Beyond A Highland Whisper

by Maeve Greyson

  “Have ye told her?” Brodie searched their faces as he rose from his chair.

  “Not yet.” Trish pointed to a chair on the other side of the table and motioned for Nessa to sit. “Latharn MacKay lived in the year 1410 until he was cursed by an evil sorceress from a neighboring clan. It appears he was quite talented at pleasing the ladies but when he didn’t fall in love with the witch, she decided to make him pay.”

  Nessa glanced around the room at the anticipation shining on everyone’s faces. Trish’s words played right along with everything else she’d learned today. Nessa had an uneasy feeling of where Trish might be headed with her tale.

  “And just exactly how did she curse him? Did she send him to some mystical plane where he can only wander through people’s dreams?”

  Trish shook her head. She slid the crystal orb across the table until it was sitting mere inches from Nessa’s face.

  “No. She cursed him into this witch’s ball until such time as the spell is broken.”

  Nessa’s heart pounded up into her throat. She felt the rhythmic beats synchronize with the pulsating light of the orb. Her mouth grew even drier. She lost the ability to breathe as she glanced into the depths of the ball.

  “Latharn’s soul is trapped in there?”

  Trish nodded.

  Nessa remembered all the tales she’d found about the MacKays’ loves and their losses. Hands pressed against her cheeks, Nessa’s heart swelled in her chest, sympathizing for Latharn’s pain. As she realized all Latharn must have witnessed, everything he knew and loved torn away. Nessa’s throat ached with unshed tears. She couldn’t imagine the misery he’d suffered, trapped in the crystal as he watched his world die away.

  She splayed her fingers on either side of the globe. Nessa drew her face even closer to the swirling surface.

  “Oh, Latharn, I’m so very sorry,” she whispered. Nessa’s heart clenched with the sorrow he must have known. She couldn’t imagine her gentle Highlander trapped inside the tiny glass tomb for nearly six hundred years. Her eyes overflowed with tears of compassion; she didn’t bother to wipe them away. She just watched as they rolled down the surface of the shimmering witch’s ball.

  “Latharn, you’ve taken such good care of me all these years. You’ve made me what I am today.” Her tears came faster. Nessa closed her eyes. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “I want you to know I’ve always loved you and I’d give anything to be able to set you free.”

  As soon as the words fell from her trembling lips, thunder and lightning split through the room. Wild energy spun around in a cyclone of blinding light, ripping everything from the shelves. Furniture crashed against the walls as chairs and tables lifted off the floor. Nessa dove under the table, joined by Trish and the MacKays. They shielded their heads with their arms and whatever cushions they could grab. Then all went silent. The storm died just as soon as it had risen. Not an object in the room was untouched by the fierce energy that had ripped through the house.

  Nessa remained motionless under the table, afraid something would fall on her head. She just knew the building must be about ready to collapse from the violent attack it had just endured. Strong hands closed around her arms, and lifted her from the rubble. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into a set of deep green eyes she’d only seen before in her dreams.

  As he tenderly stroked the curve of her cheek, Latharn groaned with satisfaction. “’Tis about time ye said the words for me, lass. I’d begun to think I’d never be free of that hell.”

  Nessa’s jaw dropped to her chest, her lips moved but no words came out. Speechless, she stared up into his face. She’d never imagined how his voice would sound. His deep Scot’s burr, the way his words rolled off his tongue—the sound set fire to her blood. The richness of his voice stroked her body, making her ache for more. Running her fingertips across the stubbled whiskers of his jaw, Nessa finally whispered, “It’s really you.”

  Latharn lowered his mouth to hers. He savored his first true taste of her lips. When her trembling hands slid up his chest, his heart swelled to near bursting. He deepened his kiss of possession. He tightened his embrace. He’d waited for this moment for centuries. To hold her, the one woman he ever loved, to feel her breathless against his chest.

  The one way he’d maintained his sanity all these years was by searching for her with his mind. He’d used his powers. He’d traveled the mists until he’d finally located her soul in the energy of eternity. Once she was born, he’d waited for her to become a woman so he could be with her in her dreams. He’d watched Nessa since her soul first came into being now at last, he held her in his arms.

