by Rae Monet
"Yes, baby, enjoy the ride.” Richard stroked her as she rode out the storm.
"God, Richard, I love you.” As she admitted what Richard already knew, he smiled against her. He kissed her a final time, then eased up over her body, pulling her to his side. He gritted his teeth as his cock strained out of his loosened breeches.
God, I want to bury myself in her.
He knew she wasn't ready yet. He reached into his breeches and touched his penis, thinking maybe he needed to release some of the pressure. Megan's hand pushed his aside. The minute her small hand wrapped around him, he wondered if he was going to immediately come.
"Show me how to ease your need."
Richard heart stuttered; he looked into her eyes and opened his senses to be certain she was serious.
She was.
He carefully wrapped her hand around his dick. Her tentative strokes nearly drove him over the edge.
"May I taste you as you did me?"
Richard's hand stilled on hers.
"Megan, love, you can do anything to me your heart desires."
Richard nearly fell over the edge when she gifted him with her dimpled smile.
She shimmied down his body. At first she simply explored his penis with her hands. When she leaned down and touched him with her mouth, Richard almost came. He arched into her mouth.
"Show me,” she pleaded.
Richard shifted her to his most sensitive spot, showed her where to lick, where to suck.
"Yes. Yes,” he groaned.
I'm going to come.
He was on fire. Her tongue wet his dick, then her mouth eased down on his erection. Despite her inexperience she was driving him hotter than he had ever been. His body tensed and his hands fell to her hair, caressing her.
Oh God.
Richard was beyond coherent thought. He was simply feeling, his senses open to her touch. It was so incredibly good, so good.
"Megan, honey, I'm going to come into your mouth if you don't stop.” Even that much warning had been difficult for Richard to utter.
"Yes, do, I want to have all of you."
Richard tried not to pump too hard as she sucked and licked him. Her tongue caressed his balls, then she moved back to his dick. She was learning way too fast, Richard thought, sweat trickling down his face.
She is such a passionate innocent.
Richard locked his hands over his head so he wouldn't force her head further down on his cock, which was what he really wanted to do. A tingle started at the base of Richard's spine, then radiated toward his cock. His hips drove faster as she took him fully into the depths of her mouth, as if she sensed his desires. Richard's hands opened and he grabbed the coverlet, squeezing. He arched, crying out, coming with an explosion of white light.
Megan took all of his essences, seemingly undisturbed by swallowing his cum; she licked her lips and kissed his dick one final time. Then she moved up his body to kiss him, her mouth open. He tasted both of them in that kiss, Megan's cum, his juices. It was remarkable.
He smiled; she smiled back, her dimples making his heart clench.
"That was incredible. Can we do that again sometime?” Her innocent question made him laugh.
"Are you sure? Are you all right?” He hugged her to him. He wanted to make sure she wasn't experiencing any memories of the rape.
"Anything I do with you lessens my horrible experience with that horrible man. Anything. I welcome your touch like no other.” As she spoke, her smile dimmed, her eyes welled up and a single tear ran down her face.
Richard reached out and wiped the tear away. He pulled her head onto his chest.
I will kill those bastards for what they have done to her.
Although the vow was silent, he made it wholeheartedly. He knew exactly what he was going to do.
"You and I, my beauty, can do much more than that. And when I return, I will show you."
"Truly?” She lifted her head from his chest and gifted him with her dimpled smile. He touched one of the dimples on her check.
"Truly."
Richard hugged Megan to him and planned how he was going to keep his silent vow.
"Come with me to see your father, Megan."
She dropped her head and was quiet.
"I will be with you. Your father will need to see you. You know this."
She nodded and looked up at him.
"Please, Megan."
"You'll stay will me."
Richard folded her hands into his.
"Yes, my beauty."
"I'll go with you then."
Chapter Eleven
Apprehensive about returning home, Megan paused next to Serena. Roan whispered in Serena's ear as she rested in the circle his arms. Megan envied their closeness. They shared a deep, abiding love that tied them together.
A love like Megan hoped to have someday with Richard.
She realized she needed to make this journey, but facing her family was the last thing she wanted to do. Even though she knew in her mind what happened wasn't her fault, she still felt as if she was bringing dishonor to her clan.
Roan and Richard vaulted onto their horses. They were both strong, masculine men and sexy as hell. One dark and one light, together they had an allure that left her breathless.
Serena laid her arm around Megan's shoulders. Serena had become a sister to her in the last few months. Without her and Richard's support, Megan wondered if she would have taken her own life. There had been times she felt close to that. But they had helped her realized life was worth living and love was worth having.
"Remember what I have taught you, my friend,” Serena said.
Megan fingered the small sword on her back that Serena had given her. For the past three months, as part if the healing process, Serena had been teaching her how to defend herself. Not only did the lessons help her injuries mend, they also gave her a confidence she had never had. If she were attacked now, the outcome might be different.
"You have your dagger?” Serena asked.
Megan pointed to her boot, where a small, yet deadly dagger was hidden.
Serena nodded, and guided Megan to Richard. He reached down and lifted Megan in front of him on the horse.
