, he was lost.

  She smelled of the balm and mint soap she’d used, the scent soothing his soul. Her body close to his filled a void he hadn’t realized was there.

  And the taste of her! Her mouth was an addiction gone wild.

  Whether the door down the hall closed or remained open no longer registered in his thoughts. They were filled entirely with the woman in his arms.

  He pushed against the door, stumbling through when it opened, holding her against him still. He had no idea how he managed to shut the door, though the slamming registered vaguely in the back of his besotted brain.

  Thank the Fates for the small room.

  Mere steps and the bed hit the back of his knees.

  He tumbled down onto the mattress, taking her with him, neither of them breaking the kiss that had begun in the hallway.

  He rolled them over, pushing up the skirt of the thin shift she wore in the process. The heat of her bare leg against his ignited his growing desire. As if his skin had taken on a new sensitivity, sparks shot through his thigh where it touched her.

  Her breath caught, her hands capturing his shoulders as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. His fingers worked at the ties of her shift, loosening the opening until he’d freed the tops of her breasts.

  Full and firm, they beckoned to him, and
he followed their siren call. His tongue traced the top of one rounded beauty and Leah moaned beneath him, her hands finding their way under his shirt, burning into his bare back.

  This moment was perfect. She was perfect.

  Not perfect.

  He forced himself to stop, his forehead resting between her beautiful breasts as he gasped to reclaim his breath. To reclaim his wits.

  They might have represented themselves to be married, but in his mind, in his heart, in his soul, he knew they were not.

  Until she made that final commitment, he would not dishonor her, no matter how much he wanted her.

  And none but the Fates could possibly understand how very much he wanted her.

  Summoning what little reserve he had left, he lifted his head to look into the dark pools of her eyes. In his need for her, his imagination ran wild for an instant, trying to convince him he could see into the depths of her soul, could see there within those depths, her, waiting, beckoning him to join her inside.

  Though there was nothing he wanted more, it was not to be. At least not now.

  He lightly kissed her chin and then her forehead, his ego boosted to realize her heart pounded as a match to his.

  “We forget ourselves, my lady,” he whispered, rolling off her to rise to his feet.

  “Over here,” he directed, taking her hand to help her up and leading her toward the fire. “Sit.” His ability to speak in more than one or two words seemed lost as he motioned to the little stool near the fire.

  A little frown wrinkled her brow, but she complied wordlessly, sitting down as he indicated with her back to the fire.

  He dropped to his knees behind her, and pulled away the towel that covered her hair. Gently he combed his fingers through her tangled curls, letting the strands glide over his hand. Even wet it felt soft to his touch and he fought the need to bury his face in it.

  He wanted more. So much more. But for now, he’d force himself to settle for this.

  Only one thought made this moment bearable. Over and over in his mind, perfectly timed to the pounding of his heart.

  Two days’ time.

  Nineteen

  She hardly recognized who she’d become.

  Leah lay on her back, staring sightlessly up at the canopy, fingering the stone that hung from her neck.

  Tomorrow would be her wedding day.

  All those years ago, the day before she’d left her own time she’d spent at her sister’s side, making preparations for Destiny’s wedding.

  “Are you sure this is really what you want? There’s time to stop it, you know. You don’t have to do this if you don’t really love him and all,” she’d said. Her greatest fear had been that her sister was marrying Jesse to make sure his family would transport Leah back in time to keep her safe.

  Destiny had laughed. “Trust me, I’ve never wanted anything more.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  Her sister had clutched both her hands over her heart. “I feel it here. I want him so much I can hardly breathe. All I can think about is being with him. Just the thought of being away from him hurts. And when he holds me?” Again she laughed. “Lordy, Leah. The man curls my toes. It’s everything Mom used to tell us and more. Remember her stories about how we’d each find our Soulmate one day? Jesse is mine. I’m absolutely sure of it.”

  “Okay, then. If he’s what you want, I’m totally happy for you. How you can stand to have any man’s hands all over you, though, is more than I can imagine, but I’ll take your word for it.”

  Destiny had wrapped her arms around Leah then, hugging her close. “Oh, baby. You only feel that way because of what those Nuadian bastards tried to do to you. You won’t always feel this way. I promise. Your Soulmate will come along when you least expect it, just like Mom always said. This wonderful, scary, confusing bliss-jumble will happen for you one day, too. I just wish I could be able to be there with you when it does.”

  On that day, at that moment in time, she’d believed with all her heart that her sister had been completely wrong. She would never, ever want a man to touch her.

  Now she wasn’t so sure.

  Last night, for the first time in her life, she’d had a taste of that wanting Destiny had tried to describe to her.

  “And it sucks,” she grumbled, pushing herself up out of bed. At least it sucked when the man she wanted stopped dead in the water like Drew did last night, leaving her weak with the wanting.

