“I’m not a virgin, Talon.”
He continued to hold her face, touching her as if he held a rare orchid in his hands. “Aye, ye are. In all the ways that matter, you are.”
His words made her chest ache and her cheeks burn. He understood more than she had herself. That she was afraid. That those early sexual experiences had been too much, too young.
“We’ll go slow, lass,” Talon said quietly. “’ Twill be unlike before. I vow it. This will be your first time.” He gave her an impish grin. “If ye want your maidenhead back, I’ll ask the ring for it.”
Despite his grin, she realized that if she asked him to do that for her, he would.
She smiled softly. “No thanks. That first time was the worst.”
“It always is.” His eyes turned serious and he slowly leaned in to kiss her, a featherlight brush of lips on lips that sent pleasurable shivers tripping through every cell in her body. For long moments he kissed her, nothing more. As if that was all he wanted, as if that was all sex was about. His mouth on hers, plundering, sweeping, stroking. A simple touch that lit fires in her limbs, her chest, her abdomen, and deep down low until she felt the tension building, her body turning restless. Needy.
Unhurriedly, his hands began to roam. Into her hair, over her shoulders, down her back, avoiding the critical zones, taking it slow. Building the heat and the excitement, without triggering her natural defenses. On a purely logical level, she understood he was deliberately easing her along, intentionally not pushing too fast.
His approach was masterful. His patience and gentleness melted her, strengthening her wish to give him anything. Everything. She’d been prepared to take nothing in return. Instead, he was the one giving to her.
His mouth dipped, his lips claimed her neck, and all thought fled. With a gentle tug of his fingers, her bathrobe fell open. Her shift slipped. His mouth covered her bare shoulder and desire skyrocketed.
She felt his fingers at the ties of her shift, loosening the neck further. Then cool air slid across her bared breast. As his thumb brushed her sensitive nipple, she sucked in a trembling breath, loving the feel, even as she watched his head dip.
Just as he’d done last night, he took her breast deeply into his mouth. Her head fell back as she absorbed this intimate and wonderful touch.
“Talon,” she said on a gasp. “You don’t have to do all this if you don’t want to. You can take your pleasure.”
He lifted his face, peering into hers with a heavy-lidded, lazy grin. “This is my pleasure.” He planted a small, sweet kiss on the end of her nose. “There is nothing more exciting to me than watching your passion rise, hearing your breathing change, listening to your quick gasps and low moans as I touch you. As I lick you.”
He pressed a kiss to the curve between her neck and shoulder and she tilted her head away, giving him full access.
“The only thing I would ask, when you’re ready, is that ye allow me to undress you. I wish to see you, Julia. All of ye.”
His voice throbbed with such carnal pleasure, she felt answering pulses all the way to her womb.
“Undress me, Talon.”
A smile broke across his face, a smile at once sweet and dangerous and oh so hot. He pulled off his shirt first, revealing that beautiful body once more. He pulled off his boots, then turned to her.
His expression, as he pushed the robe from her shoulders, was fiercely tender. He tugged the sleeves off her arms, then rose to his feet and pulled her to hers. The bathrobe pooled on the bed behind her. Talon lifted her shift up and over her head, baring her to his sight with one quick movement.
Julia stood before him as she’d never stood before a man. Naked. And strangely, amazingly, comfortable in that fact.
His eyes roamed her body, lighting fires everywhere his gaze caressed her. “So bonny.” He gathered her to him then, pulling her tight, flesh to flesh.
With a low sound of impatience, he swept her into his arms and deposited her in the middle of the bed, then followed her down. His lips were everywhere, grazing her shoulder, her neck, the hollow between her breasts.
He took her in his arms and rolled her to her side as he kissed her, his hand sliding over her hip and her buttocks. His fingers stroked her flesh, digging in firmly, tensely, as if he wanted to do more but was determined to take it slow. His deeply sensuous ministrations sent the pressure building inside her.
