My Dark Highlander

by Badger, Nancy Lee

  Jake was concerned for Dorcas and Jenny, and the discussion continued with how best to trap and incarcerate Angus Sinclair. “What about the serving woman in the dungeon?”

  Gavin sighed. “She attacked Rae Wilson. He has said that she yelled ‘Nay, I canno’ let ye help him.’ We doono’ know who him might be. Since there be a chance she spoke of my sire, Jenny must stay with us.”

  Marcus laughed.

  Gavin’s eyes widened. “Have I said something amusing?”

  “My friend, everyone in my castle knows yer heart belongs to Lady Morgan.” Marcus slapped him on the back, and filled his tankard. “If my servant aided Sinclair, then she will be punished.”

  “Do you think Sinclair left a spy back in my time?” Bull asked.

  Gavin thought on this, then said, “I suspected the brownie, Jaden-Tog, but he saved Jenny when I could not. However, there was Jenny’s good friend, Denise--”

  “Denise LeClair? I know her. She works at the clinic with Jenny. She would never hurt a fly,” Jake said.

  “I concur. She seemed sincere in her love for Jenny. There was also a woman Jaden-Tog worked for, a food vendor named Wynda Sinkler, and I suspect--”

  “Nay!”

  All heads turned. Rae Wilson staggered into the great room, stopping at the base of the dais. “I came to know Wynda Sinkler, and she was nothing but gracious and kind. Aye, she met Dorcas, but she would never stoop to harm her. Besides, it was I who carried the basket of poisoned fruit into Dorcas’ tent!”

  Lady Fia Mackenzie and Jake’s wife, Skye, raced into the great room. They grabbed Rae’s forearms, as he sank to the cold stone floor. Skye looked at her husband. “Help us! We told him no’ to move. He has lost too much blood.”

  Jake jumped over the chieftain’s table as if he could fly, and scooped Rae up and settled him on a long bench. A servant girl ran in with pillows and a blanket. When they had propped Rae’s head on the down-filled pillows, and had covered him with the blanket, everyone stared at the injured man.

  “I promise no’ to move until supper.” Rae closed his eyes.

  Gavin stared at the thick compress on Rae’s neck, then turned his attention to the others. Fia sat on her husband’s lap, and Skye stood behind Jake. “If not Denise or Wynda, then who? Dorcas is recovering, aye, but she is alone in the future world. She aided us when needed. We must help her.”

  “When Jenny returns home, can she no’ assist her?” Lady Fia asked Gavin.

  Her question tore at his gut. Gavin sighed. “She canno’ return to her time. With my sire on the loose, Jenny is still in danger. I canno’ send her back unprotected.”

  “I will return with her.”

  All eyes turned to Rae’s prone form.

  “Ye canno’ even walk,” Skye said.

  “I am healing. Once ye deem me well enough to travel, I am the logical choice. I know Denise, Dorcas, and Wynda. I will watch over them all, and no’ allow anyone to hurt our friends. Besides, Denise and Wynda deserve an explanation. We left without a word. I would like to return on the morrow, if someone can tell me how to get there. ” Rae turned to Gavin. “Shall I tell Jenny?”

  Gavin could not answer. Where there once was only darkness, she had filled his world with sunshine. He yearned to smell her delicate fragrance, and to taste lips sweeter than honey ale. She made him laugh, until his belly ached. Now, tears stung his eyes. How could he let her go?

  “If she wishes it. Once my father is in a cell, and the danger is nil. No’ before.”

  “I shall help ye hunt down Angus Sinclair, young laird, and we shall find out what spell he used on my daughter, Cinnie.” Jaden-Tog hopped onto the stool beside Rae’s prone form.

  “Ye think she is under a magical spell?” Gavin asked.

  “I met her barely a week ago. She is only half brownie, and does not have the abilities that I have, and she is a woman, easily swayed.” Jaden-Tog chuckled, and the women on the dais gasped.

  “You had best rethink your statement, lest the witches we know and love, decide to turn you into something even smaller. Say, a toad?” Jake added.

  The brownie smiled and bowed to the women. “Forgive me.”