"Remember, my friend,” Serena said, “strength is in the mind, not in the brawn. If needed, use your skills wisely and you will prevail."
Megan reached down and encircled Serena's arm with her hand."A'Don ar Cuideachd-ne. "
Serena wrapped her hand around Megan's and returned the Solarian vow."A'Don ar Cuideachd-ne."
As Richard turned the horse to leave, Serena stepped out of the way. She pointed at Roan and he halted his steed.
"You, my husband, will come back safe."
Roan smiled and, without warning, he leaned down and hauled his wife into his arms. His farewell kiss was hearty and long. Serena sighed as he guided her back to the ground.
"A'Don ar Cuid-ne,I protect my own. You, wife, take care of our son."
Serena laughed and placed her hand on her stomach.
"How long have you known?"
Roan pointed back at her. “From the minute she was conceived, li'l one."
"Go with God and my love, husband."
Before Roan could leave, an insistent barking and a flash of black came running.Shadow . Serena stopped the wolf with a wave. Shadow sat, tail wagging, her eyes beseeching Megan's.
"It would seem, Megan, you have a friend who demands you not leave her."
Shadow had healed quickly under Megan's attention. Although not fully mended, her splint was strong and she had resumed a normal gait.
Roan moved forward and signaled for Serena to lift Shadow to his saddle.
"I will take her, Megan, she will not be any trouble."
Shadow wiggled in Roan's grasp. He rode next to Richard so Shadow could relay her thanks by bathing Megan's face. She laughed and pushed Shadow away.
"All right, Shadow, mind Roan and don't be a bother."
Shadow gave one bark and settled
in Roan's arms.
With one final farewell wave, Roan trotted behind Richard.
* * * *
It took three days of unhurried riding to reach her village. There were sentries along the way, who sent word to Megan's parents of her arrival. Megan recognized what those lookouts signified.
The feud has again reared its ugly head.
Her mother and father paced anxiously as they rode into the village. Richard stopped and slid off his horse, and tugged Megan into his arms lowering her to the ground. No sooner had her feet touched the ground then her mother came running and launched herself into Megan arms. Megan's tears matched her mother's. Richard kept a hand on her shoulder to lend his strength.
It killed him to see Megan's grief ... He felt her pain as if it were his own.
"By the Gods, Megan, we thought you were lost to us. We searched and searched but to no avail. Thank God you are safe."
Megan pulled back from her mother's embrace only to be enveloped by her father.
"Daughter, where in God's name have you been?” Between tears, Megan reached for Richard's hand and drew him forward.
"Richard found me. He is a healer. He nursed me back to health."
"A healer. Back to health?” The McKinney pinned Richard with his look. Although Richard understood he was skeptical, he also sensed her father's newfound approval of their relationship, happiness the laird was trying to hide from Megan.
"Where inna God's name have you been? How were you injured? What happened?"
"Father.” Megan's faltering voice stopped her father's questions. “Let us go somewhere quiet and private to discuss what has come to pass."
As if remembering they were in the middle of the village, the McKinney nodded and let Megan formally introduce him and his wife to Richard, Roan, and Shadow. The greetings over, he led them to the Laird's cottage where they all crowded together in the simple stone settlement.
"The truce between the McKinneys and the MacGregors has been desecrated, daughter,” he said.
Megan sighed.
"That is what they wanted, Father. For the clans to start warring again. I heard the men say as much. If we kill each other, there's less for the English to battle."
Leaving out the parts that were too painful to tell, Megan gave her father a shortened version of her story, explaining to him what she had heard her tormentor say. He was furious beyond recognition. Megan's mother wept in sorrow.
Her father's jaw was set. He refused to change his mind. He was determined to believe his false conclusion. It was as if he could deny with a negative shake of his head all the bloodshed and killing that had pointlessly begun after Megan was taken.
"What of Aimee and Stephen's marriage? What of that?"
"They have been apart since you left. There was evidence, a MacGregor tartan left by the river where you were seized. How could I have ignored that evidence?"
"Father...” Megan abruptly stood and paced, tears running unchecked down her face. Richard could sense her agitation. The stress of retelling the account was visible.
Despite the fact that her parents were witness, he rose from the table and approached Megan. He came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. Drawing her back into his body, he rested his chin on top of her head. Richard could sense her father's annoyance, but he did not care.
"Calm, my beauty, calm.” As Richard stroked Megan's arms, he felt her melt against him. “All will be well."
Megan sighed and eased away to face her father.
"I have explained, but you are not listening. This is not what it has been set up to seem. Keeping Stephen and Aimee apart will not help. I demand a meeting with the MacGregor laird, and I plead for you to allow Stephen and Aimee to be together."
"Megan..."
"Father, this is not a request. I ask a boon and expect you to give it to me considering...” She swallowed and shook her head. “I want to tell the MacGregor all that has happened. I want the useless killing to cease."
She paused as Shadow slid up and licked her hand. Stooping down, she wrapped her arms around the wolf.
"Don't you see?” Anguish rang in her voice. “All that has happened, all that I have experienced, will be for naught. They will have won."