Slowly, his hand began to move again, sliding down the back of her thigh, sending her heart soaring and her body weeping with excitement.
His fingers curled around her knee and he lifted her leg, pulling it to rest on his hip, opening her. Little by little, as her breathing grew ragged, his fingers slid the length of her inner thigh toward the aching, throbbing source of her heat.
The first brush of his finger along her swollen lips made her jump, then moan with pleasure, even as her body tensed for what was yet to come.
But Talon, she was beginning to realize, had infinite stores of patience. Over and over, he stroked her heated flesh, flicking the nub of her clitoris, moving away, then flicking it again. Each finger stroke along that open line moved easier. Slicker. Every stroke of her clitoris made her arch and gasp until she feared she’d forget how to breathe.
And all the while he kissed her—her throat, her forehead, her cheek.
The first dip of his finger inside her sent sensation exploding outward from her core in a brilliant arc, eliciting a harsh groan and sending her hips thrusting to meet him, to deepen his claim on her body.
“Talon.”
“Ye like that.”
“Oh God, yes. More.”
His finger dove deeper, stroking her sensitive inner walls, then circling around and around, sending her into a swirling mass of pleasure and need.
As his head dipped to pull her breast into his mouth, his finger pulled out of her, only to return, thicker, fuller than before. Not until it moved in two directions at once, fluttering insanely, wonderfully, did she realize he’d pushed two fingers inside her this time. Pleasure danced deep within her with the fluttering of his fingers until she lost control, gasping and rocking against his hand. Deep inside, she felt things tightening. Rising.
“Talon, I want more. I need more.”
He released her breast and lifted up to look down into her face. In his eyes she saw a deep, tender satisfaction. On his mouth a small, devilishly sweet smile.
“Do ye want me inside you?”
“Yes. You. Only you.”
He pulled his fingers from her depths and stood, shucking his pants, revealing a long, hard erection. She’d expected the sight of him to fill her with dread, as the feel of him had initially, but as aroused as she was, the sight of him had the opposite effect. Amazingly, the thought of that length and breadth spreading her, filling her, only excited her more.
He came to her and she opened her arms and thighs for him, sliding her hands around his broad shoulders as he settled between her legs.
But he didn’t enter her right away. Instead, he took her head in his hands and stared down into her face, his own a tense mask of barely leashed passion and precious gentleness.
“Now, Talon. Come to me.”
He kissed her, capturing her mouth even as she felt the hard press of silken flesh against her slick opening. He pressed forward, the pressure building, building, millimeter by millimeter, but she felt no pain. Only unimaginable pleasure.
He took her slowly, with infinite care, then pulled out and repeated the process only slightly faster than before. As he pressed all the way into her, his tongue sliding against hers, a feeling of profound rightness enveloped her. She’d always known the others had been a mistake, but she hadn’t realized just how big a mistake. Until now.
And yet, it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d been older. Or if she’d cared for them. Deep inside, she knew Talon was the one she’d been waiting for. The only one who would ever matter.
Over and over, he pulled out and pushed into her again, faster
and faster, filling her, delighting her, driving her toward that bright, spectacular release he’d brought her to last night. She met him thrust for thrust, the desperation building inside her to join with him on the most fundamental level, to become one with this man who was beginning to mean everything to her.
Her chest swelled with emotion even as her body rose.
His thrusts grew faster, harder, and she urged him on, rocking to meet him, groaning every time with the pure, exquisite joy pulsing through her. The pressure started up again, building and twisting, up and up until the orgasm tore through her, a cataclysm that unraveled her and knit her back together again in a different pattern than before. Whole, as she’d never been.
As Talon groaned with his own release, she felt reborn.
For minutes on end, they lay there, joined, their breathing and pulse rates slowly falling back to normal.
Finally, Talon pulled out of her, then rolled onto his back, taking her with him. He held her cradled against his chest, his hands sliding from the nape of her neck, down to her thighs, and back again.