  Jaden-Tog turned to Marcus. “Cinnie told me she recalled sprinkling a potion on a small basket filled with apples, before placing them inside the cart belonging to Dorcas Swann. This occurred the morning Dorcas, Jenny, and Rae traveled to the future world.”

  “She poisoned Dorcas? If Jenny or I had eaten one of those tainted apples, we would be dead,” Rae whispered.

  “But for the grace of God, ye dinno’ partake of that fruit,” Jaden-Tog answered, “but I believe in my heart she was bewitched, and she talks as if she hates Angus Sinclair as much as we.”

  “That may be. Until we discern the truth, she will be safe in our dungeon. We will keep her comfortable, ye have my word,” Marcus said.

  The brownie nodded.

  “Marcus, have ye any word of my brother?”

  “We have spread the story far and wide that an ambush occurred outside our walls, and that Niall fell from the cliff into the sea.”

  “Is that why the pirate’s ship is still off your coast?” the brownie asked.

  All eyes glanced at the little man. “After I had followed yer guards to the dungeon, and in need of fresh air, I spoke to the men up on the wall that faces the sea.”

  “Rumors about pirates are commonplace, but very few people have dealt directly with them. Once in awhile, they pull their longboats to shore, and trade for food and drink, mostly lamb, fruits, vegetables, and ale, but they doono’ come here,” Marcus said, and sat back in his chieftain’s chair.

  “They trade for essentials? They doono’ steal what they need?” Gavin asked.

  “These pirates are said to attack ships, not poor villagers. One rumor mentions a new member of the crew. Large, quiet, and with golden hair. No one has heard him talk. Women have mentioned his handsome features marred only by a long scar across his chest, and another--”

  “Below his left eye.” Gavin finished the statement. The brownie nodded.

  “Is it…could it be…Niall?” Marcus whispered.

  Gavin jumped to his feet. “I doono’ know, but this is one trail we have yet to follow. If he was swept into the sea, and the pirate ship was near land, it would make sense they had captured him.”

  “Why would he keep us all in the dark?” Jake asked. “Couldn’t he get a message to you via one of those villages?”

  Gavin knew no reason for Niall’s silence. Was he hiding from their father, or did he fear his own brother? Voicing his apologies, Gavin left the great hall. The news washed over him, and a sense of peace settled in his chest, because he finally had a lead to follow. Tracking down a pirate ship this late in the year might prove difficult, but he would do anything to save Niall.

  Niall must wait. Tonight, my only concern is Jenny.

  ***

  When Gavin stepped inside the room, Jenny realized she’d forgotten to lock the heavy oak door. He shut it, and threw the bolt. His eyes gazed at her naked body, hidden only behind a small damp cloth. The hunger in his expressive features stole her breath.

  Forcing air into her lungs, she managed to break the sudden silence. “Why are you here?”

  He paced the room, without coming any closer to where she stood, near the basin and hearth. He glanced at the large empty bed, then at the dirty skirt and blouse she had laid over the back of a chair.

  “Ye need new clothes. Lady Fia has offered to find some that might fit ye. You are taller than most of the women here. Once we return to Tulac Castle, I shall have clothes sewn for ye that will fit yer elevated station.”

  “My elevated what?”

  “As my wife, as the wife of the laird, ye shall want for nothing. Of course…once I find my brother, I shall step down. Will that upset ye?”

  Jenny’s head spun. Breathing deeply, the air was filled with the sensuous aroma of horse, leather, and male. Stepping closer to the bed, she
drew the wool blanket around her. His statement, more of an order, had come from left field.

  “What upsets me is your crazy talk. I don’t plan to stay here. And, I certainly will not marry a man who flaunts his lover.”

  “I have no lover.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Gavin stepped closer, pressing a gentle peck on Jenny’s cheek. “I will never lie to ye, my sweet. Ye can make a life here, with me, raising Highland cattle, and sheep. Doono’ get me started on the dozens of flea-ridden dogs that roam the castle.”

  “Fleas! Ugh, those poor things. What if Niall, or your father, returns?”

  “We can start our own family of animals. I will always have Falcon.”

  “I still own Balfour. Jake gave him to me, and he’s not taking him back.”

  “That be the spirit. Stay?”

