Needed By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 5)

by Rebecca Preston

  “Are you missing home?” A shadow passed across his face. “When Erin moved here from Ireland, I remember she missed home terribly.”

  “I do, a little,” she said carefully. She wanted to reassure Niall that she was happy here — but she didn’t want to gloss over the sadness she felt at leaving her home, her family, everything that was familiar to her. That wouldn’t be fair to her and her feelings — though it might make Niall happier in the short term, she trusted him to be strong enough to understand her complexity. Thanks, Elena, she thought to herself with a smile. “A lot, honestly. Being away from everything that’s familiar… not having a chance to say goodbye to any of it, or anyone I knew… it’s hard. But…” She took a deep breath, exploring her own thoughts for the answers to his questions. “I think… I think that if I was offered an honest choice, I’d want to stay here.”

  His eyes widened a little. “Is that so?” Carefully: “Is it because of your friends, the women at the castle? Or —”

  “It’s because of you,” she said, almost irritated by how careful he was being. She took a deep, steadying breath, knowing she had to speak quickly before she got too frightened of telling him the truth. “Niall, you make me feel like I could stay here forever — like I could have a home here, a life here, a purpose. Meeting you and Eamon … it’s changed my life, honestly. I’m a different person than I used to be… and I like who I’ve turned into.”

  “I like who you were and who you are now, too,” Niall said softly, his eyes wondering. “Truly? You — you care for me? For me and Eamon?”

  “Especially for you,” she said firmly. “Your son’s a delight, and I know he’s a huge part of your life — but it’s you I’ve fallen for, Niall Grant.”

  There was a long, frozen moment, and she gnawed on her lip, overcome in a rush by the anxiety that she’d worked so hard to suppress long enough to get her little speech out. There — she’d told him exactly what she felt, what she’d been feeling. She’d been as honest and straightforward as she could with him — and, she realized with her heart pounding and sweat beginning to form on her forehead, it had taken a lot out of her. This honesty game was hard. But it was also oddly freeing — she felt light, proud of herself. Whatever happened next was up to Niall. He could reject her, if he wanted to — it would hurt, but at least she’d know that she was honest, that she presented him with her true self, whether or not he wanted her…

  And then he’d jumped out of his chair, pulled her out of hers, swept her into his arms and into a passionate kiss that shut down every conscious thought in her body.

  Chapter 44

  They broke apart after a long, confused, passionate moment that left Helen’s head spinning and her heart pounding, her whole body tingling with delight that he’d finally taken her into his arms… and, increasingly, impatience that he wasn’t doing more than that. Like tearing all her clothes off and carrying her into his bedroom… she shivered a little at that mental image, her body responding to him even as he murmured breathlessly into her ear in belated response to what she’d told him.

  “Helen Washington, I’ve been smitten by you since the minute we met,” he said in a low voice that sent chills down her spine even before she pieced together what he was saying. “But I’ve been holding myself back from you — well, I’ve been doing my best. I’m only human, after all,” he said with a glint of humor in his eye, pressing his forehead to hers as he gazed down adoringly into her eyes.

  Helen blinked, trying to rescue her voice from wherever it had been frightened to. “Why? Why hold yourself back? I — I wasn’t sure if you — if you felt the same as I did, or if you were just…”

  He chuckled, a low, strained sound. “I was terrified that you hated it here. That you’d never adjust, that you’d be unhappy forever, that I’d fall in love with a woman who’d just want to disappear back to her own time...”

  She stared at him, suddenly understanding why he’d been so distant, so friendly and welcoming, but so determined to keep her at an arm’s length. He hadn’t been aloof — he’d been protecting himself from getting hurt. She’d thought he’d been distant from her… when in fact the exact opposite was the case. He’d cared for her so much that he’d let himself get frightened of what would happen if she left… and she found herself grinning like a fool at this realization, at how much stress it relieved. “Niall — I — like I said, I like it here. I’m fitting in, I’m adjusting, I’m… I don’t want to leave. Honestly.”

  “I spoke to Brendan about it,” he said in a low voice, worry on his face. “And Liam, for that matter. They said their wives — they said both of them took a long time to settle in, that it was hard, that they struggled…”

  “I’m settling in better than most,” she whispered, feeling a little ridiculous for bragging. “I talked to Elena and Kay today and yesterday — and Nancy and Anna, too actually. I’m — I’m settling in fine, they said.” She took a deep breath, wanting to be honest. “They also said I should be honest with you about how I feel. So. Here I am. Trying honesty.”

  He laughed, a delighted sound. “It’s a delightful color on you.”

  “Maybe you ought to have tried it a little earlier,” she said, the adrenaline coursing through her body suddenly making her daring. “Maybe if you’d told me what you were thinking, what you were feeling, we could have done this a long time ago.” But he hesitated at that, and she smiled, realizing what he was worried about. “But you wouldn’t have wanted that. You were also wanting to see how I got on with Eamon.”

  “He’s a big part of my life,” he said softly. “Any woman who wants me… well, Eamon’s part of that package, unfortunately.”

  “It’s not unfortunate at all,” she said fiercely, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Do you hear me? He’s part of you, and he’s wonderful. And so are you.”