  Latharn raised his head and smiled down into her eyes. “I’ve waited for centuries to hold ye like this. Now that I have ye, I’ll never let you go.”

  Nessa lost herself in the strength of his arms as she heard the others rustling through the shattered room. She could stay in the loving warmth of his embrace forever and ignore the rest of the world. However, the others might be hurt from the energy storm that had released Latharn from the crystal orb. Her conscience nudged her. She couldn’t enjoy her flesh and blood lover until she was sure her friends were okay. “Maybe we should unearth Trish and your cousins, since the two of us have caused a bit of a mess.”

  With an arched brow, Latharn tore his gaze away from Nessa and looked about the room. Flexing the corded muscles of his right arm, he stretched his hand out over the carnage of broken furniture and shattered glass. An aura of purple light surrounded his body and culminated into a solid beam flowing from his extended hand. As he guided the energy beam around the room, everything returned to its undestroyed state.

  “Damn. Can you teach me how to do that?” Trish gazed around the room.

  “He’s more powerful than all the others,” Fiona whispered, huddling against Brodie’s side.

  “I am the highest trained master of the ancient ones still physically walking upon this plane.” Latharn’s voice rang with sorrow as he faced the present day MacKays. “When all the others passed to the next level of existence, they willed their powers to me.”

  Brodie stretched out his arm and waited to grasp Latharn’s forearm in the ancient greeting of another member of the clan. “I’m proud we were the ones to finally see ye free, Cousin Latharn. Welcome back to our world.”

  Latharn nodded and his smile returned as he accepted Brodie’s proffered arm. “Aye, I canna thank all of ye enough for the role ye played in helping Nessa break the curse.”

  With a fiery spark in his eyes, Latharn turned and swept Nessa up into his arms. “Now I must ask ye to forgive me but I’m sure ye’ll understand that I’ve quite a bit of...catching up to do with my future bride.” Then he turned and strode through the doorway to the bedroom, kicking the door shut with a purposeful slam.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  With a sultry smile, he lowered her to the bed, his eyes never leaving her face. He claimed her mouth. He nuzzled at her lips. He whispered his love to her in husky Gaelic phrases. Latharn grabbed her blouse by the front, ripped it aside, buttons popping across the room. With one quick motion, his mouth never leaving hers, he slid her pants to the floor.

  Nessa pulled his plaid from about his shoulders and tossed it to the floor. She wanted her body melded against every inch of his skin. She wanted his hardened muscles playing beneath her fingertips. She wanted to memorize him with her touch, his velvety hardness pressed against her belly. Pulling him closer, she raked her hands down his back. “Latharn, please,” Nessa panted. Arching her back, she pressed against him. Why didn’t he just dive in?

  Nipping a blazing trail of kisses down her jaw, Latharn’s voice grew hoarse as he nuzzled at her ear. “We need to slow down, Nessa. I mean to pleasure ye well. I’ve been waiting for this moment for centuries.”

  Nessa moaned as his mouth trailed down her throat, then worked its way even lower. She bucked against him, pressing even tighter, nudging impatiently against his erection. She gasped when he took
her nipple into his mouth, and cupped her breasts with his delightful hands. His thumb teased at her other nipple until it peaked, hard with need. He nipped and suckled at them both until she writhed beneath his touch. She tickled her fingers down his chest, encircling his shaft until he shuddered within her stroking hand.

  She moaned when he left her breasts, his tongue burning a teasing trail down her stomach. She caught her breath as he cupped her buttocks in his hands, and lifted her to his mouth. He traced the valley of her inner thigh with his fingertips and teased his breath against the dark curls of her inviting center.

  A satisfied laugh rumbling from deep within his chest, he smiled as his eyes locked with hers. With his eyes never leaving hers, Latharn lowered his mouth to suckle her awaiting folds. As he tongued her aching nub deep into his mouth, he buried a rapturous finger into her depths.

  “Latharn!” Nessa moaned in ecstasy and buried her hands in his hair. She clutched his head against her body and wriggled beneath his mouth. Head thrown back, back arched in delight, Nessa lost the ability to do anything but feel. She screamed as she exploded with delicious rapture, not caring if her cries shook the house.