“Ye felt pleasure this time,” he said softly. It wasn’t a question.
Julia lifted her head and grazed her lips along his jaw. “Amazing. Incredible.” She nestled her head on his shoulder, too spent to keep it lifted. “I didn’t know it could be like that.”
Deep inside, she knew it would never be again. Because never again would it be with Talon.
The stab of pain was sudden and harsh. The thought of leaving him pressed down on her, a terrible weight on her chest. She curled her arm around him, clinging to him, feeling devastated. And painfully confused.
She had to get home. And she knew the way now. All she had to do was stay here and wait for Hegarty.
But the thought of leaving Talon filled her with a dull, aching grief. “I wish I could take you back with me.”
His hand slid down her bare back. “Nay. I dinna belong in that place.” His words held no spark of interest. Nothing but aversion. Even if Hegarty agreed, and there was no reason to think he might, Talon would never want to leave this place for one where he was a complete and total outsider. Where he was powerless. Without understanding or knowledge. Over his head.
No, that wasn’t Talon, she was certain.
Besides, only Hegarty could send him there, and he would certainly demand the amethyst in return. A thing Talon would never agree to.
When she went home, she’d be going alone.
If only she could delay that inevitability a little longer. A few more days. A few more nights.
Her body went very still.
Why not stay a little longer? What difference would it make at home? She was already missing. And she’d already passed the point of being able to make it home in time for her presentation.
What did she have to rush home to anyway? An empty apartment? A job she was seriously considering quitting?
Why not stay a few more days? By then, she’d be sick to death of this place and more than ready to go home. Maybe by then, she’d be ready to leave Talon. And even if she felt the same as she did now, she’d have a few more memories to take out and replay during those long, lonely nights at home.
“Talon?”
His hand sifted through her hair. “Hm?”
She lifted her head, needing to see his eyes. “If I go with you to deliver the chalice to Loch Laggan, will you bring me back here afterward?”
His hand stilled in her hair. “Ye dinna wish to go home?” His voice was thick with confusion.
“I do. Just ... maybe not yet. I was thinking ... the ring brought me to you for a reason, right? Yet we don’t know what that reason is. You may still need me. What if you still need me?”
Slowly, he rolled her off his chest and back onto the bed, then rose and walked to the hearth. His naked body in the firelight was a sight to behold, but the tenseness of his walk had her wishing she hadn’t said anything.
“I dinna think it’s a good idea.” His voice was flat.
That horrible, all too familiar feeling of rejection sliced through her and she clenched her jaw tight against the ache.
“It was just a thought,” she said diffidently, and climbed from the bed to retrieve her shift, keeping her back turned to him as she fought against the crushing emotion she couldn’t bear for him to see.
As the shift slid down around her hips, she felt Talon’s hand on her arm. He tugged her around, the expression on his face at once soft and oh-so-serious.
His hands curved around her shoulders. “It’s not that I dinna want ye to come, Julia-lass. I do. More than ye ken, I want ye by my side for a wee bit longer. But ye react to that chalice and I dinna care for it. There’s more going on here than I ken, and I will not have ye harmed.”
The tight band of misery began to loosen. “The fact that I react to it, or it to me, is all the more reason you need me to stay. It’s all the more reason I want to stay. I’m a Brodie, Talon. A Brodie of Loch Laggan. This is my family’s history we’re talking about, my clan’s. I want to understand it.”
“Have ye forgotten your own cousin fled that place twenty years ago? Hegarty wouldna have sent her to the future if she’d not been in need. Most likely, in danger.”
“That was twenty years ago. The danger could have been anything.” She met his gaze. “I have to go home. We both know that. And once I do, I won’t be coming back.” She lifted her hand to his cheek. “I’m not ready to leave you.” She smiled at him faintly, impudently. “Besides, I’m not sure I have the hang of the lovemaking. I need a little more practice.”