  And then he was kissing her again — and this time, it was clear that no conversation was going to interrupt them. It felt like a dam had burst — as though all the passion they’d both been storing up over all this time was suddenly crashing over them, and they were both desperate to find an outlet for it. His hands were roaming all over her body, touching places she’d never let anyone touch her before — and the more he touched her, the closer she wanted him. To her great surprise, she even found her own hands roaming — it was as though they had a mind of their own, exploring places she’d never dreamed of being brave enough to explore… and before long they were both breathing hard, and she was fighting with the laces of his tunic, determined to get as much of his skin in contact with hers as possible.

  Then she squeaked as he lifted her, effortlessly, as though she was made of paper — and carried her down the hallway to an unfamiliar door she’d never seen before. The door to his bedroom — she grinned to herself, kissing him harder as he carried her through and gently but firmly pressed her down to the bed. She sat up immediately, drawing him closer, reaching for his clothing — he was already tugging at her tunic, too, and she giggled breathlessly as she pulled it off over her head. She’d always thought she’d be too shy to be naked in front of another person, but for some reason she didn’t feel anything of the sort. Being naked… well, that was their natural state, wasn’t it? The clothes were just an impediment to knowing him — and she was desperate to know him much better than she’d ever known anyone. They tore their clothes off like wild animals and then he pulled the covers back and pulled her under them with him, their body heat quickly overcoming the chill in the room.

  “Niall,” she gasped as he kissed a line of hot kisses along her throat. And just like that he was back with her, his eyes on hers, his hands still holding her close but not pressing, not pushing her any further than she wanted to go. She could trust him, she realized in a dizzy rush. Even now, even in the heat of passion, he respected her too much to rush her or manhandle her. “I — I wanted you to know — this will be…” God, she felt ridiculous. She reminded herself of what Elena had said — to be brave, to be honest
. “My first time.”

  A smile broke out across his face. “I’m honored,” he said softly, pressing a deep, probing kiss to her lips that left her gasping for breath. “We’ll take it slowly,” he breathed into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “If at any time you want me to stop, just say so and I will. Okay?”

  She grinned, her heart pounding dizzily in her chest. “I don’t think I’m going to want you to stop,” she whispered, and the low chuckle that resulted made her dizzy as he continued to press kisses to her throat, to the side of her face, nibbling at her earlobe, his hands roaming over her body… she’d never felt like this before, never felt this liquid fire racing through her body. She did her best to please him, too, to stroke and caress the hard, packed muscles of his torso — it was unbelievable, how powerful he was, how sleek the skin was as it moved over the muscles he’d built after a long career of lifting and hauling things on the docks… the power in his body was magnetic, electrifying, overwhelming, and when his hands moved down across her breasts she shivered at the fires they lit in the sensitive tissues there. Nobody had ever touched her breasts except her… nobody… not even the handful of men she’d gone on lukewarm dates with before making up some excuse to never see them again.

  It was strange — she was almost glad, in the end, that she was still a virgin. Not that she would have minded at all having a bit of experience to share with her lover but knowing that he was the first and only man to touch her like this… it made her feel special. Sacred, almost. As though this was something important they were sharing, something holy. Something she’d certainly remember for the rest of her life.

  And then his hands were moving lower, and she felt him glance up at her for permission before he reached her sex. The shiver that ripped through her as he caressed her there was unprecedented — she bit back a moan, surprised by the force of the sensation that was rippling through her. Ever so gently, he parted her folds, exploring her body with his fingertips as she grew slowly accustomed to having someone else’s hands touch her there, surprisingly gentle for such a big, powerful man… and to her surprise, she could feel something building from his touch, something low in her stomach like a ball of electricity getting bigger and bigger, making her gasp and writhe beneath his hands… and then, just as she felt like it was about to crash over some peak, he withdrew his hands, moving up her body to kiss her passionately on the lips again. Feeling soft and pliant as warm putty, she fell into his arms, wrapping herself around him and trying to convey, with the heat of her kiss, how much she adored him, how wonderful he was, how attractive, how unbelievably, devastatingly sexy…

  “Are you ready?” he whispered into her ear, and she could hear the desire in his voice, the low rasp of need for her, and it was so unbelievably hot that she almost whimpered in response. “Because if you don’t want to, we don’t have to. Honestly. I’d be thrilled just to hold you like this all night.”

  “I want you,” she whispered back, surprised by how breathy her voice was. “I want to — I — Niall, I’ve never wanted anything like I want you right now.”

  He groaned, a low sound — and she suddenly realized how close the room they were in was to the sleeping Eamon’s room. Not wanting to wake the child, she pressed her hand over his mouth, giggling a little at the look of reproach he gave her. “What?”

  “Shh,” she said softly, drawing him closer. “Have to be quiet.”

  “You be quiet,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. She took a deep breath as she felt his manhood, thick and hard against her leg. She hadn’t seen it yet — the blankets had taken care of that — and she felt an odd sense of curiosity about it. Carefully, she reached down with one hand, caressed him lightly, and grinned at the sound he made in response, his eyes flickering shut. Emboldened, she stroked him more firmly, drawing a gasp from him — and then, all of a sudden, he’d taken hold of her and driven himself deep, deep inside her.