  Latharn raised his head. He used his tongue to tickle delicious circles on the skin running up her side. He turned her. He took his time and licked his way up her back, reaching around to cup her breasts in each of his hands. He pulled her back against him, nuzzling her neck as his hands once more tantalized her nipples into aching peaks. His inviting erection prodded against the back of her thighs, a promise of what was to come.

  As she turned in his arms, Nessa nibbled at his throat, her voice a husky whisper. “Now it’s my turn.” She ran her fingers down his chest joining them with her tongue. She nipped and teased until Latharn groaned and struggled to catch his breath.

  She worked her way down to his straining shaft. She cupped him with one hand while circling his tip with her tongue. She glanced up at the tortured look of pure bliss on his face. Nessa purred with satisfaction. She licked and teased the length of his erection, then swallowed him down to the hilt. Latharn clutched the sheets of the bed as he gave himself over to the delicious magic of her mouth.

  It was time. Latharn grabbed Nessa and rolled her beneath him.

  “Now, Nessa. ’Tis time for us to be truly joined as we were always meant to be.”

  He slid into her welcoming depths; her wet folds guided him to her heated center. As Latharn slid his arms beneath her, he settled his hips and groaned, “By the goddess, I’ve waited for this moment forever. I love ye, Nessa, with all of my soul.”

  Her breath coming quicker, Nessa smiled into his eyes as she wrapped her legs around his body. “I love you, Latharn, my Highlander of my dreams. I’ve loved you since the first time you came to me.”

  Nessa arched her back and matched Latharn’s slow grind, thrust for delicious thrust. The rhythm quickened; they drove into the dance. The bliss heightened into a luscious frenzy.

  His head thrown back, Latharn’s throaty roar mingled with Nessa’s ecstatic cries. His release found, he poured into Nessa, shouting out her name.

  All mine. Latharn raked his gaze over her shuddering body. Forever, all mine. The connection he’d sought, the elusive joining he’d needed, Latharn felt a melding of his soul. He groaned with the contentment he’d never hoped to find and curled his arms tighter about her. Taking care to stay deep inside her, Latharn rolled and pulled Nessa to lie atop him. Collapsing back against the pillows, he ran his fingers through her short curls, as she lay snuggled against his chest.

  “I love you.” Nessa exhaled with a contented purr, wriggling even closer against his body.

  “Love doesna begin to describe this feeling,” Latharn murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Holding ye in my arms is tonic to my verra being. Finally joining with ye has healed the rift in my soul.”

  Nessa propped her chin on his chest and traced a finger across his lips. “I never thought something like this would ever be possible. I thought you’d only be in my dreams.”

  A contended smile tickled at the corners of his mouth as Latharn exhaled in pure satisfaction. “’Tis taken quite some time to make it to this point. There were times when I thought madness would surely take hold, especially after I found your melody dancing in the mists of time. It seemed an eternity for your soul to decide to join me upon this plane.”

  He captured her hand and placed a kiss in her palm, pausing to add a seductive tickle with the tip of his tongue.

  Nessa gasped as his passion returned to an inviting hardness inside her. Her own heat answered in more than willing reply and she slid up to straddle him. She moaned with abandon, blissfully gyrating as Latharn continued to grow.

  “I’m glad I found the way to you. If I’d known about this, I think I would’ve tried harder to find you before now.”

  Latharn wrapped his hands around her waist and stroked her body with his heated gaze. “We’ve only just begun, my dear, sweet Nessa. I’m about to show ye all that ye’ve been missing.”

  Nessa didn’t hear anything else he said after that, she was too busy groaning in mindless release.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Coffee. The rich aroma of a fresh brewed pot wafted across her nose. Nessa inhaled; her stomach growled. “Latharn. We have got to surface. I need coffee.”

  Latharn pulled her closer against him, spooning his knees into the back of hers as he nuzzled the back her neck. “We’ve only been in here for three days, Nessa. Have ye tired of me so soon?”

  Three days. Nessa couldn’t resist his lips against the nape of her neck and snuggled tighter against him. “The others must think we’re dead.”