  She ran her fingers over the face of the stone one last time, feeling as if it somehow brought her closer to the sister she hadn’t seen for so long. Sighing, she leaned down to gather up the bundle of crumpled blankets Drew had slept on last night. Again.

  “I am such a ditz,” she chided aloud.

  Having him sleep in her bed, after what had happened when they returned from the bathhouse, would only have led to one thing.

  And that’s where the part of her she didn’t recognize reared her loud self up, all demanding and needy. That one thing was exactly what she’d wanted so badly last night. What she wanted right now.

  If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel his hands on her body. His lips, hot against her skin.

  “Hormone meltdown.” Had to be. No other reasonable explanation came to mind. Leah Noble MacQuarrie just did not behave this way.

  She tied back the curls that flew wildly around her face this morning. If she’d only taken the time to comb them as they dried, she wouldn’t have this problem. Of course, once Drew started messing with her hair last night, doing his own version of drying it in front of the fire, the only thing she could think of was how good it felt to have him touch her.

  Unmanageable curls were a small price to pay for that experience.

  She’d just dropped her shift down over her head when a knock sounded at her door.

  “Leah? Are you up?”

  It was a woman’s voice she didn’t recognize, that much she realized right away, surprised by what sounded distinctly like a Texas accent.

  An even bigger surprise awaited when she opened the door.

  The woman looked so much like her sister Destiny, her legs felt as if they might not hold her.

  “Are you okay? You just went white as a sheet,” the woman exclaimed, taking her arm and leading her back into to the room to sit down. “Put your head between your knees for a sec. Should I go get Drew?”

  “No!” Drew was the last thing she needed. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Ellie. Caden’s wife? Caden is Drew’s older brother, so I guess that makes us sisters-in-law.” Ellie squatted down in front of her, running her hand over Leah’s head like she might pat a dog. “You want me to fix you some tea or something?”

  “No.” Tea? They couldn’t possibly have tea. Tea didn’t exist here yet. The shock of her surprise was wearing off at last. “I’m sorry, did you say what you wanted?”

  Ellie chuckled. “I did not. I was too busy worrying about whether you were going to pass out on me or something. I saw Drew on his way out to the lists and he told me I should come get you so you could spend some time getting to know the other ladies here. They’re working on your wedding dress. Would you like to join them?”

  Plainly, it seemed wrong to say no. They were, after all, doing something for her.

  “I’d like that.”

  She studied Ellie as they made their way out into the hall and to the room where the other women waited. Now that she really paid attention, she could see lots of differences between this woman and her sister. Ellie’s hair was much longer than Destiny would ever have worn hers and her nose was a little more upturned. Her eyes were a different shade, too.

  Though her initial reaction had likely been no more than her having her sister on her mind only moments before this woman arrived, there were definitely similarities.

  “Here we go,” Ellie announced, holding open a door. “Look who I’ve brought to join us!”

  Leah had barely taken her first step into the room before the squealing
started.

  “No, no! You can’t be in here!” Anabella jumped to her feet, placing herself firmly in front of whatever activity was in progress behind her. “What’s wrong with you, Elenora? We’re working on her headpiece. You ken that to be bad luck.”

  “Perhaps Leah would enjoy seeing the garden, Ellie. Why don’t you show her the way there,” a smiling Rosalyn leaned around Anabella to offer.

  “Sorry,” Ellie offered as she ushered her out of the room and toward the stairs. “I should have remembered how they get about stuff like that. Would you like for me to show you the garden? The herbs are all up and fresh and the fragrance is really quite nice.”

  Actually, the garden was a spot she had wanted to explore.

  “I know my way there. I saw it last night on the way to the bathhouse. If you have other things you need to be doing, I’m not going to be the least bit offended.”

  “Oh!” Ellie shook her head, crossing her hands over her heart. “I’m so glad you found the bathhouse. Isn’t it just the best? I swear it’s probably my favorite indulgence.”

  Leah could well understand its attraction. The only thing that might have made it better last night was to have had Drew wander around to her side of the wall.

  But, clearly, that was a fantasy for another time.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Ellie put a hand on Leah’s forearm, flashing what appeared to be a grateful smile. “I did promise Bridey—the cook, that is—that I’d spend some time in the kitchens going over details for the feast. Are you sure you won’t mind if I abandon you?”

  “Not at all.” She never minded spending time on her own. Well, she hadn’t before she’d met Drew. “It’s out this way, right?”

  “Through the kitchens. I’ll walk you that far. I feel bad sending you off on your own.”

  Ellie escorted her all the way to the back exit where she paused, her face lighting as if she’d had the most wonderful idea.

  “Oh! I know how to keep you company. Baby!”

  At the woman’s shout, what had to be the largest dog Leah had ever seen bounded around the corner, sliding to a stop in front of them.