Her father dropped his chin, then finally nodded. “Aye."
Megan released Shadow and stood. Richard approached her and tipped her chin, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.
"Are you sure?” He searched her face. He felt the resurgence of pain racking through her mind after telling her own family what had happened. How much worse would it be to tell it to the other clan?
For now, though, he could help her. He opened his senses to absorb some of her pain.
As Richard tensed, he knew Megan realized what he was doing. She pulled out of his arms, away from him.
"Richard, you have sheltered me long enough. It's time for me to help myself."
He nodded as she turned to her father.
"I want the MacGregor here within three days,” she said, determination strengthening her voice.
Megan's father growled, but Megan put up a hand.
"He will come, Father. This is as much his fight as yours. How many have died since you rekindled this feud?"
The McKinney's shoulders dropped and his answer was slow to come. “Many, daughter. Too many."
Megan reached for Richard's hand. She led him toward the door.
"Father, please show Roan and Shadow where they may bed down this eve. I will take care of Richard."
Without waiting for her father's answer, she strolled into the pitch dark with Richard.
They walked in silence for a time before she finally spoke. “Why do you continue to absorb my pain when I have asked you to cease?"
Richard gazed at the sky as they strode on. Even though he couldn't find a flicker of starlight to show him his surroundings, he guessed where Megan was taking him. As they broke through the border of bushes and trees that concealed their spring, Richard released Megan's hand and strolled to the water. He ran his hand over the glassy surface. The water was calm now, a lovely slice of peace, one that he was going to break.
"Do you remember, my beauty, when you first tried to touch me?"
Megan moved next to him. “I remember."
Richard grabbed Megan's arm and hauled her into his body. “It was here. You tried to push my hair off my brow, do you recall?"
Megan nodded and lifted her hand. She didn't touch him, her palm hovering next to his face.
"But I wouldn't let you, would I?"
She shook her head.
"I wouldn't let you because I was afraid. Because I was a coward.” Megan tried to protest and Richard covered her lips with his fingers.
"No, let me say this. I was a coward. I gave up my vocation because I could no longer absorb the pain of others. I failed."
She murmured denial and her hand rested against his cheek.
Richard stroked her lips, reveling in their softness. “I absorb your pain, my beauty, because I love you. Because you have healed me—I, in turn, desire to heal you."
He kissed her, a mutual meeting of lips. His tongue touched hers and he sucked it into his mouth. He pulled back, releasing her lips but not his hold on her.
"You have made my life worth living, Megan, and for that...” Richard repeated his kiss, drawing Megan against his straining erection, “—you will never rid yourself of my touch."
* * * *
Megan sighed against Richard's mouth. Kissing him was pure heaven, like the caress of the warm sun on a cool spring evening. His hands were all over her, touching, stoking a blaze in her fueled by her need. Heat stole up from her toes, through her legs and still upward over her breasts, climbing to the top of her head.
Richard began to undress her. Languidly he bared her breasts, then reached down to suck her nipples, leaving them straining, wet, and directly connected to the fire in her. He attended to each nipple, his mouth leaving a damp trail as he tongued his way to t
he other. Megan arched into his mouth, her hands resting on his silky hair, cupping him to her. This feeling, the touch of this man's mouth on her skin, was beyond incredible; it was an exotic lesson in passion that Megan was beginning to crave.
Without realizing how it had happened, her dress pooled around her feet and he was lowering her to the mossy ground underneath her. His lips moved downward from her breasts. He savored every inch of sensitive skin on Megan's body and some she didn't even realize she had. Then he reached her clit where he licked, sucked and tasted.
Megan cried out. “Yeeees! Yeeees!"
Richard moaned, and she writhed against him. He drove her crazy; he was deliberately working her into a sensual frenzy. She reached down and pushed at his clothes.
"Take them off."
At her demand, he sat up and began to remove his garments. Megan rose to her knees to assist him. Her fingers trembled in anticipation. She wanted him so badly, wanted to freely give him what had been so violently taken from her. Through a shaky meeting of hands that hindered more than helped, they managed to strip him naked.
Megan loved the feel of his skin, rough yet in some places so soft. She ran her hands over his muscled chest, around his nipples, then down past his stomach to cup his penis. She felt it, like his skin, so soft yet hard. Megan circled the head with her fingers and sighed with pleasure.
Richard forced his body into stillness, watching her while she stroked her hand over his cock, pulling, tugging, exploring. Finally, he leaned his head back and groaned.
She is killing me.
She looked up at him, her eyes shining with mischief and knowledge, and in that instant he knew. He had waited for her to be fully ready, and she was. The time was now. The time was here. He opened his senses; they exploded with desire.
His waiting was over.
"Ahhhh.” Richard arched his back as Megan lips fell against his chest. She wrapped her hands around his ass and pressed her body to his, chest-to-chest and stomach-to-stomach, his engorged cock squeezed between them. He lowered his head and claimed her lips with a savage kiss. His arms slipped around her; leaning, he eased back and drew Megan on top of him.