  She gasped at the sudden sensation of fullness. She’d been expecting pain, expecting blood, expecting trauma — but to her shock, she felt nothing but the odd sensation of another person’s body inside of hers. She shifted her hips experimentally, aware that he was holding still, checking whether she was okay — and was rewarded with a bloom of pleasure that erupted in her belly and spread out through her whole body like the world’s most delightful electric shock. Whimpering with need, she rocked her hips again, clutching at his shoulders as she encouraged him deeper. It felt so good — it felt so, unbelievably good — better than she’d imagined in her sleepless nights dreaming about him, better than she could ever have hoped… he was driving himself into her again and again, and the pressure was absolutely exquisite, the dull impact as he thrust over and over, bringing then both closer to some kind of edge that she’d never been to before — it felt close — it felt inevitable — and he was groaning with keen desperation as she felt them both fall over the edge together, pleasure spasming through her body as she did her level best not to scream.

  They lay together in a tangled heap of sweat and limbs, completely exhausted… and completely content in one another.

  Chapter 45

  At some point, they must have fallen asleep, Helen realized drowsily as she steadily came back to consciousness. She had no memory of that — no memory of anything except crawling into Niall’s arms and pillowing her head on his broad, muscular chest. She felt so warm, and so safe, and so completely, utterly happy here. No worries, no cares… just a bed full of gorgeous man and nowhere to be. No job, she thought with a blissful smile, no work, no worries…

  Aside from the Kelpies, she thought with a pang of reality creeping back into her pleasant daydream. And the villagers who didn’t believe in the Kelpies and thought that the Monster was responsible for their losses. And the losses, of course, and…

  She sighed, sitting up in bed as the real world crept back into her pleasant little bubble. Niall uttered a groan of protest, reaching out blindly to grab her arm and pull her back down to him… she couldn’t help but giggle as she acquiesced, falling into his grasp happily and delighting in the warmth of his strong arms around her.

  “You’re a delight to wake up to, Helen Washington,” he purred into her ear.

  She grinned as she turned to kiss him, losing herself again in the scent of him, the feeling of his body against hers, the way even half-asleep still she was beginning to stir, to want him again… she was just wondering whether they’d have time for another round when the distant sound of shouting reached her. That was odd — that sounded for all the world like the fishermen. It was barely dawn — what would they have to shout about? And was that splashing? Was a boat damaged, perhaps? She remembered hearing similar shouts of alarm when two small crafts had almost collided with one another…

  Niall could hear it too — she could see him frowning as he tried to make out what the fishermen were saying. Giving her a lingering look of great regret, he pulled himself out of the bed and started dressing. Grinning, she lay on the covers, still as naked as the day she was born and feeling an unusual but not unwelcome feeling in her body. What was this? It was the feeling of being… beautiful. Of being sexy, of being desired… and it got stronger as Niall turned to look at her, uttering a tragic little groan of misery as she rolled languorously onto her back, allowing him to see her in all her glory.

  “Well, that’s just not fair,” he said in a low voice, clearly warring with himself as he laced up his tunic and searched for his boots. “Looking like that, when I have to leave…”

  “Must be a hard life,” she said softly… but she got to her feet too and began to dress as he laced his boots up. The shouting hadn’t stopped, and neither had the splashing, and as eager as both of them clearly were to prolong their time together, it was obvious that they had to find out what was going on.

  “We’ll be doing more of this, I hope,” she said archly as he headed for the door.

  He stopped, turned on his heel, and strode directly back to her, swooping down to pre
ss a passionate kiss to her lips that left her tingling and gasping for breath.

  “We will be doing a truly ridiculous amount of this, if I have my way,” he told her in a low, intense voice that made her melt. Then, with that roguish smile she’d fallen for so hard, so long ago, he turned and strode through the house. Eamon was still asleep, she realized, listening at his door for a moment to see if the little boy was stirring. That meant she could go and check on whatever was going on out there with Niall, and the fishermen. Thank God she’d been wearing her easy-to-dress-in clothes, she thought with amusement as she trotted through the house. Nothing felt real — she felt lighter than air after the passionate night they’d spent together, ready to take on the world. What could possibly go wrong in her life now that she had Niall by her side — now that she knew how he felt about her, and he knew how she felt about him?

  But reality was determined to come crashing in to spoil their fun, it seemed. And when she reached the docks, a heavy, sinking feeling of dread began to displace the clouds she was walking on until she was flat on the earth again, full of worry at what she was seeing out here.

  Ten men, holding spears — she realized with a shock that they were the iron spears that the castle guards had been carrying while patrolling for the Kelpies. They were standing in front of the docks, using the spears to hold back an angry throng of fishermen, who were shouting incoherently at them in anger. What was going on out here? Niall was pushing his way through the throng — but before he could reach its front, a low bellow reached their ears. It wasn’t human, she knew that immediately — nor did it belong to any animal she’d ever seen before. It was deep, resonating in her bones — and it was unmistakably a cry of pain.