  He hadn’t said anything about love. “Can I sleep on it?”

  His face lit up with a big toothy grin, extinguishing the darkness. His green eyes were bright, and filled with love. “I love ye, lass.”

  “You…you love me?”

  “Aye. When I pledged to marry your friend Izzy, I was in want of her land, and nothing more. With ye, my heart has never felt so…full.” He sighed. “Ye doono’ act as if ye feel the same. ‘Tis love I have for ye, Sassenach, and I have never found as much pleasure in another woman’s arms, as I have found in yers.”

  “But, we haven’t even…you know.” Her cheeks burned. They had come so close, but life got in the way. Her body throbbed, and if he kissed her, the blanket would fall to the floor and he’d find himself flat on his back, on her bed.

  Boots and all.

  She knew she could love no other man, but too many questions kept her from having her way with him. “If you stay as laird of Tulac Castle, would you be happy? You’ve said several times you wished no part of it.”

  Gavin released a heavy sigh, as he removed his sporran. When he unbuckled the heavy leather belt and laid it, and his sheathed dirk, on the floor beside the bed, her toes curled. He was undressing.

  Inside my bedroom!

  She let the blanket drop, watching his eyes that were half-hidden behind waves of chocolate-brown hair. Unpinning his silver and amethyst brooch, he set it aside then un-wrapped the plaid from his shoulder. As it crumpled into a colorful pile of wool at his feet, her womb clenched. His muscular thighs were seriously sexy, but his long shirt hid his other assets.

  Smiling at her, he sat on the side of her bed and pulled off his boots and hose. A small stone fell out. It rolled across the wood floor, and stopped.

  “What is that?” She walked closer, bent over, and picked up the pretty hunk of rock. When she stood up, warmth spread across her palm. The stone held magical power and pulsed with a gold aura all its own. She glanced at him, and Gavin’s eyes widened.

  “Can you see the stone’s aura too?”

  “Nay, love. ‘Tis yer breasts, dangling in my face. Ye tempt me with yer naked beauty.”

  Jenny wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing. She smiled, then set the stone on the small bedside table. When his shirt tented between his thighs, she shivered.

  “Take off that shirt, and tell me more about this stone, and about Niall. He’s light where you are dark.”

  “Aye, his golden hair is his best feature.” Gavin stood. He drew the shirt over his head then dropped it to the floor. Naked, and fully aroused, he stood watching her.

  She gulped. She could feel her cheeks burn, and forced a slight smile then raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

  At her silent approval, Gavin’s body relaxed. “Niall was scarred across his chest in battle. Later, a disgruntled lass marked his face.”

  “Disgruntled?”

  “A lass he bedded, then tossed aside. ‘Tis what men do.”

  “Do you plan to bed me, then throw me out of your castle, and your heart?” Jenny’s voice wavered, and she prayed he would answer with a resounding Nay.

  “Niall is still popular. My sire never prepared me to lead. Rumors abound, with some claiming I am making a go of it, but others will no’ kneel to me.”

  “You make people kneel?”

  “Poor choice of words.” Gavin turned and pulled down the bedcovers. He sat on the bed again, and extended his hand to her. “Come.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  He smiled, and the room brightened, but it was only her imagination. The firelight from the hearth suddenly heightened the shadows of his face, giving him an evil look. Her thighs quivered, and perspiration trickled between her breasts. When her tongue slipped out to wet her lips, he growled.

  “Concerning my clan, time will tell. At this moment in time, I plan to make love to ye.”

  Time, if only I had time to think. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, she thought as she cautiously placed her hand in his.

  “You haven’t explained the stone that fell out of your boot. Where did you get it?”

  “ ‘Twas a gift from Dorcas Swann. I could no’ leave ye behind.” He whispered the words, as his lips kissed their way up her arm.

  “I like that. Tell me more?”

  “Later. Come. Lie with me, and let me show ye more.” Gavin tugged on her arm, pulling Jenny into the middle of the bed. Suddenly shy, she rolled away from him, and covered her breasts. He kissed the middle of her back, then trailed lower. His hands roamed over her hips, and she fought to keep from shivering beneath his caress, and from letting him know how his words and touch affected her

  “Let go, love. Let my hands be yer guide, and let us spend this time, together. We shall become one, finally. Aye?”