His mouth kicked up, his dimples flashing. “I’ll have no quibbles about giving ye that practice, though you’ve proved to be a fine pupil.” As his expression turned once more serious, he cupped her jaw in his hand. “I’m a selfish man, Julia. I always have been.” His thumb brushed her chin. “I should make you stay here where you’ll be safe. But nay, I want you to come. If you want to be with me longer, I want you to come.”
He lowered his head and kissed her, and she kissed him back. Then he lifted her into his arms and put her to bed, climbing in with her and holding her close.
As his arm went around her, it occurred to her she didn’t know how far Loch Laggan was from here, or how long a trip they were talking about. With a mental groan, she accepted that she was looking at more days of riding horses and sleeping on lumpy mattresses. Or hard ground. More days of relieving herself behind bushes and forgoing all but the basics of personal hygiene.
But she’d be with Talon, spending her nights lying with his arm tight around her. Welcoming him into her body and knowing the most exquisite pleasure and rightness.
Yes, she was nuts. But it was only for a short while, then her life would return to what it had been. And all she’d have of this time would be the memories.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brenna asked Julia the next morning. “So many things could go wrong. Highwaymen, disease. Drunks who’d rather stab you than look at you. Sometimes I think they kill one another just to relieve the monotony of their lives. I’m tempted to invent the game of soccer just to give them something better to do.”
Julia smiled softly, then sobered. “I’ve seen the violence, Brenna. I get it.”
Why did she feel so close to this woman she barely knew? No doubt because she was the only one in the entire world who understood the place she’d come from. But it was more than that. She genuinely liked Brenna and wished she could have the time to get to know her better. It would be nice to have a friend.
Julia shrugged. “I know I’m taking a risk. But I’m not quite ready for this experience to end.”
Brenna eyed her shrewdly. “You’re not ready to leave Talon, are you? You’ve fallen in love with him.”
“No, I just ... Oh God.” She stared at the other woman. “Maybe I have.”
Brenna took her hand and squeezed it, her eyes filling with sympathy. “It’s a terrible position to be in, isn’t it? I thought I was goin
g to have to leave Rourke.” She shrugged. “I thought he was going to leave me. I was wrong on both counts.”
“But you belonged here all along even if you didn’t know it.”
“Yes.”
And she didn’t. The unspoken words hung between them.
Brenna squeezed her hand again and released her. “I’m sorry, Julia. I understand why you want to spend a little more time with him, just ... be careful, okay? And when you get back, I’ll treat you to a Mexican feast.”
The twinkle in Brenna’s eye had Julia smiling. “Mexican? In seventeenth-century Scotland?”
Brenna laughed. “The entire time I was pregnant I craved Mexican food, so I worked like a fiend to replicate it here and I’ve done a pretty decent job, I have to say. The problem is no one else has acquired a taste for it.” She looked at her hopefully. “Do you like Mexican food?”
Julia grinned. “I love it.”
“Good. I’ll start gathering my spices so I’ll be ready when you get back. It’s a plan.” Brenna reached for her, giving her a big, heartfelt hug.
Julia surprised herself by returning the hug in full measure. She usually wasn’t the kind of person anyone wanted to hug. But Brenna ... Brenna was special.
Julia smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Be prepared, I fully intend to talk you into extending your vacation even longer, and spending some time with me.”
“I’d like that.” And she meant it.
As they walked together to where Talon waited with Rourke and the horses, a small thrill of excitement fluttered within her. Excitement at the thought of seeing Castle Ythan in its prime. Of meeting her ancestors a dozen generations back. Of possibly discovering the reason the ring had called her to help Talon.
And the warm, pleasurable excitement that being with Talon always brought her.
Talon smiled at her, his dimple flashing as he took her hand and helped her mount. As his hands slipped from her waist, Rourke stepped forward and handed Talon something wrapped in cloth.
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