  Latharn chuckled and cupped her breast as he suckled at her earlobe. “I think we’ve been loud enough for them to know we’re still verra much alive.”

  Oh, great. She’d never hear the end of that from Trish. She did seem to remember a few times when she’d gotten a little loud. Nessa groaned and unwound herself from Latharn’s arms. “I need coffee. And if this is day three, we need to emerge because there’s no telling what’s being said about us.”

  Pulling her back down into the bed, Latharn kissed the end of her nose. “First of all, I dinna give a damn what anyone says about us and neither should you. Second, I know exactly what they’re saying. I can hear them and I can allow ye to see and hear them as well. Watch.”

  With a wave of his hand the bedroom wall wavered, then became clear as crystal. He and Nessa had front row seats of everything going on in the other room.

  “They’ve been in there for three days. Ye’d think they’d surface by now for a bit of food and drink.” Fiona fussed about the table to set the steaming scones on the trivet and turned to fetch the pot of coffee off the warming plate sitting on the back of the buffet.

  “You put a fully stocked refrigerator in there, remember?” Trish shot her a knowing look above the rim of her coffee cup as she tried working the kinks from her neck. “By the way, I think it’s somebody else’s turn to take the couch in the drawing room. That thing’s just for looks. It’s definitely not for sleeping.”

  Brodie winked at Fiona as he held out his cup for a refill. “Have ye already forgotten our honeymoon, dear wife? The only time we saw the lobby of the hotel was when we arrived and when we were checking out.”

  Fiona clucked her tongue as she filled her husband’s cup. “Aye, my love. Don’t be distressed. I promise ye, I’ll ne’er forget those days. But we had room service, full meals at our beck and call, in order to keep up our strength.”

  “This isn’t right, Latharn.” Nessa waved at the wall as though she were shooing flies. “Make it go away.” There was just something weird about watching your friends as though they were in a fishbowl.

  “As ye wish.” Latharn waved his hand and the wall darkened, resuming its inherent state. “Then we’d best be joining them to get your coffee. I’m a bit hungry now myself.”

  Latharn emerged first, his arm curled around Nessa
’s waist, nodding a solemn greeting to the trio at the table.

  “Good morning,” Nessa murmured with a yawn. “Is it okay if we join you for breakfast? The coffee and scones smell fabulous.”

  “I’m surprised you’re able to walk to the table,” Trish retorted under her breath. With a wicked grin, she slid the plate of scones down the table to Nessa.

  “Trish!” Nessa scolded. A surge of heat flushed to color her cheeks as she accepted a cup of coffee from Fiona.

  “Trish,” Latharn intoned, with a nod of his head. “I apologize for keeping ye from your bed.” Then with a steaming look his gaze slid back to Nessa as he reached over to caress her cheek. “But I’m sure ye understand Nessa and I had a calling we couldna possibly ignore.”

  With a giggle, Trish lifted her cup in silent salute and gave Nessa a saucy wink. “Oh, I’m not angry, Latharn. I’m just jealous. She’s topped any record I ever held.”

  “Record?” Latharn gave Nessa questioning look.

  “Never mind.” Nessa handed him a well-buttered scone and kicked Trish under the table. “Don’t you want me to fix you some eggs or something?” Maybe if she plied him with food, he’d ignore Trish’s banter.

  “No thank ye. Fiona’s scones are fine,” Latharn responded with a perplexed frown. “Brodie, I’ll be needing the paperwork for the trust. I’m anxious to return to my home.”

  Setting his coffee aside, Brodie rose from the table to access the safe on the wall. Within moments, he’d returned with a worn leather envelope bound with a cord of shimmering gold.

  Latharn accepted it and pulled out a weathered parchment clipped to a sheaf of more recent-looking papers. His eyes scanned the pages and he turned each one, checking to ensure nothing was amiss.

  “You can read?” Without thinking, Nessa said the words, regretting them as soon as they left her mouth.

  Latharn slowly raised his head from the papers he held in his hands as though struggling to control his choice of words. “Ye will discover that I am not an uneducated man, Nessa. I’m quite learned in a great many things.”