  If he expects an answer, he’ll be disappointed.

  Jenny couldn’t speak, could barely think. She turned her face into the mattress, and opened her senses, and his aura surrounded them, joining them in pleasure. A candle’s acrid odor mingled with his deliciously male scent. The peat-fueled grate sizzled, and a cool breeze from an open window stirred the bed curtains. The need to taste Gavin grew, and she tried to turn, in order to kiss him, but he rolled her onto her stomach. He raised her to her knees, then pressed against her shoulder blades, pushing her chest and head to the bed.

  “I want to kiss you, Gavin. Let me up.”

  “Nay. Although I enjoy kissing ye, there shall be time for mouths and tongues later. I have dreamed of thrusting inside ye for weeks, but if I succumb to yer kisses, I shall never last. No’ this time. I beg ye, join with me?”

  From behind her, his finger pressed against her clit, rubbing and teasing, while another slipped inside her. She was slick and ready, and the ensuing growl of pleasure meant he knew it, too. His fingers disappeared from her tight passage, replaced by the thick head of his erection.

  “Now!” he cried, and filled her in one swift thrust.

  Gasping at the intrusion of so large a man, she grabbed at the bedclothes. He must have heard her cry of surprise, because he stopped moving. While his huge rod throbbed, pulsing deep inside her, she gathered her senses, and slowly relaxed her muscles.

  He slid a little further inside, but still did not move. “Ah, love, ‘tis magical. I am home. Are ye well?”

  Slowly lifting her head, she nodded, and squeezed her inner muscles around his hard length.

  Gavin growled, and retreated, then thrust even deeper. He set a rhythm that kept her breathless, while the tingles of an orgasm curled inside her. His large hands spread her wider, his warm calloused fingers clawing her for better control.

  Though she yearned to taste him, and kiss her way down his chest, and lower, his grunts and groans filled her ears with the knowledge that she brought him pleasure. The scent of aroused male filled her nostrils, and when he thrust deeper, and gently squeezed her bottom, she moaned. Where his groin slapped against her bottom grew hot and damp, and tingles spread throughout her hips and thighs.

  When his hands slid forward, then wrapped around her waist, he slowly pulled her to his chest. When she was near
ly upright, with her back rested against his prickly chest hair, he slid deeper. The next thrust pushed her knees up, off the bed. Her arms flew back until she tangled her fingers in his scalp.

  His hair was thick and damp. Between her thighs, she was slick, and her inner core was heating up faster than a wood-fueled campfire. When his hands cupped her breasts and his lightly whiskered chin nuzzled the side of her neck, Jenny let him lead the way to paradise.

  She moaned in protest when his right hand slid from her breast, but when he pinched her clit, she yelped in surprise. Rubbing her intimately, with his steely length thrusting inside her, her mind swirled. He delved faster and deeper, and she could barely catch her breath.

  Waves of pleasure hinged at a precipice, and her entire body turned rigid. “Dear Lord, I’m…I’m coming!”

  Closing her eyes as she let her senses loose, she couldn’t breathe. She dare not think of anything, not of auras, or their future, or the chance she’d get pregnant. Would it be so bad living here, with a child of their coupling, and in this time?

  Not if I get to live as his wife, and we spend our nights doing…

  Gavin’s guttural roar filled the room, and he pumped her full of his essence. Her womb wept with so much contentment she didn’t care if a baby grew inside her. He loved her. With that thought, she cried out. Pleasure cascaded over her like a waterfall of pure joy.

  They collapsed onto the bed, still connected. Gavin’s chest warmed her back, and she sighed inside the cocoon of his damp muscles. His breathing slowed, while his hand swept slowly over her hip, then rested on her exposed shoulder. Every other part of her lay beneath him.

  “You make a warm blanket,” Jenny said. He was still hard, and filled her.

  “Shall I move?”

  “Nope. You can stay on top of me, or in me, forever.” She released a satisfying sigh, and curled the side of her head into the pillow.

  He chuckled, and his chest rumbled against her back.

  She squirmed, trying to get even closer. “I think I asked you a question.”